"Just checking the engineer is still coming?"
The customer was told "between eight and one". At half ten, they ring. The office checks the schedule, rings the engineer, who is on another job, and calls the customer back with a guess. At twelve, the customer rings again. Multiply that across a day's jobs and the office phone is busy with the same question.
Some customers do not ring. They pop out to the shops, and the engineer arrives to an empty house.
Why customers have to ask
The customer has a wide window and no other information. The office does not know much more, because the engineer's progress is not visible to them either, except by phoning.
The information does exist. The engineer knows when they finish one job and set off for the next. But unless their app records that, and something turns it into a message for the customer, it stays in the van.
Generic appointment reminder tools send a text the day before, which helps, but they are not linked to the engineer's real progress on the day.
Wide windows exist for good reasons. Jobs overrun, traffic happens, and a tight promise that is broken is worse than a wide one that is kept. The answer is not a narrower window at booking; it is better information as the day unfolds.
What the calls cost
- Office time answering and relaying the same question
- Engineers interrupted while working to give an arrival estimate
- Missed appointments when the customer is out
- Customer frustration at a wide window with no updates
- Reviews mentioning poor communication rather than the work itself
| Moment | Without updates | With updates |
|---|---|---|
| Booking | Verbal time window | Text confirming date and window |
| Day before | Nothing, or a generic reminder | Reminder with option to rearrange |
| Engineer sets off | Customer waits and wonders | Text with estimated arrival and tracking link |
| Running late | Customer rings the office | Updated estimate sent automatically |
| Job complete | Paper sheet left behind | Summary and signed sheet by email |
How we set it up
- Job status as the trigger. The engineer's app records simple status changes: on the way, arrived, finished. We add these if your app does not already have them.
- Arrival estimates. When the engineer sets off, the system calculates an estimated arrival from their location and a routing service, and updates it if they are delayed.
- Messages. Texts are sent through a provider such as Twilio, or WhatsApp Business where customers prefer it, with wording you approve.
- Tracking link. The message links to a simple page showing the engineer's first name, photo if you want it, and estimated arrival. The page stops showing location once the engineer arrives.
- Rearranging. Customers can reply or use the page to say they are not in, which alerts the office before the engineer has a wasted journey.
- Office view. The office sees the same statuses, so when a customer does ring, the answer is on screen.
Engineer privacy matters here. Location is shared only while travelling to that customer, and only as an estimated arrival and approximate position, never their day's route. We agree the details with you and your team.
What the day feels like after
Customers know when to expect the engineer, and the answer to "is he still coming" usually reaches them before they think to ring. The office phone is freer for bookings and genuine problems. Engineers are interrupted less.
Fewer engineers arrive at empty houses, because customers who need to rearrange can say so in time. And the communication customers remember is a clear message saying the engineer is on the way.
Staff in the office gain a clearer picture of the day as well. The same statuses that drive the customer messages show which jobs are running late, so a coordinator can warn the afternoon's customers or move a job before anyone has to ring and complain.
Is your phone ringing with this?
- Customers ring on the day to ask when the engineer will arrive
- The office has to phone engineers to find out where they are
- Engineers sometimes arrive to find nobody home
- Customers are given wide time windows with no updates
- Reviews mention communication more than the quality of work