Don’t Let “No-Show Homeowners” Steal Your Profits!
Stop losing money to no-show clients! Learn how to use effective appointment reminders and the "Illusion of Control" to keep your techs busy and profitable.
KickStart: At time of booking confirm how your client wants to be reminded of their appointment. Then include a simple “reply mechanism” to confirm they will be there.
Let me guess… you want to make more money. I mean, who doesn’t? And yes, you should be charging more… lot’s more! 💲💲💲
NOTE: We’ve talked before about why and how to raise your prices. Plus, I share HERE how to charge more without losing your previous clients. (Trust me, I’ll keep beating this drum!) 🙄
But even BEFORE you hike your prices, let’s focus today on “plugging the holes” in your business bucket first.
Yep, your residential services company needs to become relentlessly efficient!
One of the biggest efficiency killers in the home services game? Scattered and/or just plain rude “No-Show” Clients forgetting and/or blowing off appointments!
There was absolutely nothing that boiled my blood faster than paying a tech to drive all the way out to a house… only to return to the shop empty-handed. Talk about a profit killer! GRRRRR! 😡
You too? If so, how can you fix this bleeding sore in your home services business? Simple…
Implement an effective home Appointment Reminder System. (ARS)
🗝️ When you’re booking the job, don’t just tell them when you’ll be there. Ask the customer how they prefer their 48-hour to arrive:
A quick phone call?
An email?
A text message two days before the service? (Most clients will choose texting.)
Once they pick their favorite, grab a backup method just in case your first ARS try ends up going nowhere. And here is your ARS confirmation Golden Rule…
When you send a text or email reminder, always ask for a confirming reply. Nudge your clients to commit! (With texting just include, “Please reply with a Y if you will be there or N to reschedule.”)
Why does this ARS work so well? Because you’re A) holding the homeowner accountable and B) giving them choices.
In my Service Engineering training, I call these choices “giving the ‘Illusion of Control’!” The more options you give a homeowner, the more comfortable and invested they feel in the process.
NOTE: And of course, send an ARS confirming email immediately after you finish booking the job.
Now, what if your spidey senses are tingling? You know the type—the customer giving off serious disorganized “flake” vibes?
If we were worried the homeowner would ghost us, we invented a “pre-contact excuse” for the day of the job.
For example, our CSR would call the client an hour or two before arrival just to ask, “Hey, Mrs. Jones, am I calling at a good time? We’re making great time—is it okay if we show up five minutes early?” (Or late, if that fits the schedule).
This pre-contact excuse” call forced contact, subtly helped them remember and pretty guaranteed they would be home waiting for us.
Commercial Work Bonus: If you do any regular, contract commercial service agreements, meeting a client just to get let into the building is a massive, frustrating time-waster! (Including your client’s employee!) Soooo…
👍 ProTIP: With regular contract work include a substantially lower “Open Access Price” in your proposals.
If the prospect balks at giving you a key or entry code, just hit them with a cheeky, “Ouch! This super low price I quoted relies on ‘Open Access.’ If we have to coordinate meeting someone to let us in, it slows us down and bumps up your price.”
Guess what? You will be stunned by how fast they miraculously find a spare key for you! 😁
Now, don’t you have some residential (or commercial) jobs to book AND remind? 😎