Aircon Service Booking on WhatsApp by Area and Time Window
This recipe takes a service booking on WhatsApp or web chat from first message to a confirmed job: the postal code, a time window for that area, access and parking notes, a deposit where you take one, and the confirmation. It reads the schedule and creates the job in your field service software, such as ServiceM8, Jobber or Housecall Pro. It is the first workflow most home service businesses automate, and the one the others build on. Part of the aircon and home service workflows.
What happens today
A customer messages at 9.30pm: “Hi, can you service 3 aircon units this Saturday morning?”. The office replies the next morning with “which area?”. The customer answers at lunch. The only Saturday morning slot is on the west side, and the customer is in the east. The office offers Sunday afternoon and waits. By the time it is settled, the customer has booked with the company that answered first.
The schedule was not the problem. The order of the questions was, and the wait between each one.
The flow that works
- The customer says what they need. AeroChat asks for the postal code first.
- It works out the zone from your service area list, and checks the schedule in your field service software for technicians free in that zone on the day they want.
- It offers up to three time windows, such as 9am to 11am, closest to what they asked for.
- The customer picks one. AeroChat asks for the address, whether someone will be home, and parking or lift access.
- For jobs that need a deposit, it sends a payment link and books once it is paid. For other jobs, it books straight away.
- It creates the job in your field service software, assigned to the technician for that window, and sends a confirmation with the date, window, address, price and what to prepare.
Booking by zone keeps each technician’s day in one part of town, so they spend the day on jobs, not on the road.
The recipe
Copy this into AeroChat
When a customer wants to book a service, follow these steps.
- Find out which service they want and how many units. If they have not had a quote yet, quote from our price list first.
- Ask for their postal code. Find the zone from our service area list in the knowledge base, for example East, West, North, Central (example zones). If the postal code is outside our service area, say so politely.
- Check the schedule in our field service system for the technicians who cover that zone on the day they want. Offer up to three two-hour time windows closest to what they asked for, within our working hours of 9am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday (example). Allow 1 hour per 2 units for general servicing and 1 hour per unit for chemical wash (example).
- When they choose a window, ask for their full address and unit number, whether someone will be home, and whether there is parking or lift access.
- For chemical washes and repairs, send a deposit payment link of US$30 (example amount), and tell them the job is confirmed once it is paid. For general servicing, book straight away.
- Check the window is still free. Find the customer in our field service system by phone number, or create them if they are new. Create the job with the service, number of units, address and access notes, and assign it to the technician for that window.
- Send a confirmation with the service, number of units, date, time window, address, price, and a reminder to clear the area under each unit.
Only quote prices from our price list and only offer windows our field service system shows as free. If the customer describes water leaking, a burning smell, sparks or gas, stop and follow the urgent breakdown rules. Reply in the customer’s language.
Change the zones, working hours, job durations, deposit and preparation notes to your own before you paste it.
What to connect
- Your price list and service areas. Upload your price list, your list of zones by postal code, and your preparation notes to the AeroChat knowledge base.
- Your field service software. ServiceM8, Jobber or Housecall Pro connect through their APIs. In ServiceM8, create an API key in its settings. In Housecall Pro, generate an API key from its app store (API keys are on its MAX plan). For Jobber, sign in and approve the access. Paste any key in when AeroChat asks for it. The warranty and contract workflows read from the same connection.
- Running a small team from Google Calendar and a Sheet? Connect your Google account when AeroChat asks, and approve the access. Keep one calendar per technician or zone, so a free window means a technician in that area is free.
- Payments. Airwallex is built in: connect your Airwallex account and AeroChat sends the payment link and confirms the payment. If you already take payments with HitPay or Stripe, both connect through their APIs with your API key. Payment links are included from the Growth plan.
Day-before reminders come from your field service software, which sends booking reminders to customers. If the customer replies to change the time, AeroChat moves the job.
Using a different system? If it has a public API, it connects to AeroChat the same way: describe what you want, paste in its key, and it runs.
Can’t find your tool? Message us in the chat on this page and we’ll tell you how it connects.
What you still decide
- Your zones and which days each zone is served.
- How long each type of job takes.
- Which jobs need a deposit, and how much.
- How far ahead customers can book, and your cancellation rules.
AeroChat follows these as written. It does not offer a window your schedule has not shown as free.
The result to expect
Booking requests that arrive at night are booked that night, in a window that fits the route. Your office stops asking “which area?” one message at a time, and technicians spend more of the day on jobs.
Measure it with your own numbers: jobs booked outside office hours and jobs per technician per day, for a month before and after you start.
Next: price quotes and technician arrival updates. See also payment link.
Book your next job in chat
Paste the recipe, connect your field service software, and ask for three units serviced this Saturday morning with your own postal code.
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