Book Service Jobs from WhatsApp with ServiceM8
This recipe takes a booking request on WhatsApp, Instagram or web chat to a scheduled job in ServiceM8: the service, the address, a time window and the confirmation. Part of the ServiceM8 integration.
What happens today
A customer messages at 9pm: “aircon leaking water, can come this week?” The office sees it the next morning, asks for the address and how many units, and waits. The customer replies after lunch. The office opens ServiceM8, finds a free slot, types the job in by hand and messages back a time. By then the customer may have booked whoever answered first.
Every booking is typed twice, once in the chat and once in ServiceM8, and every gap is a chance to lose the job.
The flow that works
- The customer says what they need. AeroChat works out the service and asks only for what is missing: address, number of units, preferred day.
- It checks the ServiceM8 schedule for a technician with open time in that area and offers up to three windows.
- The customer picks one. AeroChat creates the client if they are new, then creates the job with the address, service and notes, and schedules it.
- It confirms the date, window and address in the chat.
The recipe
Copy this into AeroChat
When a customer asks to book a service, follow these steps.
- Find out which service they need, for example general servicing, chemical wash or repair, how many units, the address and their preferred day.
- Look up the customer in ServiceM8 by phone number. If they are new, collect their name and email.
- Check ServiceM8 for open time on that day for a technician who covers the area. Allow 1 hour per unit for servicing and 2 hours for a repair (examples). Offer up to three time windows, for example 9am to 11am, 11am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm.
- When they choose a window, create the client in ServiceM8 if needed, create the job with the address, service, number of units and their notes, and schedule it for that window.
- Confirm the service, date, window and address, and tell them the technician will call when on the way.
Only quote prices from our price list. If they describe a gas smell, sparks, burning or flooding, do not book. Hand the conversation to a person straight away. Reply in the customer’s language.
Change the services, durations and windows to your own before you paste it.
What to connect
- ServiceM8. Create an API key in your ServiceM8 account settings. AeroChat asks for it by name when it builds the workflow, and you enter it in the dashboard.
- Your price list and service areas. Upload them to the AeroChat knowledge base so answers about price and coverage come from your own list.
- Payments, if you take a deposit. Airwallex is built in. HitPay and Stripe connect through their APIs if you already use them. Payment links are included from the Growth plan.
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
- Which services can be booked in chat and which need a site visit or a person first.
- How long each service takes and the windows you offer.
- Which areas each technician covers.
- Whether you take a deposit, and how much.
The result to expect
Requests that arrive in the evening become scheduled jobs that night. Your office stops typing chats into ServiceM8 and spends its time on the jobs that need a call. Compare bookings made outside office hours for a month before and after you start.
Next: job status updates and quote requests.
Book your first job in chat
Paste the recipe, add your ServiceM8 API key and message your own number asking for a service this week.
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On Shopify? Install AeroChat from the Shopify App Store.