Call Center Practices

Booking jobs and managing technician schedules for a busy home services company often requires sending friendly reminders to customers to keep schedules up to date and as accurate as possible, and decreasing the number of no-shows and missed appointments.

Companies send customer appointment confirmations and appointment reminders by either directing CSRs to make phone calls or through automation—using scheduling software to send reminders and confirmations via text messaging (SMS) or with an email template.

Confirmations are a way to acknowledge the service call has been booked and is scheduled. Reminders are a way to help all customers remember they booked this appointment and when it is scheduled.

Automating the time-consuming process for both tasks with ServiceTitan’s Service Scheduling Software elevates a company's customer service to the next level, says Vanessa Gonzales, co-owner of Albuquerque Plumbing, Heating & Cooling in New Mexico.

The software works efficiently to simultaneously confirm multiple upcoming appointments, which frees your CSRs to spend more valuable time booking revenue-generating calls, says Gonzales, who also serves as ServiceTitan's Senior Product Manager for Utilization and Customer Experience. 

Here are the best practices and benefits of ServiceTitan's automated appointment reminders and job confirmations, with examples for online booking, text messaging, and email reminders. We also provide sample scripts for customers who prefer to communicate by phone.

Also included: A CSR checklist to optimize and improve the office workflow.

Online Booking

Today's self-service customers prefer the convenience of booking their own home service jobs online. Companies can acknowledge a new appointment booked online—before a confirmation email or text—with a simple, but personalized message:

"Hello Mary, we've received your new appointment request for 1234 John Smith Street. We will be contacting you to confirm our availability for your requested appointment time as soon as possible. If you have any questions or concerns, you can call or text (123) 456-7890. Thank you for the opportunity to earn your business and have a great day!”

Text Messaging

Job confirmations sent via text message:

"Your appointment with Good Company, Inc., is scheduled for Friday, March 12, 2021, between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. at 1234 John Smith St., Springfield, MO. To make any changes, reply to this text or call (123) 456-7890."

Appointment reminders sent via text the night before, no matter what day it is:

"Hello Mary Jones, this is your reminder for your appointment on Friday, March 12, 2021, at 1234 John Smith St., Springfield, MO. A technician will be arriving between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. (arrival window). The tech will call you when he is on his way. Please call or reply to this text if you have any questions or concerns. Have a great night and stay safe."

Text message reminders give customers ample time to prepare for the tech's arrival, such as securing pets on the day of or clearing work spaces the night before. With ServiceTitan’s tech tracking, customers can track their technician’s truck on a map in real time, or send them an appointment reminder text with the tech's photo and bio info before they arrive.

"That way, CSRs don't have to be on the phone. Customers are not calling in and saying, 'Where's my technician? How much longer?' It cuts out a lot of the back and forth on the phones," Gonzales says. "We have ServiceTitan's scheduling software turned on so customers can watch our technician just like an Uber driver."

ServiceTitan, directly funnels appointment confirmation texts to your dispatch board, job record, and job-audit trail—which improves the operational efficiency of many small businesses by saving time and money. If customers need to reschedule appointments, they simply reply to your text. If a cancellation occurs, they can text that too. 

Email Reminder Examples

Job confirmations sent via email: 

Subject line: Thank you for choosing Good Company, Inc.

Hi Mary Jones,

You requested an appointment with Good Company, Inc., for the property at 1234 John Smith St., Springfield, MO.

Your appointment details include: 

• Date: Friday, March 12, 2021

• Time: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

• Office: (123) 456-7890

Appointment reminders sent via email:

Subject line: Thank you for choosing Good Company, Inc.

Hi Mary Jones,

A technician will be arriving tomorrow between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. at 1234 John Smith St., Springfield, MO. If you have any questions regarding this appointment or need to make any changes, please contact us at (123) 456-7890.

Your appointment details include: 

• Date: Friday, March 12, 2021

• Time: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

• Office: (123) 456-7890

Some customers may be unwilling to opt in to sharing their email addresses for fear of filling up their inboxes with spam, Gonzales says.

"When we first signed up with ServiceTitan and went completely digital, customers were hesitant. They thought we were going to spam their emails," Gonzales says. "We literally only send them an email of their invoice, of any estimates that have been requested, or a reminder for service agreement visits—things of that nature, but we don't really spam them."

If they're still not comfortable sharing their email address, simply ask for a good mailing address and let the customer know their estimate, invoice, or service agreement may take a bit longer to reach them. 

Phone calls

Some customers prefer to confirm jobs and appointment dates only by phone, and Gonzales says that's not a problem with ServiceTitan's scheduling software.

"With our ServiceTitan software, we'll go through and tag them as a phone-call customer, so we know they're not an automation customer," Gonzales says. "We make sure they still get their confirmation, they still get the information that all the other customers are getting, such as options for rescheduling or details regarding our cancellation policy."

When CSRs make these calls, they need to remember to:

• Smile when speaking. Yes, your customers can hear the difference.

• Focus only on the customer on the phone and avoid multitasking. You may miss important details.

• Roleplay in advance to become comfortable making these calls.

• Use a checklist to assure confirmation of the same information on every call.

Checklist of essential information for CSRs:

• Customer's name (first and last)

• Customer's address

• Customer's email address

• Best contact number for day of service

• Date of appointment

• Arrival window, if applicable

• Company's contact number

Appointment reminder call script for CSRs:

Good Company CSR: Good Afternoon Mrs. Jones, this is Sally with Good Company, Inc. Is this a good time for you?

Mrs. Jones: Yes.

Sally: I’m calling to confirm and remind you about your appointment for tomorrow, March 12. Our technician’s arrival window is 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Mrs. Jones: Yes, that is what I have down. 

Sally: Great! I just want to verify the job location and the number to reach you for our tech.I have your address as 1234 John Smith St., Springfield, MO. Is this correct?

Mrs. Jones: Yes, that’s right. 

Sally: Glad to hear that. The best number we have listed ends in 5678. Is this the preferred number?

Mrs. Jones: Yes.

Sally: Two more questions. Would you like a text message to notify you when our tech has been dispatched to your location?

Mrs. Jones: Yes.

Sally: Great! I have your email address as: mrsjones55@gmail.com. Is this correct?

Mrs. Jones: Why do you need my email address?

Sally: This allows us to send you the invoice for your service and any estimates you request. 

Mrs. Jones: OK.

Sally: Thank you for your time and your business, Mrs. Jones. We look forward to taking care of your service request. Have a great evening and stay safe. Goodbye.

CSR call script for leaving a voicemail message:

Good evening, this is Sally with Good Company, Inc. This is a reminder for Mrs. Jones. You have an appointment scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, March 12, 2021. Our tech will be arriving at 1234 John Smith St., Springfield, MO, between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Please call or text us with any questions or concerns. Our phone number is (123) 456-7890. Again our phone number is (123) 456-7890. Thank you for the opportunity to earn your business. Have a great night and stay safe. 

ServiceTitan's all-in-one field management software also records all inbound and outbound calls. This feature not only enables your techs to listen to a customer's call right from their mobile tablet prior to the appointment, the recordings also can be used for coaching and training CSRs.

"We also have our CSRs do peer reviews, where they'll go back and listen to a call and say, 'OK, I think I could have done better on my greeting or I didn't ask for their email,’” Gonzales says. “They do really well with peer reviews, which allows our company to elevate our entire customer service experience.”