One person used to type every reply. Now the agent takes the order and sends it to the kitchen.
Dispatch and on-the-way texts that cut 'where's my tech?' calls
5 texts for every job stage, plus delay versions.
Who it's for
Shops whose phone rings all morning with 'when are you coming?'
What you'll have at the end
5 texts for every job stage, plus delay versions.
Time and cost
30 minutes. Free to write; sending via your software or phone.
Before you start
- Your arrival windows and how you dispatch
Step-by-step
Open chatgpt.com (or claude.ai) and sign in.
What you'll see: home screen
The prompt
0 copiesFill these in
| Field | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| [BUSINESS NAME] | your shop's name as customers know it | Lakeside Auto Care |
| [CITY] | where you're located; used for local details | Oconomowoc, WI |
| [TONE] | how you talk to customers | friendly, straight-talking, no jargon |
| [ARRIVAL WINDOW] | your windows | 8-10, 10-12, 1-3, 3-5 |
| [TECH INFO] | what you share | first name and van description |
| [DELAY POLICY] | what you do when late | text 30 min before window ends |
Want help getting this working? Rise Systems in Oconomowoc sets these up.
Follow-ups
What good output looks like
Short, first names, one clear next step.
If it goes wrong
- Too long for SMS: 'under 160 characters each.'
Level up
Jobber, Housecall Pro, and ServiceTitan send these automatically with a live tech map. Cons: monthly cost; texting needs A2P registration.
Worth knowing
Texting customers needs consent and A2P 10DLC registration.
Wisconsin angle
Write the snow-day text before you need it.
Source: Wisconsin Trades AI editorial
The best answer in the thread: use AI to write tools that do the work, not to do the work itself.
An honest 'not yet' story: the AI chat helped, but wiring Housecall Pro to his forms needed a real automation build.
Average job $17,500. He says they haven't missed a single opportunity since.
A counter-story: 'pretending your bot is a person is not cool.'
A mixed story: the booking bot was there, but his real situation still needed a person.
Routes that account for preferred days, times, teams and addresses.
Same truck, same prices. The only change was replying first.
A counter-story from the customer's side: the bot didn't know the price of the company's own maintenance plan.
A real win with an asterisk: it took a lot of setup to get there.
Quotes that took him an hour per 10 now come out with datasheets in about 15 minutes.
Worth knowing before you pay big for setup: your software may already include it.
One customer's ChatGPT said a new condenser fan motor was wrong and recommended a blower motor instead.