STRAIGHT ANSWERS
"I don’t want to text my customers." Fair. Here is what the texts are, and the rules they follow
Some contractors say this because they have been on the receiving end: the roofer who texted every week after one quote, the lead site that will not stop. That worry is fair. Here is exactly what the texts are, what they never are, when nothing sends, and what happens when a customer says stop.
A note on what this is. The rules below are the law and the phone carriers’ rules, not our preference. The Florida rule on quiet hours is stricter than the federal one, and the system follows the Florida one.
THE SHORT ANSWER
What are the texts, exactly?
- The text back: a call rang out, so within a minute the caller gets "we saw your call, how can we help, book here." It is a reply to something they did.
- The confirmation: they booked, so they get the day, the time and a way to change it.
- The reminders: the day before and two hours before the visit.
- The review request: one, the morning after the job is done, and one reminder three days later. Then it stops.
- The quote follow-up: three texts over ten days after you send a quote, and it stops the moment they answer.
Every one of those is about a thing the customer already started: a call, a booking, a job, a quote. None of them is a promotion.
What never sends?
Nothing between 8 PM and 8 AM, which is Florida’s cutoff and stricter than the federal one. Nothing to a number that said ALTO, PARE or STOP. Nothing to a past customer unless you have marked that you have their permission to text; the past-customer sequence is loaded and paused until you turn it on. Nothing you did not read first.
What happens when a customer says stop?
They write ALTO, PARE, BASTA or STOP. The system marks the number, takes it out of every sequence, and sends one last line: "Done. You will not get more messages from this number. If you need anything, you can call us." That is it. The Spanish words are handled the same as the English one, which most systems get wrong.
When is the objection right?
When what you mean is "I do not want to send promotions." Neither do we. The past-customer texts are the only ones close to that, and they go only to people who gave permission, at a human pace, with a stop on the first reply. If you never want them, leave that sequence off. Everything else is a reply.
When is it wrong?
When it costs you the caller. A person whose call rang out and who got nothing back does not think "how polite." He calls the next name. The text back is the least pushy thing a company can do with a missed call, because it is the only thing that happens at all.
You write the texts with us, in your voice, in both languages, before anything goes live. If a line sounds like something you would not say, it does not go out.
Questions we get asked about this
Is texting customers legal for a contractor?
Yes, with rules: the TCPA and the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act on consent and hours, and the phone carriers’ registration of your number. The system follows them, and the setup registers your number. What the law asks of you is to get your customer’s okay to text them; that part is yours.
Can I turn off any of the texts?
Yes, each one. Most companies run the text back, the confirmation and the reminders, and decide on the review request and the past-customer sequence after the first month.
What if a customer texts something urgent at 11 PM?
The inbox shows it and your phone can ring on it; the system just does not send anything automatic back until 8 AM. An urgent call goes to the number the way it always did.
Related
Want to read the texts before you decide?
Bring the phone you use for work to a 30-minute call. We send every text to it, in both languages, and you tell us which words to change.