POOL SERVICE
Snowbirds come back in November. Text them before they land, not after
Every fall the same thing happens. A seasonal owner lands in Miami, opens the back door, and sees the pool. Then they call whoever answers first. The pool company that serviced it last winter is on the list, but so are three others. The fix is simple: you know who is coming. Text them first.
A note on what this is. We do not know how many seasonal customers you have. Your records do. This is how to find them in an hour, what to send, and when to send it.
THE SHORT ANSWER
Why wait for them to call?
Because most companies do. The owner lands, sees a green pool or a pump that will not prime, and starts calling. By then it is a rush job. You lose the calm week before, when you could have fit them into the route.
A text sent two weeks early turns a rush call into a planned visit. It also tells the customer you remembered them. That is most of what keeps a seasonal customer from trying someone new.
How do you find the seasonal customers?
- Open your route list or invoices from last March to May.
- Mark every customer who paused service, went to a smaller plan, or asked you to skip visits.
- Add anyone with a note like "away until November" or a phone number from out of state.
- Count them. Write the number down. That is your list for the fall.
If you keep it all in a notebook, it still works. It just takes longer. Do it once and save the list. Next spring you will add to it.
What should the text say?
Short, in their language, with one question. A sample:
Hi Mrs. Walsh, this is Ana from Blue Line Pools. Welcome back soon. When do you land? We can come the week before so the pool is ready. Reply with a date and we will book it.
Do not send a price list. Do not send three offers. One question, one visit. If the pool had no service all summer, say you will check the pump and the water first. Do not promise what it will cost until someone has seen it.
When should you send it?
Early November works for most. Some owners come in October, some after the holidays, so the question "when do you land?" sorts them for you. Send in the middle of the day. Many of them live in another time zone up north, and nobody likes a work text at dinner.
Do AC and pest companies have the same list?
Yes, the same houses. The AC was set high or off for months, and the filter has not been changed. Bugs moved into a quiet house. An AC company can offer a filter and check visit. A pest company can offer a treatment before the owner arrives. The steps are the same: find who paused in the spring, ask when they land, book the week before.
Do you need software for this?
Not if the list is short. Ten names, ten texts from your phone, done in a morning. It gets hard at forty or more, or when half the list reads Spanish. Then you want each text sent in the language saved for that person, and replies that land in one place.
That is what the past customers tool does on the Crew plan. It texts your old customers and open quotes in both languages, with no fee per contact. It stops when someone replies, and nothing goes out between 8 PM and 8 AM.
Related
Found your seasonal list?
Bring the count to a 30-minute call. We look at the list with you, write the first text in English and Spanish, and tell you plainly if it is short enough to send by hand.
