Ask a plumber with two trucks what their biggest problem is and you will rarely hear “software.” You will hear about the phone. It rings while they are under a sink, on a ladder or in a crawlspace, and by the time they call back, the customer has booked someone else. Most people who reach voicemail do not leave one.
That is why this product starts at the phone and not at the schedule or the invoice.
One minute, not one hour
The fix is not complicated: answer every missed call with a text, fast. A text from the shop’s own number inside a minute tells the caller someone is there and will get to them. It also turns a phone call, which needs the owner, into a thread, which can wait until the owner has a free hand.
A photo is worth a site visit
The second thing we heard over and over: a good tech can price most jobs from a decent photo. Serious customers send one in minutes. People shopping for a free estimate go quiet. So the text-back asks for a photo, and the assistant drafts a range from the shop’s own price book for the owner to approve with one tap.
It never invents a price, never quotes gas or panel work from a picture, and never sends anything the owner did not approve or pre-approve.
Everything in the price
The last thing we heard was about money: software that keeps getting more expensive, with reviews, reminders and phone features sold as add-ons. Every plan here includes all of it, month to month, with no contract and no markup on card processing.
We are opening to shops in waves. If you run a small plumbing or electrical shop, join the waitlist and we will send an invitation when there is room.
Michael Sanford, Sanford Labs