CarpetBossPro Blog — Estimates & Quotes

Texting Customers About Their Carpet Cleaning Estimate

Customers do not like phone calls about quotes. They do not want to call you, and they often do not pick up when you call them. But almost everyone answers a text. For the small questions that hold up an estimate, such as “does that include the stairs?” or “can you do Thursday?”, a text conversation is usually the fastest way to a yes.

Text Fills the Gaps Around the Estimate

The estimate itself carries the lines and prices, and those lines should match the invoice later, as covered in Line Items That Match: Keeping the Carpet Cleaning Quote and the Invoice in Agreement. Texting handles everything around the estimate: gathering details before it is built, answering questions after it is sent, and nudging when it is sitting.

CarpetBossPro includes two-way texting with customers from the office. Customers text your business number, and the office replies from the same system, so the conversation is not stuck on one person's personal phone.

Before the Estimate: Gathering Details

Many quotes start with a question you cannot answer without more information. Text is perfect for getting it:

• “Thanks for reaching out. Which rooms would you like cleaned, and are there carpeted stairs?”
• “Could you text a photo of the sofa from the front, and the tag under a cushion?”
• “Any pets in the home?”
• “Where's the best place for us to park the van?”

Customers answer when they have a minute, and you build the estimate when the answers come in. Quoting from photos is covered more fully in Quoting Carpet Cleaning From Photos Customers Text You.

After the Estimate: Answering Questions

Once the estimate goes out, questions come back. Most are short:

• “Is the hallway included?”
• “What's the protector for? Do we need it?”
• “Can we skip the dining room to save a bit?”
• “How long until we can walk on it?”

Answer quickly and simply. For the dry time question, give a general answer and explain that it depends on the carpet, the method and the airflow in the home, and that the tech will go over it at the end of the job. If the customer wants a change, update the estimate so they can approve the right version online.

Nudging Without Nagging

CarpetBossPro sends estimate follow-up emails to customers who have not decided. A text can complement that for customers who prefer it. Keep it short and give them an easy out: “Just checking in on your carpet cleaning estimate. Happy to answer any questions, or let us know if now isn't a good time.”

One text is helpful. Several in a row is pushy. Let the follow-up emails carry the rest.

Keep the Conversation Where Everyone Can See It

The biggest problem with quoting from personal phones is that the conversation lives on one device. If the owner is on a job, nobody else can see what the customer asked. If an employee leaves, their texts leave too.

With two-way texting in CarpetBossPro, conversations happen from the office through your business number. Anyone in the office can pick up where the last person left off. When the customer approves and the estimate becomes the job, anything important from the text thread, such as a gate code or a note about the dog, should go into the access notes so it travels to the tech.

Text Allowance

Plans include a monthly text allowance of 500, 1,000 or 2,000 texts sent and received on Start, Pro and Crew, in the US and Canada. Estimate conversations are usually a few texts each, and the same allowance covers automated reminders and on-the-way and arrived texts once jobs are booked. Keep estimate texts short and to the point, which customers prefer anyway.

Writing Texts That Get Answers

Short, specific texts get answered. Long ones get saved for later and forgotten. Ask one or two questions at a time, and make them easy to answer from a phone: “Are the stairs carpeted? Yes or no is fine.” Sign texts with your company name so the customer knows who is writing, especially on the first message.

Keep the tone friendly and plain. Skip the abbreviations, skip the sales language, and never send a price change by text without explaining it. If an answer needs more than a few sentences, such as explaining what protector does or why a basement is priced by the square foot, offer a quick call instead.

Text the Small Stuff, Email the Estimate

Texting does not replace the estimate. It makes the estimate easier to build and faster to approve. Use text for details, questions and quick nudges, let the customer approve the estimate online, and let follow-up emails handle the rest. To see how texting fits with the rest of quoting, visit the carpet cleaning estimate software page.