SolarCleaningBossPro Blog — Tech App

The Arrived Text: Letting the Homeowner Know the Solar Panel Cleaner Is Here

There is a moment on every residential solar job when somebody inside the house hears a ladder hit the gutter and footsteps on the roof. If they knew the cleaner was coming, it is a non-event. If they did not, it can mean a startled homeowner, a barking dog, a call to the office or a knock on the window. The arrived text in SolarCleaningBossPro makes sure the homeowner knows the solar panel cleaner is here before the first footstep.

The Second Text on the Route

The first text, covered in Automatic On-the-Way Texts From the Solar Cleaning Tech's Phone, goes out as the tech heads to the job. The arrived text goes out when the tech gets there. Like the on-the-way text, it is automatic. The tech is working the route in the app, and the text follows. Nobody types it.

Customers Who Want It, Get It

The arrived text is one of three alerts customers can choose: night before, when they are next, and when the tech arrives. Some customers want every alert. Some only want the night-before reminder. The ones who pick “tech arrived” are usually the ones who care most about knowing when someone is on their property, and they are exactly the people you want to tell.

Customers can change their choices later in the customer app. A homeowner who started with only the night-before reminder may switch on the arrived text after the first visit, once they realize they could not tell whether anyone had come. Others turn it off once they trust the crew. Either way, the setting belongs to the customer, and the tech app simply follows it.

Because customers choose, nobody is buried in texts they did not want, and the office does not have to remember who likes to be told what.

Why Solar Cleaners Need It More Than Most

A lawn crew is visible from the front window. A solar tech is usually out of sight on the roof or behind the house at a ground mount. That makes the arrived text more important for solar than for most trades:

• Footsteps overhead. Hearing someone on the roof is unsettling if you did not expect it.
• Water running. If the tech is using the customer's spigot, the customer knows why the water is on.
• Dogs. A customer who gets the text can bring the dog in before it starts barking at the ladder.
• Doors and windows. Some customers close windows under the array so spray does not drift inside.
• Quick questions. A customer who knows the tech is there may come out to mention a new problem, like birds they have been hearing under the panels.

The Arrived Text and the Start Button

Arrival and Start usually happen close together. The tech pulls up, reads the card, checks the access notes, then taps Start and takes the before photos. On the office side, the job shows as underway. If the customer calls a minute later asking whether someone is on their roof, the office can say yes, which tech it is, and when they started.

Crew GPS on the office map backs this up. The office can see the truck at the address without calling the tech. More on that in Crew GPS on the Office Map: Knowing Where Every Solar Cleaning Truck Is.

Commercial Sites

At commercial arrays, the person who gets the text is often a property manager or building contact rather than someone inside. An arrived text tells them the crew is on site so they can let front desk know, open the roof hatch or clear the carport spaces. For property owners with many buildings, the text names the address, so they know which site the crew has reached.

When Customers Reply

Some customers reply to the arrived text: “Back gate is open,” “Please use the left spigot,” or “Can you check the panels over the porch too?” Replies go to the office through two-way texting. The office can pass along anything the tech needs, and if the customer is asking for extra work, the office can add it or quote it. The tech stays focused on the roof.

If the request is something the office should remember, like a new spigot preference, the office updates the access notes on the job so it shows on every visit after.

A Small Courtesy That Prevents Calls

The arrived text costs the tech nothing and saves the office a surprising number of calls. It also tells the customer something about your company: you show up when you say you will, and you let people know. That is part of how solar cleaning companies earn repeat customers on twice-a-year and yearly plans. For the rest of the tech app, visit the SolarCleaningBossPro solar cleaning app page.