SolarCleaningBossPro Blog — Tech App

Automatic On-the-Way Texts From the Solar Cleaning Tech's Phone

A solar cleaning stop goes best when the customer is ready for it. The side gate is open, the dog is inside, the car is out of the driveway where the ladder goes, and nobody is surprised to see a tech on the roof. The simplest way to get there is a text that says the truck is on its way. In SolarCleaningBossPro, that text goes out automatically. The tech does not type a word.

The Other Side of a Skip

The last guide, Skipping a Solar Cleaning Job for Wind, Heat, Rain or No Roof Access, and Noting Why, covered what happens when a job cannot be done. Many access skips, like a locked gate, a dog in the yard or a car where the ladder goes, never happen at all when the customer knows the truck is coming. The on-the-way text is the cheapest skip prevention there is.

How It Works

The tech works the day's jobs in route order. As they head to a job, the customer at that address gets an on-the-way text if they have that alert turned on. When the tech gets there, the arrived text follows. Both are triggered by the tech working the route in the app, not by anyone typing a message.

Because the texts follow the route, they stay accurate when the day changes. If dispatch moves a job to another truck or pushes it to the afternoon, the customer is told when the truck is really heading their way, not when a printed schedule said it would be. A text that arrives at the right time is worth far more than one sent at 7am for the whole day.

The tech keeps their hands on the wheel and their mind on the next roof. The office does not spend the morning sending “we are heading your way” texts one by one.

Customers Choose Their Alerts

Not every customer wants the same texts. In SolarCleaningBossPro, customers pick their own alert preferences:

• Night before — a reminder that the cleaning is tomorrow.
• When I'm next — a text when they are the next stop on the route.
• Tech arrived — a text when the tech pulls up.

A homeowner who works from home might want all three. A commercial property manager might only want the night-before reminder so they can tell building staff. Letting the customer choose means fewer people annoyed by texts and more people ready for the truck.

What a Good On-the-Way Text Does for Solar

Solar cleaning has a few needs that make the on-the-way text especially useful:

• Gates. The panels, the spigot and the best ladder spot are often in the back yard.
• Dogs. A dog near a ladder is a hazard for the dog and the tech.
• Cars. The driveway is often the only firm, level spot for a ladder on the access side.
• Water. If the tech is hooking into the customer's spigot, the customer knows the water will be running for a while.
• Peace of mind. A customer who hears footsteps on the roof without warning may call the office, or worse.

The Live Map in the Customer App

Texts are one half. The other is the customer app, where homeowners can see the day's route on a live map and where they are in line, such as “You're stop 12 of 20 — the crew is 5 stops away.” Customers who want more than a text can check the map and plan their morning around it. Fewer customers call the office asking when the truck will get there.

Replies Go to the Office

Sometimes a customer replies to the text: “Gate code changed, it is now 5810” or “Can you come tomorrow instead?” Those replies come into the office through two-way texting, not to the tech's personal phone. The office can update the access notes, pass the new code to the tech, or move the job, and the tech keeps working.

This keeps customer conversations in one place. When a different tech runs the route next season, the history is with the customer, not buried in someone's personal messages.

Texts and the Allowance

Each plan includes a monthly text allowance: 500, 1,000 or 2,000 segments sent and received on Start, Pro and Crew. Short, plain texts use the fewest segments. The automatic alerts are kept short for that reason, and so are good office replies.

Set It Once, Let It Run

On-the-way texts are one of those features that disappear into the background once they are working. Customers are ready, techs are not waiting at gates, and the office phone is quieter. The arrived text is covered next in The Arrived Text: Letting the Homeowner Know the Solar Panel Cleaner Is Here. For the full picture of the tech app, visit the SolarCleaningBossPro solar cleaning app page.