TrashCanBossPro Blog — Trash Can Cleaning Software

Texting, Reminders and Alerts in Trash Can Cleaning Software

In bin cleaning, a single text decides whether a stop takes five minutes or gets skipped. "We clean tomorrow, leave the cans out" is the most valuable message your company sends. The question is whether someone types it a hundred times, or the software sends it.

The Messages Behind the App

In The Customer App: What Bin Cleaning Customers See on Their Phone, customers chose which alerts they wanted. This article is about the messages themselves: the automatic ones, the two-way conversations, and the allowance that comes with each plan.

Automatic Reminders

The most common reason for a skipped cleaning is simple: the cans went back to the garage. A night-before reminder fixes most of that. In TrashCanBossPro, automated reminders go out by text and email, so customers hear from you the evening before their cleaning.

Timed with trash day, the reminder lines up with the customer's routine. They roll the cans out for the city, see your text, and leave them at the curb for you.

On the Way and Arrived

As the tech works the route, two more alerts go out automatically:

• On the way, when the customer is next.
• Arrived, when the tech pulls up.

The tech doesn't type either one. They go out as the tech moves through the route in the tech app. Customers pick which alerts they want: night before, when they're next, and when the tech arrives.

These are more useful than they look. An "on the way" text is the customer's cue to open the side gate or put the dog inside. An "arrived" text tells them the cleaning is happening, which heads off "did you come today?" calls later.

Two-Way Texting From the Office

Customers text back. "We got a new recycling can." "The gate code changed." "Can you come Thursday instead?" With a personal phone, those messages are mixed in with family texts and nobody else in the company can see them.

TrashCanBossPro has two-way texting with customers from the office. Replies come into one place, tied to the customer, with their address and cans right there. Anyone in the office can pick up the conversation, update the address and reply. The owner's personal phone stops being the customer service line.

Email Too

Some customers prefer email, and some messages read better there. Reminders and alerts go out by text and email, and invoices are viewable in the customer app. Between the two channels, you reach customers whichever way they actually check.

The Monthly Text Allowance

Texts cost money to send, so every plan includes a monthly text allowance counted in segments, sent and received:

• Start ($59/mo): 500 segments
• Pro ($89/mo): 1,000 segments
• Crew ($199/mo): 2,000 segments

A segment is one chunk of a text message. Short, plain messages use one segment each. Long messages, or ones with special characters, can use more. Replies from customers count too, since they are received segments.

To make the allowance go further, keep automatic messages short and plain. "We clean your cans tomorrow. Please leave them at the curb." does the job in one segment. When choosing a plan, think about how many customers you have and which alerts they are likely to turn on. Pricing is covered in Trash Can Cleaning Software Pricing: What $59, $89 and $199 a Month Get You.

Good Texting Habits

• Keep reminders short and say exactly what you need: cans at the curb, gate open.
• Reply from the office, not from a personal phone, so the conversation stays with the customer.
• When a customer texts a change, update the address right away so the tech sees it.
• Let customers choose their own alerts instead of sending everything to everyone.

Texting for Changes and Delays

Not every text is routine. A storm pushes Thursday's route to Friday. The city moves trash day for a holiday. A trailer breaks down at noon. Those are the days two-way texting from the office really earns its place. The office can message the affected customers, answer their replies in one place, and update addresses or move jobs as answers come in. Customers rarely mind a delay they hear about ahead of time. What they mind is cans sitting at the curb all day with no word from anyone. A short, honest text keeps the relationship intact.

The Takeaway

Automatic reminders keep the cans at the curb, on-the-way and arrived texts cut the "are you coming?" calls, and two-way texting keeps customer conversations in the office where they belong. For how texting fits with the rest of the system, visit the trash can cleaning software page.