What customer expectation caused you the most problems?
One expectation I wish I had defined earlier was arrival times. When I first started, it was easy to tell a customer: “I’ll be there around 10.” Or: “We should be there between 12 and 1.” At the beginning, that felt like good customer service. The schedule was smaller. The routes were lighter. I had more control over the day. As the business grew, specific arrival times became harder to keep. All it took was: one chatty customer talking for 10 minutes a locked gate a dog outside extra waste in a yard traffic road construction an accident a customer note that needed attention Suddenly the whole route was pushed back. And once you miss the arrival time you gave the customer, even if the work itself is done well, you’ve created frustration because the expectation was set wrong from the beginning. That forced us to change how we communicate scheduling. Now we set the expectation that we scoop from sunrise to sunset. Customers know their service will happen on their scheduled day, and they’ll receive an “on the way” message 30–60 minutes before arrival. That one change reduced a lot of unnecessary pressure. It also made the route easier to manage because we weren’t trying to force the day into exact arrival windows that didn’t hold up once real life happened. I think a lot of service businesses run into this. You create an expectation early because it feels manageable, then growth exposes how hard it is to keep that promise consistently. For us, the lesson was pretty simple: If the business cannot deliver it consistently at scale, be careful promising it casually in the beginning. What expectation did you set early on that later became hard to manage as the business grew?
Instant response times might be hurting your business more than helping it.
This used to be hard for me to accept. Like most service business owners, I thought good service meant being available 24/7—answering every call, replying to every text immediately, even while on a job. But in reality, it made me slower, more distracted, and honestly less professional in the field. So I changed how I operate. Now I run structured communication windows during the day instead of reacting constantly. I set clear expectations with customers on when they’ll hear back from me, and I use simple systems to keep everything moving—estimates, reminders, and updates. The surprising part? Customers responded better to the structure than the availability. Another thing I’ve realized: cheap competitors aren’t the real problem. The problem is when customers can’t clearly see the difference between what we do and “just showing up and doing the job.” If they can’t see the value, price becomes the only comparison. So I’ve been working on tightening how we communicate what actually goes into the service—reliability, consistency, communication, professionalism—not just the task itself. I’m curious how others are handling this: Are you optimizing for speed and availability… or structure and consistency? What’s actually working better for you right now?
How To Handle Online Booking Without Clients Choosing Unavailable Times?
We have always struggled with allowing our clients to book their services online, as they pick days/times that don't work for our crews. But then expect us to uphold what they picked. We would love to be able to have our client's self-book as that way most of the work is done for us (job created, information from client is in there, they know it's in the system). What do other irrigation companies do? Do they use the online booking system?
42% of home services companies we scanned have flagged caller ID numbers
We have been checking the phone lines of home services companies across 15 metros — Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Tampa, Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, Charlotte, Nashville, Denver and others. The result surprised us: 42 percent run their main business line on non-fixed VoIP. That is the same number category robocallers use, and it is the category carrier spam filters downgrade most aggressively on caller ID. What that means in practice: when your CSR calls back a lead you paid $80-300 for, there is a real chance the homeowner's phone shows "Suspected Spam" or just an unknown number. They do not pick up. You assume the lead went cold. Most owners have never checked this because there is no dashboard for it. The carriers do not notify you. If you want to know what your own line is registered as, comment or DM me and I will run the lookup. Takes two minutes, free, no strings. I will just tell you what category your number is in and what that means.How are you using AI in your low-voltage or tech service business?
I run a network infrastructure and physical security company in Washington, DC, with structured cabling, wireless, IP cameras, and access control. I've been using Claude to help with scoping jobs, drafting contracts, writing proposals, and working through business decisions. Curious what others in the trades are doing with AI. Are you using it for estimates, client communication, scheduling, or something else entirely? Drop what's working for you below.What ai/automated workflows do you use for your home service business?
I want to better implement AI into my landscaping business out in Arizona. What workflows do you use to better help everything run smoothly or save time? Here's what I have going so far: Field crew uses ChatGPT or Claude to troubleshoot issues I use it for rough calculations of the material and time it will take for the job writing specific contracts for customers Handling mistakes on projects when it comes to client communication Training manuals and internal SOP creation Captions and storyboards for social media posts Ad copy for marketing Financial analyzation for profit and growth Finding gaps in my business for course correctionAre you using AI in your business yet or still “just curious”?
Where are you at with AI right now? A) Not using it at all B) Using it for basic stuff (e.g., emails, replies) C) Using it for ops (e.g., estimating, training, reporting) D) “We run everything through AI” level—share below how you’re using it! In this episode of Masters of Home Service, PhilRisher and ryaantuttle share real-world ways home service pros are using AI to: Speed up estimating and hiring processes Create ready-to-use marketing content Prep for the shift from traditional SEO to AEO and GEO Want to put these tips into action? Download our free AI starter toolkit (includes scripts and pro tips). Never miss an episode of Masters of Home Service. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Can I test a few visual/ad ideas for home service businesses?
I’m new here and trying to learn more about how home service businesses get customers outside of referrals. A lot of the work I do is around visual content and lead generation: better job photos, before/after posts, ad creatives, short videos, simple landing pages, and lead lists. I’m not here to hard pitch anyone. I’d honestly rather test a few ideas and get feedback from people who are actually running service businesses. If anyone has a business where the work is solid but the online presentation or lead flow could be better, I’d be open to taking a look and making a few sample ideas. Could be a before/after post, a Meta ad concept, a better way to show job photos, or a small lead-gen angle. No pressure. I’m mostly trying to learn what would actually be useful instead of guessing from the outside.
