Fix the Plumbing Before Adding AI
Greetings Community 👋🏿 A concept I’ve thought about a lot: automating a broken workflow doesn’t save time, it just makes the mess move faster. A lot of teams jump straight to automation and the newest AI tools while the systems underneath are already disconnected: scattered user records, inconsistent permissions, duplicate data, and no clear source of truth. Identity is one of the best places to start. A well-managed IdP gives you a central place to manage users, access, and the SaaS applications your business depends on. It makes implementing SSO, provisioning, and deprovisioning across applications cleaner while establishing clear ownership of identity and access. Now you have a cleaner foundation to connect systems and build automations that actually make sense. Otherwise, you’re just automating the mess.Grok Bot & Jobber.......
All right, I did something last night. I had Grokbot sign into my Jobber account and then also sign into my email. I started asking it, "Who owes me money?" It came up with my top four largest invoices that were overdue, roughly about $100,000. So then I said, "All right, let's contact these people." It went in my email. It searched emails to these clients previously so it could see how I typically talk with them. It made a beautiful email outlining all the invoices: how much was due, when they were due, the invoice numbers, and everything, and then sent those emails off to those clients so that I can nudge them and get paid. So, bam, that's my new accounts receivable bot. Now I made a quote follow-up bot as well. This bot went through my recent quotes, and it actually found a couple that the client hadn't opened yet. It also reached out to those people on my behalf through email. Jobber already does a great job at follow-ups, so this new bot is just going to check in with me once a week if it finds any quotes that have been sent and haven't been opened by the client yet. Of course, my mind was blown, and today's job is figuring out what else can Grok Bot do for me in my Jobber account.How to Know Everything About Everything
Anyone else feel like this needs to be you? You need to know how to market, how to manage people, how to properly incentivize them, be well versed in finance as well as all the technical aspects of whatever trade you are in. We had a situation where we were installing a lighted niche, and the specific tile made it impossible to get the tiles perfectly flat while installing it on the wall, and my guys put the light too far back so it cast a very minor shadow in the niche. In hindsight we could have installed the tiles in the niche ahead of time so we could apply proper pressure to them so there's no lips (and also put the light more forward) ... we won't make that mistake again! As I sit in the office making meta ads, reviewing my financials, it get's super frustrating to have these technical curveballs while sorting through everything else it takes to run a business. This is why we need to build our own checks and balances: Who we call or who we hire (have a good process for vetting people that know what they are doing) What we double check and when Who's the second set of eyes (use your in field managers, make sure everyone is using Jobber for pictures and notes Which leads to what you document Now the niche issue won't ever happen again but we've definitely caught things BEFORE they are a mistake utilizing this system. How to you juggle all the responsibilities?Is “being nice” making your business weaker?
This one can be hard to admit. A lot of service business owners start out wanting to be fair, flexible, and easy to work with. Then slowly, “being nice” turns into saying yes to things that hurt the business. Free extras. Late-night replies. Discounts that were never planned. Custom scheduling for one customer. Skipping fees because the conversation feels awkward. Letting a customer ignore policies because you don’t want conflict. I’ve done versions of this in my own business. At the time, it feels like good customer service. Later, you realize you trained the customer that your boundaries are optional. There’s a difference between being kind and being unclear. Kindness means communicating respectfully, fixing real mistakes, and treating people well. Poor leadership is letting customers, employees, or awkward situations pull the business away from its standards. That eventually affects the team, the route, the profit, and the customers who do respect the process. Where have you had to stop being “nice” and start being clearer?Virtual assistant
Sorry if this is a repeat post. I did some searching on here and didn’t find what I’m asking. I keep hearing about virtual assistants used for service pros. I’m a 1 man show right now trying to delete and automate as much as possible to leave room for growth and expansion. I heard virtual assistants can help with a number of task. Does anyone have a company they refer or use? What has been the feed back?How has that helped utilizing a VA and Jobber together? Thank you !
Best way to handle inbound calls to company line?
Curious yalls thoughts. Looking to not just grow, looking to scale and improve / continue to implement systems. Currently have myself, 1 outside sales rep, and field labor crew (fence install company) current process: customer calls into company # (my cell phone). I try to answer as if it were an office line to answer asap. From that, I confirm I can Text them, I then send a request form via jobber that has basic info / few questions to answer. If / when they fill it out, I add to the schedule for a confirmed day / time to quote on site. etc…… I feel this part is a lot of back and forth, and until I have an in house admin office worker that can answer these calls the first ring - I won’t be able to truly grow / stay efficient. (If I’m tied up, I don’t like calling them back 2 hours later, etc) but also - I love having them fill out the form bc the way I have questions on it, it turns it from a warm lead, to a warmer lead. Any way to streamline this, get more efficient, improve this current process? ANY thoughts or advice - real thankful.AI in Home Services — What’s Actually Working for You?
I’ve been testing a few tools in my tree care business and wanted to get real feedback from others in the field. Recently switched from Ooma Office to Quo (formerly OpenPhone), and one feature that’s been working well is automatic text follow-up when a call is missed. Instead of voicemail, it asks for the address and service needed. It’s helped keep leads engaged and reduced missed opportunities. Also using different call flows based on business hours, which has improved response consistency. That said, AI voice receptionists still don’t feel fully there yet. Most customers can tell, and in this industry people usually expect to speak with a real person—especially for larger or safety-related jobs. Curious to hear from others: What AI tools are you actually using in your business? What have you stopped using? What are the top 3 reasons you’ve kept a tool long-term? Looking for real-world experience, not hype.
