How do you keep it fun AND professional?
I am curious how other owners handle the line between being friendly with their crew and staying professional as the boss. In this kind of work we spend a lot of time with technicians driving to jobs working side by side and solving problems together so naturally there is a lot of joking around and a relaxed environment. At the same time there are moments where you need to switch gears stay focused and have direct conversations about expectations. One situation that came up recently made me think about this more. We have someone on our team in more of a management role. He is a good guy and very capable but sometimes he jokes around in situations where we are trying to stay focused and move the job forward. We also had a situation where instead of having the technician communicate with the client he jumped into a group text and started messaging the client directly which broke the chain of communication we try to maintain. It got me thinking about what kind of guardrails other companies put in place both for themselves and for people in leadership roles. Do you hang out with your crew outside of work or do you keep a clear boundary between work and personal life. And if you have lead techs or managers do you have specific expectations for how they communicate with clients and interact with the rest of the crew. I am curious what has worked well for others.How I Finally Delegated Estimating (Without Hiring Another Person)
For years, estimating was the one thing I couldn’t take off my plate. We changed the org chart. We hired roles. Delegated everything we could. But estimating? That was always me. Even if I wasn’t doing anything else in the business... I was still stuck quoting jobs. It was the bottleneck I couldn’t fix—until now. I built a ChatGPT-powered estimator trained with my systems, my pricing, and my language. It asks the right questions, runs the math, and delivers estimates like I would—without me being involved. Now I’m no longer the bottleneck. Customers get quick answers. I get my evenings and weekends back. Want to build your own? Map out your estimating logic. Plug it into ChatGPT. Test and refine. If you're stuck working all day and doing estimates at night and on Saturdays anddddd, sometimes even Sunday mornings when everyone's sleeping—this might be your way out. Heres my direct Zoom link if you'd like to learn more: https://calendly.com/ryaan-besthandymancompany/bh-plan-phone-consultation
Can AI create accurate inventories from photos or walkthroughs for estimates?
Anyone here using AI to build inventories from photos or on‑site for moving quotes? We’re a moving company looking to automate as much of the quote process as possible. Right now, we’re still doing a lot of manual inventory collection and data entry, and it’s slowing us down and leaving room for mistakes. I’m specifically interested in: AI tools that can take phone photos or short videos (or an on‑site walkthrough) and automatically create an itemized inventory we can use for estimates. Anything that can recognize furniture/boxes from images and turn that into quantities, cube/weight, or at least a structured checklist. Workflows where the customer does a virtual survey themselves and we just review and price it. Bonus points if it can be integrated within jobber If you’re doing this today, which software are you using, how accurate is it, and what does your workflow look like from first contact to approved quote? Any “don’t waste your time on this tool” stories are welcome too.How Are Home Service Businesses Preparing for AI Search Visibility?
Search is changing fast. We’ve already seen Google test online estimates and AI-assisted pricing in local search. Now, AI tools are helping homeowners decide who to call, sometimes before they ever visit a website. Scorpion Marketing published a report with the following stats: 22% of homeowners are already using AI tools to research services or get recommendations 80% of business owners say they don’t know how to prepare for AI-driven search visibility We’d love to hear what you’re seeing👇 Have you noticed changes in how customers find you or ask questions? Are you doing anything intentionally today to prep for AI-driven search? If AI search on your radar but still confusing, what question do you have? This space will continue to evolve. Sharing what’s working (or not) across different trades helps everyone get ahead of it!How do you deliver a great customer experience?
What’s something you do that always wows customers? Speedy communication? Easy scheduling? Share your tactics below. In this episode of Masters of Home Service, KellyGuerrero shares: Why "luxury" service is really about removing friction Simple, low-cost habits that create wow moments How to make luxury customer service consistent across every job Want to put these tips into action? Download our free customer experience playbook (includes checklists and scripts). Never miss an episode of Masters of Home Service. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Using AI in your in person quoting?
I walk with clients during my in person estimate and I hear their pain points, their frustrations, their real-life struggles. But here is the thing, how many of those golden nuggets are we actually capturing and leveraging? I have started using AI to transcribe and analyze my client walkthroughs, and it has become a bit of a game-changer. Suddenly, that offhand comment Jennifer made about never having her whole house clean at once? That's not just a conversation, it is a marketing goldmine, relatability and authenticity. It is the real struggle our ideal clients are facing. But I am curious: How are you leveraging your client conversations? Are you capturing those golden nuggets, their pain points, their objections, the emotional drivers and turning them into content, testimonials, or business insights? What tools or strategies are working for you to extract the real value from your client interactions?Are 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.
Using AI and Voice to Capture Job Notes and Follow-Ups in Real Time
Hi everyone, I wanted to start a discussion around how home service teams capture job notes, follow-ups, and action items during busy workdays, especially while on-site, on calls, or moving between jobs in Jobber. In many service workflows, essential details come up verbally: - Notes after a customer conversation - Follow-ups discussed on the phone - Reminders during travel between jobs These often get entered into the system later, which can lead to missed context or extra admin work at the end of the day. One approach we’ve been exploring is using AI-powered voice input through tools like Gennie, where teams can speak notes or tasks and have them synced back into their existing systems while Jobber remains the system of record. I’m interested to hear from others here: - How do you currently capture job notes or follow-ups when typing isn’t convenient? - Do you update everything in real time or batch it later? - Would voice-based input be helpful in field operations, or does it create more overhead? Looking forward to learning how others approach AI and operations in real-world home service workflows.
