Job Quick Sand - What Do You Do When Things Go Sideways?
We are on a job right now where we are in a bit of job quick sand and nothing can go right. We have been working with this client for years on a number of projects but this is the biggest one we've done. A bunch of tile in the kitchen, painting kitchen cabinets, and replacing all their doors. Fairly straight forward. It all started with something they didn't like about the tile layout in one section. No big deal easy fix. Then they were nit picking the paint job before it was done. Still not that big of a deal. Then it started when the doors we ordered were delivered damaged. We were only doing one at a time but the door they asked us to install was in their master bath. Now they don't have a door till the replacements come in. Then they started asking for add on tasks but complaining about the price. Then they approved a quote for gutters but I guess the wife wanted vinyl and the husband wanted aluminum. He comes home and flips out because his wife approved vinyl gutters. Then the replacement doors arrived and and were the wrong ones. All the while the husband calls me everyday at the end of the day to discuss the plan. Some of this is our fault, some of this is out of our control but either way it's putting stress on the team and myself. What do you guys do when you start to get in that quick sand?How Fast Do You Pick Up a Phone Call or Call Someone Back After a Missed Call?
Curious how everyone here handles this, because a new Jobber survey of recent homebuyers turned up a stat that stuck with me: 15% had to follow up repeatedly just to get a response from a contractor 9% never heard back at all Losing potential business due to something that is not a pricing problem or a skill problem should be a wake up call. In a world where 75% of new homeowners hire a pro within their first two years of buying, being the one who calls back first might be the easiest job you win all week! So, what's your business standard? Do you answer within a certain time frame or let it go to voicemail and call back same day? Are there systems set up so nothing slips through the cracks? 👉 Recent Homebuyer Report: It's got homeowner quotes on what made them trust (or ditch) a contractor, plus a breakdown of how each generation actually finds a pro.What Do You Do To Minimize Workers Comp Claim Exposure?
I had an employee that was with me for maybe 5 weeks that I was going to let go (wasn't meshing well with the team, not very coachable) and then he "pulled his back" on a job site picking something up incorrectly. He even said he went to pick up a heavy object sideways and with one arm. He's been on workers comp 10 months and between treatment and his compensation, the claim is over $100k! My company is in California so we probably have the least favorable laws for companies. My insurance guy said we did everything right. Sent him to a facility right away to be evaluated, called workers comp. Since then we have implemented a "buddy lifting" training. My insurance guy also told me that even if we documented that he has a history of doing things incorrectly, that he would still be in the workers comp system. So my question to you guys - what measures do you take to prevent something like this from happening? Do you have regular safety meetings? Trainings? What do those look like?The "Do Your Job" Bonus - Get your techs to use Jobber and Show Up on Time
If you're running a service business and struggling to get your technicians to document their work or show up on time, this might be the most useful thing you read this week. I was dealing with two problems that a lot of you probably recognize. First, my guys were clocking in and out — no surprise there, because that's their money — but they weren't uploading pictures and they weren't leaving notes. Second, punctuality was starting to slip. Fifteen minutes late here, thirty minutes late there. Now, I get it, fifteen minutes feels like "whatever" in a lot of work environments. But when you're building a premium brand charging premium prices, ten minutes late is too late. And when one tech shows up a half hour after his partner, that partner is stewing all day thinking about how someone is making the same money for less work. That kills team culture fast. So I created what I call the DYJ Bonus — Do Your Job — and it shows up on their paychecks exactly like that. The concept is simple: there's a bonus built into their compensation, and they earn it every pay period by doing three basic things. Not hard things. Just the things they should already be doing. Show up within six minutes of their scheduled start time. Not fifteen. Not ten. Six. I use Jobber's GPS tagging to verify this, or more accurately, my wife does since she handles payroll. Having a hard number removes all the gray area and the excuses. Upload before pictures and notes when they arrive at the job site. This means at least five photos and a note documenting the condition of the property, any communication with the client, and anything relevant about the job. We have a full SOP that spells out exactly what kinds of pictures to take so there's no guesswork. Upload after pictures and notes when the job is complete. Again, at least five photos, plus notes explaining what was done that day. This protects the company, protects the client, and builds a paper trail that's saved us more than once. That's it. Three things. Show up on time, document before, document after. What I found is that a simple financial incentive built directly into their paycheck changes behavior faster than any conversation or write-up ever did. It's not punitive — it's not a fine or a disciplinary action. It's a bonus they keep by doing their job the right way. The framing matters. And because the standard is clear and the verification is objective, there's no argument about it on payday. If you're running Jobber and not using it to hold your team accountable this way, you're leaving one of its best features on the table. The GPS check-ins and photo uploads are already there — you just have to tie something meaningful to them.
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.How do you finish strong on a long project?
Something I've been noticing lately — and I'd love to know if anyone else deals with this — is how hard it is to finish strong on longer projects. The beginning? Easy. Everyone's fired up, the client is excited, the crew is locked in. But somewhere around the 80% mark, that energy starts to bleed out. People are mentally on to the next job, and those last little details — the ones that actually define the finished product — start slipping through the cracks. We've been doing more projects in the three-week to several-month range, and this has become something I've had to get intentional about. We've started building out procedures in ClickUp to keep the final phase from falling apart — checklists, task ownership, that kind of thing. It's not perfect, we're still figuring it out honestly, but it's better than just hoping everyone stays focused when the finish line is in sight. The harder part for us is that a lot of our crew are our own employees, not subs. Subs come and go. Your own guys are with you every day, and keeping them accountable at the tail end of a long project — when everyone's a little worn out — is a different challenge altogether. So I'm genuinely asking: what are you doing to solve this? Do you have a formal process? Does someone own the punch list? How do you keep your people's heads in the game when the job is almost done but not quite? Would love to hear what's working out there.AI Renderings- Which is the best to work with?
I started attaching renderings in jobber on their line item picture to give them an idea of what the thing I'm bidding will look like. I feel like Chat GPT you have to fight to keep it looking somewhat like their place. Gemini - I feel like once it gets an idea in it's head, it just won't change it. I can't tell you how many times I've repeatedly told it to stop putting a window in the shower then it will just keep it in the same place. How do you guys go about doing these? Any free or inexpensive platforms? Or is it just my prompts. Maybe share prompts that are working for you :)How do home service businesses fill their calendar before busy season?
When work slows down, most service businesses feel it fast: stress, cash flow pressure, and last-minute scrambling. Sound familiar? What’s the one thing you rely on most before busy season to keep your calendar full? New leads Repeat customers Referrals Deposits or upfront payments Booking weeks in advance Something else? (do tell!) Bonus: What used to stress you out about slow periods that doesn’t anymore?
