Booking and routing: fitting one more job into every day
Ask any crew where the day went and the honest answer usually includes the van. Driving across town and back, waiting for a customer who is not home, a gap between jobs that is too short to fit anything in. One extra job a day is often sitting in that lost time.
Book by area, not by order of calls
The most common habit is booking each job into the first free slot. That sends crews back and forth across the area all day.
Instead, divide your area into zones and give each zone particular days. When a call comes in, offer the next day you are already in that area. Most customers accept a day or two either way when they are offered a choice.
Use arrival windows, not exact times
An exact time means the crew waits if they are early, and the customer waits if they are late. A two to three hour window gives you room to order the day properly.
Tell the customer when the crew is on the way. A message with an arrival time saves the "are you still coming" call and means the customer is home when you arrive.
Confirm the day before
Missed appointments are the biggest single waste in a day. A reminder the day before, with an easy way to confirm or rebook, catches most of them while there is still time to fill the slot.
Ask the questions that stop a wasted trip: Is there parking? Is the area clear? Will someone be home? Is there a gate code?
Know how long jobs really take
If every job is booked for an hour and most take ninety minutes, the day runs late and the last customer is let down. Look at how long each kind of job actually takes and book for that, with a small buffer.
Prepare the van the night before
A trip to the supply house in the middle of the day can cost an hour. Check tomorrow's jobs before you finish today, and load what each one needs. Keep the common parts on the van at all times and restock it on a set day.
Leave room for the urgent call
Leave a small gap in each day for the emergency that will come in. If it does not come, use it for quotes, follow-ups or a short job from the waiting list. Being able to say "we can be there this afternoon" wins work that pays well.
The habits
- Group jobs by area and book each area on set days
- Offer arrival windows and send on-the-way messages
- Confirm every job the day before
- Book for how long jobs really take
- Load the van the night before
- Keep a little room for the urgent call