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A customer is asking about work

Reply to a new request within the hour

Answer fast without promising a time you cannot keep or a price you have not set.

Why it matters

More than 55% of customers expect a reply within the hour, and 28% expect it right away. Only 20% of home service businesses reply that fast.

Source: Jobber, 2026 Home Service Trends Report

Use it when

A text, web form or voicemail comes in while you are on a job.

The instruction

Copy it into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot and fill in the [brackets]. The rules at the end are what stop it from guessing.

The instruction
Write a quick reply to a new customer request. Thank them, confirm what they need, and ask only the questions I need to book or quote.
Their message: [paste it]
What I can actually offer: [open times, service area, whether I quote by text]
Rules: use only the facts I give you and my business fact sheet if I shared it. Do not invent prices, warranty terms, diagnoses, code requirements, dates or promises. Mark anything I did not confirm with [brackets] and list it under the draft. Keep it short and friendly, like a local business owner wrote it. Write the draft first, then ask me at most one question.
Get better drafts with your business fact sheet →

Worked example

What you paste

Their message: hi my kitchen sink is backing up into the other side and theres a smell. do you guys come out to Goleta? how much for a visit What I can offer right now: tomorrow morning or Thursday afternoon. We serve Goleta. I don't quote prices by text.

Real reply from ChatGPT, September 21, 2026

Hi! Thanks for reaching out. Yes, we serve Goleta. It sounds like your kitchen sink is backing up into the other side and there's also a smell. We can come out tomorrow morning or Thursday afternoon. We don't quote pricing by text, but we can get you scheduled for a visit. What's the service address, and which of those times works better for you?

Run with an earlier, almost identical wording of this instruction. Shown as written.

What it got wrong: None worth fixing. It kept to the times and the no-price rule.

Confirmed

  • Serves Goleta
  • Tomorrow morning or Thursday afternoon
  • No prices by text

Check before sending

  • Service address
  • Which time works

Check before you send

  • You can really offer the times it mentions.
  • No price unless your fact sheet has a set trip fee.

If something is off

Ask for one change and see the whole draft again.

If something is off
Add that our trip and diagnostic fee is $129 and it goes toward the repair if they book it. Keep everything else.

Keep working on your business

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Sources