PetGroomBossPro Blog — Scheduling & Routes

On-the-Way and Arrived Texts From the Grooming Van

A mobile groomer who has to stop and type “on my way!” to every customer, while driving between stops, is either sending texts at red lights or not sending them at all. The PetGroomBossPro groomer app sends the on-the-way and arrived texts on its own, so the customer is kept in the loop and the groomer keeps both hands on the wheel.

Two Texts on Grooming Day

The first message most customers get about a visit is the reminder described in Night-Before Reminders for Mobile Grooming Appointments. On grooming day itself, two more can follow:

• On the way. The groomer is heading to this customer's home.
• Arrived. The van is at the curb.

Both go out automatically from the groomer app as the groomer works the route. Nobody in the office has to watch the van and hit send.

Why These Texts Matter in Mobile Grooming

For a lot of route trades, an arrival text is a nice touch. For mobile grooming it often decides whether the visit works at all. The pet needs to be handed over, or let out to the van, or at least not out on a walk. A cat needs to be found and not hiding under the bed by the time the groomer knocks.

An on-the-way text gives the owner a few minutes to get ready: find the cat, put the leash by the door, move the car so the van can park. The arrived text lets them know to come out, rather than leaving the groomer at the door wondering whether to knock again.

Customers Choose What They Get

Each customer picks their alerts in the customer app: night before, when they're next, and when the groomer arrives. An owner who works from home might want only the arrived text. An owner who has to come back from a nearby office might want all of them.

Because the customer chooses, nobody gets messages they did not want, and the messages that do go out are more likely to be read. Texts count toward your plan's monthly text allowance of 500, 1,000 or 2,000 texts sent and received on Start, Pro or Crew, in the US and Canada.

Replies Go to the Office

Customers sometimes reply to an on-the-way text: “Running 10 minutes late getting home, can you wait?” or “Door code is 4417, come on in.” Those replies go to the office through two-way texting, not to the groomer's personal phone.

That keeps customer conversations in one place where anyone in the office can see them, and keeps the groomer's number private. If the reply changes the visit, the office can move the stop later in the route or add a note to the job, and the groomer sees the change on the phone.

Texts and the Live Map Together

Texts are moments; the live map is continuous. Customers who open the customer app can see today's route and their place in it: “You're stop 4 of 6 — the groomer is 2 stops away.” For an owner trying to decide whether there is time to run to the store before the groomer comes, that map answers the question without a text to the office.

The map is covered in its own article: The Customer Live Map: Showing Pet Owners Where the Grooming Van Is.

What It Saves the Office

Without automatic texts, the office phone fills with “When will the groomer be here?” calls, and somebody has to check the van and call back. With them, most of those questions answer themselves. The office still sees every van on the GPS map for the calls that do come in, but there are fewer of them.

For a one-van owner who is both the groomer and the office, the saving is bigger still. Nobody else is there to send texts while you groom, so the texts that go out on their own are the only ones that go out at all.

The texts also help the groomer at the door. When the arrived text has already gone out, the owner is more likely to be on the way to the door with the dog, so less time is spent knocking and waiting at each stop. Over a full day of appointments, those few minutes at every house add up to a calmer route and an on-time finish.

Setting Expectations Up Front

When a new customer books, tell them what messages to expect: a reminder the night before if they want one, a text when you are on the way, and one when you arrive. Point them to the customer app so they can pick their alerts and see the live map. Customers who know the system use it, and their visits run smoother. For all the scheduling and messaging tools together, see the mobile grooming scheduling software page.