The phone call has long been the backbone of appliance repair communication. But walk into any waiting room, coffee shop, or office today, and you'll notice something: people aren't talking on their phones—they're texting. This shift isn't just a cultural trend; it's fundamentally changing how your customers want to interact with service providers.
For appliance repair business owners, the question isn't whether to adopt texting, but how to balance it with traditional phone calls to maximize both customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.
The Case for Texting
Text messaging offers distinct advantages that align perfectly with modern customer expectations. Appointment confirmations sent via text see response rates as high as 90%, compared to roughly 30% for phone calls. When your technician is running 20 minutes late, a quick text allows customers to adjust their schedule without playing phone tag.
Payment processing through text links has revolutionized collections. Instead of invoicing and waiting, technicians can send a payment link before leaving the job site, often receiving payment within minutes. This dramatically improves cash flow and reduces administrative burden.
Texting also respects your customers' time. A busy professional in a meeting can quickly respond "yes" to a confirmation text but can't take a phone call. Parents managing children, people in quiet environments, or customers who simply prefer written communication all benefit from text options.
From an operational standpoint, texts create automatic documentation. There's no dispute about what was said or when—everything is timestamped and recorded. This protects your business in disagreements about scheduling, pricing, or scope of work.
When Phone Calls Remain Essential
Despite texting's advantages, phone calls still play a critical role in building relationships and capturing revenue opportunities. Complex diagnostic conversations require the back-and-forth that only voice communication provides. When a customer describes a problem, skilled CSRs ask follow-up questions, listen for background noises, and guide homeowners through simple troubleshooting—none of which works well over text.
Upselling and education opportunities happen during calls. When scheduling a dryer repair, a good CSR might mention, "While we're there, would you like us to check your washer? We can do both service calls for one trip charge." That natural conversation rarely translates to text.
Phone calls also build trust with new customers. Hearing a friendly, knowledgeable voice reassures anxious homeowners that they're working with professionals. This is particularly important for emergency calls or expensive repairs where customers need confidence before committing.
Elderly customers and those less comfortable with technology still prefer—and sometimes require—phone communication. Ignoring this demographic means losing a significant market segment that often owns older appliances needing frequent service.
Building a Hybrid Communication Strategy
The most successful appliance repair businesses don't choose between text and call—they strategically deploy both. Here's how to structure your approach:
Use texting for transactional communication: appointment confirmations, technician ETA updates, payment links, review requests, and simple yes/no questions. These automated or semi-automated messages reduce CSR workload while improving customer experience.
Use phone calls for relationship-building: initial customer contact, complex problem diagnosis, discussing repair options and pricing, handling complaints, and identifying upsell opportunities. These conversations require human judgment and emotional intelligence.
Let customers choose their preference: During initial contact, ask, "What's the best way to reach you—call or text?" Document this in your field service management software and honor their preference. Some customers want everything via text; others never want a text message.
Implementation Considerations
Before launching text communication, address these key areas:
Get explicit consent. Texting regulations require permission before sending marketing or promotional messages. Even for transactional texts, it's best practice to confirm customers want to receive them. A simple "May we text you appointment updates?" during booking suffices.
Integrate with your BMS software. Manual texting doesn't scale. Your business management system should send automated confirmations, allow technicians to text ETAs from the field, and track all text conversations alongside call notes and job history.
Set response time expectations. If you offer text communication, customers expect relatively quick responses—typically within an hour during business hours. Ensure someone monitors the text queue, or use automated responses: "Thanks for your message. We'll respond within one hour during business hours (8am-5pm)."
Train your team on text tone. Written communication lacks vocal tone and can be easily misinterpreted. Train staff to be warm but professional, use complete sentences, avoid abbreviations that seem unprofessional, and always proofread before hitting send.
Maintain professionalism. Texts from your business number should look different from personal texts. Include your company name, avoid emojis unless your brand is very casual, and never text customers from personal phones (unless using a business app that masks your personal number).
Measuring Success
Track metrics to understand what's working. Monitor no-show rates before and after text reminders, average payment processing time with text payment links versus invoicing, customer satisfaction scores by communication channel, and percentage of customers choosing each communication method.
The Bottom Line
The goal isn't to replace phone calls with texting—it's to meet each customer where they prefer to communicate while protecting the high-value interactions that drive revenue and loyalty. Use texting to handle routine transactions efficiently, freeing your team to focus on the consultative conversations that build relationships and grow your business.
The appliance repair companies thriving today aren't stuck in the past or chasing every trend—they're thoughtfully adopting communication tools that serve both customer preferences and business objectives. That balanced approach is what turns one-time service calls into lifelong customer relationships.
Rossware offers standalone integrated texting services. You can sign up for texting on your Rossware Dashboard. Additionally, an omnichannel solution that integrates with ServiceDesk is provided through SCS Communications. Contact us for more information!
