PlumbingBossPro Blog — Water Heaters & Maintenance Plans

The Customer App for Maintenance Plan Members: Signing Up, Updating Cards and Watching the Route

Maintenance plan members have a lot of small questions. When is my next flush? Is the plumber coming today? Did my card go through? Can I add my softener? Every one of those questions is a phone call to your office unless the member can answer it themselves. That is what the customer app is for.

The Other Side of the Job Card

What the Plumber Sees on the Job Card at a Water Heater Visit covered the tech's phone. The customer app is the member's side of the same visit: the same route, the same invoice, seen from the house.

Signing Up for a Plan

Members, and customers who are not members yet, can sign up for services and pricing in the customer app, such as a yearly water heater flush plan. That gives a past repair customer a way to join without calling, and it gives an existing member a way to add softener service or tankless descaling to what they already have.

When someone signs up, the office sets the plan on the house, and the visit comes due on the Waiting List when it is time. The sign-up form you share on your website and in texts is covered in The Maintenance Plan Sign-Up Form: Card Captured Before the Plumber's First Visit.

Choosing Alerts

Members choose which alerts they want:

• Night before the visit.
• When they're next on the route.
• When the tech arrives.

Letting the member pick means fewer unwanted texts and more members at home when the tech shows up. A member who only wants the night-before reminder gets just that.

Watching the Route

On the day of the visit, members can see today's route on a live map in the customer app: “You're stop 12 of 20 — the crew is 5 stops away.” Instead of waiting by the window or calling the office to ask, they know roughly when to expect the van and can get on with their morning.

For a water heater visit, that is especially helpful. The member can move the bikes away from the tank, open the side door or put the dog in the back room right before the tech arrives.

Updating the Card

Cards expire. When a member's card on file is out of date, plan visits that are charged at completion fail, and the office has to chase the payment. In the customer app, members can update their card themselves. A quick text asking a member to check their card before a visit, with a pointer to the app, solves most of these before they happen.

Invoices and Payment

Every invoice is in the customer app. A member who wants to check what they paid for last year's flush can look it up. If a charge failed or an invoice is open, they can pay it online right there.

This matters for trust. Members who can see every invoice and every charge in one place have fewer billing questions and fewer reasons to doubt the plan.

Requesting Service

Members can request service from the app. When the kitchen drain backs up or the toilet keeps running, they do not need to find your number. The request comes into the office, and since the member's house, equipment and history are already on file, the office can schedule it quickly.

This is one of the quieter benefits of a plan. Members who can request service in a couple of taps call you first instead of searching for a plumber.

Rating and Referring

Members can rate their visit and refer friends from the app. A member who just got a clear inspection report and a tidy garage is in a good mood to tell a neighbor. Referred customers tend to arrive already trusting you, which makes the first repair call and the plan conversation easier.

Fewer Calls, Happier Members

Every question a member answers in the app is a call the office does not take. The member feels in control, and the office spends its time on scheduling and the Waiting List. To see how the customer app fits with plans, the checklist and billing, go back to the PlumbingBossPro water heater service software page.