How should a roofing company handle more calls than the office can answer after a storm?
After a storm, the goal is that every caller gets a reply with a name and a next step, even if the crew cannot get there for days. A homeowner with a leak keeps calling until someone answers, and a company that says nothing looks like a company that is not coming. A quick and honest reply can keep that homeowner from signing with the next roofer who knocks on the door.
Why do roofing companies lose storm customers they never spoke to?
The morning after a storm, inquiries come in from every direction at once. Voicemails fill the office line, texts land on the owner's cell phone, web forms stack up in an inbox, and a few people send a message through Facebook. Nobody has the whole picture or knows how many people are waiting. The office returns the calls it can see, and the rest wait without anyone deciding to let them wait.
Meanwhile the homeowner has called two or three roofers. The one who replies first with a real plan often gets the job, even when another company could have done the work sooner. That is why the first step is getting the voicemails, texts, forms, and Facebook messages onto a single list of storm callers, which is what keeping track of leads in one place means.
What should every storm caller hear back?
Each caller should hear back quickly, with your company's name on the reply, and learn that their call was received and what happens next. The next step can be an inspection on a set day, a call back at a set time, or a plain statement that the crew is booked through next week and someone will reach them before then. The exact words matter less than the homeowner knowing where they stand.
When the office is swamped, the company that wins is usually the one that replies right away and lets the homeowner pick their own time. A quick text with a link to book an inspection online does more for a worried homeowner than a phone call that arrives on Friday, because nobody at your office has to be free for the homeowner to get on the schedule. The article on what to do about missed calls covers the choices a business has when the phone rings faster than anyone can pick it up.
Is it better to promise a fast visit or an honest wait?
An honest wait is better. Promising tomorrow to everyone who calls feels good on the phone, and it falls apart by the second day, when the crew is still on the first street and a stack of homeowners are watching their driveways. Each broken promise can cost you a customer who would have waited if you had told them the truth.
Many homeowners understand that a storm hits everyone at once. What wears out their patience is not knowing whether they are on anyone's list at all. A caller who hears that you will be there next Thursday and then sees your truck on Thursday has good reason to trust you with the rest of the job.
What happens to storm callers after the rush is over?
When the rush ends, the list of storm callers still holds work. Some homeowners had minor damage and put the repair off, others wanted an estimate for a full replacement once the emergency was handled, and some are waiting to decide until they have sorted out the budget. Every one of them owns a roof you know something about, and they can be the next few months of work if someone keeps track of them.
What a fix looks like
In a roofing company that has fixed this, the owner's phone buzzes once for every new inquiry the morning after a storm, and by coffee the office is working down a single list instead of a pile of voicemails and texts. Most homeowners get a text from the company by name that morning with a link to pick their own inspection time, and the ones who want to talk get a call at the hour they were promised. By the end of the first day the office can see who has a date, who is still waiting, and who never replied. Weeks later, when the crews catch up, each estimate that went out still has a follow-up reminder on it.
The Home Service Guild Marketing Operations System provides the single list, the alerts, online booking, and the quote reminders as part of following up on every inquiry and quote.
Questions owners also ask
Should a roofing company hire extra office help after a big storm?
It can help, as long as everyone works from the same list. Two extra people returning calls from two separate notepads can call the same homeowner twice and miss another one entirely. One shared list with every caller on it is what lets the extra hands add up.
Is a text reply good enough when the phones are swamped?
A prompt text is far better than silence. It should come from your company by name, tell the homeowner their call was received, and give them a way to pick their own time for an inspection. A phone call can follow when someone is free, and by then the homeowner already knows they are on your list.
What should I do with storm callers whose roof turned out to be fine?
Keep them on your list. They own a roof you have now seen, they know your name, and their neighbors may not have been so lucky. A homeowner you treated well during a storm is a good person to hear from you again later in the year.
