Here is what actually happens — for the homeowner who texts, and for the company that gets the job.
If you own the home
Say what is wrong in plain language. No forms, no categories to pick, no app to download. If ProPal needs to know more, it asks.
ProPal works out what the job is and sends it to a vetted local professional who covers your address and does that kind of work.
The pro texts or calls you from their own phone, and you arrange the work between you. ProPal steps out of the way.
After the job is marked complete, ProPal comes back once to ask how it went. That is the only time you hear from us unasked.
ProPal
Text message
If you run the company
A local number that belongs to your company. Hand it out instead of your own, and anyone who texts it is attached to you from then on.
An address, how far you travel from it, which services you offer there, and your hours for each day. Add as many locations as you dispatch from.
You get the job and the customer’s number. Reply YES to take it or PASS to send it on. An emergency holds for 7 minutes and everything else for 15, then it moves to the next pro.
No inbox to live in and no thread to check. It is your phone, your conversation, and your customer.
What it costs
A flat monthly rate for each location, set by the services you enable there. Every job from your own customers is included.
A job from a customer who is not yours costs $5 to accept, taken from a prepaid credit balance. Passing on it costs nothing.
Nothing about how you work has to change, but how you acquire, retain and communicate with customers gets a whole lot smarter.