Customer Communication: Sound Professional Every Time

The best tradespeople don’t just do great work — they communicate great work. AI makes professional communication effortless, even when you’re texting from the truck.

🔄 Quick Recall: In the previous lesson, you used AI for code compliance lookups and inspection preparation. Customer communication uses the same tool in a completely different way: writing instead of researching.

The Communication Templates

Build these five templates once, reuse them on every job:

1. Appointment Confirmation

Write a text message confirming a service appointment:
- Customer: [name]
- Date: [day, date]
- Time: [window, e.g., 9-11 AM]
- Service: [brief description]
- My name: [your name]
- My company: [company]
- Keep it under 80 words, friendly but professional

Result: “Hey Sarah, this is Mike from ProFlow Plumbing confirming your appointment for Thursday, March 6th between 9-11 AM for the water heater inspection. Please make sure someone 18+ is home and the area around the water heater is accessible. Text me if you need to reschedule. See you Thursday!”

2. Post-Job Follow-Up

Write a follow-up text message after completing a job:
- Customer: [name]
- Work done: [description]
- Warranty: [terms]
- Ask for a Google review
- Include a review link: [your Google review link]
- Keep it under 100 words

3. Estimate Cover Message

Write a short message to send with an attached estimate:
- Customer: [name]
- Job: [brief description]
- Key highlight: [what makes your approach better]
- Response deadline: [date]
- Keep it professional but warm, under 80 words

4. Bad News / Scope Change

The hardest message to write — AI helps you deliver it professionally:

Write a message explaining a scope change to a customer:
- Customer: [name]
- Original work: [what was planned]
- Additional issue found: [what you discovered]
- Additional cost: [$X]
- Why it needs to be done: [safety/code/function reason]
- Keep it honest and empathetic, under 120 words

✅ Quick Check: You discover galvanized pipes behind a wall that need replacing during a simple faucet install. The job just went from $300 to $1,800. You need to call the customer, but you’re nervous about delivering the bad news. How does AI help? (Answer: Draft the message first with AI, read it, then deliver it by phone or text. “Hey [name], I want to be upfront with you. While replacing the faucet, I found corroded galvanized pipe behind the wall that’s close to failing. If we don’t replace it now, you’ll likely have a burst pipe within 6-12 months. The additional work would be $1,500. I can show you the pipe before we proceed.” AI helps you structure the conversation so you hit the right points: transparency, urgency, and letting the customer decide.)

5. Review Response

Write a response to this Google review:
[paste the review]

My company name: [name]
Tone: grateful and professional
If negative: acknowledge their concern, explain what happened
  (without being defensive), offer to make it right
If positive: thank them specifically and mention you'd love
  to help them again
Keep under 100 words.

Making AI Sound Like You

The trick to authentic AI communication: teach it your voice.

I'm a plumber named Mike. Here's how I normally text customers:

Example 1: "Hey Tom, this is Mike. I'll be there around 10.
  Water heater is in the garage, right?"
Example 2: "All done! New faucet is in. Let that silicone cure
  for 24 hours before you use it. Call me if anything drips."

Write all customer messages in this same tone. Short sentences.
Friendly. No corporate language. Sign off as "- Mike"

Now every message AI writes sounds like you actually wrote it.

✅ Quick Check: AI writes a follow-up message that says “We sincerely appreciate your patronage and look forward to serving you in the future.” Does this sound like a plumber named Mike? (Answer: Not even close. That sounds like a corporate email template. Delete it and tell AI: “Too formal. Rewrite it like I’m texting a neighbor I just helped.” You’ll get something like: “Hey Tom, hope that faucet’s treating you well. Give it a few weeks — if anything feels off, just text me. Thanks for calling us first! - Mike” THAT sounds like Mike.)

The Review Strategy

Reviews are the #1 way new customers find tradespeople. AI makes getting them painless:

Step 1: After every job, send the AI-generated follow-up with your Google review link Step 2: For negative reviews, respond within 24 hours using the review response template Step 3: For positive reviews, respond with a brief thank you (also AI-generated)

A tradesperson with 50+ reviews who responds to every one — positive and negative — stands out from the competition.

Practice Exercise

1. Write a follow-up text template for your most common job type
2. Copy a recent Google review (yours or a competitor’s) and generate a response
3. Give AI two examples of your real text messages and ask it to write a new one in your voice

Key Takeaways

• Five templates cover 90% of customer communication: confirmation, follow-up, estimate cover, scope change, review response
• AI writes the message, you review and send — never send AI text without reading it
• Teach AI your voice with 2-3 example messages so communications sound authentic
• Every touchpoint is a marketing opportunity — follow-ups, warranties, and review requests build repeat business
• Respond to every Google review (positive and negative) — future customers are reading them

Up Next

In the next lesson, you’ll learn to use AI for business operations — scheduling, invoicing, and the back-office work that keeps your business running smoothly.