WindowBossPro Blog — Routes & Scheduling

Same-Day Add-Ons: Fitting an Extra Window Cleaning Job Into Today's Route

It is 10:30 and a call comes in. A realtor needs a listing's windows done before photos tomorrow. A storefront had its glass tagged overnight. A regular customer is hosting a party and wants their quarterly cleaning moved up to today. Same-day work is often the best-paying work you will get, and the hardest to fit. Here is how to fit it without wrecking the route.

Rush Season Makes Add-Ons Common

The last article, The Spring and Fall Rush: Scheduling Window Cleaning When Everyone Calls at Once, covered booking a busy season honestly. Same-day requests are the extreme version: someone wants a slot that does not exist yet.

Before saying yes, you need three answers: how big is the job, which van is closest, and does that van have room. WindowBossPro puts all three on the office screen.

Size It First

Ask the questions that size a window cleaning job: how many windows, how many stories, inside or outside or both, any screens, tracks or hard water. If the customer is already in your system, the window details are on the address. If not, a quick estimate from your service list gets the details recorded.

A 12-window storefront, outside only, is a short stop that fits almost anywhere. A 35-window 2-story inside and outside is not an add-on, it is a half day. Knowing which one you are dealing with saves you from a promise you cannot keep.

Find the Closest Van

Crew GPS from the techs' phones shows on the office map during the workday. Look at where each van is and where it is heading. The route on the dispatch board shows what each van still has left today, with window details under every stop.

The best van for an add-on is usually not the closest one right now, but the one whose remaining route passes nearest to the new address. A van that is two stops from finishing on the north side is a better choice than one that just started a big job across the street but has five more after it.

For more on the office map, see Crew GPS on the Office Map: Watching Window Cleaning Routes as They Run.

Slot It Into the Route

Once you have chosen the van, add the job to that van's day and set its place in the route order. Put it where it fits geographically, or at the end if the customer is flexible about time. The tech's phone shows the updated list in order, with the new job's address, navigation button, window details and access notes.

It is worth a quick text or call to the tech so the change is not a surprise, especially if it means they will finish later. And if adding the job means a later stop will slip, decide now whether that stop moves to tomorrow or the tech stays late.

Keep Everyone Informed

The add-on customer wants to know when you are coming. Because the job is in the route, the automatic on-the-way and arrived texts go out from the tech's phone like any other stop. If they use the customer app, they can see their place in line on the live map.

Customers further down the route may be affected too. Those who chose “when I'm next” alerts get them based on the actual route order, so an add-on in the middle of the day does not throw their notice off. If a later customer is going to be pushed significantly, a text from the office is a nice touch.

When to Say No

Not every add-on is worth it. A big job that would push three regular customers to tomorrow costs goodwill that a one-time fee may not cover. A rush job across town at 3 p.m. can mean a tech on a ladder at dusk. It is fine to offer tomorrow morning instead, first stop of the day, which often satisfies the customer and keeps the route intact.

A simple rule some owners use: an add-on goes on today only if it fits without moving any customer who was already promised today.

Pricing and Billing

Same-day service is often worth a premium, and many companies charge for it. Whatever you charge, put it on the job so the invoice is right. When the tech taps Complete, the invoice is created and the card on file can be charged, so a rush job gets paid as fast as it was done.

Room for the Unexpected

Add-ons go best when the day already has a little slack and the office can see every van. Size the job, pick the right van, slot it in and let the texts handle the rest. For more on routing tools, visit the WindowBossPro window cleaning route software page.