My Advice: Harness AI to Communicate Better
Luis Fuentes
When you’re running an HVAC business, every minute counts. Customers don’t just want you to fix the problem, they want to know you’re on your way, that you’ll show up when you say you will, and that their home is in good hands. Communication is everything.
For years, we were using another software platform, but it just wasn’t giving us what we needed. Our team was constantly chasing down calls, sending manual updates, and trying to keep up with invoices. It worked—kind of—but it never felt like we were ahead. That all changed when we switched to Workiz.
Building Our System with Automations
The biggest breakthrough for us has been automation. With Workiz, I was able to set up 20 different automations across the services we provide. These are small actions, text messages, emails, notifications, but together they’ve transformed how we run our day.
Here’s how it works in real life:
- When a technician is on the way, the customer gets a text.
- If he’s running late, they know about it right away.
- When he arrives, the customer gets an update.
- As soon as the job is done, the invoice goes out immediately—no waiting until the end of the week.
- If the invoice isn’t paid within a couple of hours, Workiz sends a reminder automatically.
- Then, a request for a review goes out. And if they miss it the first time, they’ll get a second chance to leave their feedback.
On top of that, our technicians can capture signatures and photos directly from the job site, which makes our record keeping, clean and professional.
What This Means for Our Customers
For our customers, this feels like next-level communication. They’re never left wondering where we are or what’s happening. Even a message letting them know we’re running late builds more trust than silence.
What This Means for Our Business
For us, it means fewer missed payments, more reviews, and a reputation for being reliable. Automations take care of the routine, so we can focus on the real work: solving problems and keeping people comfortable in their homes.
Lessons Learned
- Communication is part of the product.
- Speed matters more than polish, customers just want to know.
- Automations don’t replace people, they give your people more time to shine.
In the end, automations aren’t just about efficiency, they’re about keeping promises. And that’s the foundation of every strong customer relationship.
If I could give one piece of advice to anyone running a service business, it would be this: never let a call go unanswered. Every missed call is missed revenue—and the cost of those lost opportunities adds up fast.
In the early days, most service businesses rely on hustle—answering phones manually, juggling schedules, and patching together tools that were never really designed for the trades.
But the truth is, no matter how hard you hustle, humans can’t answer 10 calls at once. And every call you miss is another job going to a competitor.
The Lesson
Here’s what I wish I had understood sooner:
- Missed calls are lost jobs. If you don’t answer, someone else will.
- Efficiency drives growth. When scheduling, dispatching, and communication run on autopilot, your team can actually scale.
- AI isn’t the future—it’s already here. The businesses using it today are already miles ahead.
- Scalability matters. AI doesn’t get tired, distracted, or overwhelmed. It can consistently handle demand that people simply can’t.
Why This Matters
AI isn’t about replacing people—it’s about freeing them. Answering, scheduling, dispatching, follow-ups—these are tasks that can run automatically so your team can focus on the work that really matters: serving customers and solving problems in their homes.
The companies that embrace this now will thrive. The ones that wait will fall behind.
So here’s the simple truth I wish I’d embraced earlier: AI isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s the key to growth, consistency, and long-term success in field service.
