Text updates
Automatic towing customer text updates, with consent built in
Last updated
The short answer
Automatic text updates tell a tow customer what is happening without anyone calling them: your request was received, which truck is coming, on the way, arrived and done. In TowSitePros they go out only to customers who agreed, carry the tracking link, and need a texting provider set up first.
Which moments can you text the customer about?
You pick the moments, and each one you tick goes out automatically when the job reaches it. The list runs from "we got your request" through "which truck is coming", "on the way", "arrived" and "job complete, here is your receipt", plus cancellations, a new arrival estimate and a job that was gone when the truck arrived.
There is also an optional text for when you reopen a job you had already closed as cancelled, so the customer is not left thinking it ended. Every text is short, starts with your business name so the reader knows who is talking, and carries the tracking link where one exists.
What has to be in place before texts go out?
Three things have to be true before the first text leaves. You choose a texting provider, someone who manages settings confirms on behalf of the company that it holds the consent for every text, and the sending number has to be registered with the carriers.
The provider is either the platform texting service or your own GoHighLevel number. With your own number, the carrier registration is yours to complete and record. With the platform service, the platform holds the registration, but the consent is still yours.
- A provider: the platform texting service or your own GoHighLevel number
- A one-time confirmation that your company owns the consent
- Carrier registration of the sending number
- Consent recorded for each customer before they are texted
How is each customer's consent captured?
Consent is recorded per job. On your request form it is a checkbox, on the customer tracking page it is a text-updates toggle, and on a job you log by phone it is a switch the dispatcher turns on after asking the caller.
A customer who replies STOP is opted out automatically, and the job shows it. No more texts go to that number until they text START.
What happens when texting is off or not ready?
The customer still hears from you by email if you have their address. With texting off, they are emailed when the truck is on the way, when the job is done and if it is cancelled. When texting is switched on but blocked, for example because carrier registration is not recorded yet, anything that would have been texted is marked skipped and sent by email instead.
A recent messages list shows what was queued, sent, skipped or failed for your jobs, so you can see what a customer actually received. Where you hold neither a working text nor an email address, nothing is sent, so check the list if a customer says they heard nothing.
What do these texts not do?
They are job messages, not a marketing tool. There are no bulk campaigns and no promotions, and a customer who did not agree is never texted. Delivery is up to the carriers, so a text can still arrive late or not at all, which is why the tracking page and email are backups.
The drivers and your office get texts too, but only the job link when a unit is assigned and alerts for customer messages and cancellations at the office number you enter.
Frequently asked questions
Do customers have to opt in?
Yes. A customer is texted only when consent is recorded on their job, through your form checkbox, the tracking page toggle or your dispatcher. That consent belongs to your company, and you confirm that when you switch texting on.
Can I choose which updates get sent?
Yes. You tick the moments you want, such as received, assigned, on the way, arrived, done or cancelled, and only those go out. The driver text on assignment is a separate switch.
Can I text from my own phone number?
Yes, through your GoHighLevel number once it is connected under Integrations. Because the number is yours, so is the carrier registration, and texting stays off until you have recorded it as registered.
What if the customer replies to a text?
STOP is honored automatically. Messages from a customer sent from their tracking page reach the driver page and your office, and customer messages and cancellations can also be texted to an office phone number you choose.
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