Dustin Mitchell prefers human interaction over technology.
He’d rather flag a taxi than call an Uber, or order takeout at a restaurant instead of an app delivery service.
That’s why the owner of Team Air-Zona, a Phoenix-area HVAC shop, was skeptical about Scheduling Pro.
The ServiceTitan feature would allow Mitchell’s residential and commercial customers to easily book online, anytime, without any human interaction.
And that concept—plus the cost associated with it—made little sense to Mitchell.
“I had some real concerns about return on investment (ROI),” he said. “I couldn't see that this would generate enough to cover the cost.”
And he had logistical concerns, too. If people were self-scheduling, Mitchell worried about his techs being double-booked or not being the right fit for the job.
But he agreed to try Scheduling Pro on a month-to-month basis. And it only took one week to see ROI.
‘Holy smokes, this is good’
Mitchell received his first booking via Scheduling Pro three days after it went live on his website. The booking was from a new customer.
His first thought? Could be a fluke.
“I guess (it was) a pleasant surprise," Mitchell said. “(But) it was more like…‘Let's see how the call goes. Let's see if any other calls come from this.’”
That call went great—it was a $3,000 job. And a few days later, Mitchell booked another $1,500 job with a new customer who used Scheduling Pro.
Between the two calls, Mitchell said Team Air-Zona pulled in $1,500 in gross profit. In other words, in about a week, Scheduling Pro had just paid for itself—for the entire year.
“(I) was like, "Holy smokes, this is good."
Even better? Mitchell’s concerns about his technicians getting double-booked or not being the right fit for the job never came to fruition. That’s because…
You can configure Scheduling Pro to reflect availability windows, job types and workflows to ensure the right tech shows up for the job—and nobody is double-booked.
The difference-maker
The exciting whirlwind of that first month on Scheduling Pro made Mitchell wonder. He knows that in the Phoenix area, there is no shortage of HVAC shops to choose from. Why did these new customers—and two additional existing customers—choose Team Air-Zona?
“We've got fantastic reviews, but so do other companies that are ranked higher than us on that Google search,” Mitchell said. “But those companies aren't offering online booking.
“(This experience) has solidified that there is a whole boatload of people out there that really would prefer to never talk to me,” he said with a laugh.
That’s not a bad thing—especially in the busy summer months, when Mitchell hopes Scheduling Pro can help keep phone lines clear and the calendar full. He’s especially excited to see how the feature works when he combines it with Marketing Pro. That’s because…
Mitchell uses Marketing Pro to launch email campaigns to re-engage inactive customers. Combined with Scheduling Pro, he can add a “book now” option to emails, making it easy for inactive customers to rebook.
For someone who prefers human interaction over technology, Mitchell is excited that his shop is on the cutting edge.
“If we're doing (online scheduling) before the bulk of companies, it really allows us to capitalize on these new trends before the rest of the industry even catches up,” he said.
He’ll still be the one flagging taxis and ordering takeout in-person. But when it comes to his customers, it doesn’t matter what he’d do.
“What matters is (giving) your customers the easiest path to you,” Mitchell said. “And Scheduling Pro really helps with that.”
