When a technician taps start drive in the field service app, the customer gets a WhatsApp message with the expected arrival time and the technician's photo and role. Replies with gate codes or parking notes are added to the job card.
Typical results
≈45 min/day
Dispatcher time no longer spent on ETA calls
Under 1 min
From start-drive tap to customer message
Figures reflect typical results for this kind of automation.
The challenge
Customers booked for a repair visit usually get a four-hour window and nothing else, so they call the office to ask when the technician will arrive. Dispatchers spend much of the morning answering those calls, and technicians lose time at locked gates and at buildings with no parking information.
Before and after
Arrival-time calls to the office per day
−60%Minutes lost per visit finding access or parking
−63%The automation
When a technician taps the start-drive button on the job in the field service app, the automation sends the job address and the technician's current location to Google Maps for a drive time. The customer receives a WhatsApp message with the expected arrival time and the technician's photo and role. Any reply, such as a gate code or parking note, is added to the job card before the technician arrives.
How it works
- 01
Technician starts the drive
The technician taps start drive on the next job in the field service app before leaving the previous site.
- 02
Arrival time calculated
The job address and the technician's current location go to Google Maps, which returns the live drive time.
- 03
WhatsApp message to customer
The customer gets the expected arrival time, the technician's photo and role, and an invitation to reply with access notes.
- 04
Access notes on the job card
A reply such as a gate code, floor number or parking tip is added to the job card and shows on the technician's phone.
Starts from
- Start-drive tap in the app
- Location and job address
Delivers
- WhatsApp ETA to customer
- Access notes on job card
The impact
Arrival-time calls to the office drop by about 60%, because customers know who is coming and when. Technicians reach the door with entry details already on the job card, and fewer visits start with a wait at the gate or a phone call from the curb.
Questions about this automation
What does the technician have to do differently?
Only tap the start-drive button on the next job, which most field service apps already have. Everything else runs on its own: the drive time lookup, the WhatsApp message and adding any customer reply to the job card. No extra app or login is needed on the technician's phone.
Which field service apps does this work with?
Any field service app that sends a webhook when a job status changes, or that exposes jobs through an API. The automation also needs a WhatsApp Business number and Google Maps access for drive times. Simple automations like this are usually live within days.
What if the technician is held up after the message goes out?
The technician can tap start drive again from the current position, which sends the customer an updated arrival time with a short apology. The job card keeps both times, so anyone in the office who takes a call from that customer sees the latest estimate.