PortaPottyBossPro Blog — Driver & Tech App

Automatic On-the-Way Texts From the Porta Potty Tech's Phone

"When is your guy coming?" is the call that eats an office's morning. Property managers want to open the gate, event planners want to clear a path, homeowners want to let the dog in, and supers want the units serviced before the inspector shows up. An automatic on-the-way text answers that question before it is asked.

How the Text Gets Sent

Skips often happen because nobody knew the tech was coming, which is the problem from Skipping a Blocked Porta Potty and Writing Down Why. On-the-way texts help prevent them. As the tech heads to the next stop, the customer can get an automatic text saying the tech is on the way. The tech does not have to type anything or remember to send it. They work the route and the texts follow.

Customers choose which alerts they want. The options are a text the night before, a text when they are next, and a text when the tech arrives. A super who wants every heads-up can turn on all three. A homeowner with a single unit for a backyard party might only want the night-before reminder.

The night-before text deserves its own mention. For a site that needs a gate opened early or a unit cleared, a reminder the evening before gives the customer time to make arrangements. For a pickup, it reminds the customer to empty out anything they stored inside the unit, which happens more often than you would think.

Why It Matters for Porta Potty Routes

On a lot of sites, someone has to do something before the tech can work. Open a gate, move a truck, open a building, hold the dog. Without warning, the tech shows up and waits, or skips. With warning, the customer handles it in the minutes before the truck pulls in.

That turns potential skips into completed stops. It also makes the company look organized. A customer who gets a "we're on the way" text sees a company that knows what it is doing.

The Customer's Live Map

For customers who use the customer app, the text pairs with a live map of today's route. The app shows where they are in the line, like "You're stop 12 of 20, the crew is 5 stops away." A property manager can glance at the map instead of calling the office.

This cuts calls in a way texts alone cannot. A text tells the customer the tech is coming. The map tells them roughly when, without anyone in the office having to guess.

The map also respects everyone else on the route. Customers see their own place in line and the crew coming toward them, not the names or addresses of other customers. A property manager knows when to walk down to the gate, and nobody learns who else rents from you.

Texts Come From the Company, Not the Tech's Phone

The on-the-way text goes out from the company, not from the tech's personal phone number. That matters. Techs do not end up with customers texting their personal phones at 9 pm. Customer replies go to the office through two-way texting, tied to the customer's account, where the office can answer them.

If a customer replies "the gate is locked, code is 2209 today," the office sees it and can pass it to the tech. It is not lost in one tech's messages.

Texts and the Allowance

PortaPottyBossPro plans include a monthly text allowance: 500, 1,000 or 2,000 segments sent and received on Start, Pro and Crew. Extra texts are available. For most routes, automatic alerts plus normal back-and-forth fit comfortably. If you run a lot of event units with customers who want every alert, keep an eye on usage.

Setting Expectations With Customers

Tell customers about the alerts when they sign up. Ask which ones they want. A quick conversation at booking makes the first text a pleasant surprise instead of a confusing one. It also lets you collect the right phone number, which for construction sites is often the super's number, not the billing office's.

The Tech's Part

Since the texts are automatic, the tech's job is simple: work the route in order and tap Start and Complete on each stop. When techs jump around the list without telling the office, the texts and the live map stop matching what is actually happening. Working in order, or telling dispatch when the order changes, keeps the alerts honest. The next step after on-the-way is the arrival, covered in The Arrived Text: Letting the Customer Know the Tech Is On Site.

The Short Version

Automatic on-the-way texts, customer-chosen alerts, a live map in the customer app, and replies going to the office. For more on how the tech's phone keeps customers informed, visit the PortaPottyBossPro driver and tech app page.