In brief
- Inquiries have no owner and no clock. About 4 a week never get a reply.
- That costs at least $816 a week in staff time, before counting lost jobs.
- Start the free fix below this week. To settle the rest, we recommend a $1,500 Blueprint.
In your words
Why it's hereWe start with your words, so you can check we understood before we explain anything.
“We're busy, but I know we're losing jobs. People call, fill out the form, message us on Google, and some of them just never hear back.”Dana Ruiz, Owner
What's actually happening
Inquiries arrive through four doors (web form, phone, Google messages, a lead marketplace) and land in a shared inbox with no owner and no clock. Follow-up depends on Kim remembering, and on evenings Dana spends clearing what was missed. The field-service app you already pay for has a request queue nobody uses.
- Inquiries a week
- 38
- Median first reply
- 26 hrs
- Never answered
- 4 a week
- Time spent chasing
- 12 hrs a week
From your answers on May 8, our call on May 12, and one week of inbox counts that Kim kept for us.
What it's costing you
Why it's hereEvery number is shown so you can challenge it. We would rather understate the cost than oversell the fix.
Your cost check on our site showed about $1,680 a week. That used the middle of your ranges. Here is the tighter count, with the math shown.
Hours a week chasing and re-keying inquiries12 hrs
× Hourly cost of the people who do it (wages and overhead)$85
× 0.8 conservative haircut80%
Cost of the problem$816 a week · $40,800 a year
Each month of delay costs about $3,509 in staff time.
Not counted above: missed work. 4 unanswered inquiries a week × 25% that would book × $650 average job ≈ $650 a week ($32,500 a year). We leave it out of the headline because we can't verify it yet.
What we'd keep, connect, and cut
- Shared inboxCustomers already know the address.Keep
- Inbox + field-service appEvery inquiry becomes a request with an owner.Connect
- Follow-up remindersNothing waits on memory.Automate
- First replyCustomers want a person, not a script.Human
- Tracking spreadsheetA second copy nobody trusts.Remove
- Website chatbotThe problem is follow-up, not first contact.Don't add
Do this week, with or without us
Why it's hereThere is almost always a free first step. If we can't name one, we don't understand the problem yet.
Create a "Waiting on us" label in the shared inbox. Kim clears it at 9 am and 2 pm, and anything older than one day goes to Dana. It costs nothing, takes ten minutes to set up, and stops most of the four a week from disappearing while you decide on the rest.
Our recommendation
Why it's hereThe next step has a price and an exit. Stopping here is a valid outcome.
Blueprint: $1,500 flat, 2 weeks. We map the inquiry flow with Kim, compare the real options, and give you a decision memo and a fixed quote. Credited in full toward the build if you go ahead.
If you'd rather run with the first step and stop here, that's a good outcome too. This summary is yours either way.
To start, reply "yes" to this email or book a time on our calendar. This price is valid for 30 days.
Questions? Reply to the email that has this document, or write to [email protected].