Local service work
Reply to a service-area inquiry clearly
Check the customer's location against your own service area, then open the reply with a yes, no or not sure. Add the service you can offer, what you still need from them and how to book. Leave out anything you have not decided.
A text to start with
A prospective customer wrote from [town or address] asking about [service]. My service area is [list of places or boundaries]. I can offer [services]. Draft a reply that states whether I can serve their location, names the next information I need and tells them how to book through [booking route]. Do not mention travel fees or dates unless I supply them here: [fees or dates, or none].
Example request. Change the details to fit your situation.Service-area reply worksheet
Customer name: [ ] Location given: [ ] Service requested: [ ] Location check result: served [ ] not served [ ] needs confirmation [ ] Basis for the result: [ ] Who confirms if unsure: [ ] Service I can offer: [ ] Travel fee, only if decided: [ ] Earliest date, only if decided: [ ] Information needed from customer: [ ] Booking route: [ ] Person who replies next: [ ] Opening line of reply: [ ]
Coverage, fees and dates you did not supply
A confident answer built on a guess is the usual error. A town near your boundary may or may not be served, and a draft may say yes because the name sounds close. Check the location against your actual list, not the draft's sense of geography. Look for a travel fee, minimum charge or earliest date that you never provided. If the location is in a gray area, the reply should say you need to confirm and name who will follow up, without promising service.
Ask another agent to check the result
Check this reply against the service area and facts I listed. Flag any statement about coverage, travel fee, price or date that I did not supply. Point out where the reply promises service for a location that is only borderline. Do not add information. List each unsupported claim with the sentence it appears in.
Confirm before sending
Compare the coverage statement with your service area list once more. Remove any fee, date or discount you did not write down yourself. Name who answers the customer's next message and by when. If you cannot serve the location, point the customer elsewhere only if you already have somewhere to send them.