The decision to make first
Decide what the chat can answer from approved facts (trades, service areas, hours) and when it should move to capturing a request.
Ask fewer questions than the phone
Visitors type slowly on phones. Ask the trade, the problem, the area and a callback number, then confirm.
Suggested wording to approve
Example wording: “Tell me what’s happening and where, and I’ll pass it to the team. They’ll confirm the visit with you.”
Test the difficult case
Ask the chat for a price, an arrival time and a repair tip. Each answer should stay within the approved facts and offer the next step.
Worked example
Fictional example: a visitor types that the dryer is not heating. The chat records appliance repair, the problem, the area and a callback number, and tells the visitor the office will be in touch.
Review it in operation
Read chat transcripts weekly for questions the chat could not answer, and add approved facts where they are missing.
Check before you launch
- Define what the chat may answer.
- Keep the question count low.
- Test price, ETA and repair questions.
- Review transcripts weekly.