New Customer Onboarding Checklist

Purpose

Define the structured process for onboarding a new residential customer - from first call to the post-first-service follow-up. Customer retention is driven mostly by what happens in the first 30 days; a polished onboarding converts a one-off transaction into a multi-year service relationship. Customers who feel professionally onboarded refer at 3x the rate of customers who don't.

Scope

Applies to:

• All new residential customers (whether 1-time or recurring service)
• Service-contract sign-ups (additional steps for contract setup)
• Referral customers (slight modification - referrer recognition step)

Excludes commercial accounts (separate onboarding with insurance + COI requirements) and emergency-only customers who explicitly want one-time service (skip the recurring-program offer).

Responsibilities

• CSR / dispatcher runs the first call + booking
• Service technician executes the in-person experience
• Service manager / owner does a 7-day follow-up call for high-value first jobs

Procedure

Call 1 - Initial inquiry (CSR)

1. Answer in 3 rings or less. "Thank you for calling [BUSINESS], this is [NAME] - how can I help?"
2. Capture: customer name, phone, email, address, problem description, urgency.
3. Quote ballpark time + cost RANGE if possible (not a fixed price; that's the in-home estimate).
4. Schedule the visit. Confirm the customer's time-window preference.
5. Send confirmation email/text WITHIN 5 MINUTES of the call. Include:

• Confirmed date + time window
• Technician's name (if known)
• What to prepare (e.g., "please clear access to the water heater")
• Phone number for changes

Visit prep (CSR - day-of)

1. 24-hour reminder text/email.
2. Confirm tech has customer's address + notes in the dispatch system.
3. Verify the truck has parts likely needed (from problem description).

In-person visit (Technician)

1. Arrival: en-route notification when leaving for the customer ("On my way, ETA 25 min").
2. Greet with customer's last name (until invited to use first name). Hand them a business card (digital or physical).
3. Walk through the problem WITH the customer at the affected area before any work begins.
4. Quote in person; show the failed part / condition that's driving the work.
5. Do the work to the highest standard. Photograph the before-and-after.
6. Walk-through close (see "Job-Completion Customer Walk-Through" HowTo).
7. Present the invoice cleanly. Explain warranty in plain language.
8. Offer the recurring service program if applicable. Don't pressure; just inform.
9. Leave a printed leave-behind: thank-you card, warranty info, contact details.

Post-visit (CSR + Service Manager)

1. Email the invoice + photos within 1 hour of leaving the customer.
2. Three-day follow-up text: "How's everything? Any questions about the work I did?"
3. Review request sent at day 7 IF the customer's experience signals were positive (verbal feedback, no complaints).
4. Customer added to the recurring-service nurture sequence (monthly newsletter, seasonal reminders).

Acceptance Criteria

• First-call confirmation sent within 5 minutes
• 24-hour reminder delivered
• En-route notification sent
• Tech executes the in-person protocol
• Invoice emailed within 1 hour of leaving
• 3-day follow-up sent
• 7-day call made (for qualifying jobs)
• Review request sent on positive signals
• Customer in nurture sequence

References

• Service Roundtable customer retention benchmarks
• Manuall internal: Job-Completion Customer Walk-Through, Customer Communication Standards