DumpsterBossPro Blog — Driver App & Routes

Arrival Texts on a Dumpster Drop: When the Customer Needs to Come Outside

The on-the-way text gives the customer a head start. The arrival text tells them the truck is here, right now, at the curb. For some jobs that is just a courtesy. For others it is the difference between a smooth drop and a driver walking around a house looking for a doorbell.

This guide follows The On-the-Way Text: Getting the Customer to Move the Car Before You Arrive and covers the second of the two one-tap customer texts.

What the Arrival Text Is For

One tap in the driver app sends the customer a text that the driver has arrived. It is useful whenever the customer has a part to play in the drop: pointing to the spot, opening a gate, moving a vehicle that did not get moved after the first text, or simply knowing that the big truck in front of the house is theirs and not a neighbor's.

Customers choose which alerts they want, so the arrival text goes to the people who asked for it.

When the Customer Needs to Come Out

Some drops really do need the customer. The placement note says "customer will show spot." The gate is locked and the code is not on the job. The driveway is shared and the customer wants to talk to the neighbor first. In those cases, the arrival text is the polite knock. It gives the customer a minute to come outside before the driver starts making calls.

It also protects the driver. Dropping a can without the customer's guidance on a job that called for it is how cans end up blocking the wrong garage. The arrival text, a short wait, and a note to the office if nobody comes out is a much safer routine than guessing and hoping.

If the customer does not respond in a reasonable time, the driver should let the office know rather than wait indefinitely. The office can try calling the customer while the driver decides whether to drop based on the notes or move to the next job.

When the Customer Does Not Need to Come Out

Most drops do not need the customer at all if the placement notes are good. The arrival text in those cases is just information: the truck is here, the can is going down. Some customers like knowing. Others do not care, and can turn the alert off.

That is why letting customers choose matters. Nobody wants to be pestered with texts they did not ask for.

It also keeps the texts meaningful. Customers who only get the alerts they want actually read them. Customers who get every alert possible start ignoring all of them, including the ones that matter, like the on-the-way text on the day the car needs to be moved.

Pickups and Swaps

On a pickup, the arrival text is a heads-up to stop loading. Nothing is more awkward than a customer throwing one more box into a can that is already chained up. On a swap, it lets the customer know the full can is about to leave and an empty one is coming down.

On a contractor site, the arrival text often goes to a site contact rather than the homeowner, depending on who is set up to receive it. That is a conversation for the office when the account is set up.

Arrival and the Live Map

Between the on-the-way text, the arrival text, and the customer's live map of the driver, the customer can follow the whole approach without calling the office. That is a real change from the old way, where the only status update was the sound of the truck backing up.

For the driver, it means fewer moments of standing at a door. For the office, it means fewer calls asking whether the truck is there yet. For the customer, it means the company feels like it has its act together, which is what brings them back for the next project and makes them mention you to the neighbor who is about to start a remodel.

Keep It Simple

Two taps per job, on-the-way and arrival, and the customer is never surprised. Drivers who build those taps into the routine run smoother drops and get fewer complaints. See how customer texts fit with the rest of the dumpster driver app in DumpsterBossPro.