On My Way Text Templates for Service Businesses (Copy and Paste)

Think about what goes wrong when a customer doesn't know you're coming: locked gates, dogs in the yard, cars blocking the driveway, nobody home to let you into the utility room. Each one costs you a callback, a wasted trip, or twenty minutes standing on a porch.

A ten-second "on my way" text prevents most of it. The customer gets time to move the car and put the dog inside. You arrive to an unlocked gate. And the message itself does quiet marketing work: it's the difference between "the plumber said sometime Thursday" and a business that communicates like a professional operation.

Customers consistently rank not knowing when the tech will arrive among their biggest frustrations with home services — it's why the four-hour arrival window has such a bad reputation. The businesses that win repeat customers are usually not the cheapest; they're the ones that show up when they said they would and said so on the way.

Swap the bracketed placeholders for your details. Keep messages under 320 characters so they arrive as one or two SMS segments.

Standard on-my-way (choose the tone that fits your brand):

1. "Hi [First name], it's [Tech] from [Company]. I'm on my way and should arrive around [time]. Reply here if anything's changed."
2. "[Company] here — [Tech] is headed your way now, ETA about [X] minutes. Please make sure the [gate/driveway] is accessible. Thanks!"
3. "Hi [First name], [Tech] from [Company] will be there around [time] for your [service]. If you have pets, now's a good time to bring them in."

Running late:

4. "Hi [First name], it's [Tech] from [Company]. The job before yours ran long — I'm now expecting to arrive around [new time]. Sorry for the delay, and thanks for your patience."
5. "[Company] update: we're running about [X] minutes behind today. Your new arrival window is [time]-[time]. Reply RESCHEDULE if that no longer works."

Day-before reminder:

6. "Reminder from [Company]: we're scheduled at [address] tomorrow, [day], between [time] and [time] for [service]. Reply C to confirm or R to reschedule."
7. "Hi [First name], quick reminder — [Company] will be out tomorrow for your [service]. No need to be home; just please leave the [gate] unlocked."

Morning-of reminder:

8. "Good morning [First name] — [Company] is scheduled at your place today between [time] and [time]. We'll text again when we're on the way."

Arrival-window update:

9. "[Company]: you're next on [Tech]'s route today. Current ETA is [time]. We'll send one more text when we're rolling."

Different tech than expected:

10. "Hi [First name], [Tech] is out today, so [New tech] from [Company] will handle your [service] instead — same time, around [time]. They have all the job details."

Job complete (customer not home):

11. "[Company]: all done at [address]! [One-line summary of work]. Photos and your invoice are on the way. Questions? Just reply here."

Reschedule needed (weather, emergency):

12. "Hi [First name], due to [weather/an emergency job] we need to move your [service] from [old day] to [new day] at [time]. Reply YES to confirm or call us at [phone] to pick another time."

However you word it, five elements make the message work:

• Who you are — person and company. "It's Mike from Ridgeline Plumbing," not just "on my way." Customers get texts from unknown numbers all day; identify yourself in the first sentence.
• A time, not a window. "Around 2:15" beats "between 12 and 4." You're texting because you actually know your ETA now — share it.
• What you're coming to do. One or two words ("your AC tune-up") reassures the customer this isn't a wrong number.
• Anything you need from them. Unlock the gate, move the car, secure the dog, clear the area under the sink. This is where the text pays for itself.
• A reply path. End with "reply here" or a phone number so a customer with a conflict tells you before you drive across town.

A simple cadence that works for most home service businesses:

• Day before, late afternoon: reminder with the arrival window and a confirm/reschedule option. Late afternoon catches people after work without being an evening interruption.
• Morning of (optional for all-day routes): a short confirmation that today is the day.
• When you leave the previous job: the on-my-way text with a real ETA. Sending it when you start driving — not 5 minutes out — gives customers enough time to actually do something with the information.
• The moment you know you're late: don't wait until the original window has passed. A customer told at 1:00 that you'll be there at 3:30 is mildly annoyed; a customer who finds out at 4:15 is writing a review.

Consistency matters more than perfection. Customers forgive lateness they were warned about; they don't forgive silence.

Business texting in the US comes with obligations. The essentials:

• Get consent before texting. The cleanest way is at booking: "We'll text you appointment reminders and arrival updates at this number — is that OK?" Record the answer.
• Identify your business in the message. Every template above includes the company name for this reason.
• Honor opt-outs immediately. If a customer replies STOP, texting that number again isn't just rude — it can create legal exposure under the TCPA.
• Keep it transactional. Appointment reminders and arrival updates about a service the customer booked are the safe zone. Promotional blasts are a different category with stricter rules.

This is a summary, not legal advice — if you're building automated campaigns, read up on TCPA requirements or ask your platform how they handle consent. You can see how FieldSpoke handles this in our messaging policy.

Templates solve the wording problem. The remaining problem is that a tech finishing a job doesn't want to type anything — which is why on-my-way texts get skipped on exactly the busy days they matter most.

FieldSpoke's mobile app has a one-tap On My Way button: the tech taps it when leaving the previous job, and the customer gets a text with the company name and ETA automatically. On-My-Way texts are included on every paid plan, with no per-message contortions and no per-user fees deciding which techs get the app — see why flat pricing matters for a crew.

Start on the free plan and see how it fits your route.