How to auto send email to customers when it rains

    An important factor of running a smooth business is communication with your clients. When it rains it might be obvious to you that no one will be working that day, but your client still wants to hear from you.

    At some point you have had customers who insist on calling to get an update while at the same time it is raining outside and you are working to rearrange the schedule – we’ve all been there.

    when customers ask if you are still coming when its raining

    There is a way to automate sending emails to notify your clients that you will be rescheduling when it rains in their area.

    We use a powerful tool called IFTTT that allows you to trigger an email event to specific people or lists when rain is detected in your / their area.

    This is especially useful for service teams, and construction companies who may be frantic with re-scheduling their jobs while the customers are still calling wondering if anyone will be out that day – you know what we are talking about. 

     

    conditional logic IFTTT diagram

     

    IFTTT stand for: “If This, Then That” – a cause & effect, trigger based computer code allows us to do some cool things.

     

    things you can do with IFTTT applets

     

    So let’s take a look at how we can build an automation, also known as an “Applet” in IFTTT terms, to notify our customers with a generic email message that let’s them know we will not be working in the rain and that we are working out a new schedule – so that they do not bother us so much, and we keep them updated at the same time.

     

    IF it rains THEN send email diagram

     

    You should create applets for at least 1 of these 2 scenarios.

    #1 Get email alert if tomorrow’s forecast calls for rain.

    #2 Get an email alert if the current conditions change to rain.

    step-0-start
    select-weather-underground-IFTTT-service
    step1a
    step 2
    step-3-select-type-of-email-trigger
    Step-4-select-who-and-where-to-send-the-eamil
    weather-applets-for-swimming-pool-business-customer-service
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    Pro tip:
    If you have more than 20 team members to notify you can set up custom email forwarding rules within Gmail, that will multiply the total number of people you can automatically notify upon running these applets.

    This is just one way to use internet technology to our advantage for running a smoother pool & spa business. When it comes to automation services there are other options available, such as Zapier, but we found IFTTT integrations and pricing to be robust and reasonable. There are many more ways we are trying to come up with ways to use technology to help the pool & spa industry, stay tuned for more tips & tutorials.

    Do you need help setting this up?
    We specialize in helping pool & spa companies with anything related to IT and digital services, just let us know. Contact us