Trade
Garage Door
Articles for garage door shops running 1-10 people. Pricing, hiring, customer disputes, and the parts of the business they never teach you.
Your Flat-Rate Book Has an Expiration Date — Do You Know It?
Built your flat-rate price book and forgot it? Your costs moved. Your prices didn't. Here's why a stale book is worse than winging it.
Your NPS Is a Phone Problem, Not a Field Problem
Bad reviews aren't about your techs — they're about your intake. Here's how to audit the first 90 seconds before it kills your reputation.
Your Truck Stock List Isn't Your Tech's Decision
Letting techs decide what's in their truck feels like trust. It's actually costing you on every job. Here's how to fix it.
Your Post-Job Follow-Up Is Too Late and Too Generic
The 48 hours after a closed job determines whether that customer calls you next time. Most shops blow the window entirely. Here's what to do instead.
Stop Dropping Everything for Your Best Customers
Dropping your schedule for loyal customers feels like good service. It's actually hurting your business — and them. Here's what to do instead.
Your Customer Texts Look Good — But They're Creating More Calls
Your arrival texts and job updates feel professional. But if your inbound call volume didn't drop after you turned them on, your automation is broken. Here's why.
Stop Discounting Emergency Calls for 'Good' Customers
Your best customers get your lowest emergency rates. That's backwards. Here's why loyalty pricing is quietly wrecking your margins.
Your Flat-Rate Book Is Built on Someone Else's Numbers
That flat-rate pricing app feels like a fix — but if you haven't audited its built-in assumptions, you're pricing off another shop's costs, not yours.
Your Truck Stock Is Costing You More Than You Think
Carrying too much inventory in your truck kills cash flow and hides shrinkage. Here's how to audit your truck stock and stop bleeding money you don't see.
AI Call Summaries Are Hiding Your Real Intake Problems
AI-generated call notes feel like a time-saver. They're actually filtering out the friction that tells you where your operation is broken.
Stop Giving Away After-Hours Calls — Charge What They're Worth
Most small shops either eat after-hours calls or dodge them. Both are wrong. Here's how to set an emergency rate and actually stick to it.
Your Follow-Up Automation Is On. It's Also Not Working.
Automated texts after job close feel like customer care. They're not. Here's why your sequence is broken and how to fix the logic.
Service Work vs. Install Work: You Can't Run Both the Same Way
Running service calls and installs with the same crew and pricing model is a margin killer. Here's how to separate them before they drain you.
Start Collecting Deposits on Every Job — Not Just Big Ones
Skipping deposits on small jobs is costing you more than you think. Here's how to require them without losing customers.
Don't Add a Second Truck Until You Fix Your First One
Adding crew before your systems are solid doesn't scale your business — it scales your problems. Here's the checklist Sam used before truck #3.
Stop Quoting Jobs Over the Phone Before You've Seen Them
Phone quotes feel helpful but they're killing your close rate. Here's the intake script that stops price shoppers without losing real customers.
Stop Answering Your Own Phone (It's Costing You Jobs)
Every call you miss after hours is a job you just handed to your competitor. Here's what a trade answering service actually costs — and pays back.
Your Flat-Rate Price Book Is Wrong (Here's How to Fix It)
Pre-built flat-rate pricing uses averages that don't match your costs. Here's how to audit yours and rebuild it from real numbers before it bankrupts you.
How to Set Your Service Call Fee (And Not Lose Jobs Over It)
Stop eating trip costs. Learn how to price your service call fee, what competitors charge, and the exact script to sell it to customers.