What actually goes in an 'on my way' text?

Four things, kept short: who's coming (your name, and a photo if you can), a rough arrival time, the van or rego so they know it's you, and one line inviting a reply if anything's changed. Send it when you leave the job before theirs. It takes ten seconds and it's the difference between a stranger at the door and someone they were expecting.

How tight should my arrival window be?

Tighter than the trade normally bothers with. A two-hour window beats 'sometime Tuesday,' and a narrowed 'I'll be there about 9:30' beats a two-hour window. If your day is genuinely unpredictable, give the wide window at booking, then narrow it on the morning and update them if it slips. The tighter you are, the more their day is their own — and that's what they remember.

What if I'm running late?

Tell them before the window closes, not after. A quick call or text while you're still technically on time reads as a professional who respects their day. Silence followed by a late arrival reads as one more tradie who didn't show. Same delay, opposite story — the only difference is whether you got in first.

Can this be automated?

The day-before confirmation and the reminder, yes — wired to your booking so they fire on their own. The on-my-way text is a ten-second job you send as you leave, and the running-late call is always a human one. The system removes the forgetting; the two moments that need a person stay with you.

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On My Way: The Arrival That Wins Before You Knock

The customer took the day off and waited. Nobody showed, nobody called. The arrival done right — tight window, an on-my-way text, a call if you're late — is the cheapest 12/10 in the trade.

By Antony Loomans
3 July 2026 · 4 min read

The short version: the customer took the morning off work and waited. Nobody showed. Nobody called. That’s the story your whole town tells about tradies, and it’s the one you get to break. The arrival done right — a tight window, an on-my-way text, and a call the second you might be late — is the cheapest 12/10 you can buy. It costs nothing and almost nobody does it. The work is what you’re paid for. The arrival is what you’re remembered for. Here’s the playbook.

The day they remember

Think about the last time you waited for a tradie. Or a delivery. You blocked out the morning. You didn’t start anything. You kept one ear on the driveway. Every minute past the window, you trusted them a little less.

Your customer is doing that right now, waiting for you.

You don’t even have to no-show to lose them. Turn up bang on time but with no word beforehand, and they’ve still spent two hours anxious, wondering if you forgot. The job can go perfectly from the moment you knock — but the two hours before you knocked already set the tone.

That waiting is the lowest bar in the trade. Clear it and you’re already ahead of nearly everyone they’ve ever hired.

The three moves

None of this is hard. It’s three small habits, and the customer feels all three.

The tight window. Narrow beats vague, every time. “I’ll be there between 9 and 11” beats “Tuesday.” “Running about 20 minutes, see you at 9:30” beats both. The tighter you are, the more of their day stays theirs.
The on-my-way text. Sent as you leave the job before theirs. Your name, a photo, the rough time, the rego. A stranger is about to walk into their home — this turns them into someone expected.
The running-late call. The one that matters most. If the day slips, you get in first, before the window closes. Told early, lateness reads as honest. Found out late, it reads as another no-show.

The photo is the trust unlock

When you’re letting someone into your home, the scariest bit is not knowing who’s coming. A name and a face in the on-my-way text answers that before you arrive. It’s a ten-second add that turns “some tradie” into “Dave, the one they told me about.” Especially when the customer is home alone, it’s the single kindest thing you can send.

Why it punches so far above its cost

Here’s the honest reason it works: it’s free, and it’s the thing nearly every other tradie gets wrong.

You’re not up against a high bar. You’re up against no-shows, no-calls, and “sometime in the arvo.” Do the small things and you don’t just look good. You look like a different kind of trade. It’s also the first thing they screenshot to a partner, or tell the neighbour who asked. The arrival is where the review quietly starts, long before you hand over.

What to automate, what stays yours

You don’t have to hold all of this in your head. Some of it should run on its own.

The day-before confirm and the reminder get wired to your booking, so they fire without you. That alone kills most no-shows — theirs and yours.
The on-my-way text stays a ten-second job you send as you leave. A saved template makes it one tap.
The running-late call is always human. It’s the one moment a real voice matters most.

This is the front half of the same job the handover finishes. Nail the arrival and the handover, and the middle — the actual work — gets judged by a customer who already trusts you.

The whole point

The work is what you’re paid for. The arrival is what you’re remembered for. A customer who was kept in the loop, turned up for on time, and never left wondering is a customer who was sold before you unpacked the van.

We wire the confirmations and reminders to your booking so they never depend on you remembering, and set you up with the on-my-way template so it’s one tap from the road. Book a call and we’ll set it up. No pitch — if your booking already does this well, we’ll say so.

The next customer left waiting with no word is the one who quietly books someone else next time. That’s the whole reason not to leave it.