Customer messages for a cleaning business:
the twelve you send every week
A cleaning company runs on messages: the estimate, the confirmation, the reminder the night before, the text from the driveway when nobody answers the door. Most owners write each one from scratch, on a phone, between jobs, which is why the tone wanders and the same mistake gets made twice. Here are the twelve messages a residential or commercial cleaning business sends every week, written to be adapted once and used for years, with when to send each and the decision it carries. Fill the square brackets and remove them.
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How to use these
- Put all twelve in the notes app on every phone that talks to customers, or in your scheduling software's templates, in this order.
- Send the message that fits, with the brackets filled, and change nothing else in the moment. Change the template later if it keeps needing the same edit.
- Each message carries one decision (a price, a date, a refund). The decision is made before the message is sent, never inside it.
- Sign every message with a first name. People let a person into their home, not a company.
1. The estimate
Send within the hour of the enquiry, even if the visit to quote comes later. Decision carried: the price and what it includes.
Hi [Name], thanks for asking about a clean for [address]. For a [type of clean] of a [size] home with [rooms and bathrooms], the price is [price], which covers [what is included: rooms, bathrooms, kitchen, floors]. It does not include [inside the oven, inside the fridge, windows, laundry], which we can add for [price each]. Our team of [number] would take about [hours]. We could come on [date] at [time]. Reply yes and I will confirm it today, or tell me a better day.
2. The confirmation
Send the moment they say yes. Decision carried: the booking exists and the access plan is set.
Confirmed, [Name]: [type of clean] at [address] on [day, date] from [time], about [hours], [price], paid by [method] on the day. Our team lead is [name]. Two questions so the day goes smoothly: how will we get in (someone home, a key, a code), and is there anything we should know about pets, alarms or areas to leave alone?
3. The reminder the night before
Send between 5 and 7 pm. Decision carried: none; it prevents the two commonest problems, the forgotten booking and the locked door.
Hi [Name], a reminder that [team lead] and the team are with you tomorrow from [time] for your [type of clean]. We will [access plan you agreed]. If anything has changed, reply tonight and we will sort it out.
4. On the way
Send when the team leaves the previous job. Decision carried: none.
Morning [Name], the team is on the way and will be with you around [time]. See you shortly.
5. Nobody answers the door
Wait ten minutes, call once, then send this. Decision carried: whether a lockout fee applies, which is decided by your policy, not in the moment.
Hi [Name], we are outside [address] and could not reach you at the door or by phone. We can wait until [time, fifteen minutes on] before we have to leave for the next job. If you can let us in or share a code before then, we will start straight away; otherwise we will rebook you on [next available date] and [state your lockout policy plainly, or waive it: "there is no charge this time"].
6. Something is different when we arrive
The home is much larger than described, there is builders' dust, or a room needs far more than a standard clean. Send before starting the extra work. Decision carried: the price of the extra, which needs a yes.
Hi [Name], we have started at [address]. One thing to check with you before we go further: [what is different, plainly]. Doing that properly would take about [time] more and add [price]. Shall we go ahead, or keep to the standard clean today and quote the extra separately? We will carry on with the rest either way.
7. The completed-job note
Send as the team leaves, with photos if you take them. Decision carried: none; it is the message that earns the review and the rebooking.
All done at [address], [Name]. We did [what was done] and left [anything to note: windows open to air, the key where you asked, one thing we could not do and why]. Thank you for having us. If anything is not as you expected, tell me today and we will come back and put it right.
8. The reschedule from your side
A team member is sick or a job runs long. Send as early as you know, always with two alternatives. Decision carried: the alternatives you can honour.
[Name], I am sorry: we have to move your clean on [date] because [one honest sentence]. We can come on [option one] or [option two] at the same price, and I will add [a small gesture: "the inside of the oven at no charge" or nothing] for the trouble. Which suits you?
9. The reschedule from theirs
Send when they ask to move. Decision carried: your cancellation window, applied as written.
No problem, [Name]. I have moved you to [new date and time] and cancelled [old date]. [If inside the window: "Because this was inside our 24-hour window, the cancellation fee of [price] applies, as on your confirmation." Otherwise say nothing about fees.] You will get a new confirmation in a minute.
10. The complaint
Send within the hour of receiving it, after you have spoken to the team lead. Decision carried: the fix, inside the refund limit your business has set.
[Name], thank you for telling me, and I am sorry. [What went wrong] should not have happened. I would like to put it right: we can come back on [date] and redo [the area] at no charge, or take [amount] off today's clean, whichever you prefer. I have also [what changes: "asked [team lead] to check the bathrooms with the checklist before leaving"]. Reply with which you would like, or call me on [number].
11. The review ask
Send the day after a completed job that went well, never with anything attached to it. Decision carried: none. Ask everyone, not only the customers you think are happy, and never offer anything for it: Google prohibits incentives for reviews and selective asking, and federal rules ban offering anything in exchange for a review that says a particular thing.
Hi [Name], thanks again for having us yesterday. If you have a minute, an honest review helps a small company like ours more than anything else: [Google review link]. Whatever you write, we read it, and we will see you on [next booking date].
12. The price change
Send at least a month ahead, once a year at most, to every regular customer at once. Decision carried: the new price, decided before the message with the reason ready.
Hi [Name], from [date] our price for your [frequency] clean will be [new price], up from [old price]. The change covers [one honest reason: wages, insurance, supplies]. Everything else stays the same, including [team lead] and your [day] slot. If you would like to talk it through, I am on [number]. Thank you for being with us for [length of time].
The decisions behind the messages
Every message above carries a decision that was made before it was sent. Write these five down once and the messages write themselves:
| Decision | Write it down as |
|---|---|
| The lockout policy | Wait time, the fee if any, and whether the first lockout is waived |
| The cancellation window | Hours before the booking, the fee, and whether regulars get one free move a year |
| The refund limit | The amount a team lead may offer alone, and the amount that waits for you |
| The extras price list | Every add-on with its price, so message six never invents a number |
| The reply time | How fast a customer hears back in your hours, and what happens outside them |
How Allying does this
When a cleaning company posts a customer service or a receptionist job, Allying does that job as the employee described in the posting: it answers the enquiries, sends the confirmations and the night-before reminders, handles the reschedules inside the window the owner set, drafts the complaint replies within the refund limit and brings anything above it to the owner, and asks for the review the day after. In the first week it writes the twelve messages in the company's own voice from the company's own site, prices and past messages, and puts the five decisions in front of the owner to confirm in plain words. Every message is on a record the owner can read, with a short note at the end of each day.
The first week is done before any conversation, so an owner sees the twelve messages for their own company before deciding anything. The price is 30% of the posted salary, billed monthly, with each job's minimum on the pricing page. If you go ahead after the first week, a free week starts with a short call, and the first charge comes on day 8.
The work is done with AI and overseen by a named specialist who answers for it.
Mae Santos, Allying's co-founder, is the person you talk to; write to hello@allying.com and she answers. The work is reviewed before it reaches you.
Questions owners ask
Text or email?
Text for anything about today or tomorrow (messages 3 to 7), email for anything with a price or a policy in it (1, 2, 9, 10, 12), because people keep emails and lose texts. If a customer has told you which they prefer, use that.
Should the team lead send messages, or the office?
The office sends 1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 11 and 12; the team lead sends 4, 5, 6 and 7 from the job. Both use the same templates, so the customer hears one voice.
How do I handle a customer who never replies to the estimate?
One follow-up, three days later: "Hi [Name], checking whether you still need the clean at [address]. The [date] slot is still open until Friday." Then leave it.
What about commercial customers?
The same twelve, with message 7 becoming a weekly summary and message 12 a formal letter with the contract date. The access problem becomes a message to the building manager rather than the tenant.
Do I need software for this?
No. A notes app and a copy of this page on every phone is enough for a company of one to five people. Software earns its place when you have more than about thirty regular customers and the reminders start slipping.
Sources
- Allying playbook, customer service and support representative, the inbound classes and the reply kit a first week produces. Read on 2026-09-19.
- Allying playbook, receptionist and phone customer service, the appointment reminder and rescheduling classes. Read on 2026-09-19.