How do you move a file service off WhatsApp?

Nearly every file service starts on WhatsApp, and that is fine. It is free, your customers already use it, and the first ten jobs go well. Then a second tuner joins, a file gets lost in a thread, and somebody asks who paid for what.

When has WhatsApp stopped working?

You will know these signs:

• Nobody can say at a glance what is waiting and for how long.
• Files are hunted for in chat, and old ones have vanished.
• Two tuners start on the same job, or neither does.
• Money is reconciled by scrolling.
• Your phone has become your office, and you cannot put it down.

What do you actually lose by moving?

Less than you fear. People worry about losing the personal touch, but customers do not love your WhatsApp thread. They love that you answer. A portal that tells them what is happening, and a tuner who replies on the job, is more attentive and not less.

How do you move the customers over?

1. Set a date, and tell everyone, with a link and a short reason: files will be quicker and nothing will get lost.
2. Make their first order easy. Create their account for them or let them sign up in a minute.
3. Answer the first few by hand. When someone sends a file on WhatsApp, reply with the link, and offer to walk them through it once.
4. Then hold the line. New files go through the portal. If you make exceptions for everyone, nothing changes.

Reply to a file on WhatsApp with the link, not with the tuned file.

What about the customers who refuse?

There are always one or two. If they are good customers, have someone in the office put their file in for them. Most come round when they see that others get answers sooner. Some never will, and you can then decide whether they are worth the extra work, which is a business decision and not a technical one.

Should you stop using WhatsApp completely?

No. Customers will still want to message you. On a TunerEngine portal, your customers can be told by WhatsApp, or Telegram with the bot add-on, when a file is ready, and every conversation arrives in one inbox on the Messages page, with the job chat beside it. You keep the channel and lose the mess. WhatsApp connects with your own account, and Telegram with the bot add-on.

What should go on the order page?

Everything you used to ask in the first five messages: the car, the tool, the work and the price. See what to ask before tuning. When the page answers the questions, the first message from the customer stops being "how much?" and becomes the file itself.

The guide to a new file request shows what your customer sees.