Read the request before choosing a response.
“Can you help?” is the beginning of a decision, not confirmation that the work fits. Read the customer’s actual request and compare it with your current service boundaries. An acknowledgment can confirm receipt while leaving the proposed work, price and timing open.
This check belongs after the initial inquiry and before a quote or booking is offered. It can be a short manual note in your existing records. You do not need a scoring system or another application form.
The aim is to decide what your team can honestly do next. Keep the requested work separate from assumptions about the person asking. A brief message is not evidence of a poor customer, and an unanswered clarification does not tell you why someone stopped replying.
Separate customer facts from business facts.
The customer can describe the work and their preferred timing. Your business must establish what it offers, where it operates and whether someone is available. Do not ask the customer to resolve an internal uncertainty.
On a small screen, swipe or scroll sideways to read the full table.
| Question | Useful source | If it is unclear |
|---|---|---|
| What work is requested? | The customer’s latest description. | Ask the smallest question that changes the decision. |
| Does the business offer it? | Current approved service information. | Ask the person authorized to confirm scope. |
| Does location affect fit? | The needed location detail and current coverage information. | Check coverage before promising a visit. |
| Can the requested timing work? | Verified availability from the responsible person or record. | Keep the date a preference, not a reservation. |
Record the source and when it was checked. An old advertisement or a colleague’s recollection may need confirmation. Collect a town rather than a full address when that is enough to answer the immediate coverage question.
Choose a branch that matches the facts.
Fictional example: A window-cleaning business offers exterior window cleaning in an agreed service area. It does not offer patio pressure washing. Mira handles inquiries; the business owner confirms service exceptions and availability. These details are invented for this example.
On a small screen, swipe or scroll sideways to read the full table.
| What Mira knows | Decision | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| Exterior windows; location is within the verified area; no fixed date requested. | Proceed to the normal estimate review. | Mira sends the request to the accepted estimate owner. No price or appointment is confirmed. |
| Exterior windows; the town is missing. | Clarify one relevant fact. | Ask which town the work is in before deciding coverage. |
| Exterior windows in the area; the customer needs Friday, but availability is unknown. | Review the timing. | The owner checks availability. Mira does not describe Friday as held. |
| Windows and patio pressure washing are requested together. | Explain the available scope. | Tell the customer only the window work is offered and ask whether they want to discuss that alone. |
The mixed request is not silently reduced to windows. The customer may need one provider for both tasks. Let them decide whether the available service still meets their need. If they want only pressure washing, explain that the business does not offer it.
Make the reply answer the real uncertainty.
For the mixed request, Mira could write: “We offer exterior window cleaning, but not patio pressure washing. Would you like us to review the window work on its own?” This answers the scope question before collecting more project detail.
For the Friday request, a useful reply is: “I’ve noted Friday as your preferred day. It is not confirmed yet; I need our owner to check availability.” Add a check-in time only when the responsible person has agreed to it.
A request for internal review is not an approved exception. Keep the person handling the customer conversation named while the decision is pending. Otherwise, “I’ll ask someone” can create another handoff with no clear return path.
Avoid offering another business as a confirmed solution unless that recommendation is accurate and appropriate. Explaining your own limit does not require inventing a referral, price or alternative appointment.
Recheck the decision when the request changes.
Suppose the customer accepts a discussion about windows alone, then asks to add interior cleaning. Compare that new request with the approved services before carrying the earlier fit decision forward. An available part of the work does not make every addition available.
Keep a short history of what changed and which decision replaced the previous one. Once an estimate exists, use the estimate decision guide to handle revisions and responses without confusing old and current scope.
If the customer declines the available service or asks you to stop, record that decision. Do not convert an unavailable request into an indefinite reminder sequence. A future check needs a useful reason and the appropriate agreement, not just an open status.
Leave one usable decision in the record.
Download the blank service-inquiry fit checklist (CSV). Keep the completed copy in your approved workspace and use an inquiry reference rather than copying unnecessary customer details.
Before handing it over, check four things: the requested work is accurate; the decision has a factual reason; unresolved questions have accepted owners; and the customer-facing next step says no more than the team can confirm.
Try the checklist with a fictional request first. Ask a colleague to identify the next action without an explanation from you. If they cannot, clarify that part of the note. The result is a more usable decision record, not proof of a booking or a promise that every inquiry will become work.