Restoration Text Message Templates: 14 Texts From First Call to Review

What should a restoration company text its customers?

These restoration text message templates cover the 14 moments in a water, fire or mold job when a short text does more than a phone call: a missed call, an after-hours message, the crew on its way, drying updates, the estimate, insurance paperwork, the finished job and the review request. Each one is written word for word in English and Spanish, with [brackets] for the parts you fill in, and most fit in a single 160-character text.

We build Botcadence, an AI restoration answering service that can text callers during and after a call, so we have a stake in this. The templates work the same from a technician's phone, your office software or any texting tool.

When a text helps, and when to call instead

Texts are good for anything the customer needs to read twice or keep: a time window, a document request, a link. They're bad for anything that needs a conversation.

One rule runs through every template that goes out after hours or during a storm: if anyone is hurt, there's fire or the caller smells gas, they call 911 first. Our after-hours voicemail greetings use the same safety line, so customers hear and read the same thing.

The 14 restoration text message templates

Spanish versions are written to sound natural, but have a fluent speaker on your team read them once and adjust them to how your customers talk before you use them.

1. Missed-call text-back

Hi, this is [Company]. Sorry we missed your call. If water is still coming in, reply WATER and we'll call right back. If anyone is hurt or you smell gas, call 911.

Hola, le escribe [Compañía]. Perdón por no contestar su llamada. Si sigue entrando agua, responda AGUA y le llamamos enseguida. Si alguien está herido o huele a gas, llame al 911.

2. After-hours acknowledgment

[Company] here. We got your message, and our on-call technician will call you by [time]. If anyone is hurt, there's fire or you smell gas, call 911 first.

Le escribe [Compañía]. Recibimos su mensaje, y nuestro técnico de guardia le va a llamar antes de las [hora]. Si alguien está herido, hay fuego o huele a gas, llame primero al 911.

3. On our way

[Tech name] from [Company] is on the way and should arrive between [time] and [time]. Reply here if anything changes.

[Nombre del técnico] de [Compañía] va en camino y debe llegar entre las [hora] y las [hora]. Responda aquí si algo cambia.

4. Crew arrival

[Tech name] has arrived at [address] in a [vehicle description]. Questions? Reply here or call [number].

[Nombre del técnico] ya llegó a [dirección] en un [descripción del vehículo]. ¿Tiene preguntas? Responda aquí o llame al [número].

5. Drying-day update

Day [number] at [address]: moisture is [dropping / holding steady] in [rooms]. Please keep the equipment running and doors as we left them. Next check: [day, time].

Día [número] en [dirección]: la humedad [está bajando / sigue igual] en [cuartos]. Por favor deje el equipo encendido y las puertas como las dejamos. Próxima revisión: [día, hora].

6. Equipment pickup

Good news: [rooms] are dry. We'll pick up the equipment on [day] between [time] and [time]. Reply 1 to confirm, or tell us a better time.

Buenas noticias: [cuartos] ya están secos. Pasamos por el equipo el [día] entre las [hora] y las [hora]. Responda 1 para confirmar o díganos un mejor horario.

7. Estimate sent

Your estimate for [address] is in your inbox from [email]. Reply with any questions, or call [name] at [number].

Su presupuesto para [dirección] está en su correo, enviado desde [correo]. Responda con cualquier pregunta o llame a [nombre] al [número].

8. Estimate follow-up

Hi [first name], checking in on the estimate we sent on [date]. Want to go over it? Reply with a good time and [name] will call you.

Hola [nombre], le escribimos sobre el presupuesto que le mandamos el [fecha]. ¿Quiere revisarlo con nosotros? Díganos a qué hora le queda bien y [nombre] le llama.

9. Insurance document request

To keep your claim moving, please send [claim number / adjuster's name / photos of the damage]. Reply to this text or email [email].

Para que su reclamo siga avanzando, por favor mándenos [número de reclamo / nombre del ajustador / fotos de los daños]. Puede responder a este mensaje o escribir a [correo].

10. Job complete

Your [water / fire / mold] job at [address] is complete. Thank you for trusting [Company]. If anything looks off, reply here or call [number].

El trabajo de [agua / fuego / moho] en [dirección] está terminado. Gracias por confiar en [Compañía]. Si algo no se ve bien, responda aquí o llame al [número].

11. Review request

Thanks again, [first name]. If you have a minute, would you share how the job went? Your review helps neighbors find us: [Google review link]

Gracias otra vez, [nombre]. Si tiene un minuto, ¿nos cuenta cómo le fue con el trabajo? Su reseña ayuda a sus vecinos a encontrarnos: [enlace de reseña de Google]

12. Review reminder (send once)

Hi [first name], a quick reminder in case you'd like to review [Company]: [Google review link]. Thank you either way.

Hola [nombre], un recordatorio rápido por si quiere dejarle una reseña a [Compañía]: [enlace de reseña de Google]. Gracias de todos modos.

13. Storm waitlist

[Company] here. We're getting a lot of storm calls. You're on our list, and we'll call you by [time]. If water is coming in, reply WATER. If anyone is hurt or you smell gas, call 911.

Le escribe [Compañía]. Estamos recibiendo muchas llamadas por la tormenta. Ya está en nuestra lista y le llamamos antes de las [hora]. Si está entrando agua, responda AGUA. Si alguien está herido o huele a gas, llame al 911.

14. Commercial or property manager update

[Property] update: [unit or area] is [status]. Next step: [step] on [day]. Tenant notice: [sent / needed]. Questions: [name], [number].

Actualización de [propiedad]: [unidad o área] está [estado]. Siguiente paso: [paso] el [día]. Aviso a inquilinos: [enviado / pendiente]. Preguntas: [nombre], [número].

How to ask for a Google review in person

Text requests work better when the technician has already asked at the door. A short script for the final walk-through:

"Before I go, everything's dry and the equipment is out. If you're happy with how we handled it, or even if you're not, an honest Google review really helps a local company like ours. This card has a QR code that goes straight to our review page, and we'll text you the link too."

Google's own help page for business owners suggests asking customers to visit a Google review link or scan a QR code, so print the code on the job-complete card or the final invoice.

Three things to keep it within Google's rules:

• Ask every customer, not just the happy ones. Google's content policy says merchants may not "discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers." Sending the review text to every finished job, as template 11 does, avoids that.
• No discounts or gifts for reviews. Google prohibits offering incentives in exchange for posting a review or for revising or removing a negative one.
• Don't tell customers what to write or what rating to give. Google allows soliciting reviews that reflect a genuine experience, without trying to influence the rating or the content.

Customers also need to be signed in to a Google Account to leave a review, which is worth mentioning if someone says the link didn't work.

Consent, opt-outs and quiet hours

This is not legal advice. Check your texting setup with counsel, but three rules come from the FCC itself:

• Texts sent with an autodialer need consent. The FCC's enforcement advisory on robotexts says autodialed text messages to cell phones need the called party's prior express consent, unless they're for emergency purposes or another narrow exemption.
• Marketing texts need written consent. In its 2023 action on unwanted texts, the FCC restated that if a robotext includes or introduces an advertisement or constitutes telemarketing, the prior express consent must be in writing. Job updates to a customer who called you are different from a seasonal promotion sent to your whole customer list.
• The sender has to prove consent, and customers can revoke it. The same advisory says those claiming consent carry the burden of proving it, and recipients may revoke consent. Treat STOP, "stop texting me" or "unsubscribe" as an opt-out, immediately.

Quiet hours are set by state rules, and they differ, so check your state's rules before scheduling anything that isn't a reply to an active job. A customer waiting on an emergency crew at 2 am expects a 2 am text; a review reminder doesn't belong there.

How Botcadence sends these texts

Botcadence's AI receptionist for restoration can send several of these texts without anyone on your team typing them:

• During the call: the agent can text the caller a confirmation, a callback time or a link before hanging up.
• After the call: an automation can send an SMS when a conversation or call finishes, using your wording.
• Your number, your rules: texts go out from your own Twilio number through the SMS chatbot channel. STOP, START and HELP are handled automatically, and an opt-out blocks every send to that number. Picture messages (MMS) are ignored, so ask customers to email photos.

Botcadence doesn't run scheduled drip campaigns or a review management tool, so templates 6 through 12 are usually sent from your job software or by your office. For training whoever sends them, see our restoration CSR training plan, and for the same intake on chat and WhatsApp, see AI for restoration companies.