Mike Andes argues against a pure first-come, first-served scheduling approach. Instead, businesses should prioritize recurring and time-sensitive jobs when leads peak so they secure the right customers; one-off and time-insensitive jobs can be scheduled in the off-season. The “right” customers will accept waiting (e.g., 3–4 months) if the business has a strong online presence and reviews.
Typically you want to serve everyone you know, first come, first serve. You get an estimate today. I want to put them on the schedule as soon as possible. But ultimately the customer that wants things done right away is not the right customer. What you want to be able to do is when you have a peak, a massive jump in of leads coming in, you want to be able to prioritize those leads. Getting on the schedule based upon what your business needs are and what you want to do is focus on recurring jobs and the jobs that are time sensitive. They can't wait three or four months or be put on the backlog. Then in the off season you can do one off projects, jobs that are not recurring occurring, and you can do jobs that are time insensitive. And so by doing this, I'm going to make sure that I get the right customers. The right customer will be willing to wait for me for three or four months because they see my online website, they see my reviews, and they're willing to wait three months so that I can put my one time jobs and my time insensitive jobs out into my off season.
