Find out how this fourth-generation family-run business in Harmony, Pennsylvania is automating team scheduling, invoicing, and how partnering with Franklin Electric and Jobber is helping them expand their business.
Meinert Well Drilling has been in business for almost 100 years and in that time, they’ve typically been a stranger to business management technology. Owner John Meinert has led the business with the help of pen and paper, text message, and his wife Renee Meinert, managing the office operations. Renee’s team of four was being spread thin. Important information was floating around either in John’s head or in multiple notebooks in the office.
Luckily, Franklin Electric recently joined forces with Jobber to give their partners in the water well industry new solutions for business management. Through this partnership, Meinert, a Franklin Electric-endorsed dealer since 1959, was given the opportunity to organize their business with Jobber’s well water services technology.
“Jobber consolidates everything for you into one system. It helps you organize your information and it's very easy to use. For me, it’s a no brainer, even just to try it,” says Renee Meinert.
Since adding Jobber Field Service Software to their toolkit, Meinert Well Drilling has been able to:
We asked Renee what life was like before Jobber, how technology is helping them save time, and how Jobber is going to help their business expand.
“No wonder my husband is overwhelmed. He keeps track of a lot of information in his head.”
Before online scheduling, invoicing, and customer quote approvals, Renee and John were using paper, pen, and text message history to track all their business information. “We had a little system. If I got a call here at the office and John was out, I’d write down all the information, take a picture of it, and send it to John’s cell phone,” Renee tells us. “It took half an hour for my husband to write detailed invoices by hand. Now we can create an invoice right away and leave with payment most of the time,” she shares.
“The initial consult is all it took for us to know that Jobber could benefit us.”
Renee was intrigued by how technology could streamline processes and lighten the workload, given their plans to expand their business. Admittedly, when Renee first heard about Jobber, she wasn’t sold right off the bat. “I was thinking, ‘Yeah, I don’t think so. We have QuickBooks and all that’.” But once she saw the software and learned what Jobber could do for their business, it clicked for her.
“There are so many little things we can automate, from our scheduling to keeping track of customer information, to making the invoice and taking payments online,” Renee tells us.
To help John make the transition from his manual system, his son Jonathan, age 26, has taken a major role in daily operations. “My son and I were so excited to get Jobber because it just makes our lives easier,” Renee says.
Meinert Well Drilling uses Jobber to:
“We’re saving a couple of hours a day on invoicing”
Online invoicing ensures that Meinert Well Drilling gets paid faster. Before, it would take John half an hour to write an invoice. If the customer didn’t have a check, John would often leave the worksite without payment. “Customers can now pay on the spot with a credit card. If they aren’t there, we can email it to them. By the end of the day, they can hit the payment tab and pay online,” Renee tells us.
Jobber also sends an automatic reminder to customers letting them know that their invoice is due. “My old system with QuickBooks would require me at the end of the month to see who hasn’t paid us,” Renee shares with us. “Jobber reminds our customers, so we don’t have to.”
“We have digital records for all 4,000 of our customer files”
With over 4,000 clients to keep track of, Renee relies on Jobber’s CRM so that nothing is forgotten. “We can attach a well log when we drill a well, either on different depths that we’ve drilled or a water analysis report if we’ve tested their water for bacteria and all that, we have a report from the lab. All that stuff can be kept electronically in the customer file,” Renee tells us.
“It's been great in the aspect for us that we are recording everything that we're doing every day, instead of my husband using his manual calendar,” she comments.
Renee says the new quote approvals process is easy and helps keep their business records accurate. “The quote approval feature is so useful. Customers can sign off on the quote upfront and then we have a record of it.” Not only is it easier for Renee, but it’s less effort for their customers too. “It just makes it easy, versus our customers having to do that manually.”
“We can easily coordinate our schedules in the field and in the office”
Jobber has also made scheduling more organized and transparent. “My son can keep track of jobs when he’s out in the field, and he can see what I’m doing with the phone calls coming into the office.” Jobber speeds up and simplifies scheduling, so John and the team can complete all of their scheduled jobs every day.
“Jobber will be a huge help in handling our business’ expansion”
In the home service industry, businesses like well water drillers are facing a new business landscape, shaped by changing technology and new competition. If you want to ensure your business survival and success, you need to adapt to the changes quickly — the competition isn’t going to slow down. Renee and John already have plans to expand their business by adding new team members. With more employees, better organization is more important than ever.
“It's very user friendly. I've had no problem using anything on it,” Renee assures.
“When a new employee is on call for the weekend, they’ll be able to generate an invoice on their own, without our help. If we have a new service call for them, we can send all the information right to their phone. It just so much saves time,” says Renee. “Once you add just a couple more people, even though it doesn’t sound like a lot, there are more schedules to coordinate. I believe Jobber will be great for that,” Renne concludes.
No more messy desks at her office. Since Renee and John have made the switch to technology to help run and organize their well drilling business, we have no doubt that Jobber will help them grow their business into the next century!
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Franklin Electric is a global leader in the production and marketing of systems and components for the movement of water and energy. Recognized as a technical leader in its products and services, Franklin Electric serves customers around the world in residential, commercial, agricultural, industrial, municipal, and fueling applications. Franklin Electric is proud to be named in Newsweek’s lists of America’s Most Responsible Companies and Most Trustworthy Companies for 2024 and America’s Climate Leaders 2023 by USA Today.