From the Yellow Chair
From the Yellow Chair
The AI Advantage Contractors Can't Ignore
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In Episode 233 of From the Yellow Chair, Crystal talks with Dave Utku Kaynar of OnePath about how AI is changing lead management for home service contractors.
Instead of focusing on complicated technology, they focus on a much more practical question:
How can AI help you respond faster, follow up more consistently, and improve the customer experience without replacing the people who already make your business great?
Dave explains why speed to lead is becoming a basic expectation, why follow up is an enormous missed opportunity for many contractors, and where he would implement AI first if he owned a home service company today.
You will hear:
• Why slow response times can undermine your marketing investment
• Why Dave recommends starting AI implementation with lead management
• How AI can support CSRs with overflow, after hours inquiries, missed opportunities, and repetitive requests
• Why AI should not automatically replace human interaction
• How the customer experience begins long before a technician reaches the home
• Why contractors should measure response time before buying another technology platform
About Dave Utku Kaynar
Dave has spent years working at the intersection of artificial intelligence and home services. His experience includes AI dispatch technology, lead management, OnePath, and Contractor in Charge.
Learn more:
https://onepath.ai/
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Why AI Matters Right Now
SPEAKER_00What's up, living heads? Welcome to another episode of From the Yellow Chair. I'm Crystal Rodden Solo today. I am so excited to talk about things that are complex yet simple, that are new to the industry, but not new to the industry, y'all. If we are talking AI today, it's everybody's. I know it's on the top of your mind, but you're gonna want to get settled and listen up. We're gonna be talking about how to effectively use AI to make your business more efficient, some misconceptions, things that are out there that maybe aren't really true or at the level that they're coming across. But more than anything, just how you as a contractor can just learn to adapt to what AI is bringing to the table. So let's dip some lemonade. All
Dave’s Background In Home Services
SPEAKER_00right. Well, Dave, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER_01Thank you.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so um excited to have Dave. I actually have met Dave in person a couple of times. Uh we work closely with the team at CIWeb group. Um, I think they personally are very good voices in the industry for AI. And so it's been a pleasure to meet you and get to know you. And this your how your brain works is so fun to watch because it's not I'm over here, like I love the creative side, like let's get out in the in the community and let me take my mascot somewhere. Uh and I got cracked up because when we were together the last time, I said, Well, this is what we're creating. And you're like, how long did it take you to do this? And I'm like, four days, you know, and you're like, well, take us like 10 minutes. So I love what AI, I choose to be positive about a resource what resource AI is for the industry. So Dave, I ask every client or every visitor this or every guest this, why should anyone listen to you? Tell us about yourself and what you have going on.
SPEAKER_01Well, because I guess I'm the uh one of the earliest technology proponents of AI in home services. First time I met home services, it was we were part of UC Berkeley, California. Uh they are startup incubators at the time with my company called Bac AI. And I met a few funders from the home services industry, HVAC plumbing electrical, and I and I fell in love with it because it is so well, well, kind of suitable for AI implementation, but there was there was almost none of it. And I'm talking about like seven or eight years ago, all right. And I became the CEO of Buck AI, which was the dispatch AI company, then started another company called OnePath, which is focusing on AI front office employees to manage your leads. We're gonna be talking about that in a minute. And now I'm serving as the uh chief technological officer of uh contractor in charge. So I have like three roles at the moment. And um, and between the between all three, I see the uh sides of the same problem. Uh the uh the lead capture and uh conversion of the leads and the call center to answer it, dispatch the and the dispatching of the technician, it's all super inefficient as the way that it is done today in in in home services. And we're gonna be we're gonna be talking about that. My companies, both of them and uh contractors in charge alike, we are working with hundreds of contractors, and we are seeing the same inefficiencies and same pitfalls in almost every single one of them, and that's why people should be listening to me, I guess.
SPEAKER_00No, I I agree. So and just a couple of things that I want to highlight there is you are one of the first adopters, and um, you know, I think what has to be, and this is where I have to keep like some AI people, Jennifer Bagley, you know, they are uh very, very forward, and you, I'm sure you could can be very technical. But what I always try to bring through from the yellow chair is a is a approachable
AI Should Be Simple To Adopt
SPEAKER_00thought process that we as contractors can wrap around this. So one of the biggest misconceptions is I think is that AI has to be this overly complex tool. Um, and that we as contractors have to know how to basically vibe code things in there. I still stand strong on I as a contractor would be looking at AI as a resource that should make my vendors more efficient and should make my operations more efficient.
SPEAKER_01Correct.
SPEAKER_00I do not have to know how to code it.
SPEAKER_01Yes, and you shouldn't. Um, here's the thing the reason that you are facing a uh almost like a mandate to do some things in like wipe coding, and you need to go to you know sites like NA10 and then you know put up with your own agents and then or Zapier and then do if this then that chains and everything like that is because there are no, or there were no actually before one pet uh ready set and go agent networks that handle set functions in home services environment. What I mean by that is let's think for a second about the customer journey. Some customer calls you or texts you or visits your website and whatnot and stuff like that. They stumble on a tool, either voice, text, again, online widget. What needs to happen? That customer needs to be qualified, that customer needs to be understood, that customer needs to be mapped to one of your service offerings, if any, or disqualified for that matter. And then there needs to be the optimal time slot for that customer, and that needs to be found and communicated, and then that appointment has to be created and so on and so forth. Now, this, if you think about this whole front office thing, either there are people who are sending forms and then they are not qualified, so therefore you need to go to Zapier and then try to, you know, qualify them below. Right, right. More steps, yeah. More steps and more steps. But what I'm what I'm trying to articulate is uh software industry failed to make things easier for contractors, and that ended up in oh, you need to wipe code stuff or you need to put up with your build your own agents type of stuff. You don't need to, you shouldn't, because your job as the contractor is to be is to provide the best service you are able to to your customers, period. Everything else is and should be well secondary, right? But right now, uh there is almost as much overhead in any home services company as the number of technicians, just to make just to make the systems work. What I advocate for is this is extremely um fat organization in a sense of uh having too many people in and then having too many inefficiencies in, and then trying to trying to connect points solutions to one another and so on and so forth. What I advocate for, and what's the biggest thing, is AI should be simple, AI should be adoptable, AI should be implementable in a day or two, and then you should be get going. It should not take months, it should not take multiple uh teams, it should not take sleepless sleepless nights or so or so on and so on and so forth. AI should be working for you, you should not be working for AI.
SPEAKER_00Well, and I say that too, like I I agree, but it I think we have a responsibility as just specifically if you like marketing, we have a responsibility to learn AI and how we should implement it. But and some people love it, so they get really down in the weeds and they will really own it. You know what I mean? They will really dig in there and learn it. But you know, I I look at I think the biggest opportunities right now are with your CSRs and the booking, like you mentioned. So, you know, right now in my own pest control company with my sister, we are launching our AI agent. Um, her name is Noreen. We are launching her specifically just to help with overflow and with um other, like just our uh girl that's at the RCSR, she can actually push a button and now AI answers everything. If she's got a customer, she's got to step out for a doctor's appointment. I mean, there's lots of ways that you can implement this, but we are using a resource to help us get that launched and it's really helping our efficiency um where we're not losing calls. Uh, we use an AI, like this is simple AI, but like a Chrome extension that helps us with dispatching. Again, it's a pest control company. So again, we didn't have to go build these things out, but we are learning how to use them as a resource.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
Speed To Lead Becomes Table Stakes
SPEAKER_00But speed to lead was the best conversation that you and I had. Like it's a no-brainer that AI would be my speed to lead response.
SPEAKER_01Sure. And uh number one, it is not optional anymore because it is not uh about um, well, you implement AI or not. It is about how fast you are and how available you are as a contractor with your customers, uh, to your customers. Say, I call you at 10 p.m. in the uh in the in the evening, what happens? Like, or I'd send you a message, what happens? Every single service company, not just home services, but like every other company as well. We are literally moving past nine to five availability at the moment. So sorry, I'm I'm okay. I'm I'm I don't know what's happening. Okay, I believe I just okay. Sorry about that. You're fine. Um now, as I said, AI is no longer optional, and more importantly, uh most of the contractors that I'm seeing is behind 18 months behind the curve on this. And the cat and the gap is not sophistication here, the gap is the uh response speed, and speed is now table stakes because homeowners literally are texting three companies at once, and then just moving forward the fastest company out there ever. So speed delete is a no-brainer. Speed delete is the default right now, mod default MO for anybody. Now, um what AI means actually for a home services company, not a robot, robot, not a you know, um not a you know, weird sounding thing that doesn't understand you at the other end of the line, but it's like a more like a tireless front desk person who answers in seconds at on uh you know at 2 a.m. on every channel and never never forgets to forgets to follow up. That's the that's that is becoming the default right now. And companies who are implementing this are getting ahead of the competition. I hope I'm making sense.
SPEAKER_00No, no, we want to get ahead. Nobody wants to be behind the competition, you know. Like we need to get ahead and think forward.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Well, and you know, I again I think these are just misconceptions, right? That that and on the other side, that like one CSR in my office now can answer everything. And you know, I go back to this. Remember, many people my age and older, there was when we opened our businesses or our home service companies several years ago in the 70s, 80s, not even in the 90s, really information and contract clients came in a couple of ways. Now they come in like hundreds of ways. They're coming in through social media platforms, through text messaging, through AI agents, through form fills, through Google Business Profile. I mean, there's a ton of ways that clients are reaching us. And to think that we can manage that with the same structure is not forward thinking. And so that's why I think when you layer in an AI approach, an answering approach to many of the tactics, it just is a more efficient way to handle the business.
SPEAKER_01Yes. Listen, I have exactly so one of the biggest misconceptions is uh, you know, it will sound like a robot to my customers.
Misconceptions And Smart Triage
SPEAKER_01No, it won't. The best implementations are almost invisible, including OnePass. You never understand, because it always it what our our conversational agents have empathy right now, and you know, showing empathy uh over the over the phone or text and whatnot and stuff like that. This is the customers are saying that. Number one. Number two, it doesn't replace the CSR. That's the most important misconception. It does not replace the CSR. Here's why it handles the overflow to CSRs if they if needed, uh and um and also it handles the workload that CSRs never get to, like after hours or abandoned bookings, or like follow-ups, the things that your CSR does not have time for, AI can handle them, you know, uh smoothly without having any problems. So you can have best of the ball approach, because I'm I'm also a big advocate on uh having call center, live call center agents for some certain use cases. That being said, like for example, um you shouldn't have AI for everything. Um there are there are cases that human empathy and human creativity and connection is needed, right? And then there are cases where simple use cases, like, hey, I need to schedule my tune up, you know, and you need you don't need a you know human CSR for that. Your AI can handle it easily. So the so the most important thing is theriaging, I guess, uh just like you would do in in an ER. Like the cases, the most important or the most critical or creativity requiring cases goes to humans, the rest goes to AI, and everyone's everyone's heavy. The third one is the third misconception is people think they need to be big to use it.
SPEAKER_00Right, right. A lot of a lot of phone calls or a lot of team.
SPEAKER_01Yes, no, OnePad has successful customers who have only uh four technicians. That's it. Like I mean, because it follows up, it schedules appointments, it it qualifies the leads, it it it it it follows up with the abandoned calls or and bookings, it does uh it does mass outreach, it fills the calendar, it it basically does everything, and this company just can't can get by with one CSR slash dispatcher at the same time and with AI filling the gaps. So, no, you don't need to be big, and AI doesn't need to be expensive for small companies as well, just so we're clear, because we need to make we need to democratize AI, I guess that's the right word to say it. Because just like uh just like with the current field service management platforms, um, we need to go and make it ubiquitously available for everybody, and then we need to improve on the platform. That's what I think.
SPEAKER_00You know, that's that's very true. And again, like you're so right. Like people are like, well, I'm just gonna replace everybody, I'm gonna go all AI. And this is my encouragement to contractors as you're listening today to this, is it really is about how prepared your team is and how they understand how you are choosing to implement an AI tool for you, right? So I really think that it's no longer not an option. And I say that because the amount of efficiencies that can be saved for you, make your business more profitable, all types of just increases there that really you can't ignore AI. I'm not saying it really has to be customer facing, but again, just some internal things really are there. It's just, I don't think it's something we can ignore. And then again, on those misconceptions that you talked about, I actually think that really once we get past those misconceptions that it actually can help create a better customer experience and journey. So remember, just because you don't like AI or you think AI is slow, your whole market does not feel that way. Um, some people would rather talk to a robot than a person in their mind, you know? Um, and so again, this is where don't let your own feelings be cloud your judgment here. Um but again, I'm like Dave here. Like there has to be an understanding that I don't think it's ready to replace every CSR and dispatcher that you have. I think it's a tool for things to be more efficient. If you're playing in the game of speed to lead, definitely look at how you can deploy that again to assist you. Um, and instead of hiring another CSR to help you with nights and weekends, AI is a resource that really could help you with those types of things. Um, and I just definitely think that AI is making an impact on lead management and the ability to follow up on those things. So if you're not just using the tools as resources, you're just missing the boat because maybe you're either digging your heels in because you refuse to acknowledge that it's here, or you are playing the ignorant card of like, I don't know, and I'm not willing to learn. Um, and there's some great tools out there to help us. Um, and so you know, Dave, if I if you were to tell a contractor, like what's one place you would immediately launch AI if it were your business?
SPEAKER_01Lead management, bar no, lead management, yeah, like uh, you know, um calling take, um and uh you know, websites, online widgets, and then follow-ups, and uh like you don't need to have separate tools for these things. You you can just want to, but the the whole idea here is uh speed lead is the first place that I would be implementing. And here's why for our best customers, 40% of their appointments are coming from follow-ups. 40%. Let that sink in for a moment. And there are, I know for a fact, thousands of contractors out there who are not doing a single follow-up, who can't, they don't have time, resources, or you know, means to do that. The other thing is, for example, and in our in our application WiPath, the average uh response time is uh 17.9 seconds across thousands of conversations. So qualify, score, book, and push into service titan or house code pro or whatever for that mode for that matter, takes under 90 seconds, Crystal. 90 seconds. This is less than wait time to connect to a CSR for most home services companies. So again, the whole idea here is how fast you can be as a home services company to establish trust because trust is not starting to get established at the at the moment that technician steps into your home. Trust starts to get established that people get to get to meet with your brand, get to see your website, get to interact with your company, and then get response accurately and in a timely manner, uh, regardless of what the time is, right? And then you keep your promises and be there on time and then do the service and so on and so forth. I always advocate for this. Um basically, the customers in home services and home services industry, they are seeking to a solution, they are seeking a solution to a problem that they don't have a solution for. I I have my AC broken, I need that fixed, right? And then a technician steps in and then says, Hey, I just fixed your AC and then goes away. So, what is the actual product that is being you know uh transacted here? It's trust. I don't know as a homeowner that that AC will be working for the next year or two or for three months for that matter. So I trust the technician and therefore the company to get it fixed, right? Now, that trust I advocate does not start at the technician arrival, it starts at the point of engagement, the moment of engagement with the company, engagement with the brand to quote Lemoncy. Therefore, the entire trust chain of events should be established to give maximum confidence to the customer. I hope I'm making sense.
SPEAKER_00No, you're definitely making sense. And this again, that customer journey is so important that how we so I'll give you an example. We have a client that's like, I just need leads, I need leads. So I'm like, Well, I think we probably need to launch something like eLocal or Yelp or something, because right now we have to go buy the leads because he's a newer company. And then he goes, Well, I don't really have anybody to answer the phone. So I'm like, How is this ever going to work? You know, or or they they don't prioritize. Literally answering the phone and form fills and things quickly. So, you know, this is a self-evaluation of the company and where you need the most support. And you've got to put in a little time to make it right and to have it set up well for your for your company. Um, okay. And then I just thought the future, uh, is there anything that you want to kind of predict um or or give us any thought about?
The Next Customer Might Be AI
SPEAKER_01Umped is the first company who have implemented AI to AI booking. Um AI to AI booking. Yes. So if you if you think as a contractor, you are the only one who's gonna be using AI, well it's just wrong. People are going to be using AI to get their things done. So therefore, people are going to be using AI to schedule their appointments or like book their book a book a job with it with an appointment with a technician and so on and so forth. Now, uh Google has launched a technology that's called WebMCP, which allows uh tools like Chat GPT to book appointments on consumers' behalf without the consumer ever having to come to the website, like chat GPT interacting with your website, therefore interacting with OnePad, and then booking an appointment straight away without consumer ever seeing your brand or website or anything like that, it just gets things done, and these personal assistants are coming, they are already here, but they are getting wider and wider and wider traction. Now, so the the next customer profile for contractors is not necessarily consumer hum consumer herself, but the agent or the AI assistant of the consumer. Therefore, you need to make your business available to AI to AI working. And mind you, this is just a one-line code on your website that makes your business available to AI agents out there. But um, so that's that's the future. Um, and so long story short, your next customer may not be a human visiting your website.
SPEAKER_00And there, and I've heard a demo of that. That is wild. So, what we need is we need to be prepared for and even little things I learned, like you can teach your home system, whatever it is, whatever you, hey, whoever, you know, Siri, Google, Alexa, whatever you got going on. Um, you can train it to say, call my plumbing company or call my HVAC company. So there it's all a new way of thinking, but I would say yes, I've I've been saying your website needs to talk to agents and you know, agent-to-agent conversations and also, you know, just your booking and and everything else is really needs really needs some attention there. Well, my prediction um for AI is things that are already happening are going to become more and more important. Um, being forthcoming with pricing ranges on your website, yeah. Um, being super efficient. I call it quick draw, quick to the draw on answering the phone. Um, but on the other side of that, I think we need to become really good at feeding the AI monster with so much information and content and accessibility that they truly learn our business better than we know our business. Yeah. So I default to good here that this is going to make our businesses run more efficiently, um, allow us to think outside the box and move quickly and serve more people. And so it's an exciting, an exciting thing. So, Dave, any last advice for contractors that are listening today?
Measure Response Time Then Choose Tools
SPEAKER_01Um, measure your response time first. Don't buy AI yet. I mean, immediately, don't don't jump it, but measure your response time first. Understand where you are standing in follow-ups, lead management, uh, speed to lead, and so on and so forth. Then find the right contractor or the right vendor for you. If one pack can help you, of course, my company can help you with the lead management and everything like that. And if you need call center uh solutions, contractor in charge might help you with that. But um, the idea here is first understand where you are or consult with anybody who will help you understand where you are as a contractor.
SPEAKER_00That's the point. I love it. I love it. So, Dave, if someone wanted to use you um or use contractor in charge, how do they get in contact with you?
SPEAKER_01So uh you can go to onepath.ai, o-n-e-t-a-d-h dotai, or contractorincharge.com and then uh book a consultation uh appointment so we can get started.
SPEAKER_00Perfect. So um onepath.com.
SPEAKER_01AI.
SPEAKER_00Okay. Okay. Umpath.ai.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00Yes. Um, and and feel guys, at least sit down with them and look at what they could do for your business. I just want to give you that encouragement. And then as you know, Limitseed Marketing is your fractional marketing department and branding experts here to help you guys build a brand, a good customer experience, hence why we love OnePath. And also, um, also, we're here to help you with social media, community marketing, your entire marketing platform. So thanks for listening to another episode of From the Yellow Chair. Dave and I have loved it talking with you guys today. We hope you have a great rest of the week.