Start with the inquiry inbox. An assistant can turn a customer’s message into a cleaning brief, flag missing details and draft a reply. A person should confirm service fit, arrange the walkthrough and approve any price or commitment.
The problem to solve first
A prospect says they need office cleaning. The building size may be buried halfway down the message. The preferred schedule might be described as “after everyone leaves.” Someone has to extract those details, ask for the rest and pass the request to the person arranging visits.
This is a useful starting point for automation because the desired output is specific: a consistent brief and a sensible next question. It does not require the assistant to decide what the job will cost.
An original idea: the Daymark inquiry desk
We built Daymark Inbox to explore that workflow. Open one of the example inquiries, compare the original message with the extracted brief and edit the proposed response. The scenarios cover a regular office clean, a move-out request and a specialist job that needs a different review.
The useful detail is the gap between what the customer has said and what the team still needs. For example, “three evenings a week” establishes frequency but does not establish the location, preferred days or access arrangements.
What the brief should contain
| Information | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Premises and approximate size | Give the team a starting picture of the job. |
| Areas requiring attention | Separate office space, restrooms, kitchens and specialist areas. |
| Location and access | Check service fit and plan the walkthrough. |
| Frequency and preferred schedule | Clarify the request without promising availability. |
| Missing or conflicting details | Prepare a focused follow-up rather than repeating every question. |
Keep commitments with the team
The assistant should not quote a price from square footage alone, promise a start date or accept specialist cleaning work on the business’s behalf. Write those limits into the workflow and test requests that fall outside the normal service.
Keep the customer’s original message attached to the brief. A useful summary should help a colleague review the request, not make the source disappear.
A sensible first pilot
- Choose one shared inbox and one type of inquiry.
- Agree the fields, approved service information and handoff owner.
- Test representative requests, including incomplete and unsuitable ones.
- Review every draft before sending during the pilot.
- Track time spent reviewing, corrections needed and requests reaching the right person.
If the website is collecting too little information, improve the cleaning quote form first. A well-designed form may remove much of the chasing without AI.
What would a build cost?
Our AI assistant projects start at $3,500 USD for one agreed workflow and up to two integrations. The proposal defines the sources, review rules, pilot and running costs. An inbox connection alone is not the complete project.
For the customer-facing side, see our commercial cleaning website approach. The website and inbox should collect and use the same information.