Text your customers about their gear, and hear what they say back.
FlowState texts the customer a private tracking link when their gear comes in, and a pickup alert when every item on the order is done and racked. Both read as your shop. When they text back, the reply lands in one shared inbox beside that customer’s open work orders.
At a lot of shops, the question at the counter and on the phone is the same one: are my skis done yet. The answer is one sentence long, and someone has to stop what they’re doing to give it.
FlowState sends that sentence on its own. When the work order comes in, the customer gets a text with a private link to follow it. When every item is done and racked, they get the pickup alert. If they have a question anyway, they text it, and it arrives where whoever is at the counter can answer it between customers.
What the customer sees, and what your counter sees.
The two automatic messages below are the wording FlowState ships with. You can rewrite them for your shop, and the STOP and HELP line stays on either way.
Summit Ski & Board
(801) 555‑0142
Summit Ski & Board: Track your service order WO-1042 here: findflowstate.app/track/9ptQ2v Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help.
Automatic · on drop-offSummit Ski & Board: Hi Dana, your gear is ready for pickup. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help.
Automatic · last item rackedCan my wife grab them? She’ll be by around 5.
Of course. We’re open till 7, I’ll leave them at the counter under your name.
Sent by Kyle, from the inbox
Example conversation. Shop and customer are illustrative.
- 1
Dana Whitfield
2mCan my wife grab them? She’ll be…
Marcus Reyes
1hYou: Ready whenever you are.
- 1
(801) 555‑0188
3hDo you sharpen snowboard edges?
Priya Anand
YesterdayYou: Mounted and tuned, all set.
Customer
Dana Whitfield
(801) 555‑0163
Texts: onOpen work orders
- WO-1042TuneReady
- WO-1037MountDue Friday
The red count is what the shop still owes a reply on. It survives opening the thread, and clears when someone answers or marks it handled.
Two automatic texts, and a real conversation when one is needed.
Two texts, sent for you
One when the work order comes in, carrying a private link the customer can open any time to see what stage their gear is at. One when every item on the order is done and racked. Both are branded as your shop, and both carry the STOP and HELP language the carriers require.
Replies land in one shop inbox
One inbox per shop, not one per staff member, so a customer gets an answer from whoever is free. The thread is matched to the customer record by phone number, and that customer’s open work orders sit beside the conversation.
Nothing sits unanswered
A customer text stays counted on Messages in the sidebar and in the browser tab title until someone replies or marks it handled. Opening the thread does not clear it, so a text you read at 4pm and meant to answer is still waiting for you at 5.
Consent is written down
Nobody gets a text until they opt in, and it is never a condition of service. They can opt in on your online request form, from a link you email, from a printed link at the counter, or by confirming a text you send at drop-off. FlowState stores the exact wording they agreed to and when.
STOP and HELP answer themselves
Reply STOP and the customer is out: one confirmation goes back and that conversation locks in the app, so nobody texts them by accident afterwards. HELP returns your shop’s contact details. Neither needs watching.
A texting number for your shop
Texts send from a local number registered for your shop with U.S. carriers under A2P 10DLC. I set it up with you during onboarding. Approval usually takes about 10 to 15 days, and the carriers decide.
The same question, answered before it is asked.
A customer calls to ask whether their gear is ready.
Once texting is on, the answer goes out by text when the order is ready.
A question reaches whoever happened to pick up the phone, and nobody else knows it was asked.
Every customer text sits in one shop inbox, counted, until somebody answers it.
You look up a caller’s order while they wait on the line.
Their open work orders are already on screen next to their message.
Somebody has to remember which customers said it was fine to text them.
Consent is captured in writing with its wording and date, and STOP ends it on its own.
Run a work order end to end on your own demo shop.
A private 7-day demo loaded with sample customers and work orders. Confirm your email and you are in, no card required.
No card · 7 days · your own private shop
Straight answers.
- Is texting actually live?
- Yes. It’s live at 7even Skis in South Salt Lake, Utah today. For a new shop, texting is set up during onboarding: I register your shop with U.S. carriers under A2P 10DLC, and sending starts once they approve. That usually takes about 10 to 15 days. The carriers decide, so I can’t promise a date. Email notices work from day one.
- Do customers have to opt in?
- Yes, and opting in is never a condition of service. A customer can opt in on your online service-request form, from a link you email them, from a printed link at the counter, or by replying to a confirmation text you send at drop-off. Consent only becomes active when they say yes, and the exact wording and date are stored against their record.
- Can I send marketing texts to my customer list?
- No, and that is deliberate. This is a customer-care program tied to a specific work order: the tracking link, service updates, the pickup alert, and the conversation that follows. Promotional and recurring marketing sends are outside what the program is registered for, so FlowState does not do them. A shop that wants marketing campaigns needs a separate tool for that.
- What happens when someone replies STOP?
- They are opted out at once, they get a single confirmation, and the conversation locks in the app so no member of staff can text them by mistake afterwards. A shop with texting switched off still receives inbound messages, because a shop has to be able to hear an opt-out at any time.
- Who answers the replies?
- Anyone on your staff. The inbox is shared per shop rather than per person, so a count on the Messages tab means the shop owes somebody a reply, not that one particular person does. Replying, or marking the thread handled after you have dealt with the customer at the counter, clears it for everyone.
- Does the customer need to install anything?
- No. These are ordinary text messages to the number they gave you, and the tracking link opens a plain web page in whatever browser they already have. Their carrier’s standard message and data rates apply.
Follow every pair to pickup.
One work order from the counter to the bench to pickup, and a customer who hears when their gear is ready.
No card · 7 days · your own private shop
Stay attached. Carry speed.