“We felt there had to be a better way. Then Essential's automated outreach and approval workflows took over that manual work. The back office now focuses on customer service and winning new business instead of chasing approvals.”David Pulvers, Owner, All County Fire
THE CHALLENGE
Every inspection meant another email—and another spreadsheet update
All County Fire has served San Diego and the surrounding region since 1975, handling fire extinguishers, fire alarm systems, emergency and exit lights, and fire hose. Before Essential, the company had spent more than four years using a software platform for fire and mechanical contractors.
Reaching hundreds of customers each month meant repeating the same steps: find inspection information across multiple pages, draft a personalized email, then update a master Excel spreadsheet. Customers who did not respond needed another follow-up. Mistakes happened, and some outreach went out late.
“With our operations previously, there were just too many tedious and redundant tasks. And I really didn’t like using the software. There was too much clicking, typing, and scrolling. It felt like we were all going to get carpal tunnel.”David Pulvers, Owner, All County Fire
THE IMPLEMENTATION
Ready for the next inspection cycle
Andrea was the main point of contact for implementation. She gathered and answered the setup questions; Essential’s team imported relevant data from the previous platform and configured the system to All County Fire’s specifications.
Within two months, the platform was ready in May 2024 for inspections and services due in June. The setup combined automated outreach ahead of inspections with task tracking, so the office could follow the work as it progressed.
THE RESULTS
Personalized follow-up without writing every message
In the first 12 months, 78% of inspections due were approved without manual work, and more than 10,000 emails and text messages were sent automatically.
Essential grouped properties due in a similar time frame by contact. A property manager with several inspections due in the same month would not receive unnecessary separate messages. Contacts with inspections due received an average of 2.4 automated emails.
Messages included the contact’s name and property information and went out on weekdays during standard business hours. The response form asked different questions depending on the service due, such as fire extinguisher or fire alarm inspections.
“With the extra time I have, I work on new projects like getting new business for All County Fire or reaching back out to old customers that previously went with another vendor.”Andrea Sarmiento, Lead Office Admin, All County Fire