Request photos from the customer over WhatsApp before you roll a van
The cheapest way to fix a job is to understand it before anyone gets in the van. A photo of the boiler error, the broken lock or the leaking valve answers in ten seconds what three phone questions cannot.
Tryoup's WhatsApp integration now goes both ways: as well as recognising the customer the moment their message lands, you can request photos from them and have what they send attached straight to the job.
Quoting blind is expensive
When the enquiry is described over the phone in a hurry — 'it's the tap in the kitchen, it's been dripping for a while' — you are estimating. Estimates lead to the wrong part on the van, a return visit, or a quote that gets revised on site and annoys the customer.
A photo converts that guess into information. The right part gets ordered, the right engineer with the right skills gets dispatched, and the quote you send is based on what the job actually looks like.
How the photo request works
The customer does not need to install anything or create an account — the request arrives in the WhatsApp thread they are already using, and their photos land on the job automatically.
- From the enquiry or the job, request photos from the customer in one click
- The customer receives a WhatsApp message asking for photos of the problem
- What they send is matched to the customer and attached to the job record
- Office and engineer both see the photos before anyone is dispatched
What good photos change
For trades that carry parts, the difference is first-time fix. An appliance engineer who has seen the model label before arrival arrives with the right part. A locksmith who has seen the lock arrives with the right cylinder. A plumber who has seen the valve arrives with the right fitting.
Second visits are the most expensive kind of visit — you can read the numbers in our guide to the cost of second visits. Photos taken before dispatch are the cheapest insurance against them.
Want to see the photo request flow on a real enquiry?
Everyday examples
- Plumbing: a photo of the stopcock or the joint narrows the repair before quoting
- Locksmiths: a photo of the lock face and the door type means the right stock in the van
- Appliance repair: the model and serial label photographed means the part is on its way before the visit
- Heating: a photo of the boiler and the fault code speeds up diagnosis and parts ordering
It sits in the same thread as everything else
Because the request happens inside the WhatsApp conversation you already have with the customer, there is no new app for them to learn. Incoming messages are still matched to the customer automatically, and the whole thread — your request, their photos, everything after — stays attached to the job.
The result is a job record that shows exactly what the engineer is walking into, before they walk in.
Frequently asked questions
- Do customers need to install anything to send photos?
- No. The request arrives over WhatsApp in the conversation they are already having with you, and they reply with photos the same way they would send them to a friend.
- Where do the photos end up?
- On the job record in Tryoup, matched to the customer who sent them — visible to the office and to the engineer who takes the job.
- Can I request photos on an existing job, not just new enquiries?
- Yes. The request can be sent at any point in the job's life — useful when an engineer on site needs something from the customer, or when more detail is needed before an estimate is approved.