Trustworthy storm texting: consent, honesty and not looking like a storm chaser

Why storms create a trust problem for roofers

After a big storm, homeowners are approached by a lot of strangers. Trucks with out-of-province plates, door-knockers offering "free inspections", flyers promising the insurance company will pay. Many homeowners have heard stories about deposits taken and crews never returning.

So when your text arrives, the homeowner's first question isn't "how fast?" but "is this real?". Every element of your message either answers that question or raises it again. A clear business name, a named person, a realistic time and an easy opt-out answer it. Urgency, links and vague offers raise it.

What Canada's anti-spam law says about texts

Canada's anti-spam legislation covers commercial electronic messages, and texts are included. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada explains the rules on its consent page, and the CRTC is the enforcement body.

The core requirements, in summary:

1. Consent. You need express consent or a qualifying implied consent. ISED notes implied consent is generally time-limited: it may last just 6 months for inquiries, and up to 2 years for some existing business relationships.
2. Identification. Messages must identify your business, and anyone you're sending on behalf of, with valid contact information.
3. Unsubscribe. Each message needs a working way to opt out, at no cost, and requests must be actioned within 10 business days or less.
4. Proof. You should be able to show the consent basis for a message if asked.

A homeowner who just texted you asking about their roof is in a very different position from someone whose number you collected three years ago. Most of what we set up for roofers is replies to fresh inquiries, which keeps you on solid ground.

Practical habits from ISED's texting guidance

ISED also publishes a page on texting for good client relations. Its advice translates neatly to roofing:

• Name your business in each text. Not just "Hi, it's Mike." Use "Mike at [Business name]".
• Offer STOP and honour it. Make the opt-out obvious and make sure your tool records it.
• Avoid asking for personal details by text. No policy numbers, card numbers or birthdates.
• Text sparingly. Important updates only; storm queue updates qualify, daily reminders don't.
• Watch your opt-out rate. A spike means people see your texts as unwanted.
• Train staff and vendors. Anyone texting for you needs to follow the same rules.

Privacy: what you keep and why

Text threads contain addresses, photos of homes and details about damage. That's personal information.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner's summary of privacy laws explains that the federal private-sector law, PIPEDA, applies in most of Canada, while Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec have their own substantially similar laws for businesses within those provinces. A practical approach for roofers: collect only what you need to book and do the job, keep it in an account your company controls, and limit who can see it.

Wording to avoid in storm-season texts

Storm chasers have taught homeowners to recognise certain phrases. Keep them out of your messages, and keep your texts honest under the Competition Bureau's rules on misleading representations, which apply to marketing in any medium.

Keeping a simple consent record

You don't need elaborate software to keep a defensible record. For each phone number, your texting tool or a spreadsheet should show:

• the date and time of first contact
• how the contact happened (texted you, called and missed, web form, in person)
• any express permission given, with the wording used, such as "Yes, text me about future maintenance"
• any STOP request and the date it was processed

If you later want to send seasonal reminders, ask for express permission at the end of a job:

Thanks for choosing [Business name]. Would you like a text reminder before next [season] to check your roof? Reply YES to opt in. You can reply STOP any time.

A YES, recorded with its date, is far stronger than an assumption.

A trust checklist for every storm text

Run each storm-season message through these questions before it goes live:

1. Is this going only to people who contacted us?
2. Does it name our business clearly?
3. Is every time or date in it true based on our real capacity?
4. Does it avoid insurance promises, prices and invented deadlines?
5. Is there a STOP option, and does it work?
6. Does it avoid asking for personal or financial details?
7. Would we be comfortable if a homeowner screenshotted it and posted it publicly?

If any answer is no, rewrite it.

Where this fits

Consent and honesty run through everything we set up, from the instant first reply to estimate follow-up. The operational side of storm weeks, including categories and wait times, is in the storm triage guide. Quebec, Nunavut and New Brunswick have language considerations worth reading on their region pages. If you want a second pair of eyes on your current storm messages, send them through the contact page.