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What a good installer enquiry looks like

November 11, 2026
Installer enquiries
2 min read
Customer making a phone enquiry beside a water-treatment unit.

An installer reading a new enquiry has one decision to make: call back, book a survey, or pass. A good enquiry makes that decision quick. A poor one means a phone call just to find out the basics. This article sets out what a useful enquiry contains and why each detail matters.

What the installer is trying to decide

Before they spend time on a call or a survey, they want to know three things. Is this the kind of job we do? Is it in our area? Is the customer ready enough to justify a visit?

The details that help most

  • Property and location. The full postcode, the type of property (house, rural property or commercial site) and how many people use it.
  • The current system. What is there now (septic tank, cesspit, older treatment plant, or nothing), roughly how old it is and what is wrong with it.
  • The reason for the enquiry. A failed inspection, a property sale, a repair that cannot wait, or early planning for a new build.
  • Site conditions. Vehicle access, how much open land there is, whether there is a ditch or watercourse nearby, and whether the ground is often wet.
  • Timing. When the customer needs the work finished, and whether there is a fixed date such as a completion.
  • Contact details. A phone number and the best time to call.
  • Any estimate the customer has seen. If it was provisional, it should say so.

Call back, book a survey or pass

Each detail points towards one of three outcomes.

  • Call back when most details are there but a few questions are open, such as access or where the discharge goes.
  • Book a survey when the job fits and the customer is ready. The installer still needs to see the site, but the visit has a clear purpose.
  • Pass when the job is outside the installer’s area or the type of work they take. A clear enquiry lets them say no quickly, so the customer can be referred on sooner.

A good example enquiry (fictional)

This example is fictional. It is written to show what a useful enquiry can look like. It does not describe a real customer, a real property or a real result.

  • Location: Example postcode area, open countryside. Detached three-bedroom house, four people.
  • Current system: Septic tank installed around 2005. The customer reports that it discharges to a ditch at the edge of the property.
  • Reason: A buyer’s survey flagged the discharge. The sale is due to complete in about ten weeks.
  • Site: Gravel drive wide enough for a van. Back lawn of roughly 20 metres by 15. Ground is often wet in winter. No known boundary disputes.
  • Timing: Work needs to be finished before completion.
  • Contact: Mobile number, best after 5pm.
  • Estimate seen: Yes. A provisional range, marked as provisional.

The installer has enough information to make a focused first call. They can confirm the discharge route, access and timing before deciding whether a survey is worthwhile.

Missing details are useful too

A blank field tells the installer nothing. “Not known” or “customer unsure” tells them what to ask. Where a supplier uses a standard set of enquiry questions, every installer in the network sees the same fields in the same order, which makes enquiries quicker to read and compare.

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