Home visits for longcase clocks: planning the call-out

A longcase clock doesn't come to the counter, so the repairer goes to it. Make home visits a bookable service with slots long enough to include travel, grouped by area on set days, and ask clients before the visit what the clock does or doesn't do. On site, handle what can be done there, such as setting in beat, levelling, hanging weights and pendulum, adjusting the strike, and if the movement needs a proper service, take it back to the workshop and leave the case in place.

A full clean and overhaul belongs in the workshop. Explain it at the visit and, if the client agrees, remove the movement, pack it properly and give a receipt that describes it. The case, weights and pendulum can stay where they are until you bring it back.

On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page. You open slots for each service at the length it takes; clients pick a service, then a free slot. One place per slot, since you go to one home at a time.

Durations and prices are examples: set your own. Include travel time in the slot, and say in the description which area you cover and what's included. If you charge more for longer distances, create a separate service for outlying areas.

Home visits cost more in driving than in work. One option is to cover one area per day: open visit slots on that day, repeated each week on chosen weekdays until a date, and list the towns in the description. Keep workshop days free of visits so the bench work moves on.

The public booking form asks for first name, last name, email and phone, plus an optional note you read in your new-booking email. Ask for the address and floor, the type of clock (longcase, wall, bracket), whether it has just been moved, and what it does: stops, runs fast, strikes wrongly, doesn't strike. Ask for a photo of the dial and the inside of the case by email. With that, you bring the right tools and, if needed, a crate to take the movement away. The note can't be edited once the booking exists, so put the questions in the service description.

Tell clients not to move the clock with the weights and pendulum on, and not to adjust it themselves before you arrive, since that can make the diagnosis harder.

Bring a spirit level, shims for uneven floors, spare suspension springs and gut or cable for the weights, plus soft cloths to protect the case and floor. Before touching anything, listen to the tick and watch the clock run for a minute. When you leave, show the client how to wind it, how to correct the time without damaging the strike, and what to do if it stops again. A clear explanation at the end saves a second call-out for something the client can fix in a minute.

When the movement is ready, create a slot on a day you're in that area and book the client in from your calendar: first and last name are required, email and phone optional. With one place, a booked slot is full and no longer shown on your page. Clients can't move bookings online: they contact you, you reschedule or cancel from your bookings list and let them know, since Book doesn't email clients about changes. With calendar sync (Google, iPhone, Mac), visits and workshop days share one calendar. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.