[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":125},["ShallowReactive",2],{"guide-\u002Fguides\u002Fday-of-operations\u002Fhow-to-do-a-site-check-without-visiting-the-site":3,"guide-siblings-\u002Fguides\u002Fday-of-operations\u002Fhow-to-do-a-site-check-without-visiting-the-site":115},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"body":7,"description":90,"disclaimer":91,"draft":92,"extension":93,"faq":94,"lastReviewed":107,"meta":108,"navigation":109,"path":110,"publishedAt":107,"seo":111,"sitemap":112,"stem":113,"__hash__":114},"guides\u002Fguides\u002Fday-of-operations\u002Fhow-to-do-a-site-check-without-visiting-the-site.md","How to do a site check without visiting the site","Rally",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":82},"minimark",[10,14,19,26,32,38,44,50,54,57,60,64,67,75,79],[11,12,13],"p",{},"Ten minutes at a desk checks almost everything a drive-by would: satellite view for the yard size and layout, Street View for the gate, the driveway, and the parking, terrain view for the slope, and five targeted client questions for what the imagery can't see. Nobody drives out to scout a backyard birthday, and nobody should have to, because the surprise-free Saturday is mostly a research habit.",[15,16,18],"h2",{"id":17},"the-desk-recon-step-by-step","The desk recon, step by step",[11,20,21,25],{},[22,23,24],"strong",{},"1. Satellite view: the yard."," Pull the address in Google Maps satellite view and read the yard like a job site: how big is the usable space, where are the trees and the garden beds, is there an obvious flat zone for the foam pit, how far is the yard from where a truck can park. Measure it if it matters, the measuring tool is right there, and \"75 feet from driveway to backyard\" is the difference between the standard hose run and the extra length.",[11,27,28,31],{},[22,29,30],{},"2. Street View: the approach."," Walk the street virtually. Where does a truck with a trailer actually fit, is it a narrow street with no shoulder, is there a hill start with a load, which side is the gate on, and does that gate look wider than a wheelbarrow. Street View also dates itself, so treat a five-year-old image as a hypothesis, not a fact.",[11,33,34,37],{},[22,35,36],{},"3. Terrain and common sense: the slope."," A yard that looks tilted in satellite shadows, a street that Street View shows climbing, a neighborhood you know is built on a hillside: slope sends foam and water somewhere, and downhill from the cannon should be lawn, not the back door or the neighbor's koi pond. Flag anything suspicious for the arrival walk.",[11,39,40,43],{},[22,41,42],{},"4. The neighborhood read."," Tight urban lots mean close neighbors and a noise conversation worth suggesting to the host. A cul-de-sac means easy truck turnaround. A park or HOA-looking development means asking about rules before the day. Thirty seconds of zooming out answers all three.",[11,45,46,49],{},[22,47,48],{},"5. The five questions the imagery can't answer."," Water spigot location and whether it works, a live outdoor outlet within reach, the gate width in actual inches if the photo looked tight, where the client expects the foam zone, and any changes since the imagery: new fence, new pool, new landscaping. These ride along in the booking questions, so by the time you're doing desk recon, most are already answered and this step is verification.",[15,51,53],{"id":52},"what-gets-flagged-forward","What gets flagged forward",[11,55,56],{},"Desk recon produces notes, and notes are only useful where the crew reads them. Everything learned goes onto the booking: \"long hose run, side gate is tight, yard slopes toward garden, park on street not driveway.\" The recon that lives in the operator's memory reaches exactly zero crew members on Saturday.",[11,58,59],{},"The two-minute arrival walk still happens, every time, because imagery ages and clients are optimists about their own outlets. Desk recon's job is making the arrival walk a confirmation instead of a discovery.",[15,61,63],{"id":62},"when-the-desk-says-drive-out-anyway","When the desk says drive out anyway",[11,65,66],{},"A handful of bookings earn a real visit: large events where layout is the product, schools and parks with loading docks and permit zones, anything multi-station, and any site where the desk recon raised a question the client can't answer confidently. The skill is spending the site visit budget on the five bookings a season that need it, because the desk cleared the other hundred and forty-five.",[68,69,72],"rally-aside",{"label":70,"to":71},"See bookings in Rally","\u002Ffeatures",[11,73,74],{},"Site answers from the booking form and your recon notes live on the booking in Rally, and the crew reads them on their phone at the truck. What the desk learned on Tuesday is standing in the driveway on Saturday.",[15,76,78],{"id":77},"the-line-to-remember","The line to remember",[11,80,81],{},"Every surprise at the curb was visible from a desk five days earlier. The ten minutes isn't extra work, it's the same discovery at a hundredth of the price.",{"title":83,"searchDepth":84,"depth":84,"links":85},"",2,[86,87,88,89],{"id":17,"depth":84,"text":18},{"id":52,"depth":84,"text":53},{"id":62,"depth":84,"text":63},{"id":77,"depth":84,"text":78},"Google Maps for the yard and slope, Street View for the gate and parking, and five client questions for the rest. Ten minutes at a desk beats a surprise at the curb.","none",false,"md",[95,98,101,104],{"q":96,"a":97},"Is satellite imagery accurate enough to trust?","For yard size, layout, and approach, yes, and it's often more current than you'd expect in growing suburbs. For anything built in the last year or two, the client questions carry the load, which is why the two methods travel together.",{"q":99,"a":100},"What's the most common thing desk recon catches?","Parking and access problems: the no-parking street, the shared driveway, the backyard only reachable through the house. Second place is yard size optimism, where the client's \"huge backyard\" measures thirty feet.",{"q":102,"a":103},"Should I charge for real site visits on big events?","Fold it into large-event pricing rather than line-iteming it. The visit is part of what makes a school field day run clean, and clean field days rebook annually, which pays for the gas many times over.",{"q":105,"a":106},"What about apartment complexes and shared spaces?","Those get the extra question by default: who actually controls the space, and has management approved. Satellite view shows a lovely courtyard, and it can't show that the HOA requires a certificate of insurance and hates generators. The imagery starts that conversation, the client and their property manager finish it.","2026-07-13",{},true,"\u002Fguides\u002Fday-of-operations\u002Fhow-to-do-a-site-check-without-visiting-the-site",{"title":5,"description":90},{"loc":110},"guides\u002Fday-of-operations\u002Fhow-to-do-a-site-check-without-visiting-the-site","9hSuEjn1LhwN5jMq8Z5qFUUrXI7X0jmdEUxKKLqgFyQ",[116,119,122],{"path":117,"title":118},"\u002Fguides\u002Fday-of-operations\u002Ffoam-party-setup-checklist","Foam party setup checklist (what to bring and what can go wrong)",{"path":120,"title":121},"\u002Fguides\u002Fday-of-operations\u002Fhow-to-run-multiple-parties-in-one-day","How to run multiple parties in one day without losing your mind",{"path":123,"title":124},"\u002Fguides\u002Fday-of-operations\u002Fwhat-your-crew-needs-to-know-before-every-event","What your crew needs to know before every event",1783921368470]