Answering service for contractors: what to compare before you pay

If you run a contracting business, you already know the problem: the phone rings when your hands are full. Invoca reports that 27% of calls to home services businesses go unanswered. If a share of your calls is going the same way, you have three common options. This post compares them in plain terms so you can pick the one that fits your business, not the one with the loudest ad.

Option 1: A live answering service

A live answering service uses people who answer calls on your behalf, often in your business name. They take a message or follow a script and pass it on.

What it is good at: a human voice, which matters when a caller is upset or the job is urgent. Some services can also transfer a call to you.

What to watch: the person answering may not know your jobs, your area or your schedule unless you teach them. Ask how they handle a call outside their script, what hours they cover, and how you receive the message.

Option 2: Voicemail with a good greeting

It is often the lowest-cost option, and many people already have it. A clear greeting that says when you will call back, and offers a text number, can be enough if you only miss a few calls a week.

What to watch: callers who reach voicemail may hang up without leaving a message. We cannot say how many, so count your own: for two weeks, note every call you miss and how many leave a message.

Option 3: A text-back tool

A text-back tool answers a missed call with a text message. The customer replies when it suits them, and a well-set-up tool collects the details and sends them to you. Our demo works this way. Here is a line from our simulated demo; the business and the caller are fictional.

Assistant: Hi, this is the AI assistant for Gulf Breeze Handyman Co. I'm texting because you just called and nobody could pick up. What do you need help with?

Caller: I've got a hole in my hallway wall, about fist-sized, where a doorknob went through. Also a small water-stain crack on my bedroom ceiling.

Assistant: Thanks for the details. Is the ceiling spot an active leak, or a stain/crack you want patched?

You can watch the whole demo, about 43 seconds, at milnermarketingagency.com/demo.

What it is good at: in our demo, you can read the full conversation, and the customer does not have to stay on hold. Ask any tool you consider whether it offers the same.

What to watch: it is software, not a person. It should not diagnose problems, promise a visit time or give a firm price, and a caller who wants a person should get one. Some callers prefer a voice, and for a true emergency a text is not enough.

How to choose

Match the option to how your calls actually look:

• Mostly urgent calls (leaks, no cooling, no power): a live voice or a quick callback from you matters most. Ask any provider what its emergency rule is.
• Mostly quote requests and scheduling: a text-back tool or a good voicemail may be enough, because the customer is collecting information and you are deciding who to call first.
• Few calls, one person answering most of them: start with voicemail. Spend money only after you have counted what you are missing.

You can also combine options. Some owners use a live service for after-hours emergencies and a text-back tool for the rest of the day. Whether that works for you depends on your calls.

Questions to ask any provider

1. What happens on an emergency call? Look for a clear safety rule, such as telling a caller who smells gas to leave the building and call 911.
2. Does it give prices or promise times? For most trades, the answer should be that it gives no firm prices and promises no visit times.
3. What is the complete cost? Ask for every charge, per call, per message and per month, in writing.
4. Can you read or hear every conversation? You should be able to review what was said to your customers.
5. Who keeps the customer's information? Ask where it is stored and who can see it.
6. How do you cancel? Look for no long contract and a same-day stop.

A fair test

Pick any option and test it for two weeks. Count your missed calls before and during, and read or listen to every conversation. Keep it if it helped you reach customers you would have lost. Drop it if not.

About us

Milner Marketing is a new agency in Cape Coral, Florida. We build websites and call-handling setups for local trades businesses, and our demo above is one example. We have no case studies to share yet, and we will not invent any. If you want to look at your own missed calls together, we are happy to take 10 minutes.

Simulated example above: fictional business and caller.