AI receptionist for general contractors
You're on a job site. We'll get the phone.
When you can't pick up, it answers in your business's name, asks the kind of project and its rough size, books the appointment straight into your calendar through Cal.com, and sends you the job written down. Set up for you, on the number you already have.
Urgent, or it can wait
Most of your calls are projects that take weeks to scope, and a few are a ceiling that just came down. The remodel inquiry needs the details written down. The water damage needs you today.
Marked urgent
- Storm or water damage that needs securing
- A structural problem they are worried about
It takes their number first and tells them it's marking the call urgent. Your email arrives with URGENT in the subject. Anything you add to your own urgent list is treated the same way.
Can wait for your call back
- A kitchen or bathroom remodel
- An addition or a deck
- A list of repairs before a sale
These come through as an ordinary lead with the details written down, for when you're off the job.
On price
A project gets priced after you've seen it. It won't estimate the cost, how long it will take or whether a permit is needed. It gets the kind of project, its rough size and when they hope to start.
A call it might take
A sample call for Hill Country Builders, a made-up general contractor run by Nate. The receptionist's lines follow the rules the real one runs on.
Watch one play out on the homepage- Receptionist
Thanks for calling Hill Country Builders. Calls are recorded so we get your details right. How can I help?
- Caller
Hi, we're looking at redoing our kitchen, and maybe opening up a wall into the dining room.
- Receptionist
That sounds like a good project. Roughly how big is the kitchen?
- Caller
Maybe twelve by fourteen. It's an older house, built in the seventies.
- Receptionist
Got it. When are you hoping to start?
- Caller
Sometime in the spring. How long does something like that usually take?
- Receptionist
Nate will go over timing with you. What's the best number to reach you?
- Caller
512-555-0163. I'm Erin.
- Receptionist
Thanks. And where's the house?
- Caller
1408 Brentwood Street, 78757.
- Receptionist
Got it. Anything else?
- Caller
No, that's it.
- Receptionist
Thanks for calling Hill Country Builders, have a good day.
What it does on a call
The same five things every time, in the order a good receptionist would. Each line here is one it's told to say.
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It picks up in your name
Every call opens in your business's name, or with a greeting you write, and always with the recording notice, so nobody is surprised by it later.
The receptionist says: Thanks for calling Hill Country Builders. Calls are recorded so we get your details right. How can I help?
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It answers what it can
Your hours as you publish them, the towns you cover, your services, and up to 15 questions you've answered yourself. Anything else, it says you'll cover when you call back. It never guesses and never quotes a price.
The receptionist says: Nate will go over that when they call you back.
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It asks what you'd ask
One question at a time, the way a person would. For general contractors: the kind of project; its rough size; when they hope to start. Then a name, the best number to call back on (read back once), the address, and whether it's urgent.
The receptionist says: That sounds like a good project. Roughly how big is the kitchen?
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It flags the urgent ones
If it sounds urgent, it gets the number first, then marks the call urgent so it's the first thing you see. Urgent means things like storm or water damage that needs securing, or a structural problem they are worried about, plus anything you add to the list.
The receptionist says: Thanks. I'm marking this as urgent for Nate.
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It wraps up and sends you the job
It asks if there's anything else, once, says goodbye and hangs up. When the call ends, the job is emailed to you and saved in your Lead Inbox with the recording.
The receptionist says: Thanks for calling Hill Country Builders, have a good day.
What lands in your inbox
Every real call becomes a lead, emailed to you and saved in your Lead Inbox. This is the email the call above would send.
Your receptionist took a call
Hill Country Builders
Erin called and could not reach you, so the receptionist took their details.
- Name
- Erin
- Phone
- (512) 555-0163
- Address
- 1408 Brentwood St, Austin 78757
- Service
- Kitchen remodel
- Details
- About 12 by 14, 1970s house. Wants to open a wall into the dining room. Asked how long it takes.
- Best time to call
- Hoping to start in the spring
Call them back as soon as you can. The recording and transcript are in your leads.
Open in Leads-
The subject says if it's urgent
So the one that can't wait is the one you open first.
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Everything you'd write on a job sheet
Who, where, what's wrong and when to call. Trade questions it asked land in the details.
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Tap the number to call back
It's the number the caller gave, read back to them once on the call.
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The recording and transcript
In your Lead Inbox, if you want to hear exactly what was said.
Its rules for general contractors
On top of never quoting a price and never pretending to be a person, it's told this, word for word.
Never estimate how long a project will take or whether a permit is needed.
What do missed calls cost you?
Put in your own numbers. The ones here are only an example.
A flat monthly price for the receptionist.
The calls are included, with no per-minute bill. Set up for you.
$49a month
AI Receptionist, everything included
- 150 minutes of calls a month
- If you go over, it switches to taking messages. It never bills you for more.
- Set up for you, and you hear it before it goes live
- Every lead emailed to you and saved in your Lead Inbox
- Books appointments into your calendar (via Cal.com)
- Recording and transcript of every call
- Keep your number
For a busier line, Receptionist Plus is $99 a month with 400 minutes.
Websites are separate. Done for you from $499, or build your own for $29 a month.
Need a website as well?
We build websites for general contractors too, designed around how your jobs come in. Leads from your site and your receptionist land in the same inbox.
Questions
Something not covered here? Book a demo
What does it ask your callers?
One question at a time: the kind of project; its rough size; when they hope to start. Then a name, the best number to call back on, where the work is, and whether it's urgent. You can also give it answers to the questions your callers ask most.
What does it treat as urgent?
Storm or water damage that needs securing or a structural problem they are worried about, plus anything you add to your own list. It takes the caller's number first, then marks the call urgent, so it's the first thing you see.
Will it give my callers advice?
No. Its rules for general contractors include: Never estimate how long a project will take or whether a permit is needed.
What does it cost?
$49 a month, with 150 minutes of calls. If you go over, it switches to taking messages instead of charging you more, and answers in full again when your minutes reset, on the same date each month. A busier line can have 400 minutes for $99 a month. Setup is included.
Will callers know it's an AI?
It never pretends to be a person. Every call starts by saying the call is recorded, and if a caller asks whether they're talking to a real person, it tells them straight away that it's an AI assistant taking details for you.
Can it book appointments?
Yes. Link your Cal.com account and it offers callers your open slots and books them straight into your calendar. It asks for the caller's email, because Cal.com needs one to make the booking.
Do I keep my phone number?
Yes. You dial one code on your own phone so the calls you miss go to your receptionist, and another code turns it off. Your number never changes.
Are calls recorded?
Yes. Every call starts by telling the caller it's recorded, and you can play the recording and read the transcript from the lead. Rules about recording calls vary by state, and you're responsible for the ones that apply where you work.
Let it get the next one.
Set up for your business, on your number. It rings you so you hear it before it takes a real call.