AI receptionist for HVAC companies
You're up in an attic. We'll get the phone.
When you can't pick up, it answers in your business's name, asks whether it is heating or cooling and what the system is doing, 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
The first freeze or the first heatwave brings a week of calls at once, while you're already out on jobs. The no-heat call from a house with a newborn in it arrives in the same hour as three tune-up requests.
Marked urgent
- No heat in freezing weather
- No cooling in extreme heat
- A vulnerable person in the home without heating or cooling
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 seasonal tune-up
- A thermostat that needs replacing
- A quote on a new system
These come through as an ordinary lead with the details written down, for when you're off the job.
On price
It doesn't diagnose and it doesn't quote, for a repair or a replacement. It finds out whether it's heating or cooling, what the system is doing and when it started, so you know what you're walking into.
A call it might take
A sample call for Barton Heating and Air, a made-up HVAC company run by Marcus. The receptionist's lines follow the rules the real one runs on.
Watch one play out on the homepage- Receptionist
Thanks for calling Barton Heating and Air. Calls are recorded so we get your details right. How can I help?
- Caller
Hi. Our AC is running but it's blowing warm air. It's 104 out and I've got a newborn at home.
- Receptionist
That sounds rough. What's the best number to reach you?
- Caller
512-555-0192. This is Maria.
- Receptionist
Thanks, Maria. I'm marking this as urgent for Marcus. When did it start blowing warm?
- Caller
Around lunchtime. It was fine this morning.
- Receptionist
Okay. What's the address?
- Caller
4610 Clawson Road, 78745.
- Caller
My neighbor says it's probably the compressor. Is it?
- Receptionist
I can't say what the fault is, but Marcus will look at it. Is there anything else Marcus should know?
- Caller
The outside unit is making a humming noise.
- Receptionist
I'll pass that on. Thanks for calling Barton Heating and Air, 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 Barton Heating and Air. 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: Marcus 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 HVAC companies: whether it is heating or cooling; what the system is doing; when it started; with no heat or no cooling, whether anyone at home is elderly, a baby or unwell, unless they have already said; roughly how old the system is, unless the call is urgent; the kind of system, if they know it, unless the call is urgent. 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 rough. What's the best number to reach you?
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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 no heat in freezing weather, or no cooling in extreme heat, or a vulnerable person in the home without heating or cooling, plus anything you add to the list.
The receptionist says: Thanks, Maria. I'm marking this as urgent for Marcus. When did it start blowing warm?
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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: I'll pass that on. Thanks for calling Barton Heating and Air, 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.
Urgent call taken for you
Barton Heating and Air
Maria called and could not reach you, so the receptionist took their details.
- Name
- Maria
- Phone
- (512) 555-0192
- Address
- 4610 Clawson Rd, Austin 78745
- Service
- AC repair
- Details
- Blowing warm since lunchtime, outside unit humming. Newborn at home.
- Best time to call
- As soon as possible
- Urgent
- Yes
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 HVAC companies
On top of never quoting a price and never pretending to be a person, it's told this, word for word.
If they smell gas or a carbon monoxide alarm is sounding, tell them to leave the building and call 911 or their gas company now.
Never diagnose the fault or say whether a unit needs replacing.
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 HVAC companies 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: whether it is heating or cooling; what the system is doing; when it started; with no heat or no cooling, whether anyone at home is elderly, a baby or unwell, unless they have already said; roughly how old the system is, unless the call is urgent; the kind of system, if they know it, unless the call is urgent. 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?
No heat in freezing weather, no cooling in extreme heat or a vulnerable person in the home without heating or cooling, 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 HVAC companies include: If they smell gas or a carbon monoxide alarm is sounding, tell them to leave the building and call 911 or their gas company now. Never diagnose the fault or say whether a unit needs replacing.
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 company, on your number. It rings you so you hear it before it takes a real call.