10 questions your AI receptionist should ask every new caller (with per-trade examples)

A good receptionist, human or AI, asks enough for you to call back ready to quote or schedule, and nothing more. That comes down to ten questions: what’s going on, the one or two details your trade needs, when they need it, their name, the best callback number (read back), the town or address, whether it’s urgent, a good time to call back, whether there’s anything else, and, if you want it, how they heard about you. Below is each one, why it earns its place, and how Buildrok’s receptionist handles it today, followed by the per-trade versions for plumbers, HVAC, roofers, cleaners, electricians and detailers, and the things it should never ask or say.

One rule sits over all ten: one question at a time. A caller standing on a stepladder with a bucket can answer “where’s the house?” They can’t answer four questions read out in a row.

The ten questions

1. What’s going on?

Let them say it in their own words first. “Water’s coming through the kitchen ceiling” tells you more than any form field could, and it’s what you’ll read in the lead email, under Details. Buildrok’s default greeting ends by asking how it can help, and the caller explains from there.

2. The detail your trade can’t quote without

Every trade has one or two questions that decide what kind of job this is. For a plumber it’s whether water is leaking right now. For heating and air it’s whether it’s heating or cooling, and what the system is doing. These are the questions that separate “come tonight” from “quote next week,” and they’re different for every trade, so they get their own section below. Buildrok’s receptionist asks your trade’s questions on every call.

3. When do you need someone?

“Today,” “this week” and “before my tenants move in on the 1st” are three different jobs. It’s in the default questions for plumbers, cleaners, electricians and detailers. For HVAC the question is when the problem started, and for roofing, “is it leaking right now?” does most of that work.

4. What’s your name?

Ask once and accept what you hear. If the name comes through a little wrong, you’ll hear it properly on the callback. What can’t be wrong is the number and the address. Making someone spell their name over a bad line, standing in a flooded kitchen, gets you nothing.

5. What’s the best number to call you back on?

This is the most important answer on the call. Caller ID isn’t always the number they want you to use: it might be a work phone, a partner’s phone or a blocked number. Buildrok’s receptionist asks for the best callback number and reads it back once, so a wrong digit gets caught while the caller is still on the line.

6. What town or address is the job at?

It tells you whether you cover them and how to plan the drive. The receptionist knows the service area you gave it (towns, ZIP codes or a radius) and asks for the town or address on every call.

7. Is it urgent?

Ask it directly, and check the answer against your list. Each trade comes with default urgent examples, listed below, and you add your own on top. When a call is urgent, Buildrok’s receptionist gets the callback number first, so you have it even if the line drops. Then it tells the caller it’s marking the call urgent, and the lead email arrives with a subject like “URGENT: Maria needs a callback.”

8. Is there a good time to call you back?

Handy for quotes and anything non-urgent: the tenant who can only talk after 5, the homeowner in meetings until noon. The lead email has a “Best time to call” field, and Buildrok’s receptionist fills it when the caller offers one. It isn’t one of the questions it asks by default. For an urgent call, the answer is “now” anyway.

9. Anything else?

Ask it once, at the end. It catches the second job (“while you’re out here, the upstairs toilet keeps running”) and anything the caller forgot. Buildrok’s receptionist asks “Anything else?” once, then says “Thanks for calling,” with your business’s name, wishes them a good day, and hangs up. Asking twice is how a two-minute call turns into a five-minute one.

10. How did you hear about us? (optional)

Worth knowing if you spend money on ads, your Google Business Profile or a truck wrap. It’s also the question a caller in a hurry cares about least, so it goes last or not at all. Buildrok’s receptionist doesn’t ask it by default. If you want the answer from every call, you could put it in the notes you give your receptionist, which it follows as long as they don’t break one of its rules. The answer would then be in the call’s recording and transcript. Otherwise, ask it yourself on the callback, when you’re already talking.

Per-trade examples

These are the questions, default urgent cases and hard limits Buildrok’s receptionist uses for each trade. You can add your own urgent cases on top of these.

Plumbers

It asks what’s happening, whether water is leaking right now, and when they need someone. Urgent by default: a burst pipe or active leak, sewage backing up, or no water at all. If the caller smells gas, it tells them to leave the building and call 911 or their gas company. For an active leak it may suggest shutting off the main water valve if they know where it is, and it gives no other repair advice. More on the plumbers page.

Heating and air

It asks whether it’s heating or cooling, what the system is doing, and when it started. Urgent by default: no heat in freezing weather, no cooling in extreme heat, or a vulnerable person in the home without heating or cooling. If they smell gas or a carbon monoxide alarm is going off, it tells them to leave and call 911 or the gas company. It never diagnoses the fault and never says whether a unit needs replacing. See the heating and air page.

Roofers

It asks what’s wrong with the roof or what they need, and whether it’s leaking right now. Urgent by default: an active roof leak, storm damage or missing shingles, or a tree on the roof. It never says whether a roof is safe to stand on or under, never advises on insurance claims, and never says whether damage is covered. The morning after a storm, “is it leaking right now?” is the question that sorts your callback list. See the roofers page.

House cleaners

It asks the type of clean, the rough size of the place (bedrooms and bathrooms) and when they want it done. Urgent by default: a move-out clean due in the next day or two, or a cleanup needed before guests arrive today. It never promises a specific cleaner, crew size or cleaning products. See the house cleaners page.

Electricians

It asks what’s happening or what they need installed, and when they need it done. Urgent by default: sparking, burning smells or smoke from an outlet or panel, a total loss of power, or exposed or downed wires. If there’s smoke, fire or sparking, it tells them to stay away from it and call 911 now. It never tells a caller to open, touch or reset anything in a panel. See the electricians page.

Mobile detailers

It asks about the vehicle (make, model and size), the service they want, and when they need it. Urgent by default: a car needed for an event tomorrow, or a spill or odor that needs treating today. It never promises that a stain, scratch or odor can be removed. See the mobile detailers page.

What it should never ask or say

The questions above are half the job. The other half is what stays off the call.

• It should never give a price. No quote, no range, no ballpark, no “it usually runs about.” A number given before anyone has seen the job is a promise you then have to keep or walk back. Buildrok’s receptionist says you’ll go over pricing.
• It should never diagnose or advise. “Sounds like a bad capacitor” is a guess that becomes your problem when it’s wrong. Beyond safety (call 911, leave for a gas smell, shut the main water valve on an active leak), Buildrok’s receptionist gives no advice.
• It should never promise a time. Buildrok’s receptionist never says when you’ll call back or when someone will arrive. “Someone will be out by eight” from an assistant is a commitment you never made.
• It shouldn’t say whether you’re open right now. It reads out your hours as you published them, and never tells a caller whether the business is open at that moment.
• It shouldn’t answer what it doesn’t know. It answers from what you gave it: your hours, service area, services and up to 15 of your own questions with your answers. For anything else, it says you’ll cover it when you call back. It never guesses.
• It shouldn’t ask what you don’t need. Every extra question is one more moment for a caller to lose patience. Payment details have no place on an intake call either, so leave them out of anything you ask it to collect.

Try the questions on a real call

The fastest way to judge a list like this is to hear it run. Book a demo and listen to how the questions sound on a call, or read the full rules on the AI receptionist page. For what happens to the answers afterwards, one inbox for your website and your phone covers the Lead Inbox. And if you’re weighing whether the calls you miss are worth the trouble at all, start with what a missed call costs a trade business.