Industries · Trades and field service
An AI answering service for tradesmen and field service teams
VoiceLogic’s trades AI agent picks up the calls you can’t take while you’re on a job, and writes down the caller’s name, number, full address with postcode, what the problem is and how urgent it is. Every job request is emailed to you and can be texted to your mobile, ready for whoever goes out.
- Callouts taken while you work
- Address and number read back
- Gas smells sent to 0800 111 999
The problem
Why do tradespeople miss so many calls?
Because the person who would answer is usually up a ladder, under a floor or driving to the next job. A new customer who gets no answer rarely waits; they ring the next firm. And when you do call back hours later, you still have to chase the details that should have been taken the first time.
Both hands busy
Stopping a job to take a call costs time and looks bad in front of the customer you’re working for. Letting it ring costs you the next job.
Voicemail doesn’t win work
Plenty of callers won’t leave a message at all, and the ones who do often forget the postcode or the number.
A job sheet with gaps
Turning up without the make of the boiler, or without knowing who has the key, means a wasted trip or a second visit.
Chasers on live jobs
Existing customers ring to ask about a job already booked. They need putting through or a message, not a new callout.
On a callout
What does an AI answering service do for a trades business?
It takes a complete job request: who is calling, where the job is, what is wrong, how urgent it is and when someone can let the engineer in. Then it reads the address and number back, so the details you receive are the right ones.
Who and where
The caller’s name, the best number to reach them, and the full address including the postcode.
What’s wrong
The problem in their words, the make or model where it applies, and how long it has been happening.
How urgent, and access
How urgent the caller thinks it is, and when someone can be there to let the engineer in.
Existing jobs
If the call is about a job you already have, it takes the job reference and puts them through or leaves a message.
Reads it all back
Before the call ends it repeats the address and phone number, so a wrong digit is caught there and then.
Example call
A boiler callout taken while you’re on another job
This example shows a call to a fictional heating firm. The agent gets everything an engineer would need, declines to guess at a price, and reads back the address and number before finishing. The job lands in your inbox and on your phone as a text.
An illustration only. The business, customer, address and number are invented.
AgentHello, you’ve reached Hartley Heating, this is Max. How are you today?
CallerNot great, the boiler’s stopped. No heating since this morning.
AgentSorry to hear that. Can I take your name, best number and the full address with postcode?
CallerTom Bennett, 07700 900123, 42 Mill Lane, RG14 7QX. It’s a combi, about ten years old. How much will it be?
AgentI can’t give a price, but the team will. How urgent is it, and when could someone be there to let the engineer in?
CallerI’m home all day tomorrow.
AgentThanks. So that’s 42 Mill Lane, RG14 7QX, on 07700 900123. Is that right?
Clear limits
What will the trades agent never do?
It never quotes a price or an arrival time, unless your own information tells it what to say to callers. Customers get the facts from you, not a guess from the agent.
- No prices, unless your information gives the agent one to use.
- No arrival times, unless your information says what callers should be told.
- No invented answers about your services or the areas you cover: it uses only what you give it.
If a caller reports a gas smell, the agent tells them to call the National Gas Emergency number, 0800 111 999, now. If anyone is in danger, it tells them to call 999.
You can reshape the template to fit your trade, whether that is plumbing, electrical work, locksmithing or appliance repair, and the call limit starts at ten minutes.
Useful with
Features that work for a firm on the road
Job requests texted to you
Each message is emailed and can be texted to your mobile, so you see a new callout between jobs. Texts are 25p per part. Messages and texts.
Your office number on your mobile
The Linphone app, set up by QR code, lets you take calls on the business number wherever you are, and leave the rest to the agent. Mobile and softphone apps.
Urgent calls put through
The agent can put callers through by name or subject, only to the people you allow, with a fallback destination for anything it cannot handle. Transfers and fallback.
Evenings and weekends covered
Office hours decide when calls ring you and when the agent answers instead, bank holidays included. Office hours.
Your services, in your words
Tell the agent what work you do and where, or point it at your website, and it answers those questions for you. Documents and website.
Questions
Questions from trades and field service firms
Will the AI agent give customers a price or an arrival time?
Only if your information tells it what to say. Otherwise it explains that the team will confirm the price or time, takes the job details, and passes them to you.
How do I get the job details?
Each call ends with a message emailed to you, with the caller’s name, number, address, the problem and how urgent it is. It can also be texted to your mobile, and the full transcript is saved.
Can it put an urgent call straight through to me?
Yes. You choose who the agent may put calls through to, by name or by subject. If nobody can take the call, it takes a message instead.
What does it do if a customer smells gas?
It tells them to call the National Gas Emergency number, 0800 111 999, now. If anyone is in danger, it tells them to call 999.
How much is an AI answering service for a trades business?
Basic AI agents cost £29 a month and include 500 minutes; extra minutes are 6p each and text messages 25p per part. Prices exclude VAT; see every plan on the pricing page.
Talk to us
See VoiceLogic working on a real call, and get a quote for your team.