A telephone answering service that books the job.
Not one that takes a message.
Every call your business misses goes to the next number on Google. Here’s how the three ways to get your phone answered compare, what each one really costs you, and which one fits a small business.
A telephone answering service answers a business’s calls when nobody in the business can. Human services take a message and pass it on. An AI receptionist answers in seconds, 24 hours a day, and can book the appointment as well.
Every call picked up.
Calls that ring out while you’re on a job, at lunch or after hours get answered as your business, every time, all at once.
An answer, not a ring-back.
The caller gets your prices, your area and a booking there and then. You don’t spend the evening returning messages.
The details on your phone.
Name, number, the job and when they want it, texted to you the moment the call ends. Every call recorded so you can check it.
Three ways to get your phone answered
A human answering service
A UK call centre answers in your business name and passes on a message, usually on a monthly plan plus a charge per call or per minute. Honest verdict: a polite person on the line, and the right choice if callers mostly want reassurance that someone will ring back. Where it falls down: the agent doesn’t know your diary or your prices, so most calls still become a ring-back you have to make.
A virtual receptionist you employ
A freelance or part-time receptionist working remotely on your line. Honest verdict: the closest thing to a front desk, with real knowledge of your customers. Where it falls down: they work set hours, they’re one person, and the 9pm call, the Saturday call and the three calls at once still go to voicemail.
An AI receptionist
Answers every call in seconds, day and night, as your business. Asks your questions, quotes from your price list, books into the diary you already use and texts you the details. Hands over to you when the caller asks for a person or it isn’t sure. This one is ours, and you can ring it before you decide.
Our recommendation: If you get a handful of calls a week and always ring back within the hour, keep your voicemail and save the money. If callers mostly need reassurance and you’re happy returning calls, a human answering service is fine. If calls come in while you’re working, out of hours or several at once, and those callers want a price or a booking, an AI receptionist wins those jobs without the ring-back.
We start with your last few weeks of calls: when they come in, what people ask and what a job is worth to you. Then we set the receptionist up with your services, area, prices and rules, test it on real calls with you listening, and divert your missed calls to it. Your number stays the same and your phone always rings first. Pricing follows your numbers, with a one-time setup fee plus a monthly fee, agreed before we start.
JC Electrical in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire runs an AI receptionist and call-transfer route on its line, connected to the rest of its enquiry system. Ours answers 07361 586363 right now: ring it and ask it anything.
What is a telephone answering service?
How much does a telephone answering service cost in the UK?
Human services usually charge a monthly plan plus a fee per call or per minute, so a busy month costs more. Before comparing quotes, count the calls you missed last month and what one job is worth to you. If the service books one extra job a month, check whether that job covers the fee.
What is the difference between a virtual receptionist and an answering service?
A virtual receptionist is usually one person working your line remotely during set hours, who gets to know your business. An answering service is a team answering many businesses’ calls, taking messages in your name. An AI receptionist answers every call at once, around the clock, from your rules.
Will callers know it isn’t a person?
Ours says it is an AI assistant for your business if the caller asks, and puts them through to your chosen number when they want a person. Most callers want an answer and a booking quickly, and that is what it gives them.
Do I need to change my phone number?
No. Your number stays as it is. You set your phone to divert unanswered calls, so you still pick up whenever you can and the receptionist takes the rest.
Can it book appointments or only take messages?
It can book into a connected diary using the appointment types and rules you set, or take details and text them to you if you prefer to confirm jobs yourself. Booking depends on your calendar or booking system being connected and tested first.
Asked before booking. Answered straight.
My customers want to speak to a real person.
Then they can. The receptionist puts them through to your number when they ask. The rest get an answer straight away instead of voicemail, which is what most of them wanted.
What if it gets a price wrong?
It only quotes what you give it, and it says when it doesn’t know. Every call is recorded and summarised, so you can check what was said and change the rules the same day.
I already pay for an answering service.
Then test it fairly. Send only your out-of-hours calls to the receptionist for a month, count the bookings each one produces, and keep whichever wins.