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Stop losing jobs to missed calls

Every missed caller hears from you the same day.

The short version

  • Who runs it: Whoever carries the shop phone, after each job and at 12:30 and 4:30 at the latest, for a few minutes.
  • Set it up once: about 30 minutes
  • Check it’s working: Zero missed calls from today without a call or text back by 4:30. At the 4:30 check, count today’s missed calls and the replies you sent: the two numbers should match.

What it costs you today: A caller who can’t reach you usually calls the next shop on the list. By the time you call back, they’ve booked someone else.

What you’ll use

  • Google Sheetsfree
  • Jobberwhat you already pay, if you use it
  • Housecall Prowhat you already pay, if you use it
  • Your AI assistantfree plan works

Set it up once

about 30 minutes

  1. Turn on voicemail-to-text on the shop phone. Most phones and carriers have it in the phone app’s settings.

  2. Record a new voicemail greeting that says when you call back, and that a text is fine too.

  3. Paste the prompt below with your details filled in. It writes five short texts: new job, emergency, existing job, price question, and “can’t help with that.”

  4. Save each text as a quick reply or text shortcut on your phone, so sending one takes two taps.

  5. Put two 10-minute blocks on your calendar, 12:30 and 4:30, called Missed calls, for the days you can’t check between jobs.

Run it every time

  1. Back in the truck after a job, open your recent calls and voicemails. Find every missed call you haven’t returned.

  2. If the voicemail sounds urgent, like water, no heat, or sparks, call back now. Don’t text.

  3. For the rest, send the saved text that fits right away, and fill in their name.

  4. Add each new caller to your lead list, in your sheet or your job software, with a one-word note.

Copy this prompt

Fill in the brackets, then paste it in.

I run a [trade] business in [town]. We answer the phone [hours], and we call back within [time]. Write five short text messages I can save on my phone and send to someone whose call I missed: 1) a new customer asking about a job, 2) an emergency (tell them I’m calling right now), 3) an existing customer about a job we’re doing, 4) someone asking for a price (say I need two details to give one, and ask for them), 5) something we don’t do (point them elsewhere politely). Rules: under 40 words each, friendly, sign off with [your first name], no promises about price or timing beyond what I told you. Put [name] where I will fill in their name.

The number to check

Zero missed calls from today without a call or text back by 4:30. At the 4:30 check, count today’s missed calls and the replies you sent: the two numbers should match.

When not to use it

  • You miss more than 10 calls a day. That’s a job for an answering service or your job software’s phone add-on.
  • The shop line is a landline that can’t send texts. Call back instead, using the same two time slots.
  • Most missed calls are from salespeople. Block the repeat numbers first, then start this.

Privacy: The prompt only needs your trade, town, and hours. Never paste a caller’s number or voicemail into the assistant.

When you outgrow this
If this is more than 10 texts a day, Jobber and Housecall Pro sell phone-answering add-ons, and there are answering services too. Our Tools & facts pages list what each one costs, where the price is published.

Next playbook: Get quotes out the same day →