Every call you miss, and every text you get, answered in seconds.
You are under a sink, on a roof, or in an attic, and your phone is in the truck. The caller gets a text from your business within seconds. It answers their question from your own prices and rules, and it asks when they want you there. Customers who prefer to text just text the same number and get the same receptionist.
For plumbers, HVAC, electricians, roofers and other home-service businesses in Northern Virginia and the DC metro. Works with the phone number you already have.
Two ways a conversation starts
They call and you can't pick up.
The call forwards to your Text Receptionist line, the caller hears a greeting in your business name, and a text goes out within seconds. This is the missed call text-back most owners come for.
They text you.
Put "call or text" on your truck, your website and your Google listing. A text to the number gets the same receptionist, the same answers, the same lead in your inbox.
A missed call is a job you will never know you lost
A home-service business misses a share of its inbound calls every day, because everybody is out on a job. Most of those callers do not leave a voicemail. They call the next name on the list, and the second company that picks up gets the work.
Nobody keeps a record of this. The call shows up as "missed," and that is the end of it. It could have been a $150 tune-up or a $9,000 system replacement.
Conservative on purpose. Change the numbers to yours.
What happens when you miss a call
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01
Your phone rings, and you don't pick up.
Nothing changes about your number or how people call you. Calls you answer are answered by you, as before. Only the calls you do not pick up within a few rings are handed to the service.
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02
The caller hears a short greeting in your business's name.
It says you are on a job, that a text is on its way, and that they can leave a message if they prefer. Callers who leave a voicemail get it transcribed and delivered to you with the rest.
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03
Within seconds, the caller gets a text from your business.
Not "sorry we missed you." It names your business and asks what they need, in the tone you signed off on.
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04
Their questions get answered.
Hours, service area, what a visit costs, what is included, what to do right now if something is leaking or sparking. Every answer comes from a profile you approved: your prices, your rules, your words. The assistant gives ranges, never firm quotes, and never confirms a booking on your behalf. Anything outside the profile is handed to you instead of guessed.
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05
The caller is asked for the job, the address and a time.
Two preferred windows, based on the hours you set. Emergencies are flagged immediately.
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06
You get the lead.
A text and an email with the caller's name, number, the job, the address, the windows they asked for, and the full conversation. You call or text them back from your own phone to confirm. If you want the assistant to stay out of a conversation, one word from your phone pauses it.
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07
Every Monday, you get the numbers.
Calls caught, texts sent, leads captured, and the revenue they represent at your average job value. You will know exactly what the service caught that week.
What's included
- A 30-minute call and a short intake form: your services, prices, hours, service area, the questions callers always ask, and how you want the business to sound
- Your business profile, written from that intake and your website, sent to you for approval before anything goes live
- Carrier registration for your business (see One constraint you should know about below); we prepare and file the paperwork
- A dedicated local number that your existing number forwards to when you do not answer; your number stays yours
- The greeting and voicemail in your business's name
- A test run: we simulate a dozen callers against your profile and send you the transcripts to approve
- Forwarding set up on your phone or phone system with you on a screen-share, then live test calls
- Two weeks of hands-on tuning after go-live: I read every conversation and adjust the profile
- Unlimited missed calls and text conversations for one business line
- The weekly Monday report by email
- Profile changes whenever your prices, hours or services change: send an email, it is updated the same day
- Monitoring and support
Pricing
$750 setup, or $0 setup on a 12-month term, then $349 a month. No contract. The number and the profile are yours if you leave.
| Feature | Text Receptionist |
|---|---|
| Setup | $750, one time, or $0 setup on a 12-month term |
| Monthly | $349 a month |
| Contract | None. Month to month, cancel any time. The 12-month term is optional and only there to waive the setup fee. The number and the profile are yours if you leave |
| Second line or second location | $250 setup, $99 a month |
| Works with | The phone number you already have. Nothing changes for your callers |
| What you need to do | Thirty minutes on a call, a short intake form, and four things for the carrier registration: legal business name, EIN, address and website |
One constraint you should know about
US mobile carriers require every business that sends text messages from a local number to be registered before the first text goes out. This is a carrier rule, not ours, and there is no way around it: unregistered messages are simply blocked.
Registration is done in your business's name. We prepare and file it for you as part of setup; what we need from you is the legal name of your business exactly as the IRS has it, your EIN, your business address, and your website. Businesses without an EIN can be registered as a sole proprietor.
The carriers take their time: approval typically lands two to three weeks after we file. So the honest timeline is about three weeks from signing to your first text-back, and most of that is waiting on the carriers. We file on day one, and the profile, greeting and test run all happen while the registration is pending, so you go live the day it is approved.
Two smaller things worth knowing. Callers on landlines cannot receive texts; they get the greeting and the voicemail, and you get the transcription. And every text includes the standard way to opt out; a caller who opts out is never texted again.
Who this is for
- Plumbing, HVAC, electrical, roofing, garage doors, appliance repair, landscaping, pest control, locksmiths, and other home-service businesses
- Businesses where the owner or a small crew answers the phone from the field, and where a missed call is a lost job
- One location, one main line, in Northern Virginia or the DC metro (the service is US only)
- Businesses with a staffed front desk that already answers every call
- Businesses that need appointment booking directly into a scheduling system (that is a later add-on, ask)
- Medical, dental or other healthcare practices, which have privacy requirements this service is not built for
From signing to your first text-back
Week 1: intake and filing
The 30-minute call, the intake form, and the carrier registration filed the same day.
Week 1 to 2: your profile
You receive the business profile and the simulated conversations. You correct anything that does not sound like you; we revise until you sign off.
When the carriers approve, usually week 3: go-live
Forwarding set up together on a screen-share, three live test calls, and your first real lead notification.
Weeks 3 and 4: tuning
Every conversation is read and the profile adjusted. Your first Monday report arrives with a note from me.
Why this and not an answering service
An answering service costs more per month, and what you get for it is a message you still have to return. The caller has told a stranger what they need, and they are still waiting to hear from you. This service answers the caller's actual question with your prices and your rules, then asks for the job, the address and a time. The lead arrives qualified, and the caller already knows what to expect.
It is built and maintained by the person you talk to: an engineer with 35 years of building software, not a reseller of someone else's product. When something needs to change, you email me, and I change it.
And you keep control. Every answer comes from a profile you approved. Nothing is guessed, and anything outside the profile is handed to you.
Questions
Do I have to change my phone number?
No. Your number stays exactly as it is. We set up forwarding so that only the calls you do not answer are handed over.
What if I answer the call?
Then nothing happens. The service only sees calls you miss.
How fast is the text?
Within seconds of the call going unanswered, usually before the caller has hung up.
Will it sound like a robot?
It sounds like the profile you approved. You choose the tone, and you see a dozen sample conversations before anything goes live. Callers are told they are texting with the business's assistant if they ask.
Can it quote prices or book jobs?
It gives the price ranges you set and asks for preferred windows. It never gives a firm quote and never confirms a booking; you do that when you call or text the lead back.
What happens with emergencies?
If a caller describes a gas smell, active flooding, sparks or similar, the assistant gives a short safety message and you are alerted immediately, rather than going through the usual questions.
Why does it take three weeks to start?
Carrier registration for texting. See One constraint you should know about. We file on day one and everything else is ready before the approval lands.
What do you need from me to get started?
Thirty minutes on a call, the intake form, and four things for the carrier registration: legal business name, EIN, address and website.
What if my prices or hours change?
Email the change. The profile is updated the same day; there is no charge for it.
Can I take over a conversation?
Yes. You get every lead by text and email and reply to the caller from your own phone. One word from your phone pauses the assistant on that conversation.
Can customers text the number without calling first?
Yes. The receptionist answers any text sent to the number, whether or not there was a call first. Many owners print 'call or text' with the number on their truck and website.
Do I own anything if I cancel?
The local number and your business profile are yours. You can keep the number and take it elsewhere.
Does this work for my second location?
Yes, as an add-on: $250 setup and $99 a month per additional line or location.
Find out what you are missing
Book fifteen minutes. Tell me how many calls you miss in a week and what an average job is worth, and I will tell you what the service would have caught, what it costs, and when you could be live.
We’re on top of things and aim to respond to all inquiries within 24 hours.
Imhauser Technologies
McLean, VA
United States
Available on-site across the DC metro, Tysons, Reston, Arlington, and Washington, DC, as well as hybrid and remote worldwide.