An AI receptionist for plumbers, electricians and builders

Details worth asking for

Put these in the assistant's instructions and each write-up has what you need to price the job or call back.

• Name and a callback number

  The caller's number is shown on the call, but ask anyway in case they're ringing from someone else's phone.

• Address and postcode

  So you can tell straight away whether the job is in your area and plan the route.

• What has gone wrong

  A leaking pipe, no hot water, a tripped fuse board. Ask for the make of boiler or appliance if it helps you bring the right parts.

• How urgent it is

  Water coming through a ceiling and a dripping tap need different answers.

• When they're in

  The days and times someone can let you in.

• How they found you

  Useful for knowing which adverts and listings bring in work.

Example instructions for a heating engineer

Paste something like this into "What it does on calls" and change the details to match your business.

Answer as the receptionist for Rowley & Richards Plumbing and Heating. We cover Lichfield and 15 miles around it. Take the caller's name, a callback number, the address with postcode, what has gone wrong, the make of boiler if it's a heating problem, how urgent it is and when they're in. Don't give prices or promise a time. Say James will call back the same working day.

If the caller says they can smell gas, tell them to leave the property and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 straight away, then end the call. If someone is hurt or there is a risk of fire, tell them to call 999.

If the caller asks for James and it's urgent, transfer them.

The assistant follows these instructions but isn't an emergency service, and it must not be used for emergency calls.

Setting it up for a van-based business

1. 1

   Ring your mobile first

   Verify your mobile in your account and choose yourself as the person each number rings first. If you use the browser phone in Raq.com, it rings at the same time. When you answer, the recording notice plays to you both before recording starts, or you can choose to say it yourself.

2. 2

   Let the assistant catch the rest

   If you're on a job and let it ring, the assistant answers after 25 seconds with the recording notice and your greeting.

3. 3

   Add a transfer number

   A colleague, your office or a second mobile, for callers who ask for a person.

4. 4

   Check the list between jobs

   Read the summaries at lunch or in the van. Set a follow-up date on the ones to call back and they collect in your follow-ups list.

Who can use it and what it costs

Who can use it

Business or team Raq.com accounts on the Professional plan or above. The account owner asks for access and Raq.com reviews each request. There is no free trial.

Professional plan

$61 per user a month. It comes with a usage allowance shared by every Raq.com tool, worth about 800 call minutes a month on its own.

A call the assistant answers

About $0.07 a minute for the line, the recording and the transcript, plus a small AI charge for the summary.

Phone numbers

UK numbers, each with a monthly charge shown before you add it and taken from the same allowance until you release it.

Questions from trades