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FirstCallCall
How it worksIndustriesPricingCompareGet set up

It doesn't take a message.
It takes the job.

FirstCall answers in your name, asks what you would have asked, and sends you something you can act on.

Hear it now: (604) 225-2908Book a setup call

Your number · Working this afternoon · No contract

Not a video. Ring it and try to break it
Live call0:17
0:00
FirstCall

Thanks for calling Acme Plumbing, Heating & Air. You're speaking with an automated assistant. How can I help you today?

0:07
Caller

There's water coming out from under my hot water tank, it's all over the floor.

0:13
FirstCall

Is water still coming in right now?

0:15
Caller

Yeah, it's still going.

0:17
FirstCall

Okay. Can you reach the shutoff valve on the pipe going into the top of the tank?

A sample, not a recording.(604) 225-2908
27%

of calls to home-service businesses go unanswered

<3%

of people sent to voicemail leave a message

1.1s

median pause before it replies, about what a person takes

10 min

to set up, on the number you already give people

The difference

A message, or a job

Same caller, same ninety seconds.

A message-taker hands you

While you were out

Name
Dave
Number
(604) 555-0142
Message
Something about a leak. Please call back.

You still have to ring back to find out what the job is - and what it's worth.

FirstCall hands you

Problem
Hot water tank leaking, water on the floor
Coming in now
Yes - still running when they called
Shutoff
Closed during the call
Address
9042 Glover Road, LangleyREAD BACK
Urgency
Urgent - goes straight to the owner

Enough to call back and quote, without asking the caller twice.

27% of calls go unanswered and fewer than 3 in 100 leave a message, so most of what you lose you never hear about. Invoca's figures.

How it works

Four things happen, in this order

  1. 1

    FirstCall · 0:00

    “You're speaking with an automated assistant.”

    First sentence. Every call.

    It picks up and says what it is

    Second ring, in your name. It tells the caller it's a computer before it asks anything.

  2. 2
    URGENTWater still coming in
    ROUTINEQuote for next month

    It sorts urgent from routine

    A ceiling coming down and a price question are the same missed call at 9pm. Voicemail can't tell you which you got.

  3. 3
    • Is water coming in right now?
    • Can you reach the shutoff?
    • What's the address?

    Written for your trade.

    It asks what you would have asked

    The five or six things someone on your side needs before they can help.

  4. 4

    Call from (604) 555-0142

    URGENT. Hot water tank leaking. Shutoff closed during the call.

    9042 Glover Road · 1m 52s

    In your inbox, minutes later.

    The whole thing reaches you

    Minutes later: who called, their number, the summary, the full conversation.

Read a whole call, line by line →

Your questions

A law firm and a salon need different questions

These are the ones it actually asks.

Law firms

  • What kind of matter, in the caller's own words
  • The other party's name, so a conflict check can run before anyone calls back
  • Whether there's a hearing, filing or limitation date coming up
  • Whether they've already spoken to another firm, or been served anything

Salons, spas & studios

  • Which service, and roughly how long it usually takes them
  • New client or regular, and whether they see someone in particular
  • Whether they're booking, moving, or cancelling
  • Preferred days and times, and how flexible they are

Plumbing, heating & air

  • Whether water is coming in right now - a drip and a burst are both “a leak” to a caller
  • Whether they can reach the shutoff, and whether it's closed
  • The specific symptom, not the category: blows cold, keeps running, no hot water
  • Furnace, boiler, heat pump, AC or hot water tank, and roughly how old

Plumbing, heating & airProperty managementCleaning servicesPressure washingMoving & storageLaw firmsAccounting & bookkeepingInsurance agenciesIT & managed servicesReal estateSalons, spas & studiosAuto repair

The rules

Your name is on this line

How it behaves when you are not listening.

always

It says it's a computer

First sentence, every call. We won't switch that off, even if you ask.

never

It never quotes a price or a time

Only you can promise either of those.

never

It never answers under a name that isn't yours

And it never claims to be a person, even asked outright.

always

Your callers stay yours

Never shared with anyone, including our other customers.

Hiding that it's a computer would make a better demo. We tried it and threw it out. A caller who works it out halfway through leaves the bad review about you, not us.

Questions

The ones you were going to ask

+Will my customers know they're talking to a robot?
Yes. It tells them in the first sentence, before it asks anything. We won't switch that off, even if you ask us to. Most people carry on talking anyway. An honest robot beats a fourth ring and a beep.
+Do I have to change my number?
No. Your number stays exactly as it is. Nothing to reprint, nothing to tell your customers. You just tell your phone to send unanswered calls to us.
+Can I still answer my own phone?
Yes, and you should. If you pick up, we never hear the call. We only get the ones that were about to go to voicemail. You keep your phone. You just stop losing the calls you couldn't get to.
+Does it work with the software I already use?
Not as a one-click connection yet. Here's what happens instead. A few minutes after every call you get an email with the caller's number, a short summary, and the full conversation underneath. If you'd rather it landed inside your own software, tell us which one. We're the two people who write the code, so that's a conversation, not a support ticket.
+What does it cost?
We give you a price on a short call. It depends on how much your phone rings, and any number we printed here would be wrong for half the people reading it. What we can tell you now: it's month to month and there's no contract.

More on what it costs and how it gets set up.

Judge it before you buy it.

Call the demo line. If you wouldn't put that voice on your own phone, don't. Tell us why instead. That's worth more to us than a sale.

If you would, setup takes about ten minutes. Your questions, your number, answering the same afternoon. No contract and no new number. Turn the forwarding off on your own phone and it's over that minute.

Call (604) 225-2908Book a setup call

Or email support@accelra.io and tell us what you do.