Slimbot
You're lying under a sink, standing on scaffolding or in the middle of a boiler breakdown. The phone rings, and you can't answer. A customer who gets no answer usually just calls the next installer. An AI receptionist answers for you at such moments.
What the AI receptionist does for you
- Answers immediately, even in the evening and at weekends, with your company name in the greeting.
- Asks about the job: what needs doing, where, how big and when. You decide which questions it always asks.
- Schedules an appointment or records a call-back request, and sends the customer a confirmation via WhatsApp or SMS.
- Puts urgent calls through: a leak or a broken-down heating system goes straight to you or a colleague.
- Transcribes every call in your portal. At the end of the day you read in a few minutes what has come in.
Phone and WhatsApp
Many customers prefer to message rather than call. Slimbot's WhatsApp assistant does the same as the receptionist, but in chat: it asks follow-up questions until the request is complete, asks for photos (which often save a site visit), and immediately and politely says no to work you don't take on. For larger jobs, it suggests a time to come and have a look, and after a period you set, it asks if there are any questions about the quote.
What does it deliver? A worked example
An example with assumptions, not a promise. Suppose you miss three phone calls per week, and that one in three of those would have become a job of € 400. Then you're missing out on around € 400 per week, or over € 20,000 per year. Fill in your own figures: how many calls do you really miss, and what is your average job worth? Your phone or provider shows how many calls went unanswered.
How to set it up
- Forward your number. Your existing 085 number or Dutch mobile number (06) remains yours; only when you don't answer (or always, if you prefer) does the call go to the AI.
- Tell the assistant what you do and don't do, in which service area you work, what your rates are and which questions you always ask for a new job.
- Define what counts as urgent and who receives urgent calls.
- Read along during the first week and adjust where necessary. After that, most things run themselves.
Frequently asked questions
Does it sound like a robot? The assistant speaks in natural sentences and in your tone. We do recommend stating in the greeting that the caller is speaking to a digital assistant.
Can it quote prices? Only what you teach it, for example a call-out fee or a 'from' price. For an actual quote, it records the request.
What if a customer only wants to speak to me? Then the assistant records a call-back request with name, number and subject, and you receive an immediate notification.
Never miss a job again
Try it on your own number — free account, no credit card.
View AI Phone Answering →More about what the assistant does and how you start: Slimbot AI receptionist →
By trade: installers · handyman businesses · plumbers · roofers · Also read: What is an AI receptionist?