Tune-ups booked, no-heat calls rung through
Heating and cooling calls come in waves: the first hot week, the first hard freeze. Reception answers your number, books maintenance visits into your free times and rings the on-call tech when a caller says there is no heat. It says it is an automated assistant on every call.
From $149 a month. One number, answered at any hour. Stop any month.
The calls you get
No heat, and it is below freezing
'No heat' and 'furnace stopped' sit on a route to the on-call tech. The route rings at any hour, open or closed. You set the words and the phone.
The AC is blowing warm air
Your call. In July you might put 'not cooling' on the urgent route. The rest of the year the caller books a repair diagnostic from your free times.
"Time for my spring tune-up"
The plainest call you get, and the one to book on the spot. Three free times, a read-back, a booking and a text.
"Do you work on my brand?"
It reads the answer you wrote about brands. If the brand question is one you never wrote down, it says it is not sure and takes a message, and the question waits for you in the console.
A carbon monoxide alarm going off
This is not your call to take, and not the line's. A route for 'carbon monoxide' and 'co alarm' reads your answer: get everyone out and call 911.
"What does my maintenance plan cover?"
If you wrote what the plan includes, it reads that. A caller who asks for money back on the plan hears that it needs a person, and leaves a message.
What you would write down
What a heating and cooling shop might enter before the season starts.
Routes: the words that reach a phone or an answer
| Route | When the caller says | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| No heat or no cooling |
| Rings the on-call tech, open or closed |
| Carbon monoxide |
| Reads your answer: get out and call 911 |
| Commercial accounts |
| Rings the service manager |
| Maintenance plan |
| Reads your answer |
Answers in your own words
- Do you service my brand?
- We service all major brands of furnaces, heat pumps and central air.
- How long does a tune-up take?
- About an hour. The tech checks the system, cleans what needs it and tells you what they found.
- Do you do ductless mini-splits?
- Yes. We install and service ductless mini-splits.
- What is in the maintenance plan?
- Two tune-ups a year, one in spring for cooling and one in fall for heating. The office can sign you up.
Services it can book
- Tune-up60 min
- Repair diagnostic90 min
- Replacement estimate75 min
Nights and weekends
In January the calls that matter come after dark, when the house gets cold. The line says the office is closed, then rings the on-call tech for every caller whose words hit the no-heat route. Everyone else books a daytime visit or leaves a message.
Most shops rotate on-call by the week. Change the number on the route when the rota turns; the route rings whatever number is on it.
What to book by phone, and what not
Tune-ups and replacement estimates are the calls to book on the phone. They fill the spring and the fall, and each takes a known length of time.
A no-heat call is not a booking, and neither is a dead AC in a heat wave with a baby in the house. Put those words on a route. The line books times, not technicians: it does not assign trucks or check who has the part on board.
Peak days, and what fills the diary
When the first freeze hits, every caller still gets your greeting, your routes and your free times. The line only offers times that are free in the diary, so a busy morning does not double-book a tech.
Messages land in the diary as callbacks owed later that day, and callbacks block time like bookings do. On a heavy message day there is less room left to offer. Clear the callbacks and the times open up again.
When a season eats your monthly minutes, the line keeps answering. Extra minutes are billed per minute and shown in the console.
An example call
An example call in early spring. Cobalt Heating and Air and the caller are made up. The text that follows reads 'Cobalt Heating and Air: Monday at 8:00. Call us back if anything changes.'
- AssistantThank you for calling Cobalt Heating and Air. You are speaking with an automated assistant. How can I help you today?
- CallerI'd like to book my spring tune-up.
- AssistantI can offer Monday at 8:00, Monday at 9:15 or Wednesday at 2:30. Which one suits you?
- CallerThe first one.
- AssistantSo that is Monday at 8:00. Is that right?
- CallerYes, that's fine.
- AssistantBooked with Cobalt Heating and Air: Monday at 8:00. I will text you a confirmation.
- CallerGreat, thanks.
Where it stops
- It does not diagnose. 'It is making a noise' becomes a booking or a message, never an opinion.
- It does not know which tech has which part, or where any truck is.
- It is not an emergency service. Gas smells and CO alarms go to 911 or the gas company, by the answer you write.
- It will not discuss a refund on a repair or a plan. It says that needs a person and takes a message.
Questions owners ask
- Can an AI receptionist schedule HVAC maintenance?
- Yes. Name the service, say how long it takes, and the line offers three free times within your hours, up to 14 days ahead.
- Will it call my on-call tech when someone has no heat?
- Yes, if 'no heat' or the words you choose are on a transfer route. It rings that number at any hour.
- What if the on-call tech does not pick up?
- It tells the caller 'I could not reach anyone there.' and takes a message, which lands in the diary as a callback owed that day.
- What happens when my minutes run out in a busy month?
- The line keeps answering. Extra minutes are billed per minute and shown in the console.
- Does it answer on weekends and holidays?
- It answers at any hour. Outside the hours and open days you set, it says the office is closed, then carries on with routes, answers, bookings and messages.
Tonight's calls, answered.
From $149 a month.
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