After the hail, everybody calls at once
A storm turns a quiet phone into a queue of worried homeowners. Reception answers each one with your greeting, says it is an automated assistant, books roof inspections where you have room and takes a message when the question is one you never wrote an answer for.
From $149 a month. One number, answered at any hour. Stop any month.
The calls you get
Water dripping into a bedroom during the storm
'Leaking' and 'water coming in' go on a route to the crew lead's phone. It rings at any hour, so a tarp job can start tonight if you want it to.
"Will my insurance cover this?"
The line does not know and will not guess. If you wrote how you work with adjusters, it reads that. Past that, it takes a message.
"Can you come take a look at my roof?"
That is an inspection, and it books one from your free times. The caller gets a text with the day and time.
"Are you local? Three people knocked on my door today."
After a storm, homeowners want to know who they are dealing with. Your answer about where you are based is read word for word.
The adjuster setting up a site visit
'Adjuster' and 'claim number' ring the owner's phone, because that meeting needs a person with a calendar and a ladder.
What you would write down
An example for a residential roofer who works the storm seasons. Two routes ring phones and two read answers.
Routes: the words that reach a phone or an answer
| Route | When the caller says | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Active leak |
| Rings the crew lead's phone at any hour |
| Adjusters |
| Rings the owner's phone |
| Storm damage |
| Reads your answer |
| Gutters |
| Reads your answer |
Answers in your own words
- Are you a local company?
- Yes. We are based here in town, with an office and a yard you can visit. Our license is on our website.
- Do you work with insurance?
- We meet your adjuster on the roof if you want us there. What your policy pays is between you and your insurance company.
- How long does a new roof take?
- Most houses take one or two days once the materials are on site.
- Do I need to be home for the inspection?
- No. We inspect from the outside, leave a note on the door and send you the photos.
Services it can book
- Roof inspection45 min
- Replacement estimate60 min
- Gutter estimate30 min
Nights and weekends
Roofing calls bunch up around the weather, not around your hours. A storm at six means a ringing phone until midnight. The line says the office is closed, books inspections for the days ahead and keeps every call as text.
An active leak is the one to ring through. Hail marks on the shingles can wait for daylight, and the caller can book the inspection right there.
What to book by phone, and what not
Inspections are the right thing to book by phone: they have a fixed length and you do not need to be on the call. The line offers three free times in your hours, up to 14 days out.
On a storm week the diary fills fast. It only offers times that are still free, so it will not put two inspections on the same slot. If you add Saturday to your open days, the line starts offering Saturdays.
Storm days
A bad storm can put fifty calls on the line in one afternoon. Each caller hears the same greeting, the same answers and the same free times, and none of it depends on someone sitting at a desk.
The next morning every call is in the console with a summary of up to four lines: who called and why, what was agreed, what to do next and how urgent it is. Start at the urgent end. The Monday letter counts the week: calls taken, answered, booked and out of hours.
Insurance and money talk
The line never says what a claim will pay and never agrees a price. A caller who wants money back or mentions a lawyer hears 'That one needs a person, not me. I will not agree anything about money on their behalf.' and leaves a message.
Every sentence that committed you to a time or a callback is quoted word for word in the call record, so you can see exactly what a storm caller was told.
An example call
An example call the evening after a hailstorm. Ridgeway Roofing and the caller are made up. The financing question is kept in the console, so the owner can write that answer once.
- AssistantThis is Ridgeway Roofing. You are speaking with an automated assistant. Thanks for calling. The office is closed right now. How can I help you today?
- CallerDo I need to be home for an inspection?
- AssistantNo. We inspect from the outside, leave a note on the door and send you the photos.
- CallerOkay. We lost a lot of shingles last night. Do you offer financing for a new roof?
- AssistantI am not sure about that one. Let me take a message so the right person can call you back. I can take a message. Please say your name, your number, and what it is about.
- CallerMark Ellison, 555-0142. I want to know about financing a full roof on Cedar Lane.
- AssistantThank you. Somebody will come back to you. Goodbye.
Where it stops
- It does not quote roofs or measure anything. It books the inspection or reads what you wrote.
- It cannot tell an active leak from old damage on its own. It acts on the words in your routes.
- It is not an emergency service. A ceiling coming down or anyone hurt is a 911 call.
- It does not track claims or talk to insurers for you.
Questions owners ask
- Can an AI receptionist book roof inspections?
- Yes. You set the inspection length and your hours, and the line offers three free times, reads the chosen one back and texts the caller.
- What does it say about insurance claims?
- Only what you wrote. It does not say what a policy pays, and anything about money back or lawyers goes to a person by design.
- Will callers know it is an automated assistant?
- Yes. After your greeting it always says 'You are speaking with an automated assistant.'
- What do I see after a storm day?
- Every call in the console a few minutes after it ends, with a short summary, the caller's number, what was said and any promise quoted word for word.
- What if a storm uses up my monthly minutes?
- The line keeps answering. Extra minutes are billed per minute and shown in the console.
Tonight's calls, answered.
From $149 a month.
Set up your line