The phone rings when the jetter is going
You can't hear it over the machine, and you can't stop halfway through clearing a line. By the time you've packed up, the caller has rung the next company that came up on their search.
Answering service for drainage companies
A drainage answering service that takes the call while you are rodding the last one.
With a jetter running or your arms down a chamber, you can't answer, and a customer with a blocked drain rarely waits. Trade Receptionist answers in your business name, finds out whether it's a flooded yard or a survey for a house sale, and texts you the address and the job.
14-day free trial. No charge today. Cancel anytime.
Why drainage calls get missed
Drainage work is loud, wet and hands-on, and most of the calls that matter come from people who need someone today.
Blocked means now
Nobody with a toilet that won't flush or a drain backing up books for next week. If you don't answer, they keep ringing down the list until someone does.
Agents and businesses want a quick answer
A letting agent with a tenant on the phone, or a café with a blocked kitchen drain, needs to hear that someone is on it. Being hard to reach is how you stop getting their calls.
Surveys and quotes slip through
CCTV surveys for house buyers and quotes for repairs are the planned work that keeps the diary steady. Those callers will try someone else rather than leave a message and wait.
Example calls
What happens when a customer rings
Three calls a drainage company gets most weeks, and how the receptionist handles each one. These are examples written to show the flow, not recordings of real customers.
Example call
A flooded back yard
You're jetting a line on another job. The caller's outside drain is overflowing and water is spreading across the yard.
- CallerThe drain outside's overflowing, there's water everywhere in the yard.
- ReceptionistTreats it as an emergency. Takes their name, the address and the best number quickly, and offers to put them straight through to you.
- You getAn urgent text and email as soon as the call ends, with the address and what is happening.
Example call
A blocked toilet on a Saturday
Your working week finished yesterday, and you have set an after-hours message.
- CallerOur only toilet's blocked and it won't clear with a plunger.
- ReceptionistGives your after-hours message, tells them it is a same-day priority for you, and takes their name, postcode and when they are home.
- You getA text marked urgent, so you can decide whether to go out or ring them first thing.
Example call
A CCTV survey for a house purchase
Mid-morning, while you are on a job.
- CallerWe're buying a house and the surveyor said we should get the drains checked with a camera.
- ReceptionistTakes the property address, whether it is a home or a business, and which days suit. If your diary is connected, it offers a free slot and books the survey in.
- You getA job summary by text and email, and the survey already in your calendar if it booked one.
Set it up the way your drainage business runs
You tell it how you work once. After that it answers the way you would, on the days and hours you choose.
Keep the number on your van
Divert the calls you miss to your Trade Receptionist number. On a UK mobile that is one code, and customers keep ringing the number they already have.
Tell it what you do
Unblocking, jetting, CCTV surveys, repairs, relining: list what you take on and the areas you cover. If you don't do something, it won't book it in as if you do.
Connect your diary if you want bookings
Google Calendar, Outlook or iCloud. It only offers times you are actually free. Without a diary it takes their preferred times instead.
Decide what happens after hours
Write your own after-hours message. It still takes the details, and flooding is handled as an emergency whatever the time.
Plans start at £49 a month, sized by how many calls you get, with a 14-day free trial and no setup fee. Compare plans and what each includes.
Questions drainage companies ask
Can it tell a drainage emergency from a routine job?
Yes. Flooding and water spreading everywhere are treated as emergencies, and you are alerted by text and email straight away. Blocked drains and blocked or overflowing toilets are passed to you as same-day priorities and marked urgent. A survey or a quote is taken down as a normal enquiry.
Will it tell customers what a call-out costs?
Only if you give it a price range, and then it gives the range and says you'll confirm the price once you've seen the job. If you haven't set one, it doesn't guess. It takes the details so you can quote.
Can it take calls from letting agents and businesses?
Yes. It asks whether the job is at a home or a business and takes the name of whoever is calling and the address of the job, so an agent ringing about a tenant's drain is written down properly.
Can it book CCTV surveys straight into my diary?
If you connect Google Calendar, Outlook or iCloud, it checks when you're free and books the survey in. If you'd rather arrange times yourself, leave the diary unconnected and it takes the caller's preferred days instead.
How much does it cost for a drainage company?
Plans start at £49 a month for up to 50 calls, and every plan starts with a 14-day free trial with no charge today. Pro covers up to 150 calls a month if you get more.
Let the phone look after itself while you clear the drain.
Start the free trial, divert the calls you can't take, and see what comes through in the first fortnight.
14-day free trial. No charge today. Cancel anytime.