Plumbing companies often have a messier phone setup than they'd like. There's the number on the van, maybe an office line, maybe an on-call cell that gets passed between plumbers on weekends. Before turning on a text-back, it's worth spending ten minutes deciding which of those numbers customers actually call.
Start with the number customers use
Check what's printed on the vans, the website and your Google Business Profile. That's the line to cover first. If an on-call cell rotates between people, you may want the text-back on the main line only, so the texts always come from the business rather than whoever has the phone that week.
Setup checklist
- Choose the line or lines. Tell us which business numbers to cover.
- Enter your hours. Calls inside them get your daytime text; calls outside them get the after-hours one.
- Write two short texts. One for working hours and one for nights and weekends, which is a good place to state your callback time.
- Pick where replies land. A Client Hub inbox on your phone, a text to a cell, email, or more than one.
- Get the texting line ready. We set up the text-back line for you, so there's nothing to install on your end.
- Forward unanswered calls. Your business number forwards calls that ring out to the text-back line. From a cell phone that's a short dial code; on a business phone system, it's usually a setting in your provider's online portal. Setup covers the steps for your line.
- Test from another phone. Call the business line, let it ring out, and confirm the text arrives and your reply shows up where you chose.
What changes day to day
Not much, which is the idea. Calls still ring your phone first. You answer when you can. When you can't, the call forwards after it rings out and the caller gets your text within seconds.
When you climb out of a crawlspace, instead of a list of unknown missed numbers, you'll often see replies like "water heater leaking from the bottom" or "kitchen drain backed up again." That gives you enough to decide who to call first and what to bring.
Things plumbers tend to adjust
- The after-hours text, once you see how many night replies are true emergencies versus next-day work.
- Who gets the replies. Some owners want every reply; others route them to whoever handles scheduling.
- Weekend coverage. If you only take weekend emergencies, say so in the text so callers know where they stand.
Turning it off
You can turn forwarding off at any time with a dial code or the portal setting, and your line behaves exactly as it did before. The service is month to month, with no contract.
For the full list of what setup asks for, see the Missed-Call Text-Back page.
Related reading
Missed-Call Text-Back is a text-back tool: it replies to the calls you can't pick up, and it doesn't answer calls for you. It's $89/mo list, or $49/mo at the founding rate while founding spots last, billed monthly with no contract. If it sounds like a fit, see how Missed-Call Text-Back works.