Towing companies and repair shops get very different calls, so their missed-call texts shouldn't sound the same. A stranded driver needs to know whether help is possible. A repair customer wants to know when they can bring the car in. Here are three samples to adapt.
Towing company sample
"This is [Your Business]. Our drivers are out on calls and we missed you. Reply with your location, your vehicle, and what happened, and we'll call you right back."
Location comes first because it decides everything else: whether you cover that area and how long it would take.
Auto repair shop sample
"Hi, you've reached [Your Business]. We're in the bays and couldn't answer. What's going on with your vehicle, and what's the year, make and model? Reply here and we'll call you back to find a time to look at it."
Year, make and model lets you check parts availability or whether it's a vehicle you work on before you call back. A description of the symptom, like a grinding noise or a check-engine light, helps you estimate how long it might take.
After-hours sample for either
"Thanks for calling [Your Business]. We're closed right now and will get back to you when we open. If you need a tow tonight and can't wait, please try another service. Reply with details and we'll follow up."
Telling a stranded driver to try elsewhere might feel odd, but it's the honest answer when nobody is working, and people appreciate being told where they stand. Swap in your night-service details if you run around the clock.
What to leave out
- Arrival times. Never promise "a truck in thirty minutes" in an automated text.
- Prices. Tow rates depend on distance and vehicle, and repair prices depend on diagnosis.
- Diagnosis. "Sounds like your alternator" is a guess, and a text shouldn't make it.
- Anything long. Someone on a highway shoulder is reading this on a phone, possibly in the dark.
Permission to text
These replies go to people who just called your business. Your business is still responsible for having permission to text the people it contacts, and sending oil-change reminders or promotions to those numbers later is a separate question that needs its own answer first.
Change it when you need to
With Missed-Call Text-Back, you write the texts at setup and can edit them any time, for example switching to a winter-weather version when the roads turn bad.
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.