Who it is for / Pest control

An AI receptionist for pest control.

In wasp season the phone never stops, and you are always up a ladder. While You Work answers the calls you miss in your business name, finds out what the pest is, where and how urgent, and sends you the details a minute later.

Get the founding offer, Pro for £49 a month Read an example call

The first 50 UK businesses get Pro for £49 a month plus VAT for their first 12 months, then £69. Plans start at £39. Your line switches on as soon as you finish the set-up form, with a 14-day money-back guarantee.

Pest control technician at work
60%
of tradespeople struggle to answer the phone at work
Fix Radio, 2022
34%
believe they have lost work by missing a call
Fix Radio, 2022
24/7
missed calls answered in your business name, day and night
£39
a month + VAT on Starter, no contract

On every call

What your receptionist asks

  • What the pest is and where they have seen it
  • Where it is, at least the postcode or area
  • How urgent it is
  • The best number to ring back, read back to check it
  • Your call-out fee, only if you have set one and they ask

Urgent jobs

Urgent jobs go to the top

  • A wasps’ nest by a door or window
  • Rats or mice inside a home or a food business
  • A caller who says it cannot wait

On Pro and Business, urgent calls are texted to you straight away, and every call is emailed to you.

An example week

A week of calls to a pest controller

Nobody rings a pest controller calmly. The receptionist stays level, gets the pest and the address, and marks the ones that cannot wait.

The maths

What a missed call costs pest controllers

Say you miss 4 calls a week and two in five of those callers would have booked a treatment visit worth about £150.

4 calls × 40% × £150 = £240 a week. × 52 weeks ÷ 12 = £1,040 a month of work going to someone else. An example: put your own numbers into the missed-call calculator.

A wasp nest or a rat in the kitchen gets dealt with today by whoever picks up. Voicemail is a no.

Timing

When a pest controller's phone rings

Wasp season from July to September, the first cold snap in autumn when rodents come indoors, and early mornings when commercial kitchens open. All while you are in a loft or under a floor.

What callers hear

An example call, word for word

The receptionist asks one thing at a time, checks the number back and never makes up a price. The details reach you by email a minute after the call, and by text straight away when it is urgent.

Texted to you straight away

URGENT. Paul, 07700 900193, NR3 Norwich. Wasps’ nest by the back door.

Receptionist: Hi, you’re through to Swift Pest Control. Kev is out on a job, so I’m the automated assistant taking the details for a call back. Calls are recorded so nothing gets missed. What’s your name?

Caller: Hi, it’s Paul. There’s a wasps’ nest right by our back door.

Receptionist: Thanks, Paul. With it by the door I’ll mark this as urgent so Kev sees it first. What’s your postcode?

Caller: NR3, in Norwich.

Receptionist: And what’s the best number for Kev to ring you on?

Caller: 07700 900 193.

Receptionist: So that’s 07700 900 193. Is that right?

Caller: Yes, that’s right.

Receptionist: Thanks, Paul. Kev will ring you back as soon as he can, and I’m sending you a text now to confirm.

Set up

Three steps, and you keep your number

  1. Tell us about your business

    A short form made for pest controllers:

    • Your business name and first name
    • Working hours and the area you cover
    • What you do, in plain words
    • Your call-out fee, only if you want callers told
    • Whether you take emergencies out of hours
    • Anything else callers should know
    • Pests you treat and any you do not
    • Whether you take commercial contracts
    • Same-day availability and any out-of-hours charge

  2. Switch on divert

    One code on your mobile sends calls you do not answer within 20 seconds to your While You Work line. Turn it off whenever you like.

  3. Get the details in a minute

    Every caller is greeted in your business name. You get the details a minute later, and the caller gets a text saying you will ring back.

Questions

Questions from pest controllers

Will it quote for treatments?

No. It gives your call-out fee if you have set one and the caller asks, and says you will confirm the price. It never makes up a price.

Can it put an urgent caller straight through to me?

Yes, on Pro and Business, if you switch it on. Once the caller’s name and number are confirmed, it rings your mobile for up to 15 seconds, and if you do not answer it takes the message as normal.

Can it book jobs into my diary?

Yes, on the Business plan. It offers the caller your real free times, books the job and texts them a confirmation, with your deposit link if you take deposits. On Pro it can text the caller your booking link instead, and on Starter it takes the details and tells the caller you will ring back.

How much does it cost?

Starter is £39, Pro £69 and Business £129 a month + VAT, for 50, 150 or 400 calls a month. The first 50 UK businesses get Pro for £49 a month + VAT for their first 12 months. There is no contract, and if you cancel within 14 days of your line going live you get a full refund.

Does it know what counts as urgent for pests?

It flags anything the caller says cannot wait, and you can add your own list in set-up: wasps near children, rodents in food premises, bed bugs. Those are texted to you straight away.

Will it quote a price for a wasp nest?

Only a price you have put in the form, read exactly as written. Otherwise it says you will confirm the price when you ring back.

More detail: what a missed call costs, UK call answering prices and how we compare.

Source: Fix Radio survey of more than 220 UK tradespeople, reported by PHAM News, October 2022.

From £39 a month, priced per call, not per minute

Starter £39, Pro £69 and Business £129 a month, plus VAT. The first 50 UK businesses get Pro for £49 plus VAT for their first 12 months. No contract, and cancel within 14 days of your line going live for a full refund.

Get the founding offerSee full pricing

Also set up for window cleaners, removal companies, mechanics and garages, plumbers and heating engineers, electricians, builders, and for every other kind of business.