Who it is for / Roofers

An AI receptionist for roofers.

You cannot take a call halfway up a ladder. While You Work answers the calls you miss in your business name, finds out what the roofing job is, where it is and how urgent it is, flags leaks and storm damage, and sends you the details a minute later.

Get the founding price, £49 a month Read an example call

Founding members pay £49 and their line switches on as soon as they finish the set-up form. The first week on a live line is free.

Roofer at work on a house roof
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
£49
a month including VAT, no contract

On every call

What your receptionist asks

  • What the job is, in the caller’s own words
  • Where it is, at least the postcode or area
  • How urgent it is, and whether water is coming in
  • The best number to ring back, read back to check it
  • Your call-out or survey fee, only if you have set one and they ask

Urgent jobs

Leaks and storm damage go to the top

  • Water coming through a ceiling
  • Tiles or slates blown off in a storm
  • A caller who says it cannot wait

Urgent calls are texted to you straight away, and every call is emailed to you.

Real calls

A week of calls to a roofing firm

Most of what rings a roofer is either weather or a survey. The receptionist sorts one from the other before you have climbed down.

The maths

What a missed call costs roofers

Say you miss 4 calls a week and two in five of those callers would have booked a typical repair worth about £450.

4 calls × 40% × £450 = £720 a week. × 52 weeks ÷ 12 = £3,120 a month of work going to someone else. An example: put your own numbers into the missed-call calculator.

Storm damage does not wait for a callback. The caller with water in the loft rings the next roofer on the list within minutes.

Timing

When a roofer's phone rings

The morning after heavy rain or a named storm, and again in the first dry week of spring when people finally look up. Both are times you are already on a roof with your hands full.

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.

What reaches you

URGENT. Karen, 07700 900731, LS12 Armley. Tiles lost in the wind, water coming into the loft.

Receptionist: Hi, you’re through to Pete’s Roofing. Pete is out on a job at the moment, but I can take the details so he can ring you straight back. Calls are recorded so nothing gets missed. What’s your name?

Caller: It’s Karen. We’ve lost some tiles in the wind and there’s water coming into the loft.

Receptionist: Thanks, Karen. I’m sorry to hear that. With water coming in I’ll mark this as urgent so Pete sees it first. What’s your postcode?

Caller: LS12, in Armley.

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

Caller: 07700 900 731.

Receptionist: So that’s 07700 900 731. Is that right?

Caller: Yes, that’s right.

Receptionist: Thanks, Karen. Pete 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 roofers:

    • 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
    • Whether you attend storm damage out of hours
    • Roof types you work on: pitched, flat, slate, lead work
    • Whether you offer free surveys or charge a survey fee

  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 roofers

Does it flag storm damage?

Yes. Water coming in, tiles or slates blown off and anything the caller says cannot wait are flagged as urgent and texted to you straight away.

Will it quote for roofing work?

No. It gives your call-out or survey fee if you have set one and the caller asks, and says you will quote after seeing the job. It never makes up a price.

Can it book jobs into my diary?

Yes, with the Voice Booking and Pay module. It offers the caller your real free times, books the job and texts them a confirmation, with your deposit link if you take deposits. Without the module it takes the details and tells the caller you will ring back.

How much does it cost?

£49 a month including VAT for founding members, locked for as long as you stay, with no contract and the first week free once your line is live.

Can it tell the difference between a leak and a quote request?

Yes. It asks what the job is in the caller's own words and whether water is coming in. Anything with water coming in or tiles off is flagged urgent and texted to you; everything else is emailed as a normal enquiry.

What does it say about scaffolding or access?

Nothing it has not been told. If you add a note in set-up that scaffolding is quoted separately, it will say so when asked. It never invents access costs.

More detail: what to charge as a roofer, 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.

£49 a month including VAT, first week free

Founding price locked for as long as you stay. No contract. Your line switches on as soon as you finish the set-up form.

Get the founding priceSee full pricing

Also for plumbers, electricians, builders, locksmiths, carpenters, decorators and every other kind of business.