Guide · Updated 17 October 2026
Below are 21 voicemail greeting examples written for the way small businesses actually miss calls, from the roofer up a ladder to the instructor with a learner at the wheel. Each one takes under 20 seconds to say. Change the names, record it on your phone in five minutes, and you will sound like a business rather than a number.
Before you record
The same rules work when you do pick up. Our guide on how to answer the phone has greetings for live calls and what to ask when you take a message.
"Your call is important to us" sounds like a call centre and costs you three seconds. So does a list of every service you offer: the caller already knows why they rang. Spelling out a web address rarely works on a phone line, and nobody will remember it. Record somewhere quiet, not in the van with the engine running, and hold the phone where you would for a normal call.
21 greetings to copy
Swap in your own name and times. Read it aloud once before you record: if you trip over a phrase, change it to the way you would say it.
The most common reason a tradesperson misses a call. Say where you are in a few words, then give a ring-back time you can keep.
Hi, you've reached Hughes Plumbing and Heating, it's Gareth. I'm under someone's floorboards at the minute. Leave your name, your number and roughly where you are, and I'll ring you back before six tonight.
This is Priya at Brightline Electrical. I've got the power off at a job, so I can't pick up. Tell me your name, your postcode and what's gone wrong, and I'll call you back this afternoon.
You're through to Dan Mercer Building. I'm on site with the mixer going, so I won't hear the phone. If it's about a quote, leave your address and a rough idea of the job. I return calls at lunchtime and after half four.
Hello, Lee from LJ Roofing here. I'm up on a roof, which is why you've got this. Leave your name and number, slowly please, and I'll get back to you before the end of the day.
Callers understand that you cannot answer at the wheel. Tell them what you need to know to book, so the callback is quick.
Hi, it's Sarah from Sarah's School of Motoring. I'm out with a pupil, so I can't answer while I'm driving. Leave your name, your number and whether you've got your provisional licence yet, and I'll ring you between lessons.
You've reached Kev at Clearway Driving. Lessons run back to back until five. Leave your name and the area you'd like lessons in, and I'll call you at my next break.
Most of these calls are bookings, cancellations or a quick question about price. A good greeting handles the cancellation without a callback at all.
Hello, you've rung The Colour Room. We're all with clients at the moment. To book, leave your name, number and the day that suits you, and one of us will ring you back between appointments. To cancel, just leave your name and your appointment time.
Alright, it's Marco at Fade Street Barbers. I'm mid-cut, so I can't get the phone. Walk-ins are welcome until six. For anything else, leave your name and number and I'll call you back.
Hi, this is Jess at Glow Skin and Beauty. I'm with a client in the treatment room and my phone's on silent. Leave your name and the treatment you're after, and I'll ring back when I'm free, usually within the hour.
Hi, Paws on Wheels here. I'm in the van with a very soapy spaniel. Leave your name, your dog's name and your postcode, and I'll call you back this evening.
Give your opening time and one useful thing the caller can do now. It stops the same person ringing four times overnight.
You've called Hughes Plumbing and Heating. We're closed for the evening and open again at eight tomorrow. Leave a message and I'll ring you first thing. If water is coming through a ceiling, turn off your stopcock, which is usually under the kitchen sink.
Hi, it's Priya at Brightline Electrical. I don't work weekends, but I listen to messages on Sunday evening. Leave your name and number and I'll ring you on Monday morning to sort a time.
Thanks for calling Fenwick Bookkeeping. The office is open nine till five, Monday to Friday. Leave your name, your company and a number, and I'll call you back the next working day.
Always give the date you are back. Put a reminder in your phone to change the greeting on your first morning, because an old holiday message is worse than none.
Hi, it's Dan at Dan Mercer Building. I'm away until Monday the 3rd. Leave a message and I'll ring everyone back that week, in the order you called.
Merry Christmas from The Colour Room. The salon is closed from the 24th and we're back on the 2nd of January. To book for the new year, leave your name and number and we'll call you when we reopen.
It's a bank holiday, so Clearway Driving is closed today. Lessons are on as normal tomorrow. If you're cancelling, leave your name and lesson time so I can free up the slot.
If people might ring you about something dangerous, the safety instruction goes first, before your name and before the beep. Keep it to one sentence so nobody waits through it in a panic.
You've reached Ashdown Gas Services. If you can smell gas, hang up and ring the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. It's free, day or night. For anything else, leave your name, number and the make of your boiler, and I'll call you back today.
This is Hughes Plumbing. If anyone is hurt or in danger, ring 999. For a leak, turn off your stopcock, then leave your address and number and I'll call you back as soon as I'm off this job.
Brightline Electrical. If there are sparks, smoke or a burning smell, keep away from it and ring 999. For a power cut, ring 105. Otherwise, leave your name and number and I'll ring you back within the hour in working hours.
Withheld numbers and numbers gabbled at speed are the biggest reason a message is useless. Ask for the number twice.
Hi, it's Tom Price, painter and decorator. I can't get to the phone. Please leave your name and say your number twice, nice and slowly, and I'll ring you back the same day.
You've got Ali, the window cleaner. If your number shows as withheld I can't call you back, so please leave the number you want me to ring and the name of your road. I'll get back to you this evening.
Emergency numbers checked on 17 October 2026: the National Gas Emergency Service is 0800 111 999, free and open 24 hours. In a power cut, 105 reaches your local electricity network operator.
Recording it
Your greeting lives with your network, so the steps depend on who you are with. On a smartphone you can often do it from the Phone app instead.
Open the Phone app. In the unified layout, tap Calls, then Edit, then Edit Voicemail Greeting. In the classic layout, tap Voicemail, then Greeting. Tap Custom, then Record. Apple says recording here is not supported by every network, so if the option is missing, use your network's number below. Source: Apple Support.
Open the Phone app, tap Dialpad and touch and hold 1. That rings your network voicemail, where the menu lets you record a greeting. Some networks also offer visual voicemail in the app, under More options, Settings, Voicemail. Source: Phone app Help.
| Network | How to record a greeting | Source |
|---|---|---|
| EE (mobile) | Press and hold 1 to call voicemail, then choose option 2 from the main menu to set your greeting. | Help page |
| O2 | Dial 901, press *, choose option 3 and follow the prompts. You can re-record it as often as you like. | Help page |
| Vodafone | Call 121 from your Vodafone mobile and follow the prompts to record a personal greeting. The call comes out of your minutes. | Help page |
| Three | Dial 123. When you set the mailbox up you are asked to record the message callers hear, then you can keep it, play it back or record it again. | Help page |
| giffgaff | Dial 443 from your mobile and follow the voicemail menu to change your greeting. | Help page |
| BT landline (1571) | Dial 1571 from your home phone, choose option 2, then option 1 to record your own greeting. Record after the tone and press # to save. | Help page |
Each line was checked against the network's own help page on 17 October 2026. Menus change from time to time, so follow the spoken prompts if an option number has moved.
The catch
A good greeting helps, but it cannot make someone wait. In Moneypenny's 2016 research into UK micro businesses, 69% of callers who reached voicemail hung up without leaving a message. Someone with water through the ceiling usually rings the next plumber on the list. We worked through what that costs in what a missed call costs a small business.
The other route is to have the call answered. With an answering service, your mobile diverts the calls you cannot pick up, the caller is greeted in your business name, and their details come to you by email, and by text on Pro and Business. While You Work does this from £39 a month plus VAT; the pricing page has the details. If voicemail is working for you, keep it and use the greetings above.
Questions
Your business name in the first sentence, why you cannot answer, when you will ring back, and what you would like the caller to leave: their name, their number and what the job is. If people might ring you about something dangerous, such as a gas smell, put the emergency number first.
Under 20 seconds, which is about 45 to 50 spoken words. Every greeting on this page fits inside that. Longer greetings lose callers before the beep.
Say your name, then your number slowly, then what you are calling about in one sentence, then your number again. Say when you are free to talk. People write the number down on the second pass, so repeating it is the single most useful thing you can do.
They do the same job. An answerphone or answering machine is a box at your end that records the message, while voicemail is run by your phone network, so it works when your phone is off or out of signal. Most mobiles and many landlines now use network voicemail, such as BT 1571.
Better not. The network's automated message only reads back the number, so the caller cannot tell whether they have reached the right business. Moneypenny's 2016 research found 54% of small businesses still used the standard greeting.
Many do not. In Moneypenny's research into UK micro businesses, 69% of callers who reached voicemail hung up without leaving a message. A clear greeting helps, but a caller with a burst pipe will often just ring the next number.
Open the Phone app. In the unified layout tap Calls, then Edit, then Edit Voicemail Greeting. In the classic layout tap Voicemail, then Greeting. Tap Custom, then Record. Apple notes that not every network supports recording this way; if yours does not, ring your network voicemail number instead.