Missed-call recovery for plumbing companies
Plumbing work arrives by phone, and it arrives at the worst possible moment. Here's what that costs you, and how the Lead Recovery System runs on a plumbing call.
Not a plumber? The same system is configured for HVAC, electrical, roofing and other call-driven trades — see what the system does.
The calls a plumbing company loses
Eleven at night. A pipe lets go, the caller is standing in water, and they're ringing whoever answers. The company that picks up gets the repair, and usually the customer for years.
The job that needs triage. A burst pipe and a dripping tap are the same call until somebody asks. Urgency and location decide who goes first, and nobody is asking while the phone is ringing out.
The office phone while everyone is on site. Two crews out, one person in the office, and the line busy while they're on another call. That call doesn't wait, and it doesn't leave a message.
What happens to those calls now
Voicemail catches a few. Most people don’t leave one — they hang up and try the next plumber, because there are eleven of them within five miles. By the time anyone listens to the greeting, the job is booked elsewhere and you never knew it existed.
Saturday night, a burst pipe
Representative example. Names and numbers are made up. It shows how the system is configured to run.
- The call
The office line rings out. The crew has been off since six.
- The text back
“Hi, this is Calder & Sons Plumbing — sorry we missed you. What’s going on?”
- The caller
“Pipe burst under the upstairs bathroom. Water’s coming through the kitchen ceiling. I’ve turned the main off but it’s still dripping.”
- The system asks
“Has it stopped since you turned the main off? And is this a house or a rental?”
- The caller
“Stopped. Our house. 118 Dunmore Road.”
- The lead reaches the on-call tech
New lead
Burst pipe — upstairs bathroom
Water through the kitchen ceiling. Main shut off at the valve.
Owner's house, someone home. 118 Dunmore Road.
Urgency: tonight · Source: missed call, 10:40 PM
- The on-call tech rings back
“I can be there in forty minutes with a wet vac. Leave the main off.”
- Appointment set
Appointment set
Saturday, 11:30 PM · 118 Dunmore Road
Confirmation text sent. Reminder goes out an hour before.
Names, times and messages are a representative example. Your version is written around your service area, your questions and your on-call rota.
Questions plumbing owners ask
The emergency line helps the caller who gets through. This covers the ones who don't: the call that rings out while your on-call is under a floorboard, and the ten o'clock call when nobody is holding the phone at all.
By asking. Water off or not, upstairs or under the house, someone home or a rental, needs it tonight or wants a price. An emergency goes to the on-call phone. A refit enquiry lands with whoever quotes, in the morning, with the details already written down.
Every missed call, whenever it happens. Mid-morning on a Tuesday is the most common one, because that's when everyone is on site.
How the system works on a callWhat it costsIf you also do HVAC
Bring us a call you missed last week
A real one, from your own phone. We'll show you what the system would have done with it.
No obligation. If it won’t help your business, we’ll say so.