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How to choose an AI receptionist for HVAC, plumbing and other home services

Last updated: November 10, 2026

A home-service business loses jobs to voicemail: the owner is on a roof or under a sink when the phone rings, and the caller tries the next company. An AI receptionist answers instead. This guide is what we'd look for if we were choosing one for a trade business, and how Curtis, the AI receptionist we make, measures up.

1. It asks about the problem first. A good dispatcher starts with what's wrong (no heat, a leak, a tripped breaker), not with a name and number. Curtis asks about the problem first, then takes the details your crew needs: the address, the best number and a good time.

2. It handles emergencies safely. A gas smell or a burst pipe needs a safety step and a person, not a booking. In an emergency Curtis tells the caller to call 911 or the right utility and emails your team at once.

3. It books real jobs, not just messages. A receptionist that only takes messages leaves the call-back to you. Curtis books the visit onto your connected Google Calendar, only into times it shows open under your rules, and your team sees it there.

4. It answers from your business, not the internet. Your services, prices, towns and hours are yours. Curtis answers from your business's own information and doesn't make up a price.

5. It covers the website too. Many customers never call: they type into your website's chat. Curtis answers the chat as well as the phone, day and night.

6. You know what you'll pay. Per-minute and per-call pricing is hard to predict in a busy season. Curtis is one monthly price that includes your website and up to 300 answered calls and 300 chats a month, so a busy month doesn't change your bill. Details are in our service terms.

7. You can hear it before you buy. Call it as a customer would, with a hard question. Our line is answered by Curtis: 610-964-5256.

Questions to ask any vendor. Does it book into the calendar or software you already use? What does it do with an emergency? What happens when it can't answer a question? Can you hear real calls? What does a busy month cost? Who reads the calls if something goes wrong?

Where Curtis fits. Owner-run HVAC, plumbing, roofing, electrical, pest control, landscaping and pressure washing businesses that miss calls on jobs and after hours, and want their website, Google listing and receptionist handled together for one monthly price. Meet Curtis.

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