Answering Service for Electricians
New callers are asked who they are before your phone rings. Every call to your cell comes to VettedCalls first. We answer in your business name, put real callers through to you, and ring you right away when a caller says a priority word. On Receptionist, a call you don't pick up goes to an AI receptionist with instructions written for electricians, unless it's a priority call or a saved contact, which go to voicemail.
Get started with VettedCallsWhen a caller says "sparking"
A dead outlet in a guest room can wait for a callback. An outlet that's sparking, or a panel with a burning smell, can't, and your account treats the two calls differently as soon as the caller describes the problem.
"Sparking", "smoke" and "burning smell" are default priority words on an electrician's account (the full list is in the next section). Say one of them and the AI marks the call as a priority call. The caller doesn't get the press 1 or 2 question about texts, and your phone starts ringing.
How that differs from an ordinary call depends on the time and your plan. During business hours on Receptionist, an ordinary call rings you for 12 seconds before the AI receptionist picks up, while a priority call rings for up to 40. After hours, an ordinary call that passes screening goes straight to the AI, and a priority call still rings your phone. Pro has no AI receptionist, so there an ordinary call rings for up to 25 seconds and then goes to voicemail.
If an emergency comes in while you're in a crawlspace and you miss it, the caller can leave a voicemail of up to 120 seconds. The transcript comes to your email with a link to play the message, so you can read what's going on before you call back. Our voicemail to text page shows how that works.
Phrases worth adding yourself
Homeowners describe electrical trouble in their own words, and some common ones aren't on the default list. You can add up to 20 priority words of your own in the dashboard. These are a good place to start:
- electrical fire
- live wires
- panel hot
- panel smoking
- breaker won't reset
One default will bring you calls you might rather take later. "Breaker tripped" is on the list, and the trade defaults stay on when you add your own, so a homeowner whose breaker tripped once while the space heater was running rings you as a priority call too. That's the same phrase you'd hear from someone with a breaker that trips every time they reset it, and we'd rather you hear both.
Calling the homeowner back
Use your phone's own dialer. The Cloud Softphone app is where your screened calls ring, but it can't place calls, 911 included, and the VettedCalls number only receives calls. Your callers keep dialing the cell number they already have.
A caller you missed may already have a text from us: if they pressed 1 at the screening step, we send one signed with your first name and business name that says sorry you missed them and gives a short reason, such as "on a job", and the number you'll be calling from. Calls the AI receptionist answers on Receptionist don't send it, and neither do missed calls from saved contacts. Our missed-call text back page has more on it.
Priority Passthrough
Priority Passthrough lets customers who say one of your selected priority words ring straight through to you, regardless of the time of day. Every account starts with six priority words: urgent, emergency, help, asap, right now, today.
An account set up for electricians also has these trade priority words, on by default:
- no power
- sparking
- arcing
- smoke
- burning smell
- breaker tripped
- exposed wires
- electrical shock
You can add up to 20 of your own in the dashboard, and the trade defaults stay on. When a caller says one, the AI flags it as a priority call. It skips the text question and rings you right away, for up to 40 seconds, in or out of business hours, on every plan.
Miss a priority call and it goes to voicemail, on Receptionist as well as Pro. You get a text alert. The caller isn't texted, because a priority call skips the press 1 question.
Common calls for electricians
Each one tagged by how soon it needs you.
- Sparking outlet or burning smell emergency
- Visible smoke from outlet, panel, or fixture emergency
- Whole house has no power emergency
- Exposed live wires after a storm or accident emergency
- Breaker keeps tripping soon
- Dead outlets in part of the house soon
- Flickering lights soon
- Panel upgrade quote routine
- EV charger install routine
- Ceiling fan / fixture / chandelier install routine
- Generator transfer switch install routine
The work it knows about
On Receptionist, the AI receptionist answers with instructions written for electricians. They cover this work:
Interior
- Outlet and switch repair / replacement
- Lighting and fixture install
- Ceiling fan install
- Panel upgrade and replacement
- Sub-panel install
- Whole-home rewire
- Troubleshooting dead circuits and breaker issues
- Smoke detector and CO detector install
Exterior
- EV charger install
- Generator transfer switch install
- Hot tub and pool electrical
- Exterior lighting and landscape lighting
- Service mast and meter base repair
What it asks callers
The AI receptionist gets the caller's name and reason, confirms the callback number by its last four digits, and asks what days work. Its instructions for electricians list more to gather:
- Service address
- What's happening
- When did it start
- Is the affected breaker tripped or off
- Anyone in the house with medical equipment that needs power
Sample replies
A few of the example replies in the AI receptionist's instructions for electricians.
What the AI receptionist won't do
- It doesn't book appointments. It asks what days work, and you confirm the time when you call back.
- It doesn't ask callers for their email.
- If a caller asks whether it's an AI, it neither confirms nor denies.
- It confirms the callback number by its last four digits.
The AI receptionist comes with the Receptionist plan. Pro has no AI receptionist, so a call you miss on Pro goes to voicemail. Receptionist is coming soon, and Pro is available now.
Questions about VettedCalls for Electricians
What does the homeowner hear while my phone is ringing?
After they tell us who they are and what's wrong, a caller on a priority call hears "Connecting you now." and your phone rings for up to 40 seconds. On Receptionist, where calls are recorded by default, they hear "Connecting you now. This call may be recorded." instead.
Will I know it's a priority call before I start talking?
Yes. When you answer, you hear "Priority call," then the caller's name and the topic the AI picked out, then a beep, and then the caller is put through. There's no key to press; the whisper only speaks and beeps.
Can I set hours so the AI takes routine calls in the evening?
On Receptionist, yes. You set business hours day by day, in your own time zone, and outside them, callers who pass screening go straight to the AI receptionist while priority calls still ring you. From your own cell you can text HOURS 8-18 to your VettedCalls number to set weekday hours; the weekend stays as it is.
Does the text alert tell me what the caller said?
Yes, by default. Your voicemail text quotes the caller when the transcript finishes within 15 seconds, over as many as two texts, and a slower transcript gets you a short alert with their name, number and topic. The email has the full transcript and a link to play the message, and the voicemail is also in your dashboard.
Related trades
The AI receptionist has instructions written for 58 trades and professions, plus a general set for everyone else. Here are a few of them.