For handymen
An AI receptionist for handymen
When you're up a ladder, it answers, writes down every job on the caller's list and texts it to you.
Read the video transcript
- On screen
- Your phone's ringing, and you're up a ladder. A missed call.
- Voiceover
- Your phone's ringing, and you're up a ladder. That's a job gone. Unless your phone answers itself.
- On screen
- What your callers hear.
- AI receptionist
- Hi, you've reached Dave's Plumbing. I'm Dave's AI assistant, and this call is transcribed. How can I help?
- Caller
- My boiler's packed in. No hot water.
- AI receptionist
- Oh, sorry to hear that. What's the postcode there?
- Caller
- BS3.
- AI receptionist
- Got it. I've pencilled you in for Tuesday at ten. Dave will confirm by text.
- On screen
- A text arrives: New enquiry. Boiler not working, no hot water. BS3. Pencilled in for Tuesday at 10am. Tap to confirm.
- Voiceover
- You get the details. Straight away.
- Voiceover
- It asks your questions, books your calendar, handles emergencies, even asks for photos of the job.
- On screen
- And it's not just a voicemail. Asks your questions, one at a time, in plain English. Emergency? Safety advice first, and you get an instant alert. Says it's an AI, every call. Never pretends to be a person.
- Voiceover
- And every Monday, you see what it caught.
- On screen
- An example weekly summary: calls the AI answered, jobs pencilled in, photos received and emergencies flagged.
- Voiceover
- Try it free for 14 days.
- On screen
- Try it free for 14 days. Card required. Nothing to pay today. Cancel any time. Set up for you. Keep your own number. Plans from £24/month + VAT. arcscribe.co.uk/receptionist. Set up for you. Anywhere in the UK.
- Set up for you
- Keep your existing number: we forward the calls you miss
- Says it's an AI on every call
- Cancel any time
What your callers hear
Your phone rings first. If you can't get to it, the AI receptionist answers, says it's an AI, and asks what you'd ask. Here's an example call to Callum's Handyman Services.
Hear an example call
Dramatised example using synthetic voices. On a real call, the AI uses your business name and the questions you approve.
Read the transcript
Phone rings twice
AI: Hi, you've reached Dave's Plumbing. I'm Dave's AI assistant, and this call is transcribed. How can I help?
Caller: My boiler's packed in. No hot water.
AI: Oh, sorry to hear that. What's the postcode there?
Caller: BS3.
AI: Got it. I've pencilled you in for Tuesday at ten. Dave will confirm by text.
Pencilling in jobs is on Receptionist and Pro. On Catch, the AI takes a message and texts you.
AI receptionist
Hi, you've reached Callum's Handyman Services. Callum's up a ladder at the moment. I'm an AI assistant and this call is transcribed so I can pass on your message. How can I help?
Caller
Hello. I've got a few little jobs that need doing, if that's all right.
AI receptionist
Of course. Tell me each one and I'll write them down as a list.
Caller
A wardrobe to put together, two shelves in the lounge, and the bathroom door that sticks.
AI receptionist
Got it. One: the wardrobe to put together. Two: two shelves in the lounge. Three: the bathroom door that sticks. Anything else?
Caller
That's all for now.
AI receptionist
Thanks. Can I take your name?
Caller
It's Margaret.
AI receptionist
Thanks, Margaret. What's the postcode area?
Caller
NG5.
AI receptionist
Let me read that back: N G 5. Is that right?
Caller
Yes, that's it.
AI receptionist
I'll text you a link for a photo of the bathroom door. Callum has Friday morning free. Would 9am suit you?
Caller
Lovely.
AI receptionist
You're pencilled in for Friday at 9am for the wardrobe, the two shelves and the bathroom door, and Callum will confirm by text.
Built around how handymen work
Unsafe jobs come first
If a shelf has come down or a window's broken, it tells the caller to keep clear, and to ring 999 if anyone's hurt. It flags the call as urgent and alerts you straight away. It never replaces 999.
Every job, written down
Callers often list four or five jobs in one go. It writes them all down as a numbered list, so nothing gets lost between the call and your van.
Jobs outside your scope
If a caller asks about gas or major electrical work, it notes it for you to decide on. It doesn't promise work you don't do.
Half days and full days
It offers half-day or full-day slots from your calendar and pencils them in. You confirm each one by text.
How calls go for a handyman
Lots of small jobs, one call
A handyman's calls are rarely about one thing. Someone rings about a curtain pole, then remembers the shelf in the spare room, the bathroom silicone and the door that won't close. By the end of the call there are five jobs, and the details of the first one have gone.
The receptionist writes each job down as it's mentioned, reads the list back, and asks if there's anything else. The summary it texts you is a numbered list, so you can see at a glance whether it's a couple of hours, a half day or a full day.
Who rings, and what they need
Many callers are older customers who want someone they can trust to come round, and they'd like to take it slowly. The receptionist speaks plainly, reads details back, and is clear from the start that it's an AI. If a caller would rather speak to you, it takes a message and texts it to you straight away.
Landlords and letting agents ring too, often with a list for a property between tenants. The receptionist takes their details and the tenant's, and notes how to get in and who's paying. If you've added your half-day or day rate to your approved answers, it can tell callers. Anything else, it says you'll confirm.
Jobs outside your scope
Sometimes a list includes something you don't do: a gas fire, a new consumer unit, a rewire. The receptionist doesn't turn the caller away or promise anything. It notes the job separately for you to decide on, so you can pass it to someone you trust or leave it off the visit.
Unsafe jobs and photos
Most handyman work can wait a few days. Some can't. A shelf that's come down, a broken window or a door hanging off its hinges needs a quick call back. When a caller mentions something unsafe, the receptionist tells them to keep clear, and to ring 999 if anyone's hurt. It flags the call as urgent and alerts you straight away. It's not an emergency service and never replaces 999.
For everything else, it can text the caller a link to send photos of each job: the wall, the flat-pack box, the door. You'll know what to bring before you load the van.
Questions it can ask
You choose and approve the questions. A few that work well for handymen:
- What jobs need doing? Tell me each one and I'll list them.
- Is it flat-pack, fixing things to walls, or repairs?
- Do you have the parts, or do they need buying?
- Is it your home, or a property you let out?
- Is anything unsafe right now?
- Would a half day or a full day suit you better?
Photos it asks for
Callers get a text with a link to send pictures, and they land in Keystone with the call.
Each job
A photo of every item on the list, so you can judge the time.
The wall
Where the shelves or curtain pole are going.
The flat-pack
The box or the instructions, so you know what you're building.
The repair
The door, the old silicone or the fitting that needs sorting.
Questions from handymen
Yes. It asks for each job in turn, reads the list back, and texts it to you as a list. You can see straight away whether it's a half day or a full day.
It notes jobs outside your usual scope, like gas or major electrical work, and passes them on for you to decide. It doesn't tell callers you'll do them.
It speaks plainly, takes its time, and reads details back so callers can check them. It says it's an AI at the start of every call, and it can take a message if they'd rather you rang them.
Only if you add it to your approved answers. Then it can tell callers your half-day or day rate. Anything else, it says you'll confirm.
Landlords often ring with a list for a rental. It takes their details and the tenant's, notes how to get access, and texts you the lot.
A person at Arcscribe sets it up for you: we get your new number, register it with the phone regulator and test it. While you wait, you can set up your greeting, your services and your calendar in Keystone.
Yes. Keep your existing number: we forward the calls you miss. You turn on call forwarding on your phone, so missed calls go to your Arcscribe number, and we give you a simple guide for it. Moving your number over to us completely (porting) isn't offered yet.
It depends on the plan: the pricing page has the current prices. We'll email you 3 days before your trial ends. If you don't cancel, we'll charge your first month + VAT when the trial ends.
Yes, any time, in Keystone. Cancel during the trial and you won't pay anything. On a paid plan, your plan runs to the end of the month you've paid for.