Danger language
Use the firm’s configured safety message and contact the on-call person rather than trying to diagnose the problem.
Claire / United Kingdom / An AI receptionist for trades that captures the job while you are on the tools.
AI receptionist for UK trades
An AI receptionist for trades that captures the job while you are on the tools.
Claire can ask for the postcode, job type, urgency and access details; check configured coverage and diary rules; book or prepare the call-out; send the customer an update; and route danger or uncertainty to a person.
Local search languagetrades, on the tools, postcode, diary, out-of-hours, bank holiday and call-out
Product truthConversation + workflow + systems + people
Human controlApproval, judgment, takeover and exceptions stay visible
Integration statusValidated per customer; no connector is implied
The operating problem
Plumbers, electricians, heating engineers, roofers and service contractors need more than a polite answer.
People call because something must happen. In on the tools, call-out, postcode, quote, diary, emergency and bank holiday, the first conversation usually creates work for several roles and at least one system. A message that says “someone called” leaves the team to identify the record, collect missing details, interpret urgency, find capacity, contact another person and explain the outcome again.
“The electrics keep tripping and there is a burning smell.”
Market and workflow analysis
The caller wants a job outcome, not a digital receptionist performance
Direct answer: AI receptionist for UK trades. Claire connects a trade service call to the field-service record, diary and customer messaging channel, configured rules and an explicit handoff to office staff, dispatchers, engineers and the owner. The value is a verified operational next step, not merely an answered call.
A trades caller usually speaks in symptoms: “the boiler keeps cutting out”, “the fuse board is buzzing”, or “water is coming through downstairs”. The workflow must capture the words faithfully while collecting enough structured detail for the office to route the job. It should not pretend to diagnose the fault.
Emergency and routine work need separate paths. The firm defines which phrases trigger safety guidance or an immediate person, which jobs can be offered a normal slot, and which call-outs require approval before any commitment is made.
Booking requires the right appointment type, duration, engineer skill and coverage—not merely an empty calendar square. If the field-service system cannot confirm the slot, Claire should offer an honest next step and alert the office rather than promise attendance.
For firms with a small office, the gain is fewer interruptions and fewer incomplete callbacks. Engineers remain responsible for technical judgement and the customer relationship on site.
Built for the calls trade businesses receive
Capture the job while your team is on the tools.
An AI receptionist for UK trades answers while the team is on the tools, captures the job in the caller’s words, checks postcode coverage and diary rules, requests the allowed appointment and involves the office when safety, price or capacity needs judgement.
Customers say “the boiler has stopped”, “the sockets keep tripping” or “water is coming through the ceiling”. Claire can understand the service need in ordinary language, collect the postcode, customer and access details, check coverage and request the appointment type the business allows.
A routine service, quote request, no-heat call and burning smell should not all follow the same script. Claire can ask different questions and use different routes while leaving diagnosis and site safety to qualified people.
What happens when the call is difficult
The office receives a prepared exception.
No suitable slot
Keep the postcode, symptoms and availability, explain that nothing is booked and give dispatch a complete request.
Outside coverage
Apply the business’s postcode rules and provide the approved next step without improvising a call-out promise.
People and systems
The business remains in charge of the diary.
Office managers and dispatchers control capacity, travel, pricing exceptions and schedule overrides. Engineers own diagnosis and safety on site. Claire handles routine intake, booking requests, confirmations and missed-call recovery around those decisions.
Job-management and diary connections depend on the software and access available to the customer. A slot is not described as confirmed until the source system accepts it.
Questions trade businesses ask
Fit the receptionist to the way the firm actually runs.
A sole trader, a five-van plumbing firm and a regional heating business do not share the same diary or call-out model. Claire can be configured around the team’s coverage, hours, job types and escalation route without pretending that every trade business needs an enterprise implementation.
Can it handle bank holidays?
Yes, when the firm supplies the holiday hours, on-call rota and the promises allowed on those days.
Can it take deposits or payments?
Payment handling depends on approved payment systems and the customer’s process. It should not be implied unless the deployment includes it.
Can it recognise urgent work?
It can ask the firm’s configured questions and route danger or emergency language. It does not replace a qualified person’s diagnosis.
Can it book different job lengths?
Where the diary exposes appointment types and durations, Claire can request the permitted type. Dispatch retains control over exceptions and scarce capacity.
What makes the first rollout worthwhile?
Choose a call type with regular volume and clear commercial loss today—missed new enquiries, after-hours call-outs or routine service bookings—and compare qualified jobs and office callbacks before and after.
Workflow demo
See Claire capture your next job.
Bring a typical call-out, postcode rule and diary process.
A typical day
New work, existing jobs and customer updates share the same phone number.
Claire can distinguish a new call-out from a customer asking where the engineer is, a routine service request or a quote enquiry. Each route can collect different information and use a different diary or office handoff. That prevents a rigid receptionist script from slowing down simple calls or missing the details behind urgent ones.
For multi-trade businesses, the caller’s description can help route the request to plumbing, heating, electrical or another approved category. Claire preserves the customer’s own words for the office and engineer; it does not turn the category choice into a technical diagnosis.
When a job changes after booking, Claire can capture the new access, timing or symptom information and attach it to the existing request where the system permits. The customer receives the confirmed update, while schedule changes that affect routes or engineer capacity remain with dispatch.