Voliature vs voicemail and callbacks
Voicemail is the default because it is free. It is also the option that loses the highest share of the calls it receives.
Most callers never leave one
A homeowner who reaches voicemail overwhelmingly hangs up and dials the next contractor. The messages you do receive are a fraction of the calls you missed, which is precisely why voicemail makes the problem look smaller than it is.
By the time you call back, it's settled
Even a fast callback — an hour later, between jobs — arrives after the customer has spoken to two other companies. You are no longer competing for the job; you are asking someone to cancel an appointment they already made.
Callbacks land at bad moments
Returning calls happens when your team has a gap, which is rarely when the customer is free. You then swap voicemails for a day or two, which loses more of the ones you did manage to capture.
It signals how you'll handle the job
Fairly or not, a homeowner reads an unanswered phone as a preview of the service. The businesses that answer are assumed to be the ones that turn up on time — a judgement made before anyone has seen your work.
Where voicemail is fine
If you are a single-truck operation deliberately running at capacity and turning work away, voicemail is a reasonable filter and there is nothing to fix. This matters when you want more of the calls you are already receiving to become jobs.
See what voicemail is costing you
Book a free call and we'll look at how many of your inbound calls currently go unanswered.