You do not have to hand over your whole phone line to try a receptionist. Almost every trade I talk to starts the same way: keep answering during the day, and let the receptionist take the calls that come in after five and on weekends. Here is how that works and how to set it up in a few minutes.
Three ways to forward
- All calls. Every call to your number rings the receptionist first. Good for owners who are on tools all day and never want to pick up a cold call again.
- After hours only. During your working hours your phone rings as normal. Outside them, calls go to the receptionist. This is where most people start.
- No answer or busy. Your phone rings three or four times; if you do not pick up, the receptionist does. Nothing changes for you except that voicemail stops being the fallback.
How to turn it on
Forwarding is a setting on your phone line, not on the receptionist, so you stay in control. The steps depend on who provides your number:
- Cell phone (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and the carriers that run on them). Each carrier has a short dial code for “forward when I don’t answer” and another for “forward everything”. The codes differ between carriers and change occasionally, so look up “call forwarding” plus your carrier’s name on their own help site, or call them. It takes about a minute on the phone. I will send you the current codes for your carrier when we set up.
- Business phone systems and internet phones (RingCentral, Ooma, Google Voice, Grasshopper and similar). These have a schedule built in. You set business hours once and tell it where to send calls outside those hours: the receptionist’s number. This is the cleanest setup, because the schedule is visible and you can change it from an app.
- Landline through a cable or phone company. Most offer forwarding as a feature you switch on from your account page or by dialing a code. Some charge a small monthly fee for it; check your bill.
What the caller experiences
They dial your number as always. After a ring or two the receptionist answers in your business name, says it is an AI assistant, and takes it from there. They never see a different number. If they ask to speak to a person, it takes a message and tells them when to expect a call back, using the hours you gave it.
Turning it off
Dial the carrier’s cancel code, or flip the schedule off in your phone system’s app. The receptionist’s line is still there if you want it back later, and you are never locked in.
A simple way to test before you forward anything
Call the receptionist’s number directly, from your own cell, and pretend to be a customer. Ask for a price you have not given it. Say the emergency words. Try to book a Sunday. You will hear exactly how it handles each one before a single real customer does. That is the first thing I do with every new client, and it is a good use of ten minutes.
When you are ready, start the free 14-day trial and I will set the line up with you and walk you through forwarding for your specific phone. To hear the receptionist first, call the demo line at 541-612-5262.