The homeowner is calling three plumbers at once
Water on the floor makes people fast. A homeowner with a leak under the sink or a water heater dripping in the basement does not fill out one form and wait. They fill out three, call the first number they find, and book whoever answers. If you are under a house when the form comes in, you find out about the job after someone else has it.
For a burst pipe, 15 minutes is generous. Research on web leads backs this up. The MIT / InsideSales Lead Response Management study found that leads contacted within 5 minutes were 21 times more likely to qualify than leads contacted at 30 minutes. A Harvard Business Review study found that the average company took 42 hours to respond to a web lead, and that firms that called within an hour were about 7 times more likely to qualify it.
Paid leads raise the stakes. Plumbing leads on Angi and HomeAdvisor are reported to cost about $15 to $40 each and to be shared with 3 to 5 plumbers, according to a third-party breakdown of the lead marketplaces. Weekend and after-hours leads are the easiest to lose, because nobody is at the desk.
What happens when a plumbing lead comes in
- Saturday morning, a homeowner submits your form: “Water heater leaking from the bottom, puddle in the garage.”
- HelloSetter calls within 60 seconds. In our testing, the call starts about one second after the lead arrives.
- The AI says it is calling for your company, confirms the problem and asks the plumbing questions below.
- It books the visit into an open slot on your HelloSetter Calendar, inside the hours you set, weekends included if you work them.
- You get an email summary of the call. The recording and transcript are in your dashboard.
- No answer? It detects voicemail, leaves a short message and tries again on a schedule: up to 16 attempts spread over days, only inside calling hours.
- If the homeowner calls back, the same AI answers on your local number.
What the AI asks on a plumbing call
Different problems need different questions. The AI asks what a good dispatcher would:
- What is going on: a leak, a burst pipe, no hot water, a clogged drain, a backup, or a new install?
- Is water running right now? Has the water been shut off?
- Where is it: kitchen, bathroom, basement, crawlspace, outside?
- For water heaters: gas or electric, tank or tankless, about how old, and is it leaking?
- For drains: is it one fixture, or are several drains backing up at once?
- What is the address, and are you the homeowner or renting?
- When can someone be there to let the plumber in?
Several drains backing up points to a main line. A 12-year-old tank leaking from the bottom points to a replacement. Your plumber knows before leaving the shop.
How it handles plumbing objections
“I’m just getting prices.”
Common when the homeowner has called three plumbers. The AI does not argue. It explains that the price depends on what the plumber finds, and offers the earliest open time. On an urgent leak, being the one with a time on offer counts for a lot.
“I need to check with my spouse.”
Usually comes up on water heater replacements and repipes. The AI offers a time when both can be home, or notes it for a follow-up.
“That sounds expensive.”
It does not quote over the phone. It explains that the visit is how they find out whether it is a quick repair or something bigger.
“Call me next week.”
Fine for a slow drain or a fixture swap. It sets the callback for when they asked, inside calling hours, and logs it.
What kind of plumbing answering service this is
To be clear: HelloSetter calls your new web leads fast and answers when those homeowners call back. It is not a general plumbing answering service that picks up every call to your shop, and it does not dispatch your trucks. If a customer from last month calls your main line about a warranty, that still goes to you.
It only calls leads who gave consent on your form, and it honors opt-outs. The FCC ruled in February 2024 that AI voices count as an “artificial voice” under the TCPA, so that consent is not optional.
Setup: one 30-minute call
On a 30-minute setup call, the team connects your lead sources: your website forms, a Google Sheet, or a webhook or Zapier connection from places like Angi, Thumbtack or Google Local Services Ads. You get a local phone number, and your HelloSetter Calendar is set to your service hours.
Subscribe to the calendar on your phone with an iCal link. If you already run a calendar for jobs, paste its link in and the AI checks it so it never double-books you.
Pricing
Founding plans are $197, $347 or $697 a month (regular price $297, $497 and $997). There is a free 14-day pilot after the setup call. Month-to-month, no setup fee. See plans and pricing.
Hear it yourself
Call (307) 414-8089 and pretend your kitchen sink is backing up. Or use Call me now on the homepage and the AI calls you within 60 seconds. Tell it you are calling around for prices and hear what it does.