Your phone, answered after hours.

What an after-hours answering service does for a contractor

An after-hours answering service picks up your business calls when the shop is closed or you cannot get to the phone. Ours is an AI voice agent set up for your shop. It answers in your business name, asks the caller what they need, takes their details, and gets them to you so you can call back or show up ready.

Who it is for

Independent plumbers, HVAC shops, electricians, roofers, garage door companies, and other small trade shops where the owner is also the receptionist. See the after hours answering service for plumbers and the HVAC answering service for how it works in each trade.

When it answers

Nights, weekends, and holidays, on the hours you choose. Daytime coverage for calls you do not pick up is optional and can be added.

What the caller hears

A greeting in your business name. Then one question at a time: their name, the best callback number (read back in groups so it is right), the address or area, what is wrong, and when to call back. It repeats the details back once, tells them someone will follow up, and says goodbye.

It does not quote prices. It says pricing depends on the job and that you will go over it when you call back. If the caller asks something it should not answer, it says you will cover that on the callback. It does not guess.

What lands on your phone

After each call you get a written summary by text: caller name, callback number, what they need, the best time, and whether it was a real customer or a sales or robocall. If your calendar is connected, a booked slot shows up there too.

Web form leads get the same treatment with instant lead response. Book a Free Automation Audit to see both on your own calls and forms.

Emergencies vs routine calls

You decide what counts as an emergency for your trade. The agent asks the deciding question, for example "Is water running right now?", and marks the call. Emergencies are marked URGENT at the top of your summary. Paging or transferring your on-call phone is optional and can be added.

Routine calls are booked on your calendar when it is connected, or captured with a best time for a morning callback. See how this works in our after hours answering service for plumbers and our HVAC answering service.

Spam, robocalls, and sales pitches

The agent declines pitches politely and ends the call. The summary marks it as spam, so you can ignore it.

Keep your number

You keep your business number. Calls forward to the agent line when you are closed. We set up the forwarding with you during the install and show you how to turn it off. If you mostly lose calls during the day, see missed call answering service.

How setup works

The same four steps as every Blur system, explained on how it works. Audit: we look at how your calls get answered now, starting with the phone test below. Map: your greeting, the questions, what counts as an emergency, and who gets the summary, written in plain English and approved before anything is built. Install: we build the agent on a leading voice AI platform, ElevenLabs or xAI, chosen for your calls, connect forwarding, and run test calls with you. Handoff: you know how to pause it, change the greeting, and read the call log. Most single systems are installed in days, not months.

What it costs

Pricing is scoped on the free audit, because a one-truck shop and a five-truck shop should not buy the same setup. See automation packages for how Blur scopes work.

What this is not

Not a call center with live people. Not a chatbot toy. It does not diagnose problems, quote repairs, take card numbers, or promise an arrival time. It will not pretend to be human if a caller sincerely asks.

Want the background on fast replies? Read night leads should not sit until the shop opens, or learn about Blur.