Guide
Handling missed calls
Call back quickly and in a set order, make your voicemail ask for the details you need, and use your call log to find out when and why calls go unanswered. Then fix the cause, whether that is staffing, routing or hours.
Find out when calls go unanswered
Your phone system or carrier keeps a call log. Export a few weeks of it and look for patterns in the calls nobody answered:
- Time of day. Look closely at early morning while crews head out, at lunch, and at the last hour before closing.
- Day of week. Check weekends and the last days of the month on their own.
- Season. Compare busy months with slow ones.
- Line. If you have several numbers, check whether one rings through less often than the others.
The pattern points to the fix. A lunch gap needs staggered breaks. An evening gap needs an after-hours plan.
A callback routine
- Return missed calls in the order they came in, unless a voicemail says a move is happening now.
- Before you dial, check whether the number belongs to a booked customer, so you open with their move instead of a sales pitch.
- If nobody answers, leave a short message with your name, company and number.
- Follow up by text or email only if the caller agreed to it or left those details for that purpose.
- Mark each call as reached, messaged or not a lead, so two people don't call the same person.
Fix the voicemail greeting
A greeting that asks for specifics gives you something to work with when you call back:
- Your company name, so callers know they reached the right place
- A request for name, number, move date and the towns involved
- When you return calls
- What to do if a move is underway today
Keep it short. A long greeting gives callers time to hang up.
Reduce misses at the source
- Stagger breaks so someone is always on the phones during office hours.
- Set up a rollover so an unanswered call rings a second person before going to voicemail.
- Keep estimate calls focused. A checklist shortens calls and frees the line. See our estimate-call checklist.
- Cover after hours with voicemail, on-call staff, an answering service or software. See handling after-hours calls.
Automatic texts
Some phone systems can send a text to anyone whose call you missed. Rules on automated texts depend on how the message is sent and what it says, so check the consent rules that apply to your business before you turn this on.
Track the result
Run the same call-log check a month after each change. Compare unanswered calls in the hours you targeted. If the number didn't move, the fix didn't address the cause.