Who it is for / Beauty therapists and nail technicians
An AI receptionist for beauty therapists.
You cannot stop a treatment to answer the phone. While You Work answers the calls you miss in your business name, finds out what the client wants and when, gives your prices if you have set them, and sends you the details a minute later.
Hear a sample call free, no card needed, and you keep your own number. Ready to put it on your own line? Start a free 7-day trial, no card.
The first 50 UK businesses get Pro for £49 a month plus VAT for their first 12 months, then £69. Plans start at £39. Your line switches on as soon as you finish the set-up form, with a 7-day free trial first and a 14-day money-back guarantee once you pay.
On every call
What your receptionist asks
- What treatment the client wants
- Whether they are a new or an existing client
- When they would like to come in
- The best number to ring back, read back to check it
- Your prices, only if you have set them and they ask
Urgent jobs
Today’s problems go to the top
- A client who cannot make today’s appointment
- A problem after a treatment
- A caller who says it cannot wait
If a caller describes a medical emergency, the receptionist tells them to ring 999, or 111 if it is not life-threatening, before taking any message.
An example week
A week of calls to a beauty therapist
Beauty clients book by phone during treatments, which is exactly when you cannot answer. The receptionist takes the treatment, the preferred time and any patch-test question.
- Monday: a new client wanting a full set of lashes before a wedding on Saturday. Treatment and deadline taken.
- Tuesday, 1.10pm: a regular asking to move Thursday's nails to the evening. Message taken with the name.
- Wednesday: a caller asking whether you do a patch test for tinting and how far ahead. Question noted.
- Thursday, 8pm: a gift voucher enquiry for a mother's birthday. Details taken.
- Friday: a client running late for a 3pm appointment. Message taken and marked as today.
The maths
What a missed call costs beauty therapists
Say you miss 4 calls a week and two in five of those callers would have booked a treatment worth about £45.
4 calls × 40% × £45 = £72 a week. × 52 weeks ÷ 12 = £312 a month of work going to someone else. An example: put your own numbers into the missed-call calculator.
A new client who reaches voicemail books elsewhere, and a beauty client who books elsewhere once tends to stay there. The real loss is the year of appointments behind the first one.
Timing
When a beauty therapist's phone rings
Lunchtimes, early evenings, and the fortnight before Christmas and the summer holidays. Every one of those calls arrives while your hands are in gloves or holding a wax strip.
What callers hear
An example call, word for word
The receptionist asks one thing at a time, checks the number back and never makes up a price. The details reach you by email a minute after the call, and by text straight away when it is urgent, on Pro and Business.
Emailed to you a minute later
Chloe (existing client), 07700 900681. Gel nails, Friday afternoon if possible.
Receptionist: Hi, you’re through to Glow Beauty. Thanks for calling, I’m the automated assistant. Hannah can’t get to the phone right now, but I can take your details so she can get back to you. Calls are recorded so nothing gets missed. What’s your name?
Caller: Hi, it’s Chloe. I’d like gel nails on Friday afternoon if there’s space.
Receptionist: Thanks, Chloe. Have you been to Glow Beauty before?
Caller: Yes, a few times.
Receptionist: And what’s the best number for Hannah to ring you on?
Caller: 07700 900 681.
Receptionist: So that’s 07700 900 681. Is that right?
Caller: Yes, that’s right.
Receptionist: Thanks, Chloe. Hannah will get back to you to confirm Friday, and I’m sending you a text now to confirm.
Set up
Three steps, and you keep your number
Tell us about your business
A short form made for beauty therapists:
- Your business name and first name
- Opening hours and where you are
- What your business does, in plain words
- Your prices, only if you want callers told
- Your booking or cancellation policy
- Whether customers ever need you urgently
- Anything else callers should know
- Your treatment list, in plain words
- Patch-test rules for lashes, brows and tinting
- Your cancellation policy, so callers hear it up front
Switch on divert
One code on your mobile sends calls you do not answer within 20 seconds to your While You Work line. Turn it off whenever you like.
Get the details in a minute
Every caller is greeted in your business name. You get the details a minute later, and the caller gets a text saying you will ring back.
Questions
Questions from beauty therapists
Can it book appointments into my diary?
Yes, on the Business plan. It offers the caller your real free times, books the appointment and texts them a confirmation, with your deposit link if you take deposits. On Pro it can text the caller your booking link instead, and on Starter it takes the details and tells the caller you will ring back.
Will it give out my prices?
Only if you add them in the set-up form. If you leave prices blank, callers are told you will confirm the price yourself. It never makes up a price.
Will callers know it is not me?
It answers in your salon’s name with a natural British voice, and the greeting tells every caller it is the automated assistant and that calls are recorded. It never pretends to be you.
How much does it cost?
Starter is £39, Pro £69 and Business £129 a month + VAT, for 50, 150 or 400 calls a month. The first 50 UK businesses get Pro for £49 a month + VAT for their first 12 months. There is no contract, and if you cancel within 14 days of your line going live you get a full refund.
Does it know that some treatments need a patch test?
If you list which ones in set-up, it tells new clients a patch test is needed and how far ahead, before they choose a day.
Can it book the appointment while I am with a client?
On the Business plan it offers your real free times, books the slot and texts a confirmation, with a deposit link if you take deposits. Without it, it takes the details and you confirm when you are free.
More detail: how the AI receptionist works, the call answering service behind it, what a virtual receptionist does, what a missed call costs, UK call answering prices and how we compare.
Fill the gaps in your diary without picking up the phone
Free for 7 days, no card. Pupils and clients who ring while you are busy get a proper answer, a text to say you will ring back, and on Pro your booking link. Plans from £39 a month plus VAT after that; Pro is £69, or £49 plus VAT for 12 months for the first 50 UK businesses.
Also set up for barbers, dog groomers, personal trainers, estate and letting agents, accountants and bookkeepers, photographers, and for every other kind of business.