Who it is for / Carpenters and joiners
An AI receptionist for carpenters and joiners.
With the saw running, the phone goes unheard. While You Work is a virtual receptionist for carpenters and joiners, run by AI. It answers the calls you miss in your business name, finds out what the carpentry or joinery job is, where it is and when it is needed, 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 the job is, in the caller’s own words
- Where it is, at least the postcode or area
- When they need it done
- The best number to ring back, read back to check it
- Your call-out fee, only if you have set one and they ask
Urgent jobs
Jobs that cannot wait go to the top
- A door that will not close or lock
- Damage that leaves a home insecure
- A caller who says it cannot wait
On Pro and Business, urgent calls are texted to you straight away, and every call is emailed to you.
An example week
A week of calls to a carpenter
Carpentry calls are rarely emergencies, so what matters is catching the quote request before the caller tries the next joiner.
- Monday: a homeowner wants a fitted wardrobe in an alcove, has photos to send. Email address noted so you can ask for them.
- Tuesday, 12.15pm: a kitchen fitter needing a second pair of hands next week. Dates taken, marked as a trade enquiry.
- Wednesday: a landlord with a sticking door and a broken banister, wants both done in one visit. Both listed in the message.
- Thursday, 5.50pm: a decking quote, back garden, roughly six by four metres. Size and postcode taken.
- Friday: a builder confirming that the staircase timber has arrived. Message taken, not an enquiry.
The maths
What a missed call costs carpenters
Say you miss 3 calls a week and two in five of those callers would have booked a fitted-furniture or decking job worth about £600.
3 calls × 40% × £600 = £720 a week. × 52 weeks ÷ 12 = £3,120 a month of work going to someone else. An example: put your own numbers into the missed-call calculator.
Bespoke work is priced on a visit. If the first visit is booked by someone else, the job goes with it.
Setting your own prices? See what carpenters charge in the UK, with rates and job prices from published price guides.
Timing
When a carpenter's phone rings
Weekday lunchtimes and early evenings, when homeowners have measured up, and the run-up to Christmas when everyone wants the job finished before family arrive. You are usually mid-cut.
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
Rachel, 07700 900915, BS7 Horfield. Quote for fitted wardrobes in two bedrooms, wants them before Christmas.
Receptionist: Hi, you’re through to Mike’s Joinery. Mike is out on a job, so I’m the automated assistant taking the details for a call back. Calls are recorded so nothing gets missed. What’s your name?
Caller: Hi, it’s Rachel. I’m after a quote for fitted wardrobes in two bedrooms.
Receptionist: Thanks, Rachel. Is there a date you’d like them in by?
Caller: Ideally before Christmas.
Receptionist: What’s your postcode?
Caller: BS7, in Horfield.
Receptionist: And what’s the best number for Mike to ring you on?
Caller: 07700 900 915.
Receptionist: So that’s 07700 900 915. Is that right?
Caller: Yes, that’s right.
Receptionist: Thanks, Rachel. Mike will ring you back to arrange a time to measure up, 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 carpenters:
- Your business name and first name
- Working hours and the area you cover
- What you do, in plain words
- Your call-out fee, only if you want callers told
- Whether you take emergencies out of hours
- Anything else callers should know
- The kind of work you take: fitted furniture, doors, decking, first and second fix
- Whether you ask callers to email photos and measurements
- How far ahead you are booked, so callers hear a realistic timescale
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 carpenters
Will it take quote requests?
Yes. It takes what the customer wants, where, and when they need it, then tells them you will ring back to arrange a visit. It never gives a price unless you have set one.
Can it book jobs into my diary?
Yes, on the Business plan. It offers the caller your real free times, books the job 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.
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.
Can it ask callers to send photos?
Yes. If you say so in set-up, it asks for the caller's email so you can request photos and measurements, and it tells them you will do that when you ring back.
Will it tell people I am booked up for weeks?
Only what you put in the form. Many carpenters add "currently booking about four weeks ahead" so callers know before they wait for a callback.
More detail: how the AI receptionist works, the call answering service behind it, what a virtual receptionist does, what to charge as a carpenter, what a missed call costs, UK call answering prices and how we compare.
Source: Fix Radio survey of more than 220 UK tradespeople, reported by PHAM News, October 2022.
Try it on the calls you miss this week
Free for 7 days, no card, and you keep your own number. The next time you are under a sink or up a ladder, your receptionist takes the call and the details are in your inbox before you have washed your hands. Plans from £39 a month plus VAT after that, and the first 50 UK businesses get Pro for £49 plus VAT for 12 months.
Also set up for painters and decorators, landscapers and gardeners, tilers, plasterers, handymen and property maintenance, pest control, and for every other kind of business.