Who it is for / Landscapers and gardeners
An AI receptionist for landscapers and gardeners.
Over a mower or a digger, you will not hear the phone. While You Work answers the calls you miss in your business name, finds out what the garden job is, where it is and when, 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, from regular mowing to a new patio
- 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 or visit fee, only if you have set one and they ask
Urgent jobs
Jobs that cannot wait go to the top
- A fallen tree or branch blocking a path or drive
- A fence down after a storm
- 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 landscaper
Garden enquiries are big-ticket and slow to decide, so the first firm to ring back with a survey date usually wins.
- Monday: a family wants the back garden levelled, a patio and a lawn laid. Rough size and postcode taken, photos offered.
- Tuesday, 8am: a regular customer asking for the monthly maintenance visit to move a day. Message taken with the new day.
- Wednesday: a fence panel down after the wind, garden open to the road. Marked urgent because the caller has a dog.
- Thursday, 7pm: a driveway resurfacing quote, block paving, roughly two cars. Details taken.
- Friday: a garden designer asking whether you do the hard landscaping on their plans. Trade enquiry noted.
The maths
What a missed call costs landscapers
Say you miss 3 calls a week and two in five of those callers would have booked a patio, lawn or fencing job worth about £1,200.
3 calls × 40% × £1,200 = £1,440 a week. × 52 weeks ÷ 12 = £6,240 a month of work going to someone else. An example: put your own numbers into the missed-call calculator.
A garden project is booked on the strength of the first visit. Miss the call and you are not on the shortlist.
Setting your own prices? See what gardeners charge in the UK, with rates and job prices from published price guides.
Timing
When a landscaper's phone rings
The first warm weekend of spring, bank holidays, and the week after a storm takes fences down. All of it while you are on a site with a mini digger running.
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.
Texted to you straight away on Pro and Business
URGENT. Sue, 07700 900488, CV8 Kenilworth. Fence panel down in the wind, dog can get out.
Receptionist: Hi, you’re through to Green Acre Gardens. Tom 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 Sue. A fence panel has come down in the wind and the dog can get out.
Receptionist: Thanks, Sue. I’m sorry to hear that. I’ll mark this as urgent so Tom sees it first. What’s your postcode?
Caller: CV8, in Kenilworth.
Receptionist: And what’s the best number for Tom to ring you on?
Caller: 07700 900 488.
Receptionist: So that’s 07700 900 488. Is that right?
Caller: Yes, that’s right.
Receptionist: Thanks, Sue. Tom will ring you back as soon as he can, 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 landscapers:
- 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
- Design and build, maintenance, or both
- Minimum job size if you have one
- Whether you offer free site visits
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 landscapers
Does it take regular garden maintenance enquiries?
Yes. It takes what the customer wants and where, then tells them you will ring back. You add the areas you cover in the set-up form, and it mentions it if a job looks outside them.
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 handle a garden emergency?
It treats a fallen tree, a fence down next to a road or a flooded garden as urgent if you tell it those count for you, and texts you straight away. Everything else is a normal enquiry by email.
Does it know the difference between maintenance and a project?
Yes. It asks what the caller wants done and whether it is a one-off or regular, and the message tells you which, so you can prioritise the projects.
More detail: how the AI receptionist works, the call answering service behind it, what a virtual receptionist does, what to charge as a gardener, 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 tilers, plasterers, handymen and property maintenance, pest control, window cleaners, removal companies, and for every other kind of business.