Who it is for / Painters and decorators
An AI receptionist for painters and decorators.
You cannot pick up with paint on your hands. While You Work answers the calls you miss in your business name, finds out what needs decorating, where and when, and sends you the details a minute later, so the job does not go to the next name on the list.
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 needs decorating, 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 day rate or minimum charge, only if you have set one and they ask
Urgent jobs
Short-notice jobs go to the top
- A room needed ready for a move or a sale
- 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 decorator
Decorating enquiries come in bursts, usually when someone has just moved or a room has been emptied. The receptionist captures the rooms and the timing.
- Monday, 9.30am: new homeowners want the whole hallway, stairs and landing done before the carpet fitter comes. Date pressure noted.
- Tuesday: a landlord needs a two-bed flat repainted between tenants, keys with the agent. Agent name taken.
- Wednesday, 6pm: exterior woodwork and render on a semi, wants it before the weather turns. Postcode taken.
- Thursday: a caller asking if you hang wallpaper. Question noted; the receptionist says you will confirm when you ring back.
- Friday, 1pm: a builder wants a decorator for a loft conversion in three weeks. Trade enquiry, dates taken.
The maths
What a missed call costs decorators
Say you miss 3 calls a week and two in five of those callers would have booked a room or hallway worth about £800.
3 calls × 40% × £800 = £960 a week. × 52 weeks ÷ 12 = £4,160 a month of work going to someone else. An example: put your own numbers into the missed-call calculator.
People ring three decorators and book the first one who calls back. Voicemail puts you third.
Setting your own prices? See what painters and decorators charge in the UK, with rates and job prices from published price guides.
Timing
When a decorator's phone rings
Spring and early autumn for exteriors, and the weeks after moving day for interiors. The calls land while you are up a ladder with a loaded roller.
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
Amir, 07700 900367, NG5 Arnold. Hallway and landing painted within two weeks, house going on sale.
Receptionist: Hi, you’re through to Clean Coat Decorating. Lee 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: It’s Amir. We’re selling the house and need the hallway and landing painted in the next couple of weeks.
Receptionist: Thanks, Amir. What’s your postcode?
Caller: NG5, in Arnold.
Receptionist: And what’s the best number for Lee to ring you on?
Caller: 07700 900 367.
Receptionist: So that’s 07700 900 367. Is that right?
Caller: Yes, that’s right.
Receptionist: Thanks, Amir. Lee will ring you back to arrange a quote, 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 decorators:
- 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
- Interior, exterior or both
- Whether you hang wallpaper or do spraying
- Whether the customer supplies paint or you do
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 decorators
Can it tell callers my minimum charge?
Yes, if you put it in the set-up form. If you leave it blank, callers are told you will quote after seeing the job.
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.
Will it ask how many rooms?
Yes. It asks what needs doing in the caller's own words, which rooms or which outside areas, and when they need it done, so your callback starts with the facts.
Can it say I only take jobs within a certain distance?
Yes. Put the area you cover in the form and it tells callers outside it politely, before taking their details in case you want the job anyway.
More detail: how the AI receptionist works, the call answering service behind it, what a virtual receptionist does, what to charge as a painter and decorator, 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 landscapers and gardeners, tilers, plasterers, handymen and property maintenance, pest control, window cleaners, and for every other kind of business.