Who it is for / Plasterers
An AI receptionist for plasterers.
Plaster will not wait while you take a call. While You Work answers the calls you miss in your business name, finds out what the plastering job is, where 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: a skim, a patch or a ceiling
- 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, only if you have set one and they ask
Urgent jobs
Jobs that cannot wait go to the top
- A ceiling that has come down or is sagging
- Water damage to put right quickly
- 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 plasterer
Plastering is on the critical path of every renovation, so most calls come from people who need a date, not a chat.
- Monday, 7.50am: a builder needs a whole ground floor skimmed in a fortnight, boards up by then. Trade enquiry, dates taken.
- Tuesday: a homeowner with a ceiling that came down in a leak, insurance job. Photos offered, postcode taken.
- Wednesday, 1pm: a garage conversion, boarding and skimming. Size taken.
- Thursday: a customer asking if you do external render and monocouche. Question noted.
- Friday, 5.30pm: a small patch repair after an electrician chased the walls. Details taken.
The maths
What a missed call costs plasterers
Say you miss 3 calls a week and two in five of those callers would have booked a room skim worth about £500.
3 calls × 40% × £500 = £600 a week. × 52 weeks ÷ 12 = £2,600 a month of work going to someone else. An example: put your own numbers into the missed-call calculator.
Builders book the plasterer who answers. The second call goes to the next name in their phone, and that name gets the whole job.
Setting your own prices? See what plasterers charge in the UK, with rates and job prices from published price guides.
Timing
When a plasterer's phone rings
Early mornings when builders plan the week, and the weeks after Christmas when renovations restart. Skimming a ceiling is the one job you cannot pause to pick up.
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. Craig, 07700 900626, S11 Ecclesall. Part of the bedroom ceiling down after a leak.
Receptionist: Hi, you’re through to Smooth Finish Plastering. Dan 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 Craig. Part of our bedroom ceiling has come down after a leak.
Receptionist: Thanks, Craig. I’m sorry to hear that. I’ll mark this as urgent so Dan sees it first. What’s your postcode?
Caller: S11, in Ecclesall.
Receptionist: And what’s the best number for Dan to ring you on?
Caller: 07700 900 626.
Receptionist: So that’s 07700 900 626. Is that right?
Caller: Yes, that’s right.
Receptionist: Thanks, Craig. Dan 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 plasterers:
- 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
- Skimming, boarding, rendering, or all of them
- Whether you take small patch repairs
- How far ahead you are booked
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 plasterers
Can it tell callers about jobs I do not take on?
Yes. Put it in the anything else box on the set-up form and the receptionist tells callers who ask, then still takes their details so you can decide.
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 handle builders as well as homeowners?
Yes. It asks who is calling and what the job is, and the message says whether it came from a builder, a homeowner or a letting agent, so you can ring the trade calls first.
Can it explain that I need the boards up before I come?
If you put that in the set-up form it tells callers exactly that, so your callback does not start with a job that is not ready.
More detail: how the AI receptionist works, the call answering service behind it, what a virtual receptionist does, what to charge as a plasterer, what a missed call costs, UK call answering prices and how we compare.
If you also take on carpentry or joinery, see our AI receptionist for carpenters.
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.