The estimate call comes in while you’re on site.
You’re on a kitchen in Lake Oswego when a homeowner in Tigard calls about a deck. Call back at six and you’re the third contractor they’ve talked to. The receptionist answers now, asks about the project, and books the consultation before they dial the next name.
The calls you miss are the jobs you don’t get
Portland homeowners call three contractors
They research at night, read the reviews, and make a list. The one who answers is the one who gets the first visit. A callback at 6pm puts you third.
Paid leads going to voicemail
If you pay for Google ads or a lead service, every missed call is money already spent. You paid to make the phone ring, then let it ring out.
Calls that aren’t worth the drive
A price shopper. A scope you don’t take. A budget that doesn’t fit the project. Without someone asking, you find out after you’ve driven to Gresham for the estimate.
What the receptionist handles for a Portland contractor
- Asks the qualifying questions: what the project is, where the house is, when they want to start, and whether they have a budget range in mind.
- Knows what you take and what you don’t. Kitchens and baths yes, a single door swap no, or the other way round. It says so politely.
- Books the in-home consultation onto your calendar while the homeowner is still on the phone, and texts them the confirmation.
- Answers the Portland questions: your CCB number, whether you’re bonded and insured, whether you pull the permit, whether you’ve worked on a 1920s house.
- Handles the vague ones. “We’re thinking about an ADU” gets a proper conversation and a booked callback, not a rushed voicemail.
- Texts you within 60 seconds and emails the transcript, so you call back already knowing the project.
Hi, we want to finish our basement in Southeast Portland, maybe add a bathroom. Is that something you do?
It is. Is the basement unfinished right now, and do you know roughly the square footage?
Unfinished, about 700 square feet. The house is from 1925.
Thanks. Are you hoping to start this year, or still in the planning stage?
This year if we can.
Great. I can set up an in-home consultation. I have Thursday at 10 or Friday at 2. Which works?
An illustration of a typical call, not a recording. Try the real thing on the live demo.
Live in five business days
Tell us about your business
One short call: what you build, the parts of the metro you cover, the jobs you want and the ones you don’t, and what you need to know before an estimate visit.
We build it and test it with you
We write the receptionist, connect your calendar and inbox, and run it through real scenarios: a kitchen remodel, a basement ADU question, a price shopper.
Go live, then we keep tuning
Forward your line and every call is answered. We listen to real calls each month and adjust as your services and season change.
Questions Portland contractors ask
What if the project is complicated?
It takes the details and tells the caller you’ll follow up personally. You get the transcript, so you call back knowing the house, the scope and the timeline instead of starting from zero.
Can it screen out the price shoppers?
It asks about budget and timing the way you’d want it asked, politely. What it does with the answer is up to you: book everyone, book only the serious ones, or take a message. You set the rule.
We already pay for Google Local Services Ads. Does this replace that?
No. Ads make the phone ring. The receptionist makes sure the ring turns into a booked visit. If you’re paying for calls and sending them to voicemail, this is the part that’s broken.
Ready to hear it take an estimate call?
Start with a free live demo. Leave a number and the receptionist can ring you in about a minute.
No payment required. No obligation.