Can an answering service tell an emergency from a routine job?

Q: Can an answering service tell an emergency from a routine job?

A good one can, if it is set up for your trade. We agree with you what counts as an emergency, such as a burst pipe, a lockout or a roof leak. Those are flagged and sent to you at once. Routine work is booked into your diary.

You set the rules

Every trade has its own emergencies. For a plumber it is water coming through a ceiling. For a locksmith it is someone locked out at night. For a roofer it is storm damage. During setup we agree yours, in your words.

What happens on the call

An emergency: the details are taken, the caller is reassured, and the call is put through to you or flagged to you at once.
Routine work: the job is booked into your diary and the customer gets a confirmation.

At night

If you take night work, an emergency at 11pm is booked or put through. If you do not, the caller is booked into your first slot in the morning, so you wake up to a job instead of a missed call.