Answering service for plumbers. Voicemail is where jobs go to die.
Plumbing calls are urgent by nature: water is running somewhere it shouldn't. The plumber who answers first gets the job, and the one who lets it roll to voicemail loses a customer. Wenly answers every call in your company's name, works out how urgent it is, and emails you the lead in 30 seconds.
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Missed-call scenarios
Three calls plumbers can't afford to miss
Scenario 1
A pipe bursts under the kitchen sink at 2am
Water is spreading across the floor and the homeowner has found a valve that won't close. It is 2am and they need someone tonight.
Without an answer
You are asleep with your phone on silent, as you should be. The call rolls to voicemail, and the homeowner phones the next plumber with a 24-hour number.
With Wenly
Wenly answers, asks whether water is still running, and points the caller to the main shutoff if it is safe to reach. It takes the address and marks the call urgent. You get the text, and the transfer if you have an on-call number.
Scenario 2
Sewage backs up into the basement on a Sunday
A floor drain is overflowing. The homeowner has kids and a finished basement, and every plumber's office is closed.
Without an answer
Weekend calls are exactly the ones that go to voicemail. This one is a big job, and the caller will hire whoever calls back first.
With Wenly
Wenly tells the caller to avoid contact with the water and keep children and pets away, then collects the address and the details. You get an urgent text with everything you need to call back in one tap.
Scenario 3
A property manager needs a plumber for unit 4B
A property manager has a tenant with no hot water and a leaking supply line. They manage forty units and will use whoever answers.
Without an answer
A property manager who reaches your voicemail moves down their list. The plumber who picks up first often gets the next forty units too.
With Wenly
Wenly asks whether the caller is the owner, a tenant or a property manager, whether it is residential or commercial, and what the problem is. That goes into your text, so you know who you are calling back before you dial.
The call and the text
What the caller hears, and what you get
The caller hears your company's name and a short line saying the call is answered automatically and may be recorded. You get the lead as a text.
Wenly
“Thanks for calling Bright Water Plumbing. This call is answered automatically and may be recorded. How can we help?”
Caller
“A pipe burst under my kitchen sink. Water is going everywhere.”
Wenly
“I'm sorry. If it's safe to reach, shut off the main water valve now. Is the water still running?”
Caller
“I found the valve. It's stopped.”
Wenly
“Good. I'll flag this as urgent for the on-call plumber. What's the address, including ZIP?”
A fictional business and caller. The wording is tuned to each company.
What Wenly asks for
- What is wrong: a burst pipe, a leak, a backup, no water, the water heater, a clog or a quote
- Whether water is still running, and whether the main valve is shut
- Name and callback number, confirmed
- Service address with ZIP, and whether it is in your service area
- Homeowner, tenant or property manager, and residential or commercial
- The best time for a visit
Urgent rules
Urgent calls and safety rules for plumbers
We set these with you at setup, starting from the defaults for your trade. Wenly is not a substitute for 911. When anyone is in danger, callers are told to call 911.
Safety first
A smell of gas
The caller is told to leave the building and call 911 or the gas company from outside, and not to use switches or open flames. Wenly takes a number and ends the call. You get an urgent text.
Urgent
A burst pipe, or water still running
Marked urgent. The caller is pointed to the main shutoff if it is safe to reach. The call transfers to your on-call number if you have one, and you get an immediate text.
Urgent
Sewage backing up
Marked urgent. The caller is told to avoid contact with the water and to keep children and pets away.
Urgent
No water at all, especially with an elderly person, a baby or someone unwell at home
Marked urgent and sent to your on-call number if you have set one up.
Drips, slow drains, fixture installs and quotes are routine leads. Wenly never walks anyone through a repair, and if there is any danger to people it tells them to call 911.
What you get
24/7 answering service for plumbers
Phone plans start at $29 a month with 150 minutes. Starter is $99 with 500 minutes.
Answered in seconds, trained for your trade.
Wenly picks up when you can't, greets callers in your company's name, and asks what your trade would ask.
On Done-for-you, Pro and Founding, a real person on our team reviews every lead.
A real person on our team reviews every lead after delivery and corrects unclear details.
A weekly “jobs saved” report.
Calls answered, leads captured, urgent calls caught, and what those leads are worth to you. Proof, every week.
Guarantee: If we don't catch at least 10 leads you'd have missed in your first 30 days, you don't pay.
No long explanations. Try it for 30 days, and if it doesn't catch the jobs voicemail was losing, it's free.
The numbers
What missed calls cost plumbers
Starting values are examples for this trade, not averages. Change them to match your business.
What are missed calls costing you?
The starting numbers are examples, not averages. Change them to match your business.
Lost to missed calls
You could be losing about $5,308 a month.
That is about $63,700 a year, from about 15 jobs a month.
7 calls a week × $350 × 50% × 4.33 weeks a month.
Wenly Starter is $99 a month. At your average job, winning back 1 job a month covers it.
Start free for 7 daysQuestions plumbers ask
Will it tell callers to shut off their water?
When water is still running and the caller can reach the main valve safely, yes. It points them to it while your team is on the way. It doesn't walk anyone through a repair, and if there is any danger to people it tells them to call 911.
What about a gas smell?
Wenly tells the caller to leave the building and call 911 or the gas company from outside. It doesn't try to help with the problem itself, and you get an urgent text so you know the call happened.
Can it take a call from a property manager?
Yes. It asks whether the caller is the owner, a tenant or a property manager, and whether the property is residential or commercial, then puts that in your text so you know who you are calling back before you dial.
Does it give prices?
No. It never invents a price or promises an arrival time. If you set a service-call fee, it can state it. Otherwise it tells callers your team will confirm.
What if the caller is outside my service area?
Wenly checks the ZIP against your service area. If it is clearly outside, it says so politely and still takes the details, so you can decide whether to refer the job out.
How does the cost compare with missing calls?
Starter is $99 a month. At a $350 average ticket, one job you would have missed pays for the month. And if we don't catch at least 10 leads you'd have missed in your first 30 days, you don't pay.
Keep reading
How it works for you
How it compares
- Wenly vs voicemailWenly vs voicemail: what a missed call costs you, what Wenly costs, and when free voicemail is enough. Plain numbers, no scare stats.
- What a missed call actually costs a home-service businessOne formula, one calculator and ten worked examples for what missed calls cost a home-service business, plus a way to find your real number this week.
Related trades
Hear it answer. Then start free.
On business plans: If we don't catch at least 10 leads you'd have missed in your first 30 days, you don't pay.