Is an AI receptionist better than an answering service?

For booking a garage job it usually is, because it works from your prices and your hours and books the slot on the call. A human answering service is better where a caller needs a person to talk to. The two answer different problems.

Can I use voicemail and an AI receptionist together?

Yes. By default an AI receptionist answers the calls you do not pick up, so you answer when you can and it covers the rest. Voicemail stops being the place calls go to die.

Which is cheapest for a garage?

Voicemail is free, and it costs you the calls that go elsewhere. Between the paid options, compare the price of a minute rather than the monthly fee. The price guide sets published prices side by side.

Do I need a receptionist as well?

If you have enough calls to keep somebody busy all day, yes. An AI receptionist is for the calls nobody can pick up, and it is not a replacement for a person who is already there and answering.

AI receptionist vs answering service

The short answer

Voicemail costs nothing and loses calls. A human answering service gives callers a voice and bills you for every minute. Your own receptionist is the best answer if there are enough calls to keep one busy. An AI receptionist suits the garage that misses calls while everybody is working, and wants each one turned into a booking or a message without paying for a person to sit and wait.

Voicemail

What it does: Records a message and nothing else.
What it costs: Free with your phone.
Where it fails: Many callers hang up rather than leave a message, and the ones who do are waiting for you to ring back while the garage down the road answers.
Right for: A garage that almost never misses a call.

A human answering service

What it does: A person answers in your name and takes a message, and some will book if you give them a diary.
What it costs: Usually a standing fee plus a rate for every minute, about £490 a month at 400 minutes on the figures reported.
Where it fails: The bill rises with every call, the person may know nothing about your prices or your diary, and they read from a script they were given.
Right for: A garage that wants a real voice on every call and will pay per call for it.

Your own receptionist

What it does: Somebody who knows your customers, your diary and your prices, and answers in person.
What it costs: A salary and everything that comes with employing somebody, whether or not the phone rings.
Where it fails: They are off sick, at lunch and on holiday, and they finish at five. The phone still rings on a Saturday.
Right for: A busy garage with enough calls to keep a person occupied all day.

An AI receptionist

What it does: Answers in your name, says it is an assistant, reads the registration back, offers slots you have set and takes a message for anything else.
What it costs: A monthly allowance of minutes. RepairRing is £189 for 400.
Where it fails: It does not diagnose, it does not improvise a price, and a caller who wants a person gets a message rather than a conversation.
Right for: A garage that misses calls while the team is under cars, at lunch, in the evening or on a Saturday.

How to choose

Count the calls that ring out in a week. If it is close to none, voicemail is enough.
Work out what one booked job is worth to you, and multiply it by the calls you lose.
Decide whether a caller needs a person, or needs the job booked. Most garage calls need the job booked.
Compare the price of a minute, and the setup fee, and what you get back if it is not right.

The price guide does the comparing for the paid options, and the buyer’s guide lists what to check before you choose one.

AI receptionist or answering service: which suits your garage?