AI Front Desk for Wichita-area trade shops
You can't pick up when you're under a house, on a roof, or asleep. AnswerStride's AI Front Desk covers your phone after hours and when you're busy. Missed callers get a text back within 10 seconds, the job gets on your calendar, and happy customers get asked for a Google review. Set up for you by a local guy.
Missed call · 9:41 PM
Your shop · seconds later
Hi, this is Your Shop. Sorry we missed your call! How can we help? Reply STOP to opt out.
Water heater is leaking all over the basement. Can someone come out first thing tomorrow?
Example only. Text-backs go only to people who called your business first.
Furnaces quit on the coldest night of the year. Water heaters leak on Sunday morning. Garage springs snap after dark, windshields crack on Friday afternoon, and storms roll through Sedgwick County at 2 AM.
A caller who hits voicemail can just as easily call the next shop on Google. Every unanswered call is a job you may never hear about.
Customer calls at 8 PM, or while you're on a job.
Voicemail picks up. They hang up.
They call the next shop on Google, and that shop gets the job.
You don't touch any software. I set it up and look after it.
Day, night, weekends, and when your line is busy. A friendly AI voice, set up for your trade, picks up and asks the right questions. (Pro and Premium.)
The caller hears from you before they dial someone else. Only people who called you get a text, and every text includes a STOP opt-out.
Takes the caller's details and gets the job on your calendar, using your rules and service area.
A short, friendly request after the job is done.
You keep your number. Busy, no-answer, and after-hours calls forward to your AnswerStride line. I walk you through it.
Start here. It's free.
We'll call your shop after hours and at busy times and show you exactly what a customer hears. No cost, no obligation.
4 to 6 calls to your published number over 3 to 5 days: weekday evenings, late night, Saturday morning, Sunday, and the morning dispatch rush. Never more than two calls in one day.
Answered live, voicemail, voicemail full, rang out, or busy. Plus whether a text-back or call-back ever came. If someone answers, I tell the truth. No fake emergencies, no fake bookings.
A short, plain report sent to the owner, with the full call log if you want it. What you do with it is up to you.
HVAC and plumbing first, plus garage door, auto glass, tree service, and many other service trades. Every setup is tuned to your trade, your service area, and the questions your customers ask.
Saturday, 9:40 PM
"Our furnace quit and it's supposed to get down to 15 tonight."
AnswerStride gets the address and what the system is doing, and asks if they smell gas. If they do, it tells them to get out and call 911 and the gas company. Then it takes the details and flags it urgent for you.
Sunday, 6:15 AM
"The water heater is leaking all over the basement floor."
AnswerStride gets the address, asks if water is still running, and notes how bad it is. The details land with you, flagged urgent, so you can decide how fast to roll.
Sunday, 8:50 PM
"My spring just snapped and my car's stuck in the garage. I have to be at work at six."
AnswerStride gets the address, asks if the door is stuck open or shut, and notes the make if they know it. You have the details before they've even gone to bed.
Friday, 7:15 PM
"A rock chip turned into a crack across my windshield. We're driving to Denver on Sunday."
AnswerStride gets the year, make, and model, asks if it's going through insurance, and notes the deadline. You can call them Saturday morning and get it done before they hit I-70.
Tuesday, 11:30 PM, after a storm
"A big limb came down on my roof and rain's getting in."
AnswerStride asks if anyone's hurt and if power lines are involved. If lines are down, it tells them to stay clear and call 911 and the power company. Then it takes the details and flags it urgent for you.
Don't see your trade? We work with most service businesses.
Don't take my word for it
Call our demo line any time, day or night, and hear how it handles an after-hours call. Tell it your windshield cracked and hear exactly what your customers would hear. Tree service and garage door demos are coming soon.
You have options for the calls you miss. Here's the honest comparison.
| Feature | Voicemail | National answering services | DIY AI apps | AnswerStride |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Answers every call | No | Yes | If set up | Yes (Pro & Premium) |
| Texts back missed callers within 10 seconds | No | Varies | If set up | Yes |
| Gets the job on your calendar | No | Varies | If set up | Yes (Pro & Premium) |
| Asks customers for Google reviews | No | Varies | If set up | Yes |
| Done for you | — | Partly | You do it | Yes |
| Local, knows your trade | — | No | No | Yes |
| Typical cost | Free, but you lose jobs | Ruby starts around $245/mo for 50 min. AnswerConnect starts around $325/mo. | Cheap app, but your nights go to setup | From $500/mo, month-to-month |
From $500/mo, month-to-month
Free, but you lose jobs
Ruby starts around $245/mo for 50 min. AnswerConnect starts around $325/mo.
Cheap app, but your nights go to setup
Competitor prices are published starting prices and may change. Check their sites for current plans.
No long-term contract. Month-to-month, cancel with 7 days' notice.
$500/month
Missed-call text-back and Google review requests.
Full front desk
$1,000/month
Everything in Starter, plus AI call answering and booking.
$2,000/month
Everything in Pro, plus old-quote follow-up and a monthly report call.
If we don't recover 3 jobs in your first 60 days on a paid plan, your next month is free. A recovered job is a booked job that came from a missed or after-hours call.
The guarantee applies to Starter, Pro, and Premium. It does not apply to the pilot below. It starts once you move to a paid plan. The free month is a one-month service credit, not a cash refund.
Founding pilot: limited spots
The 3-job guarantee doesn't apply during the pilot. It starts once you move to a paid plan.
Billing: Billed monthly in advance by card through a secure payment link. The first charge is made at signup. Month-to-month, cancel with 7 days' written notice (email is fine).
IMS Barter members: pay 50% of your monthly fee in barter dollars and 50% in cash.
We call your shop's published number 4 to 6 times over 3 to 5 days, after hours and at busy times, and write down what a customer hears: answered live, voicemail, voicemail full, rang out, or busy, and whether anyone texted or called back. If someone answers, I tell them who I am and that it's not a service call. Then you get the results. No cost, no obligation.
It uses a modern, natural-sounding AI voice, not the old "press 1" phone tree. It talks like a polite receptionist and asks follow-up questions. Best way to judge? Call our demo line and hear it yourself.
It captures the job. It takes the caller's name, number, address, the problem, and their preferred timing, and the job gets on your calendar using the rules and service area we set up together. It doesn't offer or pick live time slots on the call, and a job isn't booked until it's confirmed on your calendar.
Only people who contacted your business first: missed callers and website form fills. Every text includes a STOP opt-out. No cold texting, no purchased lists.
Urgent calls, like no heat on a freezing night, a tree on a house, or a door stuck open overnight, get flagged urgent for you, so you can decide whether to go out tonight. It never promises an arrival time for you. If someone's in danger, smells gas, or power lines are down, it tells them to call 911 first.
If we don't recover 3 jobs in your first 60 days on a paid plan (Starter, Pro, or Premium), your next month at that plan is free, as a one-month service credit. A recovered job is a booked job that came from a missed or after-hours call. It doesn't apply to the pilot. It starts once you move to a paid plan.
$300/mo for 60 days (two monthly payments) with no setup fee. In return, you share your results numbers with us and give an honest testimonial if you're happy. After 60 days, you continue month-to-month on the plan you choose, or walk away. Nothing moves to a paid plan without your OK in writing (email or text is fine).
Month-to-month. No long-term contract. Cancel any time with 7 days' written notice (email is fine). Fees already charged for the current month aren't refunded.
By card through a secure payment link, billed monthly in advance. The first charge is made at signup, and each later charge is on the same day of the month. IMS Barter members can pay 50% in barter dollars and 50% in cash.
Most shops are live in about 7 days. Allow up to 30 days if your phone setup is more involved. We do a short call about your trade, service area, and hours. I build and test it. Then you set up call forwarding and you're done.
No. You keep your number. Busy, no-answer, and after-hours calls forward to your AnswerStride line. I walk you through it with your phone carrier.
You answer them like always. If you're slammed or up on a ladder, the call doesn't just die in voicemail. On Starter, the caller gets a text back within 10 seconds. On Pro and Premium, the call rolls over to AnswerStride and the AI answers.
I'm Darren Johnson, based in Andale, Kansas. I set up and look after every account myself. When you have a question, you talk to me, not a call center.
We'll call your shop after hours and at busy times and show you exactly what a customer hears. No cost, no obligation. Rather see the AI Front Desk first? Ask for a 10-minute demo on the same form.
Rather call or email?
(316) 235-2600 · sales@answerstride.com
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