Phones & booking · CSRs, dispatchers and owners who answer their own phone

Missed call text back script for HVAC and plumbing shops

Someone with a dead AC or a leaking water heater often doesn’t leave a voicemail. They call the next shop on the list. A quick, specific text back gives them a reason to wait for you, and this prompt writes it, plus a call-back opener and a short voicemail, for every caller on yesterday’s list.

What to get right

  • Send it from the number they called. A text from a different number looks like spam. Use your main business line, or a shared number the whole office can see.
  • Name a real opening. “Sorry we missed your call” on its own makes the customer do the work. Add what they called about, if you know, and a real window from today’s board.
  • Answer why they didn’t book. If they hung up on price, give the real diagnostic fee and what it covers. If they wanted sooner, lead with your earliest window.
  • Know when to stop. One text and one call, then close it out. Stop the moment someone asks you to.

The prompt

This is the Follow up on missed and unbooked calls workflow, word for word. Copy it, fill in the [brackets], and paste it into the AI tool your company uses.

Never paste: Customer phone numbers, addresses, emails or last names, card numbers, gate/lockbox/alarm codes, or techs' personal phone numbers. Use first names only.
Write follow-ups for callers we missed or didn't book at our [HVAC / plumbing / electrical] shop.
Company: [name]
Callers to follow up: [paste the callback list: first name, time they called, what they needed, why they didn't book]
Openings we can offer: [today and tomorrow time windows]
Price facts we can share: [diagnostic or trip fee, what it covers, any current offer]
Sign off as: [your first name]

For each caller give me:
1. A text under 300 characters. If the call never connected, open with "Sorry we missed your call." Name a real opening from my list.
2. A call-back opener, 2 or 3 sentences, that answers the reason they didn't book. Price: give the real number and what it covers. Wanted sooner: offer the earliest opening first. Just shopping: offer to answer one question, no pressure.
3. A voicemail under 20 seconds.
4. When to stop: after one text and one call with no reply, mark it closed.

Rules: No fake urgency, no "limited time" unless I listed a real offer, and stop if they ask us to.

Fill it in with the prompt builder → Open the full workflow CSR / Dispatcher · saves 15 min per day

How to use it

  1. Pull yesterday’s rang-out and unbooked calls from your phone system or the daily call audit.
  2. Paste the list into the prompt with first names only, plus today’s and tomorrow’s open windows.
  3. Fill in your real diagnostic or trip fee and what it covers.
  4. Read every draft, fix anything that isn’t true for your shop, then send from your business number.
  5. Log each follow-up in your field service software so nobody calls the same person twice.

Tools that can help

Optional. The prompt works without any of these.

Quo (formerly OpenPhone)

Phones & call recording

How it fits here: Calls and texts share one business number, so whoever does the call-backs can see who called and text from the same thread.

Pricing: Starter $15/user/mo billed yearly ($19 monthly); Business $23/user/mo yearly ($33 monthly). 7-day free trial. Checked Oct 2026

Details →Visit Quo

Avoca AI

AI receptionists

How it fits here: If the real problem is calls nobody can pick up (lunch, after hours, the first heat wave), its site says its AI agents answer and book jobs around the clock. The text back on this page is the by-hand version.

Pricing: Pricing on request Checked Oct 2026

Details →Visit Avoca AI

Rosie

AI receptionists

How it fits here: An AI answering service that picks up the calls your CSRs miss, takes a message or books, and gives you a summary of each call. Plans start at a published monthly price with a 7-day free trial.

Pricing: Professional $49/mo (250 minutes); Scale $149/mo (1,000 minutes); Growth $299/mo (2,000 minutes). 7-day free trial. Checked Oct 2026

Details →Visit Rosie Affiliate link

Goodcall

AI receptionists

How it fits here: An AI phone agent that answers and captures the caller’s details as a lead, so fewer calls end up on tomorrow’s text-back list. Priced per customer, not per minute.

Pricing: Starter $79/mo (100 unique customers); Growth $129/mo; Scale $299/mo. No per-minute charges. Checked Oct 2026

Details →Visit Goodcall Affiliate link

Recording calls or conversations? Recording-consent laws differ by state; some require everyone on the call to agree. Tell people, and check your state’s rules.

Related workflows

Questions shops ask

What should a missed call text say?

Your name, the company, what they called about if you know it, and one real time slot. For example: “Hi Maria, it’s Jen at Ace Plumbing & Air. Sorry we missed your call about the water heater. We can be there today 10 to 12. Want it?” Leave links and menus out of the first text.

Is it OK to text back someone who called my business?

Replying to someone who just called you about service is a normal business reply, but texting rules still apply to anything that looks like marketing. Keep the text about their request, leave out promotions, and stop when they ask. If you text through software, your provider will usually have you register your number for business texting (10DLC in the US). This isn’t legal advice; ask your provider if you’re unsure.

Should missed call texts be automatic?

An automatic “sorry we missed you” text helps after hours, as long as someone actually answers the replies. The follow-up in this prompt is the human part: a call-back and a text that answer the reason they didn’t book. Many shops run both.

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