What are missed calls actually costing your shop?
Plug in your real numbers. We'll show you how much revenue you're leaving on voicemail every year — and how long an AI receptionist would take to pay for itself.
Math: calls/week × 52 × miss% × pickup-conversion% × avg-job. Conservative — most operators have higher conversion on inbound calls than 65%.
Where the numbers come from
This calculator uses three industry-validated multipliers. None of them are made up.
What the typical shop's number looks like
For a single-truck plumber doing 50 inbound calls a week, missing 35%, with $650 average job and 65% conversion when they answer:
Roughly seven jobs a week walking to the next plumber listed on Google. That's $84/day, $588/week, $30,758/year — for one truck. Add a second truck without solving the phone problem and the leak doubles.
Why missed calls cost more than they look like they should
1. The caller doesn't leave voicemail
Industry data is consistent across decades: 62–78% of callers who hit a voicemail at a service business hang up and call the next listing. They don't leave a message. They don't call back. The loss is permanent the second your line stops ringing.
2. Inbound calls convert higher than any other channel
Someone who picked up the phone and dialed your number is 5–10× more qualified than a Google Local Service Ad lead, and 20× more qualified than a cold website form-fill. They have a problem now, they want it solved today, and they have a credit card. Conversion when you pick up live is typically 60–80%. Conversion from a returned voicemail (if they even left one) is closer to 15–20%.
3. Home-services jobs are high-ticket
It's not retail. It's not e-commerce. A single missed call could be a $4,200 furnace replacement or a $2,800 sewer-line repair. The variance is huge and the average is high. That's why the annual leak gets to $30,000–$80,000 per truck faster than most operators believe.
What you can do about it
There are three plays operators try, in order of how much they actually solve the problem:
Option 1: Hire a full-time receptionist
Solves the daytime miss problem. Costs $42,000–$60,000/year fully loaded (wages, payroll tax, benefits, training, turnover, the cost of training the replacement when they leave in 18 months). Doesn't cover lunch breaks, sick days, vacations, or after-hours. Doesn't scale during heat waves.
Option 2: Hire a human answering service (Ruby, AnswerConnect, etc.)
Costs $300–$500/month plus per-minute overage. Picks up after 3–6 rings (callers still hang up). Takes a message — cannot quote your prices or book in your calendar. The owner still has to call back, by which point the customer has often hired your competitor. See the full comparison →
Option 3: AI voice receptionist (SitAware)
$349/month flat. Picks up in under a second. Quotes from your pricebook. Books in your calendar. SMS-escalates emergencies. Unlimited concurrent calls (survives a heat wave). 14-day free trial — if it doesn't book at least one job that pays for the year, you don't pay.
If your annual leak is anywhere north of $5,000 (and almost every truck's is), the math is decisive.
Stop the leak. Start the trial.
You'll hear it answer a real call from your shop within 24 hours of signing up. If it doesn't sound like it could close jobs you'd close yourself, walk away — no card, no commitment.
Join the waitlist →Frequently asked questions
Why is the cost-per-missed-call so high?
Three multipliers stack: (1) inbound callers are buyers, (2) home-services jobs are high-ticket, (3) voicemail callers don't call back. Multiply call volume × miss rate × conversion × avg job value and the annual loss is in the tens of thousands per truck.
What's the average miss rate for plumbers?
Single-truck shops: 35–40%. 2-3 truck shops with part-time office help: 18–25%. With a full-time receptionist: 5–12% (mostly lunch + after-hours).
What's the average miss rate for HVAC contractors?
Routine season: ~35%. Peak season (heat wave / cold snap): 50–65% as call volume spikes 5–10× without proportional staffing. More on HVAC missed-call patterns →