The 5 PM problem: who answers when your customer calls after hours
Only 22 of the 148 Denver listings we counted say they're open 24 hours. Everyone else sends night and weekend callers to voicemail, and the next listing on the screen is one tap away.
The count
The 24-hour listings were all in four trades. In every other trade we counted, the answer was zero.
What happens to the call you miss
A customer with a dead furnace at 9 PM doesn't call one company. They search, see a list, and tap the first number. If it rings out, they tap the second. Your voicemail isn't competing with your callback tomorrow morning. It's competing with the next listing, right now.
It isn't only emergencies. Plenty of people only get a quiet minute to call after their own work day ends, when your office is closed. A med spa consult, a roof estimate, a new-patient visit: those calls come at 7 PM too.
Three ways to cover it, cheapest first
"Sorry we missed you, this is [business]. What do you need?" It keeps the customer talking to you instead of dialing the next number.
It answers in your business's name, takes the details, and texts you anything urgent. You call back the ones that matter.
The customer hangs up with an appointment, not a promise of a callback. That's the version that turns a 10 PM call into revenue.
Human answering services do this too, but they bill by the minute or by the call. Published plans start around $235 for 50 minutes a month at Ruby, and Smith.ai's AI receptionist starts at $95 a month plus $2.40 per call. You still have to set them up and keep their scripts current.
Two rules before you switch it on
Only list 24 hours if someone actually answers. Google wants your hours to be accurate, and a customer who calls a "24 hours" listing and gets voicemail is the customer who leaves a one-star review.
The AI should only say what you've approved. Your services, your area, your hours, your prices if you want them quoted. Anything else, it takes a message. A receptionist that invents a price is worse than no receptionist.