Voicemail greetings · Plumbers
Voicemail greetings for plumbers
A plumber voicemail greeting should tell a caller standing in water to shut the main first, then leave a name, address, and where the water is. The main is usually in the basement or by the hose bib. A running toilet can wait. A burst pipe cannot.
Will Caraway · Colorado Springs ·
Replace anything in [brackets], read the greeting out loud once, and keep it under 30 seconds.
Primary sources, not recap blogs
- Verizon: how to use call forwarding — Verizon's own *71 / *73 codes for sending unanswered calls off voicemail
- Apple: change your iPhone voicemail greeting — Official steps to record a custom iPhone greeting instead of the carrier robot
What should a plumber's greeting tell someone standing in water?
6 recordings. Pick the one that matches the call sitting in the mailbox today.
“Thanks for calling [Business]. We're out on calls right now. Leave your name, address and what's going on with your plumbing, and we'll call you back within [the hour].”
“You've reached [Business]. If water is actively leaking, shut off your main water valve now. Then leave your name, address and what's happening, and we'll call you right back.”
“Thanks for calling [Business]. We're closed, but we handle emergencies. If you have a burst pipe, flooding or a sewer backup, say "emergency" and leave your address. Everything else, we'll call you back in the morning.”
“Hi, you've reached [Business]. If you're calling about a water heater, leave your address, the age of the heater if you know it, and whether you have any hot water. We'll call you back with options.”
“Thanks for calling [Business]. All our plumbers are on jobs. Leave your details and we'll get you on the schedule as soon as possible.”
“[Business]. Leave your name, address and the problem, and we'll call you right back.”
The exact line to add to a plumber's greeting
Most plumbing greetings I've heard skip the single most useful instruction a scared caller can get: "If water is coming in, shut off your main water valve now — it's usually in the basement or outside near the hose bib." That one sentence prevents a $400 repair from becoming a $4,000 one. Say it before "leave your name" and you'll see fewer calls from people who already called a mitigation company.
The shutoff line is worth more than a friendly hello
A caller standing in water does not need your hours. They need to stop the water. Say that first.
"If water is coming in, shut off the main. It is usually in the basement or by the hose bib. Then leave your name, address, and where the water is."
That sentence prevents a $400 leak from becoming a $4,000 one. I would rather scare one caller than skip it.
- Ask if the main is already off. That is your urgency flag.
- Burst pipe, flooding, and sewer backup belong in the emergency list. A running toilet does not.
- Missed numbers after a burst-pipe hour are still live leads. Call them. Do not wait for a message.
Where the main usually is, said out loud
Basement. Crawlspace. Outside by the hose bib. Meter pit in some towns. Say the first two. Most callers will find one.
A water heater with no hot water is urgent in winter. It can wait an hour in July. Your greeting can ask the season question: "Do you have any hot water at all?"
Sewer backup is an emergency. A running toilet is not. Name both so the caller does not guess.
I would rather a scared caller shut the main and wait than keep talking to a beep while the ceiling soaks.
Why do burst-pipe callers never leave a message?
A homeowner with water pooling on the floor is calling three plumbers in sixty seconds. They aren't leaving a voicemail; they're waiting to hear a human (or any voice) on the next ring. Riley picks up for you, confirms the main is shut off, gets the address, and texts you in time to still get the job.
What's the right triage order for a plumbing greeting?
- Tell callers how to shut off the main; it saves them damage and you a worse job.
- Ask whether water is still running; it tells you how urgent it is.
- Burst-pipe callers rarely wait; call back missed numbers fast.
Running a plumbing company? See how Riley handles calls for plumbers.