If your ad says 24 hours, you have to answer at 11pm
In locksmithing, plumbing, drain work or electrical repair, the ad says «24 hours» because that is how the job is won. The problem is that the 11pm call comes anyway — and whoever does not answer it loses it whole: nobody with an emergency leaves a message and waits.
Sonora0:00 / 1:08
Ironbell Mobile Locksmiths, good evening. How can I help?
Read the whole call
Scripted, not recorded — real customer calls carry private details we don't publish, but the assistant is built to hold exactly this kind of conversation.
What the locksmith is left with
Iris Kowalczyk is locked out at 2210 North Steele Street, unit 4B. A technician was dispatched with the price given up front: a 49 dollar service call plus a residential lockout from 95 dollars.
- Intent
- Visit
- Sentiment
- Neutral
- Resolution
- Resolved
An emergency does not allow a second attempt
A person with a burst pipe or a locked door calls the first name on the list. If nobody answers, they call the next, and keep calling until someone picks up. There is no callback fast enough: by the time you return the call, someone else took the job.
That is the difference between this trade and almost any other. A sales enquiry can wait until morning. An emergency cannot.
What Sonora AI takes down on an emergency call
It answers at the first ring, at any hour. It asks what dispatch actually needs: what happened, where, and a number to call back. It confirms the address falls inside your service area before promising a visit.
Then it pages the on-call technician. If the first name on the rotation does not acknowledge, it moves to the next — it does not sit waiting for an answer that is not coming.
When the job needs a price, it gives a range — never a firm number you cannot honour later.
What about quoting over the phone
In this trade the price depends on what you find when you arrive, and committing to an exact figure over the phone ends in an argument at the door. Sonora AI gives a range and says it is a range, with what it includes and what it does not.
That is the honest answer and also the one that creates the least work afterwards: the caller knows what to expect, and whoever takes the job is not chained to a number nobody could have known.
Everything that came in is on record
Every call ends with the summary, the transcript and the caller's number. Dispatched emergencies show which technician was paged and at what time.
That is how you follow up a job that never happened, count how many emergencies come in overnight, and argue with data about whether the on-call rotation is worth it.
Without changing the number you already advertise
On the web plan you share a link or a QR code, and everything you have published stays as it is. It is the fastest option to get running because it depends on no carrier paperwork.
If you would rather have your existing number answered, the phone plan starts at $99 per month and includes the line setup.
Frequently asked questions
I run a 24-hour locksmith service and lose emergency calls at 3am. How do I answer them without hiring anyone?
With an AI voice agent that picks up at the first ring at any hour, takes down what happened, where, and a callback number, confirms the address is inside your service area, and pages the on-call technician. That is what Sonora AI does: a person with an emergency does not wait for a callback — either you answer in the moment, or they call the next name on the list.
How does it notify the on-call technician?
By the rotation you define: it pages the first name on call and, if there is no acknowledgement, moves to the next instead of waiting. Every dispatched emergency is recorded with the technician paged and the time.
Does it quote prices over the phone?
It gives ranges, never a closed figure. In home emergencies the price depends on what is found on arrival, and committing to an exact number over the phone ends in an argument at the door. The range is stated as a range, with what it covers and what it does not.
What does 24-hour answering cost?
Web plans start at $29 per month with included minutes and no setup fee; the phone plan, which answers your published number, starts at $99. Billing is per answered minute: a night when nobody calls consumes nothing.