Enquiry form
Use the same enquiry form your prospective clients will use. What you send here reaches a person the same way a real enquiry does.
See it working
Each of these is a way an enquiry can reach a business without anyone being free to take it. Step through them. Every automated message says it is automated, because that is the rule we hold our clients' systems to, and it would be strange to exempt ourselves.
Jump to: enquiry form, website chat, Missed call to SMS, Out-of-hours chat, WhatsApp, SMS, Telegram, Instagram DM, Inbound call transcript.
The live voice test runs on the homepage: talk to Masha.
The demonstrations
Website chat
Type a question and an actual model answers it from the same product and pricing facts published on this site.
Website chat
- Before we start: I am an automated assistant, not a person. I can answer routine questions and book you in, and I will pass you to someone the moment anything needs a human.
Writing a reply
Missed call: diary move captured by SMS
A missed-call SMS conversation that passes an appointment move to the diary team.
Missed call to SMS
- Before we start: I am an automated assistant, not a person. I can answer routine questions and book you in, and I will pass you to someone the moment anything needs a human.
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Missed call received.
- I'm an automated assistant. Sorry we missed your call. Are you looking to book, change or cancel an appointment?
14:02
- I need to move my appointment to later this week.
14:04
- I've sent your request to the diary team so they can confirm the available options.
14:04
Out of hours: routine triage and a clear handover
An after-hours conversation that answers published information and passes the enquiry to the team.
Out-of-hours chat
- Before we start: I am an automated assistant, not a person. I can answer routine questions and book you in, and I will pass you to someone the moment anything needs a human.
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Message received after closing. Reception is shut.
- One of my crowns has come off tonight. Are you open tomorrow?
21:48
- The practice opens tomorrow morning, and your opening times are on the website. I can't tell you whether a crown coming off needs seeing urgently: that's a clinical judgement, and I'm not qualified to make it.
21:48
- It isn't hurting, I just don't want to swallow it.
21:50
- Understood. I'm noting it as a repair rather than a check-up so the practice sees what it actually is, and putting it in front of them for the morning. If it starts hurting overnight, use the out-of-hours number on the website rather than waiting for us.
21:50
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Captured and queued for the morning. No appointment offered, and no response time promised, because nobody has agreed to one yet.
WhatsApp: routine answered, judgement handed over
A WhatsApp conversation that answers published information and sends the stylist-specific question to the team.
- Before we start: I am an automated assistant, not a person. I can answer routine questions and book you in, and I will pass you to someone the moment anything needs a human.
- Hiya, is there parking near you and how long should I allow for a full head of highlights?
10:12
- There's a pay-and-display behind the building, and the salon lists a full head of highlights as a long appointment: the exact length depends on your hair, so the team confirms it when they see you.
10:12
- Great. I've got box dye on it from a few months ago, will that be a problem going lighter?
10:15
- That one I'm not going to answer. Lifting colour over a box dye depends on what's actually on your hair, and a wrong answer from me could cost you your hair, not just your appointment. I'm passing this to a colourist with what you've told me.
10:15
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Passed to a colourist. The assistant did not offer a booking for the highlights, because whether it is safe to do them is the open question.
SMS: an inbound text, and where consent stops it
An inbound text that answers a booking question and directs the next step.
SMS
- Before we start: I am an automated assistant, not a person. I can answer routine questions and book you in, and I will pass you to someone the moment anything needs a human.
- Do you do nail trims for a cat that hates the car? Asking before I book anything.
13:26
- Yes, that's a listed service, and the practice sees anxious cats regularly. Do you want me to take your details so someone can talk you through how they'd handle the journey?
13:26
- Yes please. And put me on your list for offers.
13:31
- I'll pass on the first part now. I can't add you to marketing messages from a text, though: that needs a consent we record properly, so the practice will offer you that in a way you can evidence and withdraw.
13:31
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Enquiry passed to a person. Marketing consent not taken, because a reply to an inbound text is not consent under PECR.
Telegram: the same assistant, a channel with no gatekeeper
A Telegram conversation using the same routing and handover design as the other channels.
Telegram
- Before we start: I am an automated assistant, not a person. I can answer routine questions and book you in, and I will pass you to someone the moment anything needs a human.
- Can I get my year-end accounts done if my bookkeeping is a shoebox of receipts?
09:04
- Yes, that's ordinary: the practice takes on unreconciled records regularly. What it changes is how long it takes and how it's quoted, and I'm not the one who works either of those out.
09:04
- Rough idea? I'm comparing two firms today.
09:06
- I'd be guessing, and you'd be comparing my guess against the other firm's real number. Tell me your year end and roughly how many transactions, and I'll put it in front of someone who can price it properly.
09:06
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Passed to an accountant with the details supplied. Telegram needs no number rental and no platform review, which is why it is the channel most likely to stop being a scripted demonstration first.
Instagram: a DM becomes an enquiry a person can find
An Instagram handoff captures the enquiry and sends it to a person who can take it forward.
Instagram DM
- Before we start: I am an automated assistant, not a person. I can answer routine questions and book you in, and I will pass you to someone the moment anything needs a human.
- saw the balayage on your grid, do you have anything this weekend? 😊
20:31
- Thanks, I can't see the diary from here, so I won't tell you what's free and be wrong. If you send me your name and the best number, I'll pass this to the team as a booking enquiry rather than leaving it in the DMs.
20:31
- sure, it's under this account, number's 07700 900123
20:44
- Passed on, with the post you were looking at attached so they know which look you mean.
20:44
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Logged as an enquiry in the same place as every other channel. A DM that only ever sat in a phone is the thing this replaces.
Inbound call, answered
A stepped transcript of an inbound call. For a live voice test, speak to Masha on the home page.
Inbound call transcript
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Assistant
Before we start: I am an automated assistant, not a person. I can answer routine questions and book you in, and I will pass you to someone the moment anything needs a human. -
Inbound call, 19:20. Reception closed at 18:00.
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Caller
Hi, are you open tomorrow? I need to get in about a filling that's come loose. -
Assistant
We open at half eight tomorrow. A loose filling is something the practice will want to look at rather than leave, so I would rather not put you in a routine slot and guess. -
Caller
It's not hurting, I just don't want to lose it. -
Assistant
Understood. I will take your name and number and put this in front of the practice first thing, flagged as a repair rather than a check-up, and they will ring you to fit you in. If it starts hurting overnight, ring the out-of-hours number on the website. -
Caller
That's fine. It's Tom Hargreaves, 07700 900312. -
Assistant
Thank you. Logged and passed on. Nobody has to listen back to a voicemail to find it, and you will get a call in the morning. -
Call logged as a transcript. No recording kept. No outbound call made by the assistant.
The fast recap
| Channel | What it does | Where it hands off |
|---|---|---|
| Enquiry form | Use the same enquiry form your prospective clients will use. | What you send here reaches a person the same way a real enquiry does. |
| Website chat | An actual model answers from the same product and pricing facts published on this site. | When it needs a person, it opens the enquiry form with the conversation context. |
| Missed call to SMS | A missed-call SMS conversation that passes an appointment move to the diary team. | Missed call received. |
| Out-of-hours chat | An after-hours conversation that answers published information and passes the enquiry to the team. | Captured and queued for the morning. No appointment offered, and no response time promised, because nobody has agreed to one yet. |
| A WhatsApp conversation that answers published information and sends the stylist-specific question to the team. | Passed to a colourist. The assistant did not offer a booking for the highlights, because whether it is safe to do them is the open question. | |
| SMS | An inbound text that answers a booking question and directs the next step. | Enquiry passed to a person. Marketing consent not taken, because a reply to an inbound text is not consent under PECR. |
| Telegram | A Telegram conversation using the same routing and handover design as the other channels. | Passed to an accountant with the details supplied. Telegram needs no number rental and no platform review, which is why it is the channel most likely to stop being a scripted demonstration first. |
| Instagram DM | An Instagram handoff captures the enquiry and sends it to a person who can take it forward. | Logged as an enquiry in the same place as every other channel. A DM that only ever sat in a phone is the thing this replaces. |
| Inbound call transcript | A stepped transcript of an inbound call. For a live voice test, speak to Masha on the home page. | Call logged as a transcript. No recording kept. No outbound call made by the assistant. |
Want this running on your own enquiries?
Tell us where enquiries are being missed and we will say which of these we would build first, and which we would not.