Before you spend another dollar on new enquiries, find out how many you're already losing. In most local businesses we look at, a meaningful share of calls go to voicemail, texts wait until evening, and nobody asks happy customers for a review. Fixing those three things is cheap, quick and often worth more than a bigger ad budget.
We're a marketing and consulting service, not a contractor and not a call centre. We build the system; your team runs it.
What it is
This service covers the stretch between "someone reached out" and "the job is booked and reviewed". It has two halves:
- Replies. How quickly and how well your business answers calls, texts and emails, in English and in Punjabi.
- Reviews. A steady, honest routine for asking every satisfied customer to leave a review, and for answering every review you get.
The two halves feed each other. Fast replies win more jobs, more jobs produce more reviews, and more reviews make the next customer more likely to call you instead of the business above you on the map.
Who it suits
- owners who suspect they're missing calls while on a job site, under a car or with a customer at the counter
- businesses with Punjabi-speaking customers but only some staff who speak Punjabi
- anyone with fewer, older or unanswered reviews compared with nearby competitors
- businesses about to start ads, because paid enquiries are expensive to waste
What's included
- A leak check. We look at a month of call logs, texts and emails to measure missed calls, reply times and how many enquiries turned into jobs.
- Reply targets. Written, realistic targets, such as "every missed call gets a text within five minutes, every message gets a human reply within an hour during business hours".
- Missed-call text-back. An automatic text, in English with an optional Punjabi line, telling the caller you'll call back and inviting them to text details.
- Scripts. Short call, text and voicemail scripts in English, with Punjabi versions from your translator. They include how to hand a Punjabi caller to the right person.
- Review routine. When and how to ask, a short link, and a reminder that fits how your team works. No incentives: Google's content policy prohibits them.
- Review replies. Templates for thanking, for handling a complaint calmly, and for replies in Punjabi where you have help to write them.
- Tracking. Missed calls, reply times and new reviews per month, in one simple report.
A note on messaging rules: replying to someone who contacted you is different from sending promotions. Canada's anti-spam law sets rules for commercial electronic messages, summarised in the CRTC's FAQ. We'll point you to it; for advice on your situation, ask a lawyer.
Timeline
- Week 1: leak check and reply targets.
- Week 2: text-back, scripts and the review routine set up.
- Weeks 3–8: we track, adjust scripts that aren't working and coach the team on whichever step slips.
How we measure it
| Measure | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Missed calls not returned within the hour | Each one is a likely lost job |
| Median reply time to texts and emails | Speed wins comparison shoppers |
| Enquiry-to-booking rate, by language | Shows whether Punjabi callers are being served as well as English ones |
| New reviews per month | Proof for the next customer |
| Share of reviews answered | Shows prospects that someone is listening |
A quick illustration: if you get 60 enquiries a month and miss 10 without a callback, and you normally book one in three, that's three or four lost jobs a month. At a $700 average ticket, that's roughly $2,300 to $2,800 in monthly revenue walking away.
Mistakes to avoid
- Treating voicemail as a reply. Many callers simply try the next business.
- An English-only greeting on a line you advertise in Punjabi. Add a short Punjabi line, recorded by a fluent speaker.
- Asking for reviews in batches. Ask right after the job, while the customer is pleased.
- Arguing in public. Reply to a bad review once, calmly, and take the rest offline.
- Buying reviews or swapping them with friends. It's against the rules and it tends to get caught.
For more detail, read our guide to handling Punjabi and English enquiries. Owners who want automated text-back as a stand-alone tool can also look at CallText.chat, which focuses on it. See pricing or the services overview for how this fits a plan.
Frequently asked questions
Will you answer my phone for me?
No. We're not an answering service. We design how your business answers, set up the tools such as missed-call text-back, write the scripts and track the results, but you or your staff do the talking.
Can I offer a discount for a review?
No. Google's policies prohibit paying or rewarding customers for reviews, and reviews that break the rules can be removed. Ask every customer, make it easy, and let the results come honestly.
What if we get a Punjabi review and nobody on staff writes Punjabi?
Reply anyway. A short reply in English that thanks the customer by name is better than silence, and you can ask a fluent family member or your translator to help with a Punjabi version for the important ones.
How quickly should we reply to a new enquiry?
Aim for within the hour during business hours and first thing the next morning otherwise. Customers who contact several businesses often book whoever answers first.