Missed call text back for contractors, compared

How many calls to contractors go unanswered?

Close to half, on the widest measure. Invoca’s 2026 home services benchmarks, published in July 2026, found 52% of callers spoke with a person. Filter out misdials and quick hangups and that rises to 65% for calls over 15 seconds and 73% for calls over 30. Trades ranged from 32% to 74%.

Read that with two cautions. Invoca sells AI call and text tools, and its data comes from businesses using its call tracking, which may not look like a two-truck shop. Measure your own: your phone system or carrier log will show the missed calls.

Missed calls can also cost you on paid leads. Google says they may negatively affect your responsiveness in Local Services Ads, part of what’s covered in how Google Verified and LSA ranking work now.

Text back, answering service or AI receptionist: which is better?

It depends on who’s calling and what you need done in that moment. A drain call at 2pm and a no-heat call at 2am need different cover, so many shops will want more than one of these.

Prices change often and depend on volume, so get current quotes. Then judge each option the way you’d judge a lead source, by cost per booked job. Test any of them by calling your own number after hours.

What should a missed call text say?

Say who you are, that you missed the call and what happens next, then ask one question. Something like this:

Only offer what someone will follow through on. If nobody checks texts at night, don’t promise a call back. Keep coupons and offers out of it, because that turns a reply into marketing, and marketing has stricter rules.

• Hi, this is [name] at [company]. Sorry we missed your call, we’re out on a job. What’s going on at your place? If it’s an emergency, reply URGENT and we’ll call you right back. Reply STOP to opt out.

Do you need consent to text back a missed call?

It depends on what the text says and how it’s sent, so treat it with care. A homeowner who calls you has reached out, but that isn’t the same as signing up for promotions. A short reply about their own call is a different thing from a marketing text. Where the line falls is a question for your attorney, and state rules can differ.

These points come from the FCC’s rule, 47 CFR 64.1200, and the FCC’s 2024 action on AI voices:

• Autodialed telemarketing to a cell phone needs prior express written consent: a written, signed agreement naming the number. Put a plain consent line on your web forms.
• Stop means stop. Replies like “stop,” “quit,” “end,” “revoke,” “opt out,” “cancel” or “unsubscribe” count as revoking consent.
• A single confirmation text after an opt-out is allowed if it has no marketing in it.
• Telephone solicitations to homes are barred before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m. local time.
• In February 2024 the FCC recognized AI-generated voices in calls as “artificial” under the TCPA, so an AI calling people back is held to the same consent standards as a robocall.

What is A2P 10DLC, and does a contractor need it?

Yes, if software sends your texts from a local number. Twilio describes A2P 10DLC as the standard US carriers put in place so that SMS traffic over long code numbers is verified and consensual. Anyone sending SMS or MMS from an application over a 10DLC number to the US must register, at any size. Twilio says that includes individuals and hobbyists on its platform.

Skipping it costs you. Twilio says registered senders get lower filtering and higher throughput, and unregistered traffic pays extra carrier fees. Ask any text back vendor whose name the brand is registered under, and what happens to the number if you leave. Review requests sent by software are covered too, so your review texts need the same setup.

GHOBZ’s automated responder handles forms and messages as an AI receptionist for web leads and texts, within its marketing for plumbers, HVAC and roofers, and voice calls stay with you.