AI answering service for restoration companies
It answers the 2 a.m. flood call, gets the address, and gets the job to your on-call tech.
In restoration, the first call often comes at the worst possible hour. Wakeman writes down what happened and where, and rings your on-call phone when it’s an emergency.
- From $149 a month
- Keep your number
- Spam calls never billed
- You set the spend limit
Hear it first: call (503) 765-9727. It answers as a pretend plumbing shop — play the customer with an everyday job.
What is a restoration answering service?
A restoration answering service takes loss calls — water, fire, mould — whenever they come in, which is usually at night. A good one gets the address and what happened, tells the caller how to stay safe, and rings the on-call phone when it’s an emergency, so the job doesn’t go to the next company on the list.
One call, start to finish, in under a minute
A leaking water heater at night, taken the way it’s taken on a Wakeman line: what’s wrong, a safety check for water near electrics, the address read back, and — with booking on — a time in the on-call window. The example is a plumbing shop. On your line it answers as your business and asks about restoration work — it is set up for your trade and your own list of services.
Rather try it yourself? Call (503) 765-9727 and play the customer with an everyday job.
Hear it answer
0:45 · plays with sound
Scripted product walkthrough with example data · Synthesized voices, not a recorded caller. You are hearing the voice that answers a Wakeman line, opening with the notice it plays on every one.
Google charges about $142 for each water-damage call or message from its ads, and nearly half of those calls go unanswered.
What Google charged per call or message
$142
Calls reaching a person
55.2%
Source: 99 Calls, an ad agency, September 2026 — its own clients, not the whole industry.
How these numbers were worked out
Both figures are from 99 Calls, an agency that runs Local Services Ads for contractors. The cost per lead is from its water-damage estimator in September 2026: the average across 9 client campaigns over the previous three months, after credited leads were removed. The answer rate is from 1,016 calls to its water-damage clients between September 2025 and August 2026. That is one agency’s clients, not the whole industry. We found no measured average job value or booking rate for restoration, so this page shows none.
From October 1, 2026, Google charges for some missed calls too: during your business hours, a Local Services Ads caller who waits more than 20 seconds counts as a lead even if nobody answers. What that costs
How Wakeman sorts restoration calls
Not all of them should wake you. A generic answering service takes four messages and sends four texts. Wakeman works out which call is which — and it goes by what is actually wrong, not by how upset the caller sounds.
“A pipe burst upstairs and it's through two floors”
EmergencyTells them where to shut the water off first, takes down the damage, and rings your on-call phone during the call.
“We had a kitchen fire, the fire service just left”
EmergencyChecks everyone is safe first, then takes the address and how bad it is, and rings your on-call phone during the call.
“There's water round the breaker panel in the basement”
EmergencyWater near electrics: it tells them not to touch anything, and only to use the breaker if they can reach it from a dry spot. Then Wakeman rings your on-call phone during the call.
“I think we might have mould behind the bath”
RoutineTaken as a normal assessment request. With booking on, it offers a time from the list you set.
- Rings your on-call phone: gas, carbon monoxide, fire or smoke, water near electrics, major flooding and sewage backups.
- How it knows: it listens for those words. A caller who describes it differently may be marked urgent instead.
- Urgent calls (an ordinary leak, no heat) get a text, not a ring. So does an on-call phone that is the same line you forward to Wakeman.
- No on-call number set? It won’t tell the caller help is on the way.
- It’s a safety net. It doesn’t replace 911.
An AI receptionist for restoration contractors
Call it an answering service or a virtual receptionist — the job is the same. Wakeman is set up for restoration work and your own list of services. It asks what a good dispatcher would: what’s wrong, how bad it is, the address and a number to call back. It checks the address, then texts you the job, or books it into Jobber once you switch booking on. It says it’s an AI at the start of every call, and a caller who asks for a person a second time is put through to your on-call phone.
| Wakeman | A live answering service | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | From $149 a month with minutes included, then $0.59 / $0.39 / $0.29 a minute by plan | Roughly $1.32–$5.00 per included minute on published plans |
| Spam and robocalls | Never billed | Often counted like any other call — ask before you sign |
| A dangerous restoration call | Safety steps written in advance, and a ring to your on-call phone during the call | Depends on the script and the escalation rules you set up with them |
| Into your schedule | Takes the job down; books into Jobber once you switch booking on | Ask whether they write into your field-service software |
Live answering service prices are from vendors’ own published plans, checked 21–23 September 2026. What every answering service charges
Google charges restoration companies about $142 for each call or message from its ads — the highest of any trade we found (99 Calls, September 2026) — and nearly half of those calls go unanswered. Losses happen at night, in a panic, and the homeowner keeps calling until somebody answers.
Questions about an AI answering service for restoration companies
Does it answer restoration calls 24/7?
On After Hours it answers while you are closed. On Front Desk and Dispatch it answers the calls your team misses at any hour. Like any phone service it can have an outage. Each call starts by telling the caller they are talking to an AI and that the call is recorded.
What does it do in a fire or flood call?
It has safety words written in advance for fire and smoke, carbon monoxide, water near electrics and major flooding. When a caller describes one, Wakeman rings your on-call phone during the call. It is an AI speaking, so it may not say those words exactly, and we cannot promise the call to your phone gets through. It is a safety net, not an emergency service.
Can it capture insurance details on the call?
Not as a separate field. It writes down the caller’s name, callback number, the address and what happened. If they mention their insurer or a claim number, it is in the call recording. It never takes card details over the phone.
Is it an emergency restoration answering service or just a message line?
Major flooding, fire or smoke, sewage and water near electrics are treated as emergencies: Wakeman gives safety steps written in advance and rings your on-call phone during the call. A routine request, like a mould assessment, is written down for the morning. It is an AI speaking, so it may not say those words exactly, and we cannot promise the call to your phone gets through. It is a safety net, not an emergency service.
How much does a restoration answering service cost?
Human answering services work out at roughly $1.32–$5.00 per included minute on their published plans. Wakeman is $149, $349 or $829 a month with 300, 750 or 2,000 minutes included, then 59¢, 39¢ or 29¢ a minute by plan. Spam calls are never billed, and you set a monthly spend limit.
Is Wakeman an AI receptionist for restoration contractors or an answering service?
Both names describe the same job, and so does "AI CSR". Wakeman is an AI receptionist: it answers the calls your team misses in your company’s name, and says it is an AI at the start of every call. Like a restoration answering service or a virtual receptionist, it writes each job down; unlike a message-taking service, it tells an emergency from a routine call and alerts your on-call phone for the dangerous ones.
Pricing · How it works · After-hours answering service · Emergency answering service · Booking into Jobber · How it compares
Page updated September 25, 2026.
Somebody’s always awake.
Try it on your own phone tonight. About ten minutes, no card.