It knows when you're closed
In Hours you tell it when you're open, day by day and in time slots (for example, 9:00 to 14:00 and 17:00 to 20:00). On every call it knows what day and time it is at your business, in its time zone, and takes that into account when answering.
Two ways to answer when you're closed
You choose how it behaves out of hours:
- Takes a message: it says you're closed right now and when you open, and notes who's calling, their number and what they need, so you can call them back as soon as you open.
- Answers anyway: it sorts out what it can with what it knows and lets callers know the team isn't in, so anything that needs doing will be done when you open.
Its out-of-hours greeting
You can give it a greeting just for when you're closed, of up to 200 characters, and hear it first with “Listen”. The dashboard suggests one with its name and your business's name:
“Hi, you've reached Clínica Ríos outside our hours. I'm Lucía: I'll take a message and we'll call you back as soon as we open.”
If you don't give it one, it greets callers as usual and still knows you're closed.
What it does on those calls
- Sorts out what it can: tomorrow's opening hours, directions, a price or anything in its document.
- Takes a message: who's calling, their number and what they need, so you can call them back when you open.
- Notes down appointments and bookings with the day and time they'd prefer, for you to confirm.
- Follows your rules, like the one the dashboard suggests for clinics: “When someone says they're in a lot of pain or that it's urgent → tell them to call emergency services if it's serious, and take their number so they're called back right away”.
The next morning
When you open, you have every call from the night before in your dashboard, with its summary, what you need to do and the caller's details. The ones that need something from you are at the top, in “To review”, and you can star the ones you want to return first.
Bank holidays and holiday closures
The out-of-hours greeting follows your weekly hours. Bank holidays, your holiday closures or a day you close for any other reason: tell it in its document or with a rule, and it will take them into account when answering.
What it doesn't do yet
- Alert you there and then: it doesn't call you or send you messages. Anything urgent is flagged in the dashboard and, if you have a webhook, reaches you when the call ends.
- Put the call through to someone on call or to an emergency mobile.
- Connect to your number: coming very soon. Today you create it and try it from your browser.