Call protocol
Plumbing emergency call script: water that won’t stop
Short answer
On a plumbing emergency call, a 100% AI receptionist answers in your company’s name, says it’s an AI and asks one question first: is water still running? Then it checks where the water is, whether it’s near anything electrical or coming through a ceiling, and takes the address. Active leaks and sewage backups go straight to your on-call plumber, a dripping tap gets booked, and you get a summary of every call.
This plumbing emergency call script is the version we start from. You change it to match your business and approve it before it goes live.
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Example call: a leak through the kitchen ceiling
Rivera Plumbing · A leak through the kitchen ceiling
Urgent
- AI
- Rivera Plumbing, this is AI Receptionist, the AI assistant. What’s happening?
- Caller
- Water’s coming through my kitchen ceiling.
- AI
- Is it still running, and is it near any lights?
- Caller
- Yes, dripping fast, near the light.
- AI
- Please stay away from that light. Your name, address and number?
- Caller
- Grace Whitaker, 77 Alder Street, 3B, 555-0107.
- AI
- Do you own the place or rent?
- Caller
- I rent.
- AI
- Thanks, Grace. I’m putting you through to our on-call plumber now.
Summary sent to you
- Urgent
- active leak through kitchen ceiling, near a light fixture.
- Caller
- Grace Whitaker, 77 Alder Street, apt 3B, 555-0107. Renter.
- Done
- transferred to the on-call plumber. No arrival time or price given.
The plumber answering script, step by step
One rule sits above the script: if the caller mentions a gas smell, an electric shock or anyone hurt, the AI tells them to hang up and call 911 before anything else. You approve the wording; the rule itself isn’t optional.
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Is water still running?
The one answer that decides everything else. Running water means the clock is ticking; a leak that has stopped can usually wait for a booked visit.
The AI says: “Is water still running right now?”
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Where is it, and how bad?
Kitchen, bathroom, water heater, basement, ceiling. Water coming through a ceiling or pooling near outlets or the electrical panel goes straight to urgent.
The AI says: “Where is the water coming from? Is it near any outlets or the electrical panel, or coming through a ceiling?”
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Your approved safety line
If you want callers told about the main shut-off, the AI reads your words exactly. The caution is in the line itself, the caller decides, and the AI never adds to it. For apartments, most plumbers prefer a different line or none at all, because the main valve may serve the whole building.
The AI says: “If you know where your shut-off is and it’s safe to reach, you can close it. If not, leave it and we’ll handle it.”
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Sewage or clean water?
A sewer backup is a different job, and a different urgency, from a clean-water leak.
The AI says: “Is it clean water, or is it coming up from a drain?”
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Who and where
Name, address, unit number, the best callback number, and whether they own the home or rent it. If they rent, it asks for the landlord or property manager if the caller knows them.
The AI says: “Do you own the home, or rent?”
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Route the call
Urgent: the call goes to your on-call plumber, or they get an email with the details at once. Routine: it books the first open slot and confirms only once the booking is saved.
The AI says: “This is urgent, so I’m putting you through to our on-call plumber.”
When the call goes to your on-call plumber
For a plumbing company, these are the hand-offs we start from. Your rules replace them.
| Situation | What happens |
|---|---|
| Gas smell, electric shock, someone hurt | Caller told to hang up and call 911; on-call plumber alerted |
| Water still running, can’t be shut off | Urgent: on-call plumber now |
| Water through a ceiling or near electrics | Urgent: your safety line, then on-call plumber |
| Sewage coming up a drain | Urgent: on-call plumber now |
| No water at all in the home | Urgent or first slot, by your rules |
| Leak stopped, damage to look at | Booked into the next open slot |
| Dripping tap, slow drain, quote | Booked, or a message for the office |
What it never says on this call
- What’s causing the leak, or “it sounds like a pipe joint.”
- A price, a call-out fee or an arrival time you haven’t approved.
- Whether insurance will cover the damage.
- Any fix the caller should try beyond the safety lines you approved.
What you decide
- What counts as urgent: for some plumbers “no hot water” is urgent, for others it waits until morning.
- Your safety lines: the shut-off line for houses and for apartments, the electrics line, and the 911 line.
- Who’s on call, and who is the backup.
- Renters: whether you take the job from a tenant or need the landlord’s okay first.
- Booking and fees: which jobs it books, how much time each blocks, and whether your call-out fee is quoted.
We build all of this into your protocol, and you approve it.
Why this protocol works
Our call protocols come from nearly two decades of running phone reception for small businesses, and burst pipes at 2 a.m. are some of the calls we know best. The order matters: "Is water still running?" comes before the address, because it changes what happens next. And it never promises what you don’t: no prices, no times, no guesses about the cause. The method behind every protocol is on our method, and how urgent calls are dispatched to the right person is on the emergency answering service page.
Questions plumbers ask
Will it tell callers to shut off the water?
Only if you want it to, and only in the words you approve. Many plumbers want homeowners told about the main shut-off, with “only if it’s safe to reach” built into the line. For apartments, most use a different line or none, since the valve may serve the building. Your protocol, your call.
What if my on-call plumber is under a sink and can’t answer?
Your backup gets tried next. If both are busy, the caller hears that the on-call plumber has their address and will call back, and the alert sits in both inboxes with the address, the unit number and what’s leaking. In the morning it’s at the top of your call list, marked Urgent, so the leak nobody reached is the first thing you see.
Does it take jobs from renters?
That’s your rule. It always asks whether the caller owns the home or rents it. Some plumbers take the job and bill the tenant; others need the landlord to approve it first. The summary tells you which it is, so nobody shows up to a job that won’t get paid.
Can it send the caller anything after the call?
Yes, a text tied to that call, such as a confirmation of the booked visit or your office number to call back. The text goes only to the person who called, and only about that call; it doesn’t run two-way text conversations. Booking details are on appointment scheduling.
Does this replace my after-hours line?
It can be your after hours answering service, your overflow when the office is busy, or your whole phone line. Night calls follow the after-hours triage protocol, with this plumbing script inside it.
Put this protocol on your phone line
Tell us what counts as an emergency in your shop, who’s on call and how to reach them, and we turn it into your plumbing protocol as part of your free setup. You approve every line before you forward your number. A 2 a.m. leak costs the same as a daytime quote: $0.99 per answered call on Pay As You Go, no monthly fee; all plans are on pricing. Other trades are in the call protocol library.
Free setup · No contract · Cancel anytime