The AI receptionist for residential electrical companies
Half the house went dark, or something smells like it’s burning behind the panel. Those calls can’t sit in a voicemail box. She answers every one, gets people away from danger, and gets the job in front of you.
- Answers outages, dead circuits and panel calls around the clock
- Hears GFCI, arc fault, sub panel, knob and tube and aluminum wiring
- Books service calls, EV chargers and panel upgrades into your software
Every call answered. Every one.
Burning smells come first
Smoke, sparks or a burning smell means get out and call 911. She says it before she asks for anything else.
Real emergencies reach you
A hot panel or exposed live wires ring your cell with the address. A dead outlet gets booked.
Install work gets booked
EV chargers, generators, dedicated circuits — the calls that pay, booked while you’re on another job.
Three steps. Zero voicemails.
She answers and gets the address
First ring, day or night, in a calm voice that knows electrical work. The address comes first, because every other part of the job depends on it.
She sorts it by your rules
By default, an emergency is a burning smell or sparking anywhere, a breaker panel that is hot to the touch, exposed live wires, or the whole house losing power. You change that during setup — it is your company.
She books it or your phone rings
Routine work goes onto your real schedule. An emergency rings your cell with the job and she can put the customer straight through.
If there is smoke or a burning smell right now, get everyone out and call 911 first — a wiring fire moves inside the walls. Flip the main breaker off on the way out if it is safe to reach.
The questions your tech wishes got asked
After the caller picks a time, she asks the one or two that change what the electrician brings — and skips anything they already said. The same questions as your Book Online page.
Repair
- What needs to be repaired?
Estimate / Install
- What would you like an estimate for?
Generator
- What do you need for the generator?Maintenance · Repair · New Install Estimate
Inspection
Straight to a time — nothing to ask.
This isn't a hunch. It's the most measured problem in the trades.
Three figures, each with the study it came from. No vendor surveys of eighty businesses.
Magpie vs. an answering service for electrical
What changes when the phone is answered by something that knows your trade and can put work on your schedule.
| Magpie | Typical answering service | Voicemail | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Picks up every call, nights and weekends | Every call, the first time | Usually, with hold queues at peak | Nobody picks up |
| Knows your trade’s words | Primed on the parts and faults of your trade | A general script | — |
| Books the job straight into your software | ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, or your diary | Takes a message | — |
| Emergency: your phone rings with the address | And she can put the customer through | Some patch calls through | You find out later |
| Safety first on gas, CO and burning smells | Gets them out before anything else | Depends on the operator | — |
| Callers who hang up get a call back | Once per enquiry, never pestered | Rarely | Most never leave a message |
| When you can’t make it, the customer is rung with real times | From your live openings | — | — |
| Every job on your phone to accept or decline | Crew board, pinged to your lock screen | Emails or messages | — |
| Priced | Flat monthly | Often per minute | Free — and it costs you the job |
Answering services vary; this is what a contractor should expect from a typical one, not a claim about any named company.
Where a missed electrical call hurts
Burning smell from an outlet
Out of the house, 911 first, main breaker off only if it is safe to reach. Then the job.
Breaker keeps tripping
She explains the breaker is protecting them, tells them to leave it off, and books the visit.
EV charger quote
Books the site visit into your real openings so the lead doesn’t go to whoever calls back first.
Electrical questions, answered
What happens on a burning smell or sparks?
When they smell burning, or see smoke or sparks from the panel, a wall, or an outlet, she tells them: If there is smoke or a burning smell right now, get everyone out and call 911 first — a wiring fire moves inside the walls. Flip the main breaker off on the way out if it is safe to reach.
Which electrical calls ring my cell?
You set that during setup. By default: a burning smell or sparking anywhere, a breaker panel that is hot to the touch, exposed live wires, or the whole house losing power.
Will she tell people to reset breakers?
She tells them the opposite when it matters: if one circuit is the problem, leave the breaker OFF — a breaker that keeps tripping is protecting them, not failing.
Can she book install work, not just repairs?
Yes — any job type you give her, booked into ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro or your diary.
Explore Magpie for other trades
Roofing
Leak calls and storm surges answered all night, inspections booked, and nobody talked up a wet ladder.
View industry page
Solar
Quote requests answered while interest is hot, system problems sent to service, and never a promised saving.
View industry page
Residential Cleaning
Recurring, deep and move-out cleans, with the bedrooms, bathrooms, pets and deadline on the ticket.
View industry page
Pest Control
Ants to wasps to rodents, qualified by what, where and how long — and a swelling sting is a 911 call first.
View industry pageReady to hire the receptionist that never misses a call?
Hear her answer as your shop in your browser right now — no signup, no card. Or book fifteen minutes with Tom and get a straight answer on whether it's worth it for you.