Every HVAC call answered, even mid‑job
A furnace dies on the coldest night of the year and the homeowner calls every HVAC shop until one picks up. Dana picks up first — and when the call is a gas smell or a CO alarm, she gets the family out before she talks about anything else.
Dana is Magpie’s AI receptionist. She says so if a caller asks.
- Answers the no-heat and no-AC rush nights and weekends
- Hears heat pumps, condensers, capacitors, short cycling and frozen coils
- Books tune-ups and repairs into Jobber or Housecall Pro
Every call answered. Every one.
Gas and CO come first
A gas smell or a CO alarm is not a booking. She tells them to get out and call from outside — before anything else.
No heat in a freeze reaches you
Your rules decide what rings your cell. Dangerous heat or cold does by default; a noisy blower waits for morning.
Seasonal rush, handled
The first cold snap floods every HVAC line in town. She answers all of them and fills your real openings.
Every kind of call, handled
The real emergencies ring your cell
When a call meets your rules — by default, no heat when it is freezing outside, or with a baby, someone elderly or someone sick in the house; no cooling in dangerous heat, a gas smell, or a carbon monoxide alarm going off — if anyone is in danger she gets them safe first. Then she takes the address, tells them the one safe thing to do, and rings you with the job already on your screen.
- Your rules, set for your company
- She can put them straight through to you
MAGPIEnow19° out · a newborn in the house · 88 Aspen Ct
Illustrative screens. Names, shops and addresses are made up; the alerts and texts use the product’s own wording.
Three steps. Zero voicemails.
Danger first, then the address
First ring, day or night, in a calm voice that knows HVAC work. If the call is dangerous she gets people safe before anything else. On every other call the address comes first, because the rest of the job depends on it.
She sorts it by your rules
By default, an emergency is no heat when it is freezing outside, or with a baby, someone elderly or someone sick in the house; no cooling in dangerous heat, a gas smell, or a carbon monoxide alarm going off. 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.
Get everyone out of the house right now, leave the door open behind you, and call 911 or the gas company from OUTSIDE. Do not touch light switches or anything electrical on the way out.
The questions your tech wishes got asked
After the caller picks a time, she asks the one or two that change what the HVAC technician brings — and skips anything they already said. They are the same questions your online booking page asks.
Repair
- Which system?Furnace / heating · AC / cooling · Heat pump · Mini-Split
- What is it doing?No heat · Won’t turn on · Runs constantly · Blowing cold air · Noise
- About how old is the system?
Tune-Up
- Which system?Furnace · AC · Both
- About how old is the system?
New System Estimate
- What needs an estimate?Full system (furnace + ac) · Furnace only · AC only · Heat pump · Mini-Split
- Is your current system still working?
Thermostat
Straight to a time — nothing to ask.
Air Quality
- What do you need?Filters · Humidifier · Air purifier · Duct cleaning
This isn’t a hunch. It’s the most measured problem in the trades.
Three figures, each with the study it came from.
Magpie vs. an answering service for HVAC
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 long holds at busy times | Nobody picks up |
| Knows your trade’s words | Knows the parts and faults of your trade | A general script | No |
| Books the job straight into your software | Jobber, Housecall Pro, or your Magpie calendar | Takes a message | No |
| 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 a dangerous call | Gets them out before anything else | Depends on the operator | No |
| Callers who hang up get a call back | Once per inquiry, never pestered | Rarely | Most never leave a message |
| When you can’t make it, the customer gets a call back with real times | From your live openings | No | No |
| Every job on your phone to accept or decline | In your app, with a ping to your lock screen | Emails or messages | No |
| 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.
Three HVAC calls, handled right
Furnace out on a freezing night
Address first, then your cell rings with it and she can put them straight through.
“I smell gas near the furnace”
She gets everyone out of the house and tells them to call 911 or the gas company from outside. Safety first, then the job.
AC tune-up before summer
Routine maintenance booked into your real openings, while you’re on a roof doing the last one.
HVAC questions, answered
What does she do if someone smells gas?
She treats it as a get-out call, not a booking. When they smell gas, or a carbon monoxide alarm is going off, or people in the house have headaches, dizziness or nausea, or feel sleepy or confused, while the heat or a gas appliance is running, she tells them: Get everyone out of the house right now, leave the door open behind you, and call 911 or the gas company from OUTSIDE. Do not touch light switches or anything electrical on the way out.
Which HVAC calls ring my cell?
You set that during setup. By default: no heat when it is freezing outside, or with a baby, someone elderly or someone sick in the house; no cooling in dangerous heat, a gas smell, or a carbon monoxide alarm going off.
Can she troubleshoot over the phone?
Only the safe basics: check the thermostat has power and the filter is not clogged solid. Ice on the cooling in hot weather: switch the cooling off so it can thaw. In cold weather, frost or steam on the outside unit is normal defrosting — never tell them to switch the heat off. Anything more is a visit, and she books it.
What about ServiceTitan?
It’s coming, as soon as ServiceTitan approves the connection. Today she books straight into Jobber, and into Housecall Pro on its MAX plan.
Explore Magpie for other trades
Electrical
Outages, tripping breakers, panels and EV chargers. If anything smells like burning, she gets them safe and calls you.
See how she answers
Roofing
Leak calls and storm surges answered all night, inspections booked, and nobody talked up a wet ladder.
See how she answers
Solar
Quote requests answered while interest is hot, and system problems sent to service. She never promises a saving.
See how she answers
Residential Cleaning
Recurring, deep and move-out cleans, booked with the bedrooms, bathrooms, pets and deadline written down.
See how she answersReady to hire the receptionist that never misses a call?
About five minutes: find your business, hear Dana answer as you, and forward your number — she’s answering today. Texting follows about a week later, once the phone carriers approve your number. Or hear her first, right in your browser.