Can Telphi qualify whether a job is worth surveying before I commit time to it?

Yes. You configure the questions that matter for your business – property size, move distance, timeline, packing, access constraints. Telphi captures all of that on the first call so you can decide which enquiries are worth visiting.

What about man-and-van jobs versus full house moves?

You set your service list. If you take both, Telphi routes them differently – capturing different details and booking different appointment types. If you only do full removals, smaller enquiries are handled politely and the caller is informed.

Does it handle commercial removals and office moves?

You can configure a separate flow for commercial enquiries – capturing floor count, whether IT equipment is involved, out-of-hours requirements, and the decision-maker contact. Commercial calls are flagged separately in your app.

What if the customer has already had a survey with a competitor and is just price-checking?

Telphi captures the enquiry either way. You can configure it to ask whether they've had other quotes, so you know where you're positioned before the conversation starts. ---

AI receptionist for removal companies

The problem

Removals is physical work with both hands full and a client waiting. You're carrying a sofa down a staircase or driving a loaded lorry between two properties. Neither is a moment you can take a proper enquiry call.

Three things follow from that:

A removal enquiry needs scoping. Property size, distance, date, packing, awkward items. Half a conversation taken hands-free is worse than none.
They're choosing on who sounded organised. Someone moving house rings three or four firms in an afternoon. A company that didn't answer is neither organised nor available.
Families research at the weekend. When you're either on a Saturday job or not working. Those calls sit until Monday, and by Monday the decision is made.

Moves are all-or-nothing. There's no partial version of a house move, so each unanswered ring is a complete loss rather than a reduced one.

The calls you miss

On a full house move. You've got a lorry loaded, a client waiting, and you're carrying a three-seater sofa down a narrow staircase. Your phone rings from your jacket on the door handle. You can't stop. A couple planning a move in six weeks tries your number, gets no answer, and contacts three other removal companies at the same time. Whoever responds first wins the job.

Driving between two properties. Even hands-free, a proper removal enquiry needs note-taking, job scoping, and a two-way conversation. You take the call, try to listen, and end up with half the details. Or you let it ring and deal with it later. Later means competing against companies who answered immediately.

On a late-afternoon job that's run over. A move that should have finished at 3pm is still going at 5:30. Your phone has missed four calls. Two of them were probably quotes. By the time you've unloaded, cleaned up, and called back, it's 7pm. Too late for most people to have a proper conversation.

Saturday afternoon. Couples and families do their moving research at the weekend. They look up companies, compare reviews, and call. If you're on a job or not working, those calls sit unanswered until Monday. Most of those callers have already booked by then.

Trade businesses lose an estimated £1,200–£4,800/month to unanswered calls. For removal companies, a single house move can represent significant revenue. The company that picks up first is usually the one that gets the job. That estimate is based on typical UK trade job values and a 20–30% call conversion rate. Work out your own number.

How Telphi answers for a removal company

When a call comes in, Telphi answers immediately in your business name and gathers the information you need to quote accurately and schedule a survey.

Caller: "Hi, I'm looking for a quote for a house move. We're moving from a three-bed semi."

Telphi: "Happy to help with that. Can I ask – is it a local move, or are you going a significant distance?"

Caller: "It's about 25 miles – we're moving from Reading to Basingstoke."

Telphi: "Got it. Do you have a move date in mind yet, or are you still in the early stages of planning?"

Caller: "We're hoping for mid-September – we're in the process of exchange so it could be around six weeks."

Telphi: "That's useful to know. Would you be needing packing as well, or just the move itself?"

Caller: "Just the move – we'll do the packing ourselves."

Telphi: "Understood. Do you have any large or awkward items – pianos, large wardrobes, gym equipment?"

Caller: "We've got a large American fridge-freezer and a double wardrobe that came in pieces."

Telphi: "Good to flag. I'll send you a link to book a survey call or a home visit – whichever suits. We'll go through the full job and get a quote over to you."

You get a structured summary: property size, move distance, timeline, packing requirements, awkward items. The caller books directly into your calendar. No back-and-forth, no lost details.

What you get after every call

Call summary – move date, distance, property size, packing needs, and any flags like heavy items or access issues
Full transcript – the complete conversation, stored in the app
Recording – listen back before you prepare the quote
Urgent transfer – configure for same-day or next-day requests that need immediate handling
Spam filtered – directory listing calls and automated enquiries stay off your lead list

Booking

After capturing the job details, Telphi texts the caller a booking link. They choose a time for a survey call or home visit and book directly into your calendar. No missed quotes, no unscoped jobs.