Frequently Asked Questions

Velvet is an AI-powered phone receptionist built exclusively for plumbing businesses. It answers every inbound call 24/7, qualifies leads by asking plumbing-specific questions, books appointments directly into your scheduling software, detects emergencies like burst pipes and gas leaks, and delivers instant call summaries via text and email — all in English and Spanish.

Generic AI receptionists like Smith.ai, Dialzara, and My AI Front Desk serve dozens of industries with one-size-fits-all scripts. Velvet was designed exclusively for plumbing businesses with a master plumber on our advisory team. It understands plumbing terminology (slab leak, PRV, backflow, water hammer), can assess call urgency based on plumbing-specific criteria, and asks the qualifying questions your dispatcher actually needs. This specificity results in 30% more qualifying information captured per call compared to generic alternatives.

Velvet is designed for residential and commercial plumbing businesses of all sizes — from solo owner-operators to multi-truck companies with 50+ employees. It's especially valuable for plumbing businesses that miss calls because they're on a job site, short-staffed at the front desk, or lack after-hours coverage. If your phone goes to voicemail when customers call, Velvet is built for you.

Yes. Velvet is trained to recognize plumbing emergencies including burst pipes, active flooding, sewage backups, gas leaks, slab leaks, water heater failures, and frozen pipe risks. When an emergency is detected, Velvet immediately escalates per your configured rules — calling your on-call plumber, texting your dispatch team, or transferring the call live. It also provides callers with immediate guidance, like instructing them to shut off their main water valve. Learn more about how emergency calls are handled.

Yes. Velvet provides fully bilingual English and Spanish support on every call at no additional cost. The AI automatically detects the caller's preferred language within the first few seconds and responds fluently — including plumbing-specific vocabulary and emergency instructions. Call summaries are always delivered to your team in English for easy processing, regardless of which language was spoken on the call.

Yes. Velvet syncs with your scheduling software (ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, Jobber, or Google Calendar) and checks real-time availability. When a caller needs service, Velvet offers available time slots, confirms the appointment, and syncs the details directly into your system. You can customize booking rules — for example, only offering next-day appointments, leaving emergency slots open, or blocking certain time windows.

Yes. Velvet integrates with ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, and Jobber — the three most popular plumbing business management platforms. New appointments, customer contact information, job descriptions, and urgency classifications sync directly into your existing software. No double entry, no copy-pasting from text messages into your CRM.

Yes. Unlike a human receptionist who can only handle one call at a time, Velvet handles unlimited simultaneous calls with zero hold time. This is especially critical during high-volume periods — Monday mornings when weekend problems stack up, during freeze events when pipes are bursting across the city, or after a rainstorm when multiple homeowners need help at once.

Every call summary includes: caller name, phone number, address (if provided), a clear description of the plumbing issue, urgency classification (emergency, urgent, or routine), whether an appointment was booked with date/time, and any special notes (gate codes, pet warnings, access instructions). Summaries arrive via text message and email within seconds of the call ending. Your dispatcher gets everything they need to assign the right technician without a single callback.

Velvet can transfer calls to your team based on rules you configure. For example: route all emergency calls to your on-call plumber, send service requests to your dispatcher during business hours, or forward specific caller requests to a manager. You have full control over when and how live transfers happen. Callers who request a human are never left stuck in a loop.

Velvet plans start at $149 per month for unlimited calls. All plans include 24/7 coverage, bilingual English/Spanish support, emergency detection, appointment booking, call summaries, and software integrations. Compare that to a live answering service ($200–$1,200/month with per-minute charges) or a full-time receptionist ($36,000–$48,000/year plus benefits). See current pricing.

Yes. Velvet offers a free trial so you can test the AI receptionist with your actual call volume and see exactly how calls are handled. You'll receive real call summaries, see the appointment booking in action, and test emergency detection — all before committing to a paid plan. Most plumbing businesses see clear ROI within the first two weeks.

No. Velvet is month-to-month with no long-term contracts, no setup fees, and no cancellation penalties. We believe the product should earn your business every month. If Velvet isn't delivering results, you can cancel anytime.

No. Velvet plans include unlimited calls at a flat monthly rate. You won't see surprise charges if you have a busy week or a seasonal spike in call volume. This is a major advantage over live answering services, which typically charge $0.75–$1.50 per minute — costs that add up fast when call volume increases.

Most plumbing businesses are fully live on Velvet in under 24 hours. The process: (1) forward your business line to Velvet, (2) customize your greeting and call handling rules, (3) connect your scheduling software. Our onboarding team guides you through every step. No hardware to install, no app to download, no IT team needed. See the full setup process.

No. You keep your existing business phone number — that's critical for your Google Business Profile, truck wraps, business cards, and all your marketing materials. Velvet works through call forwarding, so your customers continue calling the same number they always have. The forwarding happens invisibly in the background.

Yes. You can configure Velvet to handle all calls 24/7, overflow calls only (when your line is busy or unanswered), or only after-hours calls. Most phone providers support conditional call forwarding, and our onboarding team helps you set up the exact configuration you want. Many plumbing businesses start with after-hours only and expand to full coverage once they see the results.

Velvet works with any phone provider that supports call forwarding — which is virtually all of them. This includes traditional landlines, VoIP services (RingCentral, Vonage, Ooma, Grasshopper, Google Voice), and all major mobile carriers (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile). If your phone can forward calls, it works with Velvet.

Yes. Velvet uses enterprise-grade encryption for all call data, recordings, and customer information. We never sell or share your business data or your customers' data with third parties. All data is stored in SOC 2-compliant facilities. See our privacy policy for full details on how we handle and protect your information.

Velvet uses advanced conversational AI that sounds natural and professional. The experience is designed to be seamless — many plumbing business owners report that callers engage with Velvet as comfortably as they would with a human receptionist. We prioritize caller satisfaction and transparency, and the AI's goal is always to solve the caller's problem as quickly and effectively as possible.