Setting Up Akol for Home Services
Whether you’re a plumber, HVAC technician, electrician, or any other home service professional, this guide walks you through the best practices for setting up Akol for your business.
The Perfect Greeting
Your agent’s greeting sets the tone. Keep it short, professional, and friendly:
Good examples:
“Hi, thanks for calling Smith Plumbing! This is Sarah, how can I help you today?”
“Thank you for calling Cool Air Heating and Cooling! How can I help?”
“Hi, you’ve reached Bright Spark Electric! How can I help you today?”
What makes a good greeting:
- Mention your business name
- Give the agent a name (it feels more personal)
- Keep it under 15 words
- Sound welcoming, not robotic
Setting Up Your Services
The more your agent knows about your services, the better it handles calls. Include:
Basic Info
- Business name and location
- Service area (miles from your location, or specific cities/zip codes)
- Business hours
- Emergency availability
Services and Pricing
Be specific about what you offer and what it costs:
| Instead of This | Do This |
|---|---|
| ”We do plumbing" | "We offer drain cleaning ($150-250), leak repair ($100-300), water heater installation ($800-2,500), and faucet replacement ($150-350)" |
| "We fix AC" | "AC diagnostic is $89, applied to repair. Common repairs run $150-600. New installations start at $3,500 with free estimate" |
| "We do electrical work" | "Service call is $75, applied to repair. Outlet installation $150-250 per outlet. Panel upgrade $1,500-3,000 with free estimate” |
What You Don’t Do
Tell your agent what’s outside your scope:
- “We don’t do commercial work”
- “We don’t service areas outside of 30 miles”
- “We don’t work on gas lines — refer them to City Gas Company at 555-0100”
Emergency vs. Routine Calls
Home service businesses deal with two types of calls. Your agent should handle them differently.
Emergency Calls
These need immediate attention:
- Burst pipes, flooding
- No heat in winter
- Gas smells
- Sparking outlets, burning smells
- Sewage backup
Set up your agent to:
- Identify the emergency
- Reassure the caller
- Transfer to your cell phone immediately
- If you don’t answer, take a message and mark it urgent
Routine Calls
These can be scheduled:
- “I need a new faucet installed”
- “My AC needs a tune-up”
- “I want to add some outlets in my garage”
Set up your agent to:
- Gather details about the job
- Book an appointment on your calendar
- Confirm the date, time, and address
- Send a confirmation (if you have text messaging set up)
Connecting Your Calendar
This is one of the most important steps. When your calendar is connected, your agent can:
- See your available time slots
- Book appointments without double-booking
- Send calendar invites to customers
Call Forwarding Setup
Most home service businesses keep their existing phone number and forward calls to Akol:
- Get an Akol phone number
- Set up call forwarding from your existing business number
- Calls ring your Akol number → your agent answers
This means customers call the same number they always have, but now they get an answer every time.
Best Practices
Review Calls Your First Week
Spend 15 minutes each day during your first week reading call transcripts. You’ll quickly spot where your agent needs better information.
Common Issues and Fixes
| Issue | Fix |
|---|---|
| Agent doesn’t know your pricing | Add pricing details to your business profile |
| Agent books outside your service area | Add your service area boundaries |
| Agent can’t answer common questions | Add those Q&As to your business profile |
| Callers are confused by the greeting | Shorten it and make it more natural |
| Emergency calls aren’t being transferred | Add emergency keywords and set up transfers |
Improve Over Time
Your agent gets better as you give it more information:
- Week 1 — Set up the basics: name, hours, services, emergency handling
- Week 2 — Review transcripts and add answers to common questions
- Week 3 — Fine-tune the greeting and instructions based on real calls
- Month 2+ — Your agent handles 90%+ of calls without any issues
Checklist
Before going live, make sure you’ve done these:
- Business name and address set up
- Business hours configured
- Services and pricing added
- Emergency handling set up with call transfers
- Calendar connected
- Phone number assigned to your agent
- Test call made and reviewed
- Greeting sounds natural and professional