Ansela / Who it’s for / Dog groomers
For dog groomers
Cockapoo in the bath, shampoo up to your wrists. She gets the phone.
Ansela answers in your salon’s name, asks the breed and the size, books the groom at the length you set into your diary, and writes up anything that needs you.
£1.99 your first month, including VAT, then from £99 a month + VAT. 60 minutes in month one. No contract.
Set up in about 15 minutes.
Ansela is a Bookeasy.ai product. You sign up at ansela.bookeasy.ai, and you’ll see BOOKEASY.AI on your card statement.
Is there an answering service for dog groomers?
Yes. Ansela is an AI phone receptionist for dog groomers, salon or mobile. She answers in your grooming business’s name while you’re mid-groom, asks the breed, size and coat, books the right length into your Ansela diary and takes a message for anything else. Plans start at £99 a month + VAT.
01
The call she took while Becky had a dog in the bath
The kind of call a grooming salon gets on a Saturday. The owner mentions the wrong name it was booked under last time, turns down Tuesday, and still ends up in Thursday’s diary with the matting noted.
Example call; Muddy Paws Grooming and the caller are made up.
This call may be recorded. Thank you for calling Muddy Paws Grooming. Please hold for a moment while I connect you.Recorded, and played before she picks up.
Hi, this is Ansela. How can I help?
Hiya, I need to book Alfie in, he’s a cockapoo, he’s matted behind his ears again because he won’t let me brush him.
Oh, poor Alfie. We can get him in. Can I take your name?
Megan Reid. He came once last year, but under my mum’s name, Sandra.
Is it a full groom he needs?
Full groom, yeah.
Let me find the first one free. The first I’ve got is Tuesday at ten. Would that work, or is another day better?
Tuesday’s no good. Thursday? Not too late, I’ve got the school run at three.
Let me check Thursday. I’ve got one o’clock, and a full groom for his size takes about two hours. Would that suit?
That’s fine, Thursday at one.
That’s booked for Thursday at one, with the matting behind his ears noted on the booking. Anything else you need while I’ve got you?
No, that’s everything, thanks.
Thanks for calling, bye for now.
02
What she does for a grooming salon, and what she won’t
She works from what you tell her: your services by size and coat, how long each one takes, your prices and your hours.
- Full grooms, bath and brush, nail trims, booked at the length you set for that size of dog.
- “Do you take nervous dogs?” and “Where do I park?” answered from your own list.
- Moving a groom or cancelling one, and “what time do I pick him up?” from an owner you’ve already booked.
- Mobile grooms, with the address and postcode taken down for every booking.
- Won’t give advice about a dog’s skin, ears or health. The caller is pointed to you or their vet, and you get the details.
- Won’t book a slot you haven’t opened. Bookings go inside your hours and around your days off.
- Won’t guess at a price for a breed you haven’t priced. She takes the details and you ring back.
03
What happens when a dog groomer can’t pick up the phone?
You’ve got a cockapoo in the bath and shampoo to the elbows, and you can’t touch a phone. The caller wants a groom for their dog and tends to ring round groomers until one of them answers. Most dog owners will book with the first groomer who gets back to them, especially before a holiday or a family event when the diary fills up.
You can’t really ring back mid-day either, because you’re on your feet until you finish. By then, the slot has gone to somebody else. Mobile groomers have it harder still: you’re in a van on a driveway with a client’s dog, and a ringing phone is a job you can’t afford to lose.
04
What does an AI receptionist ask when someone rings a dog groomer?
The questions a groomer needs before they can price or time a booking. What breed, or what mix. How big the dog is, and what the coat is like, because a matted spaniel and a short-haired terrier are different afternoons. Whether it has been before, and what the owner wants: a full groom, a bath and brush, a nail trim.
She takes the owner’s name and postcode and the dog’s name, and notes anything unusual, like a dog that is nervous or doesn’t like its ears being touched.
05
Can she book repeat grooms and different lengths?
Yes. You tell her how long each service takes for each size of dog, and she books that much time into your Ansela diary. A large dog gets longer than a small one. Mobile groomers can have her take the full address for every booking.
For regulars, she asks when the dog was last in. Owners who ring every six weeks can book their next one when they ring, with the slots you’ve opened.
06
What won’t she do?
She won’t give advice about a dog’s skin, ears or health, and she won’t guess a price for a breed you haven’t priced. She takes the details and you ring back. She doesn’t connect to Google or Facebook, so bookings go into her own diary. Look at it before you accept a booking another way.
Plans start at £99 a month + VAT: see what each plan includes. Paying a per-call service now? See how Ansela compares.
07
Where the phone usually is while there’s a dog in the bath
We built Ansela because we kept ringing tradespeople who couldn’t pick up, and then booking someone else. She isn’t a call centre. She answers in your name, says what you’ve told her to say, and writes down what the caller wanted.
If she gets a call wrong, forward us the recording.
Ansela[email protected]
08
How do you set up Ansela?
You choose a plan before your number goes live.
For dog groomers: keep your current number and divert it to Ansela, or take a new UK business number for your website and cards, or use both.
- Give her your website or your Facebook page. She reads it and comes back with your services, prices and groom lengths for you to check.
- Pick a voice and try her. Have the cockapoo call above with her yourself, in your browser, before she takes a real one. Book under the wrong name and see what happens.
- Divert your mobile. We give you a UK number. One short code diverts your mobile to it when you don’t pick up. Another turns it off.
09
What does Ansela cost? Three plans, no contract
Starter is most one-table salons and mobile groomers. Team when there’s a second groomer with their own book.
Ansela is a Bookeasy.ai product. You sign up at ansela.bookeasy.ai, and you’ll see BOOKEASY.AI on your card statement.
| Plan | A month + VAT | Minutes | Calls at once |
|---|---|---|---|
| StarterSole traders, one or two vans | £99 | 600 | 1 |
| TeamDiaries for up to 10 people | £279 | 1,800 | 3 |
| ScaleSet up with you, not self-serve | £499 | 3,500 | 3 |
Minutes are time she spends on the phone with callers. Extra minutes are 20p each, up to a limit you set.
First month £1.99 including VAT, with 60 minutes, on Starter. Card needed; nothing else to pay in month one. Cancel from your billing page and it stops at the end of the month you’ve paid for. Plan prices exclude VAT.
Not VAT-registered? With VAT that’s £118.80 a month on Starter, £334.80 a month on Team and £598.80 a month on Scale.
Scale is set up with you. Need her plugged into your own systems? Talk to us about Enterprise.
10
Questions dog groomers ask
Can she book a big dog in for longer than a small one?
Yes. You tell her how long a full groom, a bath or a nail trim takes for each size, and she books that much time.
I’m a mobile groomer. Does she take the address?
Yes. She takes the address and postcode with every booking, and they’re in the summary you get after the call.
Can she ask about the breed and the coat?
Yes. Tell her what you need to know before you can book, such as breed, size, coat condition or whether the dog has been groomed before. It’s in the summary.
Can my regulars still ring me direct?
Turn the divert off and calls come straight back to you. You might leave it on while you’re working and switch it off in the evening.
Do I have to change my number?
No. We give you a UK number and you divert your own to it with a short code (codes by network). Turn the divert off whenever you like.
What is a minute, and can she take two calls at once?
A minute is time she spends on the phone with callers. Starter includes 600 a month, extra minutes are 20p each up to a limit you set, and Starter takes 1 call at a time. A caller who rings while she’s busy can leave a voicemail, which doesn’t use your minutes.
Is there a contract, and what happens after the £1.99 month?
No minimum term. After the first month it carries on at your plan price plus VAT unless you cancel, which you can do from your billing page at any time.
You’ve got the dog, she’s got the phone.
Ansela is a Bookeasy.ai product. You sign up at ansela.bookeasy.ai, and you’ll see BOOKEASY.AI on your card statement.