Ansela / Who it’s for / Driveways and fencing
For driveway, paving and fencing contractors
Half the drive laid and the compactor running. She books the next one.
Ansela answers in your business’s name, takes the postcode and what they’re after, and books the measure-up and quote into your diary while you finish the job.
£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 driveway and fencing firms?
Yes. Ansela is an AI phone receptionist for driveway, paving and fencing contractors. She answers in your firm’s name while the compactor is running, takes the postcode and what the caller wants done, and books the measure-up into your Ansela diary. She gives no price. Plans start at £99 a month + VAT.
01
The call that came in over the plate compactor
This is the kind of call a driveway firm gets at lunchtime. He wants a price per metre, can’t pick between resin and blocks, and still ends up booked for Monday.
Example call; Stoneleigh Driveways and the caller are made up.
This call may be recorded. Thank you for calling Stoneleigh Driveways. Please hold for a moment while I connect you.Recorded, and played before she picks up.
Stoneleigh Driveways, Ansela speaking. How can I help?
Hiya. We want the front drive doing. It’s that old tarmac, all cracked, weeds coming through. We were thinking block paving, or resin, the wife likes resin. What do you charge a square metre?
Gary prices every drive once he’s measured it, so I can’t give a rate over the phone. He does block paving and resin, and he can come out to measure and quote. Can I take your postcode?
WA4 6QR. And we’d want a dropped kerb as well. Is that you or the council?
That’s one for Gary to talk through when he’s there. I’ll put it on the booking. He has Monday at five or Wednesday at ten.
Wednesday. No, Monday, so we’re both in.
Monday at five. What name is it, and the best number?
Steve Barker. This mobile, 07700 900863.
Thanks Steve. Gary will be with you Monday at five to measure up.
02
What she does for a driveway firm, and what she won’t
She works from what you tell her: the work you do, your area, how far ahead you’re booked and when you go out to measure.
- Measure-ups and quote visits, booked into your diary with the postcode and what they’re after.
- Block paving, resin, patios, fencing and gates, noted on the booking so you know what to bring.
- “Do you do resin?” and “How far ahead are you booked?” answered from your own answers.
- The customer whose job you’re halfway through, taken as a message or put through to you.
- Won’t give a price or a per-metre rate. She books the measure-up.
- Won’t make claims about guarantees or materials you haven’t given her.
- Won’t answer planning or dropped kerb questions. She puts them on the booking for you.
03
What happens when a driveway contractor misses a call?
A homeowner who wants the front drive done is usually collecting two or three quotes. They ring from a search, or from a van they saw on the road, and the firm that answers and books the measure-up gets the first look. Firms that call back later are often the third to arrive.
You’re on site with a plate compactor, a saw or a fence panel in your arms, and the phone is in the cab. A missed call here is a measure-up booked with someone else.
04
What does an AI receptionist ask someone who wants a new drive or fence?
What they want done, in your trade’s words: block paving, resin, a patio, a run of fencing, a gate. What’s there now, such as old tarmac or a broken panel fence. Then the postcode, so she can say whether you cover them.
She books the measure-up at the times you’ve set, such as evenings or Saturdays when someone is home, and the details go on the booking so you know what to bring. If you’re booked up for weeks, tell her, and she says so honestly rather than promising a start date.
05
Will she give a price or a rate per square metre?
No. Ansela makes no price claims at all. Callers who ask are told you price each job once it’s been measured, and she books the visit. She won’t make claims about guarantees or materials that you haven’t given her.
Planning permission and dropped kerbs are questions for you at the visit. She notes them on the booking and doesn’t answer them. If you want any trade scheme you belong to mentioned to callers, say so in what you give her. She only says what you’ve told her.
06
What about the customer whose job is half done?
You can tell her which calls to put through, such as a customer with work in progress, and she sends them to your mobile. Suppliers and merchants leave a message with their name, number and what it’s about. You see everything in the emailed summary, with the recording and transcript.
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 the blocks go down
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 driveways, paving and fencing: 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. She reads it and comes back with the work you do, your area and your hours for you to check.
- Tell her when you measure up. Evenings, Saturdays, how far ahead you’re booked. Then try the resin call above with her in your browser.
- 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-crew firms. Team when there’s a second crew or someone else doing the measuring.
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 driveways, paving and fencing ask
Everyone wants a rough price first.
She tells them you price every job once it’s measured and books the visit. She won’t quote a figure, per metre or otherwise.
I only measure up on evenings and Saturdays.
Set those as your hours for measure-ups and she only offers those times.
Can she take calls from suppliers and merchants?
She takes a message with their name, number and what it’s about, and you get the summary.
Do I have to give her my guarantee terms?
Only if you want her to mention them. She says nothing about guarantees or materials that you haven’t told her.
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.
Keep laying the blocks, she’ll book the next drive.
Ansela is a Bookeasy.ai product. You sign up at ansela.bookeasy.ai, and you’ll see BOOKEASY.AI on your card statement.