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Jobber receives a Request with the address, symptom and shutoff status. Housecall Pro receives the customer and an unscheduled job; ServiceTitan receives a Booking intake. Your team reviews and schedules those records. For a confirmed appointment during the call, connect Google Calendar or Outlook. Zapier and signed webhooks carry custom intake, and Pro includes text confirmations.

Penny starts at $29 a month on Starter with annual billing, with Pro at $99 adding the on-call schedule, text confirmations, and photo-by-text, which is where a caller sends a picture of the valve they cannot name. Paid plans include monthly minutes; usage above the allowance is billed at the plan’s per-minute rate. The answering service cost guide compares plans, included minutes, and usage charges.

Yes. She gives the main-shutoff step when the caller can reach it safely. She tells the caller the valve is usually where the water line enters the house, in the basement, crawl space, or utility room; that a round wheel turns clockwise and a lever turns a quarter-turn across the pipe; and to open a faucet afterward to drain the pressure. For a single fixture she points to the angle stop under the sink or behind the toilet. If the valve is stuck or nowhere to be found, she tells the caller to have the water utility close it at the curb stop, and she pages your on-call plumber either way.

Yes. She asks which fixture is affected, how long it has been happening, and whether other fixtures are involved. A routine request uses the appointment windows you approve. A reported overflow or sewage backup follows your safety and priority rules instead.

She knows the questions that separate them and she puts the answers on the ticket. Warm spots on the floor, a water bill that jumped, the sound of running water with everything off, or a crack in the slab go on the ticket as a possible slab leak, which is a different visit from a leak at a fixture. She does not tell the caller which one it is. She notes it so you send the plumber with the detection gear instead of a cartridge.

She says the plumber prices it in writing after seeing the current unit, the venting, and the access, and that the number depends on those and on any permit the plumber says the job needs. If you have set a service-call fee, she states it. She never gives a ballpark, even one the caller asks for twice, and she notes that they asked so the plumber arrives ready to quote tank and tankless side by side.

She asks. No water to the whole house gets “is it out at the neighbors too?” If the street is out, she gives the caller the utility and does not send a truck. If it is one house, she books same-day, and below freezing or with an infant, someone elderly, or a medical condition in the home, she pages on-call instead. Low pressure at one faucet gets a routine slot with the fixture noted, since a clogged aerator or an angle stop is a different call from a failing pressure-reducing valve.

She records each fixture and symptom, then applies the visit duration and booking rule your shop sets for multiple requests. If the combined scope needs review, she sends the list to your office before confirming a service block.

She asks whether the caller owns the property or rents it, and who approves the work. A tenant with a burst pipe gets the same shutoff walkthrough and the same transfer as an owner, because the water does not care who signs. For anything scheduled, she captures the owner’s or manager’s name and number so your office is not chasing authorization at the door, and she puts “tenant” on the ticket.

She routes them. Wet carpet, drywall, and mold after a leak go to a restoration company. A furnace, an AC, or ductwork goes to HVAC. A septic tank or drain field goes to a septic company. A curb stop or a water main in the street goes to the utility. If you want those callers handed to a partner shop, give her the number and she transfers; otherwise she tells the caller which trade to call and takes a message for you.

An active leak follows your approved safety and on-call rules, with the address, reported source, and shutoff status attached. Water near electrical equipment gets a stay-clear instruction. Gas or CO reports interrupt booking for the instruction to leave and call emergency services from outside. See Emergency Rules for how to configure the response.