Text About a Rewire? AI Replies. Lead Secured.

Letting agents communicate with tradesmen by text because their working day revolves around managing multiple concurrent property issues across a portfolio. A letting agent dealing with a tenant lockout, a boiler breakdown at another property, and a gas safety certificate renewal doesn't have time for three separate phone calls to three different trades — they text because it allows them to fire off instructions in thirty seconds and move on to the next problem. Crucially, texting creates a documented thread: "Electrician texted about tripping circuit at Flat 3, 14 Elm Street at 11:15am" is a record that appears in their phone and can be referenced later. The AI's instant reply is commercially decisive in this context because a letting agent texting three electricians about a kitchen circuit that keeps tripping will book the one who responds first and sounds competent. Speed plus technical awareness is the formula that turns a single letting agent text into an ongoing relationship worth hundreds of pounds per year in EICR testing, consumer unit upgrades, and reactive callouts across their entire property portfolio.

The AI reads the context of each text message and adjusts its response accordingly. A homeowner texting "can you add a double socket in the kitchen?" gets a concise, friendly response that asks about the kitchen's current socket provision, whether they want the socket surface-mounted or flush, and a convenient time for the electrician to visit. A facilities manager texting "we need a rewire quote for a 3-storey office building in the city centre" gets a commercially aware response that asks about the building's current electrical infrastructure, the number of floors and approximate square footage, whether the work needs to be completed outside business hours, and whether a current EICR report is available. A builder texting "need a spark for first fix on a 4-bed new build starting Monday" gets a response that asks about the plot address, the builder's main contractor details, and whether they need Part P certification or Building Control notification. This contextual adaptability means the AI responds with the appropriate register and detail level for every type of electrical enquiry.

The AI sends a single, well-crafted text message that accomplishes three things simultaneously: it acknowledges the specific electrical issue described, it demonstrates trade-level awareness of the likely cause or scope, and it asks for the key details needed to schedule a visit or provide a quotation. This approach is intentionally different from a chatbot that asks one question at a time across multiple messages. Electricians and their customers benefit from the one-reply model because electrical work enquiries typically have a clear scope — the customer knows what they want (a new consumer unit, an EICR, additional sockets, a rewire), and the AI's response confirms understanding of that scope while capturing the logistical details. The customer gets immediate confirmation that a qualified electrician is available and interested. The electrician gets a complete lead notification with enough information to quote or schedule. Neither party wastes time in a drawn-out SMS conversation that would have been better as a phone call.

When a customer's text asks about qualifications, accreditation, or certification — "are you Part P registered?" or "do you have NICEIC?" — the AI references your specific accreditation body and registration status. For standard enquiry texts where the customer hasn't asked about qualifications, the AI focuses on capturing the job details efficiently, which is what the customer actually wants from a text exchange. However, for enquiry types where accreditation is commercially relevant — EICR requests, consumer unit upgrades, and rewires where Part P compliance is legally required — the AI naturally mentions that all work is carried out by registered engineers and will include the appropriate certification. This balanced approach avoids turning every text reply into a credentials broadcast (which feels defensive and salesy) while ensuring that compliance-aware customers receive the accreditation reassurance they need. The AI is configured with your specific details during setup, so it references NICEIC, NAPIT, ELECSA, or whichever scheme you're registered with.

Text message enquiries reach every electrical specialisation, though certain business models see higher SMS volume than others. A domestic electrician receives texts about socket additions, light fitting installations, tripping circuits, and consumer unit upgrades from homeowners and landlords. A testing and inspection specialist receives texts from letting agents and commercial clients about EICR scheduling, particularly portfolio clients who manage the booking by text because of the volume of properties involved. A commercial electrician receives texts from office managers, shop owners, and facilities managers about power issues, lighting upgrades, and electrical maintenance. An EV charger installer receives texts from homeowners who've just ordered an electric car and need a home charging point. Whether your customers describe you as an electrician, a domestic electrician, a commercial electrician, a Part P electrician, an electrical company, a rewiring specialist, an EICR inspector, a sparky, a qualified electrician, a fire alarm electrician, or an EV chargepoint installer, the AI responds with the technical vocabulary appropriate to the enquiry type.

After-hours electrical texts fall into two distinct categories and the AI handles each differently. A customer texting at 9pm about a total power loss — no electricity in the entire house — receives a response that acknowledges the urgency, asks whether the main switch on their consumer unit has tripped (and if so, whether it trips again when reset), and advises them to phone for emergency assistance if the situation involves exposed wiring, burning smells, or safety concerns. A customer texting at 9pm about a socket that stopped working in the spare bedroom receives a response that treats the issue proportionately — it's not an emergency, the AI acknowledges the problem, asks a couple of diagnostic questions, and captures their details for a callback the following morning. This proportionate response approach is important because it stops customers with non-urgent issues from feeling ignored overnight, while ensuring genuinely dangerous electrical situations are directed toward immediate phone contact rather than being managed via text message.

The SMS add-on is £29 per month on top of the Speed Receptionist Core plan at £89 per month, with unlimited text responses included. For an electrical business, every text lead captured represents meaningful revenue. An additional socket installation is worth £80 to £150. A consumer unit upgrade is worth £400 to £700. A domestic EICR is worth £150 to £250, and a letting agent with twenty properties needing annual testing represents £3,000 to £5,000 in annual EICR revenue. A full domestic rewire is worth £3,000 to £6,000. An EV charger installation is worth £800 to £1,500. The AI ensures that every text to your business number — whether from a homeowner, a letting agent, a builder, or an office manager — receives the instant, technically aware response that captures the lead and positions you as the responsive professional choice.

SMS and WhatsApp serve different customer demographics and use cases, and covering both ensures you don't leave leads on the table. SMS reaches customers who don't use WhatsApp — older homeowners, people who haven't saved your number to their contacts (WhatsApp requires both parties to have each other's numbers), and corporate phones where WhatsApp isn't installed. SMS is also the default channel for van sticker and business card leads: someone who sees your number on a flyer, a directory listing, or your vehicle and texts it will use standard SMS because they're texting a number they've just seen, not a saved contact. Letting agents often default to SMS rather than WhatsApp because their phone manages dozens of tradesman contacts and SMS keeps the communication simple. According to industry data, approximately 40% of text-based trade enquiries still arrive via SMS rather than WhatsApp — that's a substantial volume of leads that a WhatsApp-only strategy would miss entirely.

Absolutely — the AI sends the immediate first response that captures the customer's attention and details, and you continue manually with everything that requires your professional judgment. You confirm the appointment, discuss the scope of work, provide a quotation for larger projects, and arrange access. For letting agent texts, you reply with your availability for the property visit. For domestic customers, you call back to discuss the job in more detail and agree a price before attending. The AI's lead notification gives you everything captured from the text exchange — the customer's number, the electrical issue described, any diagnostic details mentioned — so your follow-up is informed and efficient. Most electricians review their text leads during breaks between jobs and batch their callbacks, which works perfectly because SMS customers chose texting precisely because they didn't need an immediate phone conversation.

We configure SMS handling on your existing business number during a brief onboarding process — the number printed on your van, your business cards, and your website stays exactly the same. Customers text the number they've always used and the AI handles the incoming enquiries. During setup, we learn about your electrical specialisation (domestic, commercial, testing and inspection, EV charging, fire alarm, or a combination), your accreditation body and registration status, your geographical coverage, and any service distinctions you want reflected in the AI's replies. The AI is configured with electrical terminology appropriate to your services — consumer units, EICR, Part P, circuit testing, RCD protection — and tested with simulated texts covering socket requests, circuit faults, rewire enquiries, and letting agent communications before going live. Most electrical businesses are operational within 48 hours and the setup requires about fifteen minutes of your time.