← All use cases · Plumbing, HVAC & trades
Put an AI phone agent on overflow and after-hours service calls, then audit every call before you trust it with more
Jonas Olson, founder and CEO of Pest Badger, a pest control company with 20 locations across nine states, on his own YouTube channel
An AI phone agent answers service-line calls from existing customers (rescheduling, gate codes, billing questions, re-services, cancellations) only when every CSR is busy or the office is closed. Sales calls still go to people. Olson listened to the calls every day and audited how many it fully handled, how many it handed off and how well it captured customer details.
Vendor and price not named in the video; it replaced a backup call center that cost over $150,000 a year
Medium · or we set it up for $197
AI voice agent (vendor not named)
The problem
Overflow and after-hours calls from existing customers went to an outside backup call center that cost over $150,000 a year, about $3,000 a week in peak season.
What happened
In 12 days it answered 264 calls from 229 numbers; 179 became real conversations, and 103 of those (58%) were handled start to finish without staff. 22 callers asked for a person. It captured the caller's full name 98% of the time and the service address 91%. 111 calls came before 8 a.m. and 77 after 5 p.m. He says they are keeping it. Self-reported; the AI vendor isn't named.
Quoted in the source: Jonas Olson, founder and CEO, Pest Badger. Source: Jonas Olson on YouTube: I Used AI to Replace a $150,000/Year Call Center in My Service Business (2026-09-17) · Added 2026-10-27.
How to set it up yourself
- What Pest Badger did: an AI phone agent answers only existing-customer service calls, and only when every CSR is busy or the office is closed. Sales calls still go to a person.
- Pick one narrow job for the AI (for example rescheduling and gate codes for current customers) and write down what it must collect on every call: full name, service address, reason for the call and access info.
- Route only overflow and after-hours calls to it at first, so your team still answers when they can.
- Listen to the calls every day for the first two weeks. Count calls fully handled, handed off and asking for a person, and check how often it captured each detail.
- Fix the mistakes in its instructions before you give it a second job. Olson's advice: give AI one job, see how it does, and listen to the calls.
Copy-paste prompt
You answer overflow and after-hours phone calls for {COMPANY NAME}, a {TRADE} company serving {AREA}. You only help existing customers with: rescheduling, gate codes and access notes, billing questions, re-service requests and cancellations. On every call collect the caller's full name, service address, reason for the call and any access info, and read the address back to confirm it. If the caller wants a new quote or service, say a team member will call them back during business hours ({HOURS}) and take their number. If they ask for a person, say so plainly and take a message. Never quote prices or promise a time slot that isn't in the schedule.We set up one AI automation in your tools, live within 48 hours of getting access, for $197. No call needed. Founding price for our first 10 customers (regular $297).
Plumbing, HVAC or home services? Get the scripts ready-made The $39 Plumbing & HVAC AI Starter Kit has ready-to-use call scripts, missed-call texts, estimate follow-ups and review templates, built from 18 real, sourced setups. Instant download, 30-day refund. See the $39 kit
One short email a day: 3 new AI use cases from real small businesses, each with its source and setup steps, plus a Tool of the Day. Free, no spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Rather not do it yourself?
The $197 Quick-Win: we set up one AI automation that saves you hours each week, in accounts you own, live within 48 hours of getting access. No call needed. Refund if it isn't live in 48 hours or isn't doing its job in the first 14 days. Founding price for our first 10 customers (regular $297). Terms.
See the $197 Quick-WinNeed more than one automation or ongoing care? Bigger setups: $149/mo with setup included (6-month minimum), or $497 pay-once. Satisfaction guarantee: we'll fix it until it works. Pay-once setups: or we refund your setup fee. $149/mo plan: cancel in the first 30 days and we refund your first month. We reply within 1 business day.
Related for Plumbing, HVAC & trades
Use an AI assistant for a landscaping company's estimates, messages and marketing
The owner uses an AI assistant he calls 'Willy' to plan routes and track projects, write and translate client messages and estimates, ske…
via Gardenboro Landscaping blog · 2025-11-01Answer client texts in your own voice, just faster, with AI
He pastes a client's text and his own rough reply into AI and asks for a tighter, clearer version; he also used AI to structure maintenan…
via Landscaper's Guide podcast · 2025-11-28Dispatch the right tech to each job type with AI matching
ProBook's AI dispatch ranks technicians by performance on each job type and assigns them.
Running something like this in your business? Submit your use case and we'll credit you with a link.
Get 3 new AI use cases every morning
One email every morning: 3 new AI use cases from real small businesses, each linked to its source, plus a Tool of the Day. Free. No spam, unsubscribe anytime. Privacy
Rather have one set up for you? The $197 Quick-Win.