Starter
$100/month
135 included minutes
For small offices that need after-hours and overflow coverage.
Get started with live answeringLive answering service
24/7 Live Answering Service for Businesses
EZO answers your calls live when your office closes, when your lines are full, on weekends and holidays, and any time your team can't pick up. We're a U.S.-based outsourcing partner, and our agents answer in your business name using the script, questions and escalation rules you set.
It matters most for service businesses, where an unanswered call is usually a customer who calls the next company on the list.
Answering service plans
Simple monthly plans billed on included minutes. These plans are separate from EZO's dedicated call center agent pricing.
Growth
$250/month
350 included minutes
For busy service businesses taking calls throughout the day.
Get started with live answeringProfessional
$500/month
750 included minutes
For higher call volumes, multiple locations or dispatch workflows.
Get started with live answeringAdditional usage is billed at $0.75 per additional minute.
Optional add-on
Text notifications +$15/month
Receive SMS notifications for messages, urgent calls, customer requests, appointment information or other call outcomes based on your customized answering workflow.
Need something custom?
Customized packages are available for businesses with higher call volumes, unique routing requirements, complex escalation procedures or specialized workflows.
Get started with live answeringDedicated phone number: $15/month.
What's included
- Live call answering in your business name
- After-hours answering
- Overflow answering when your team is busy
- Customized call scripts
- Accurate message taking
- Emergency call handling and escalation
- Call transfers and warm handoffs
- Appointment scheduling
- Customized call routing
- SMS/text notifications
- AI receptionist backup coverage
Built for these businesses
Answering service plans are designed for small and medium-sized businesses where a missed call is usually a missed job.
- HVAC
- Plumbing
- Electrical
- Pest control
- Restoration
- Property management
- Medical offices
- Legal offices
- Contractors
- Home service businesses
How EZO covers your phones
After-hours answering
When your office closes, forward the line and every caller still reaches a live agent instead of voicemail. Messages, bookings and escalations continue on your rules until you take the line back in the morning.
24/7 answering
Nights, weekends, holidays and around-the-clock operations. Coverage can differ by time of day, with separate scripts and escalation contacts for each window.
Overflow answering
When your office is overwhelmed or several calls arrive at the same moment, overflow answering picks up what your team can't — during peak season, storm events or a marketing push.
Emergency call handling
You write the criteria that make a call urgent; agents apply them consistently, follow your call flow, notify your on-call contact and log every attempt. EZO does not decide whether a situation is a medical or legal emergency.
Appointment scheduling
Agents follow your booking procedure — service-area checks, appointment windows, fee disclosures — and either schedule directly in your workflow or send a structured booking request.
Customized scripts
We answer in your business name and work from your questions, FAQs, intake fields, transfer rules and escalation procedures, so callers hear your business, not a generic operator.
Answering service by industry
Each of these pages covers the calls, intake details and escalation scenarios specific to that trade.
- Plumbing answering serviceBurst pipes and sewer backups do not wait for business hours — we answer, triage urgency, and reach your on-call plumber.
- HVAC answering serviceNo-heat and no-cool calls arrive in waves — we answer every one, separate emergencies from maintenance, and reach your on-call tech.
- Electrical answering serviceOutages, burning smells and storm damage need careful intake — we document, read your safety wording, and escalate by your rules.
- Pest Control answering servicePest calls are lead-response calls — we qualify the pest, screen the service area, and book before the caller tries the next company.
- Restoration answering serviceWater, fire and storm losses are won in the first phone call — we capture loss details and reach your crew chief immediately.
- Towing answering serviceStranded drivers call until someone answers — we capture exact location and vehicle details and dispatch to your driver.
- Locksmith answering serviceLockouts are decided in seconds — we answer live, verify the situation and location, and get your tech moving.
- Roofing answering serviceStorms create a week of leads in a day — we answer the surge, qualify leaks and claims, and flag emergency tarping.
- Garage Door answering serviceA car trapped inside or a door stuck open is urgent — we capture door and opener details and route to your tech.
- Property Management answering serviceTenant emergencies and leasing inquiries both need answering — we triage maintenance and capture prospects around the clock.
- Dental answering serviceNew-patient calls and dental emergencies are lost at lunch and after close — we answer both with your greeting.
- Home Services answering serviceOne line, many trades — we answer every service request, estimate and emergency with a script built per service type.
Browse the full industries directory
Need daily staffing instead of shared coverage?
Answering service is shared, per-minute coverage for after-hours, overflow and 24/7 pickup. Need consistent daily staffing instead of shared per-minute coverage? Explore dedicated call center agents billed hourly from $6/hour, or read our guide comparing the two models in the answering service vs. call center breakdown.
Human service with an AI safety net
EZO's live agents remain the primary answering solution on every plan. AI Receptionist Backup Coverage is an additional continuity layer — not a replacement for the people who answer your calls. It can help pick up coverage when:
- Live agents are temporarily unavailable
- Call volume spikes unexpectedly
- Several calls arrive at the same time
- Overflow support is needed
- Additional after-hours continuity is required
Answered live
Real agents, your script, your business name.
24/7/365
Nights, weekends, holidays and overflow hours.
Messages that move
SMS, email, transfers and escalation rules you define.