PEST CONTROL
The roach call at 7 PM, in Spanish: what the voice agent does, and what it must not do
It is seven in the evening. A mother in an apartment turns on the kitchen light and sees roaches run under the stove. She calls the first pest company she finds, in Spanish. She wants someone today. Your techs are done for the day, and the office phone rings out. She calls the next number.
A note on what this is. It is about one call and the first two minutes of it. You can test your own version of this call tonight, from another phone.
THE SHORT ANSWER
What does the 7 PM caller want?
Someone today, or at least a time. They do not want a price list or a lecture on roaches. They want to hear a voice that says, "We can come," in their language. If they get an English voicemail, many will think they dialed wrong and move on.
Often a truck cannot go tonight. That is fine. A real time tomorrow morning, booked now, beats a promise to call back. The caller stops dialing once they have a time.
How do you test your own phone tonight?
Borrow a phone. At 7 PM, call your business number. Speak Spanish. Say you saw roaches in the kitchen and want someone today. Then write down what happened:
- Did anyone answer, or did it ring out?
- Was the greeting in Spanish, or did it offer Spanish?
- Did you get a time, or a promise to call back?
- If it went to voicemail, did a text come back, and in what language?
Do it once on a weekday and once on a Sunday. That is your own answer, from your own phone.
What does the voice agent ask?
It answers in English or Spanish, and it follows the caller. In Spanish, it stays in Spanish. It takes what the tech needs, and nothing more:
- Name and the best phone.
- Address, and the unit or gate code if there is one.
- What they saw and where: kitchen, bathroom, garage.
- Owner or tenant. If tenant, the landlord’s name, if they know it.
- A real open time from your calendar, not a guess.
Sample. ES: Buenas noches, gracias por llamar a Plagas Fuera. ¿En qué le ayudo? ... Entiendo. Tengo mañana a las 9 de la mañana. ¿Le sirve? ... Listo, queda agendado. El técnico le da el precio cuando vea la casa. EN: Good evening, thanks for calling Plagas Fuera. How can I help? ... I understand. I have tomorrow at 9 AM. Does that work? ... Done, you are booked. The tech will give you the price after seeing the home.
What must it not do?
It does not quote. The price depends on what the tech finds, and a number said at 7 PM becomes a promise. It gives no treatment advice: no sprays, no products, nothing about kids or pets and chemicals. If the caller asks, the agent says a person will call them back with that answer.
It hands off to a person on rules you set. A caller who is upset, a property manager with several buildings, a question it should not answer. Those go to your phone or to the first callback in the morning.
What happens after the call?
The job lands on the board with Spanish saved on the card. From then on, every message goes in Spanish. Reminders follow quiet hours: nothing automatic goes out between 8 PM and 8 AM unless the customer asks for it. So the reminder for a 9 AM visit goes out after 8 AM, not at midnight.
If someone in your company answers in Spanish every evening and books on the spot, you do not need a voice agent. Keep doing that.
Related
Made the 7 PM test call?
Bring what happened to a 30-minute call. We listen to how your phone answers today, write the Spanish greeting and the questions with you, and show you where the agent stops and a person takes over.
