AnswerBack guides
Frozen Pipe Calls: An Answering Plan for Plumbers
The first hard freeze is the busiest stretch of the plumbing year. Pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze overnight, and many don't leak until they start to thaw. That means calls come in bunches: early morning when someone finds no water, and later in the day when a thawed line starts spraying.
If those calls hit voicemail, many callers don't leave a message. They call the next plumber on the list. Here's a simple plan to make sure your shop catches them, written for one-truck to five-truck shops.
Why freeze nights are different
On a normal week, a missed call is usually a quote request that can wait. During a freeze, it's often water running inside someone's house. Callers are stressed, they're calling several shops at once, and they'll book whoever answers first with a clear next step.
Three things matter most:
- Answer quickly, even if you can't send a truck right away.
- Give a safe first step so damage stops spreading while they wait.
- Get the right details so your on-call plumber can decide fast.
Shutoff first
If water is actively leaking, the most useful thing the caller can hear is how to stop it:
"If water is leaking now, turn off the main water shutoff. It's usually where the water line comes into the house, often in the basement, crawl space, utility room or near the water heater. If water is near outlets or electrical panels, stay away from them."
Write your own version and keep it short. Don't give thawing instructions over the phone that you wouldn't stand behind. Many shops tell callers never to use an open flame on a pipe and to wait for the plumber.
6 intake questions
Use the same six questions on every freeze call, whether you answer or your answering service does:
- Is water leaking right now? Yes or no, and roughly where.
- Were you able to shut off the main? If not, why not (can't find it, valve stuck).
- No water, low water, or a leak? "No water anywhere" is a different call from "water coming through the ceiling."
- Where is the pipe? Exterior wall, crawl space, garage, attic, outdoor spigot.
- What kind of property? Owner-occupied home, rental, or business. If it's a rental, who's the owner or property manager?
- Anyone at higher risk in the home? An older adult, an infant, or someone with a medical need.
Then get the name, the service address, the best callback number, and how to get inside (gate code, which door).
Sort calls into three lanes
You decide the rules, but most shops end up with something like this:
- Dispatch now: active leak that can't be shut off, water near electrical, a business that can't open, or a home with someone at higher risk.
- First slot tomorrow: main is shut off, no active water, but the home has no water.
- Regular schedule: frozen outdoor spigot, slow drain from a partly frozen line, or a "please check it" visit.
Write your lanes down before the freeze. On a busy night you won't want to think it through for every call.
Getting details to the on-call plumber
Your on-call plumber needs one message with everything in it, not a voicemail to decode. A good freeze-call summary looks like this:
Leak, main OFF · 412 Elm St · Pat R., (555) 010-0199 · pipe in exterior kitchen wall, garage-side entry, code 4410 · homeowner, no high-risk occupants · caller asked for earliest time
Texted to the on-call phone, that's enough to call back, give a time and grab the right parts.
Text-back for calls that slip through
If you set up your own missed-call text-back (AnswerBack doesn't send these), only text callers as phone and texting rules allow. Keep any text to a reply about their call, with no promotions, and include how to opt out (for example, reply STOP). Check consent rules, such as the federal TCPA and your state's texting laws, with your texting provider before you turn it on.
Even with an answering service, a call can slip through. A missed-call text-back sends the caller a message right away, so they know you saw it:
"Sorry we missed your call. This is [Shop]. If water is leaking, turn off your main shutoff now. Reply with your address and what's happening and we'll get back to you. Reply STOP to opt out."
Only promise a callback time you can actually keep.
Set it up before the freeze
Two weeks before the first forecast hard freeze is the time to:
- Test call forwarding from your main line (busy, no-answer and after-hours).
- Update your Google Business Profile hours and phone number.
- Write your shutoff wording, six questions and three lanes on one page.
- Decide who's on call each night, and who backs them up.
For the full setup, see our plumbing missed-call answering page and the general guide to after-hours missed calls for plumbers.
How AnswerBack helps
AnswerBack is an AI answering service (an AI receptionist) for plumbing shops. Callers are answered by AI, not a live person. It answers the calls you can't take, asks your intake questions, takes the caller's name, address and problem, and passes those details to you. During the call, it can offer the caller a short follow-up text, sent only if the caller agrees.
Calls may be recorded. Some states require every party's consent before a call is recorded.
Every plan starts with a free 14-day pilot, with no card needed. You choose a plan when the pilot ends; the pilot never turns into a paid plan on its own. Paid plans renew automatically until you cancel. After the pilot, ongoing service is Solo $99, Pro $179 or Crew $299 a month. Monthly plans have a one-time $149 setup, and the Founding Annual ($790/yr, first 25 shops) waives it. See pricing for what's included in each plan.
Frequently asked questions
What should a plumber tell a caller with a burst pipe?
First, how to turn off the main water shutoff and to stay away from water near electrical. Then get their address, whether the main is off, and where the pipe is, and give them a callback time you can keep.
Do plumbers need an answering service in winter?
Many small shops add one before the first freeze, when calls bunch up and voicemail loses callers to the next shop. Having every call answered with a clear script helps.
What questions should you ask on a frozen pipe call?
Is water leaking now, is the main off, is it no water or a leak, where's the pipe, what kind of property, and is anyone at higher risk in the home.
How much does AnswerBack cost?
There's a free 14-day pilot with no card, and it never turns into a paid plan on its own. After that it's Solo $99, Pro $179 or Crew $299 a month, plus a one-time $149 setup on monthly plans, or the Founding Annual ($790/yr, first 25 shops) with no setup fee. Paid plans renew automatically until you cancel.
AnswerBack, 226 S Cruse Ave, Helena, MT 59601