Blog · Electrical

The Hidden Cost of Missed Calls
for Electrical Contractors

February 25, 2026 · 5 min read

An electrical emergency call is worth $500–$1,200 with after-hours premium rates. But electricians have a unique missed-call problem: your techs are on ladders, inside panels, or pulling wire through conduit. They physically cannot answer the phone. When the call goes to voicemail, 62% of callers hang up and call the next electrician on Google. That's your revenue walking out the door.

The Math on Missed Electrical Calls

Here's the real cost for a typical 2–5 truck electrical contracting company:

But the after-hours problem is only half the story. Electrical contractors have a massive daytime missed-call problem too. When every tech is on a job site, who answers the phone? The owner, if they're lucky. More often, nobody. According to ServiceTitan's 2025 industry report, electrical contractors miss 35% of daytime calls when they don't have dedicated office staff.

Add daytime missed calls to after-hours losses: $10,000–$15,000/month in invisible lost revenue. That's $120,000–$180,000/year that never appears on your P&L.

The Unique Challenge for Electrical Contractors

Safety-Critical Triage

Electrical emergencies are fire and safety hazards. A sparking outlet, a burning smell from a breaker panel, or exposed wiring isn't just inconvenient—it's dangerous. These callers need immediate confirmation that a licensed electrician is on the way. Voicemail doesn't cut it.

Commercial vs. Residential Routing

A property manager calling about a panel failure in a 50-unit apartment building needs a different response than a homeowner wanting a ceiling fan installed. Generic answering services treat both the same way: take a message.

Techs Can't Be Dispatchers

An electrician working in a live panel shouldn't be answering phone calls. It's a safety issue. But many small shops have no choice—the techs are the business. Every call that rings while they're mid-job is a lost opportunity.

How an AI Receptionist for Electricians Solves This

Vox for Electrical Contractors answers every call in under 1 second—day, night, weekends, holidays—and handles the full intake and dispatch workflow:

Safety Triage: Vox detects electrical emergencies from the conversation: sparking outlets, burning smells, total power outages, exposed wiring, or flickering lights with a hot breaker. These get immediate escalation to your on-call electrician via warm transfer or urgent SMS.

Commercial/Residential Routing: Vox identifies whether the caller is a homeowner, property manager, or commercial facility manager and routes accordingly. Commercial calls can be flagged for your commercial estimator. Residential calls flow to standard dispatch.

Service Area Verification: Vox checks the caller's zip code against your coverage area before creating a ticket. No more wasted drive time to jobs outside your zone.

Structured Dispatch Tickets: Every call produces a complete ticket—name, address, issue type, urgency, residential/commercial, preferred time—pushed directly into ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, Jobber, or FieldEdge.

The ROI for Electrical Contractors

Answering Service (300 calls/mo)

$2,000–$3,500/month

No urgency triage

No commercial/residential routing

Vox AI ($250–$500/month)

0 dropped calls, day or night

Safety triage + smart routing

1 saved emergency/week = $3,000/month recovered

One emergency call recovered per week at $750 average (including after-hours premium) = $3,000/month. That's a 6x–12x return on a Vox subscription. And that's just the emergency calls—it doesn't count the routine service calls ($300–$500 each) that also would have gone to voicemail.

What to Do Next

If your electricians are answering calls from crawl spaces or your phone rings through to voicemail every time someone's on a job, you're leaving money on the table. See exactly how Vox works for electrical contractors →

Stop Losing Electrical Jobs to Voicemail

Set up in 20 minutes. Predictable pricing with included minutes. Every call answered 24/7.

Hire Vox

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can an AI really handle electrical emergency calls safely? +
Vox doesn't provide electrical advice—it dispatches your electricians. When a caller describes sparking, burning smells, or a complete outage, Vox identifies the urgency, collects the address and details, and immediately escalates to your on-call tech via warm transfer or urgent notification. The caller gets confirmation that help is coming. For true life-threatening situations, Vox can also advise the caller to contact 911 while still dispatching your team.
Does Vox work for both residential and commercial electrical companies? +
Yes. Vox identifies the caller type and routes accordingly. Residential service calls go to your standard dispatch queue. Commercial calls from property managers or facility directors can be flagged separately, routed to a specific estimator, or prioritized based on your rules. You configure the routing during setup.
What if I'm a one-truck shop and can't afford a big monthly bill? +
Vox starts at $250/month with included minutes—less than a single emergency call is worth. For a one-truck electrician, capturing even one additional job per week more than covers the cost. Compare that to an answering service at $1,500–$3,000/month or a part-time receptionist at $2,000+/month. Vox is the lowest-cost option that actually works.