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Missed-call text-back

The call you did not answer, answered anyway

A missed call gets a text within seconds, the caller answers in their own words, and the job is booked before they ring the next name on the list.

Written by Christopher Gillig, who files the carrier registrations behind these numbers. Last reviewed September 7, 2026.

What actually happens

  1. Someone rings the number on the van. Nobody picks up, because the crew is under a house.
  2. The call reaches us instead of a voicemail box. On a tracking number we ring the owner's mobile first and only continue if that goes unanswered too.
  3. Within seconds of the call ending, the caller gets one text asking what they need and where they are.
  4. They reply in their own words, or send BOOK and pick a slot themselves.
  5. The reply lands against the lead with the call, the number, and the time — and the owner can ring back from their own phone.

The messages, as they actually send

These are the real templates, not examples written for this page. Each one is checked against the industry pack it comes from when this site is built.

missed call textback

This is Northgate Heating, sorry we missed your call. What is going on, and where are you? Reply here, or BOOK to book.

Asks what and where in one line. In this trade the answer routinely names the emergency, which is what lets the next call be the urgent one. It is 121 characters and stays inside a single segment — and there is no em dash in it, deliberately.

emergency ack

Hi Dana, Northgate Heating has your message and is treating it as urgent. If this is a gas leak or emergency, call 911.

Acknowledges and escalates. It does not advise, because advising on a possible gas leak by SMS is not something software should do.

What nobody tells you

Four things that decide whether a text-back system works, learned by running one rather than by reading about it.

  • A text is 160 characters in GSM-7. One character outside ASCII — an em dash, a curly quote — forces the whole message into UCS-2, where a segment holds 70. A single dash can turn a two-segment message into three, and nothing in most products will tell you.
  • Carriers score an unfamiliar sender with a bare link as spam. The first live message this product sent was blocked for exactly that: 205 characters, two segments, with a booking URL appended. Removing the link brought it to 143 characters, one segment, and it delivered.
  • A2P 10DLC registration is a brand filing and a campaign filing, and campaigns sit in carrier review for days. Nothing sends until it clears, which is why a text-back system cannot be switched on the afternoon you buy it.
  • The reply that matters most is the first one. It usually contains the words that decide urgency — no heat, gas smell, water everywhere — which is what turns a missed call into a triaged one rather than a queued one.

Questions

How quickly does the text go out?
Within seconds of the call ending. The message is sent in the same request that handles the call rather than waiting for a queue — an early version queued it and took forty seconds, which is a long time to somebody standing in a flooded basement deciding whether to ring the next name on the list.
Do I have to change my phone number?
No. You can advertise a tracking number that rings your mobile first and only texts if nobody picks up, or keep the number you have and set your carrier to send unanswered calls to us. The second one is a short code you dial once, and we show you the code for your carrier and the one that undoes it.
Can I just switch it on today?
No, and anyone who says otherwise is skipping a step. Sending business texts in the US requires A2P 10DLC registration — a brand filing and a campaign filing — and campaigns sit in carrier review for days. We file it for you, but nothing sends until it clears.
What happens when somebody replies STOP?
They are opted out immediately and permanently, and nothing further is sent to that number. Every first message carries the opt-out notice, which is a carrier requirement rather than a courtesy.

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