Frontlain
Tell us you want it
In preparation. Plumbing first.

You're under a sink. The phone is ringing.

Frontlain will pick up. It says it's an automated assistant, finds out what the caller needs, books the job on your calendar, and leaves you a written message instead of a voicemail.

Tell us you want it Read three calls
Incoming
While you were out under the sink
To
Mike
Time
Tue 2:12 pm
From
Dana
Phone
555-0142
  • xTelephoned
  • Please call
  • xWants a price
  • Urgent
Message

Kitchen faucet, dripping a week. Told her the call-out from your sheet, no total. Booked Thu 8 to 10.

Taken by FrontlainA mock-up

Three calls, written out

Pick a line. The message on the right fills in as the call goes, the way it would land on your phone.

Tuesday, 2:12 pmMike is on a job, both hands busy.
FrontlainHarbor Plumbing, this is Mike's automated assistant. He's on a job. I can book you in or take a message. What's going on?
CallerMy kitchen faucet's been dripping for a week. How much to fix it?
FrontlainMike's call-out is $95 example, that's from his price sheet. The total depends on what he finds, so I can't give you one. He'll tell you before he starts.
CallerOkay. Can he come this week?
FrontlainHe has Thursday 8 to 10, or Friday after 1.
CallerThursday. 14 Alder Street. I'm Dana.
FrontlainThursday 8 to 10, 14 Alder Street, Dana. Can I text you the confirmation at this number?
CallerYes please.
Booked on Mike's calendar. Message on his phone. He reads it when he comes up for air.
While you were out on a job
To
Mike
Time
Tue 2:12 pm
From
Dana
Phone
555-0142
At
14 Alder Street
  • xTelephoned
  • Please call
  • xWants a price
  • Urgent
Message

Kitchen faucet, dripping a week. Told her the call-out from your sheet, no total. Booked Thu 8 to 10. She said yes to a text.

Taken by Frontlain
Booked
Friday, 7:40 pmMike is at dinner. This one does not wait.
FrontlainHarbor Plumbing, this is Mike's automated assistant. What's going on?
CallerThere's water coming through my ceiling. It won't stop.
FrontlainThat's an emergency, so I'm getting Mike now. What's the address?
Caller302 Birch Road.
Frontlain302 Birch Road. I'm ringing him. If you know where your main water valve is, turn it off while you wait. Stay on the line.
Mike's cell rings. He hears: "Water through a ceiling, 302 Birch Road, the caller is on the line." He says "put them through."
MikeThis is Mike. Tell me what you're seeing.
If Mike doesn't pick up, it tries his second number, then tells the caller plainly that nobody has been reached yet. It never leaves someone waiting in silence.
While you were out at dinner
To
Mike
Time
Fri 7:40 pm
From
Birch Road caller
Phone
555-0187
At
302 Birch Road
  • xTelephoned
  • Please call
  • Wants a price
  • xUrgent
Message

Water through a ceiling, not stopping. Rang your cell. You took it at 7:41.

Taken by Frontlain
Put through
Wednesday, 10:03 amMike never hears about this one.
FrontlainHarbor Plumbing, this is Mike's automated assistant. What's going on?
CallerThis is an important message about your business listing. Press one to speak with a listing specialist.
FrontlainAre you calling about plumbing work?
CallerPress one to speak with a listing specialist.
FrontlainPlease take this number off your list. Goodbye.
Call over. His phone stayed quiet, and one line went into the call log in case he ever wants to look. A real customer who sounds odd gets a message, never a hang-up.
While you were out working
To
The log, not Mike
Time
Wed 10:03 am
From
A recording
Phone
555-0119
  • xTelephoned
  • Please call
  • Wants a price
  • Urgent
Message

Listing robocall. Did not answer about plumbing. Asked to be taken off. Nothing for you.

Taken by Frontlain
Screened

A mock-up. We wrote these calls to show how it would go. Harbor Plumbing, Mike and the callers are made up, the phone numbers are reserved for fiction, and the $95 is an example. No real call has been taken.

The rules come first

Owners want the phone answered, and they fear the same things about a machine doing it: a made-up price, a misbooked emergency, a caller stuck going around in circles. So these go on the wall before anything gets built.

Shop rules

  1. It says what it is."Automated assistant", in the first sentence of every call.
  2. It never makes up a price.It reads your sheet out loud or says you'll call. No sheet, no number.
  3. Emergencies go to a person.You write the list. It rings you, and if nobody answers it says so.
  4. It books only your open time.It reads your calendar and promises nothing that isn't there.
  5. It texts only people who said yes.It asks on the call. No yes, no text.
  6. Anyone can ask for a person.Say so at any point and it takes an urgent message or puts you through.
  7. Every call is written down.You can read what it said, word for word. If a call is recorded, the caller hears that first.

One trade, learned properly

A receptionist for everybody knows nothing about anybody. So Frontlain starts with plumbing, because a plumber's calls have a shape: what counts as an emergency, what to ask before booking, what never to promise over the phone.

Then it reads your sheet: your call-out, your hours, the towns you cover, the jobs you turn down.

Not yet: electricians, heating and cooling, auto shops, small retail. Each one gets its own sheet of questions, once plumbing works with a real shop.

What it would know on day one

An emergencyWater it can't stop, sewage backing up, no water at all. A smell of gas: it tells the caller to get out and call for help, then rings you.
Before bookingWhere's the problem? How long has it been going on? Is water still running? Address and the best number.
From your sheetCall-out fee, hours, areas, what you don't do. Yours, word for word.
NeverA diagnosis over the phone. A total. A time you don't have.

And back in the van

The same voice works for you, not only your callers. Planned: tell it about the job while it's fresh, and the paperwork is waiting when you get home.

I just finished at 123 Street.

Want me to prepare an invoice for John?

Yes. Plumbing repair, new faucet, an hour and a half.

The draft is ready. Read it, and say send.

Invoice

John, 123 Street. Harbor Plumbing.
Draft
Call-out$95 example
Labor, 1.5 hours at $110$165 example
Faucet, supplied$180 example
Total$440 example

A mock-up. Nothing goes out until you say send.

What it could cost

Every figure here is an example. Nothing is priced yet, and nothing is for sale. This shows the shape of a bill, so you can try it with your own numbers.

Your numbers

The example plan: $149 a month, example. 300 minutes included, example. $0.40 a minute after that, example.

The example bill

Minutes used360
Plan$149 example
Extra minutes (60)$24 example
A month$173 example

1 extra booked job a month would cover this bill.

That is arithmetic on your own numbers, not a promise that any call becomes a job.

Why it can't be free: a phone number and voice minutes cost money on every call. The real price will come from what those really cost in a pilot, and it will be on this page.

Want it when it opens?

Tell us what you need. Your message reaches the team, and Digital Real Estate replies by email.

We need one real plumber for the first pilot. If that's you, say so.

For Frontlain

No list, no newsletter: we use your email only to reply to you.

Questions

Is Frontlain available now?

Not yet. It is in preparation and has no opening date. The calls on this page are written by us, and no software answers a phone today.

Will my callers know it's a machine?

Yes. It says so in its first sentence, every time. A caller who wants a person can say so at any point.

What if it gets something wrong?

That's why the rules above exist, and why the first version stays small. Every call is written down so you can see what it said. It won't quote a total or decide an emergency can wait. We'll publish what goes wrong in the pilot.

Does it replace my receptionist?

If you have a good one, keep them. Frontlain is for the calls nobody can take: the ones that ring while your hands are full or after you've gone home.

Can I own this as a business?

It's being prepared as a business in a box: the name, the site, the agent and the software together, for someone who wants to run it. It isn't for sale today and has no price. If that interests you, say so in the form.

What happens to my email?

It arrives as one message to the team. We use it to reply to you, add it to no list and share it with no one.

Who is behind it?

Digital Real Estate, which prepares online businesses on the domains it owns.