Spanish answering service
The bilingual answering service for shops whose callers speak both.
A Spanish-speaking caller picks Spanish in the first seconds and hears the whole call in it: the recording notice, the questions, the numbers read back, and the emergency words. You see it in English on your phone and approve it the same way.
On a Spanish call
What a bilingual answering service does when the caller says "dos".
- The language is chosen first. "For English, press one. Para español, oprima el dos." By keypad or by voice. One choice, and the call stays there.
- The recording notice is in Spanish. Said after the choice, so it is heard in words the caller reads, not in English before the menu.
- Name, number, address and the problem, each read back in Spanish until the caller says it is right. Numbers can be keyed on the phone.
- Windows penciled in, never confirmed. The caller hears "le anoté", the office confirms, and you approve with one tap.
- Emergencies in Spanish, in fixed words. Gas, carbon monoxide, smoke or sparks get the 911 line in Spanish, said by the system.
PickwickFor English, press one. Para español, oprima el dos.
CallerDos.
PickwickSoy un asistente automatizado y esta llamada está siendo grabada. ¿En qué puedo ayudarle?
CallerEl aire no enfría desde anoche y hace mucho calor en la casa.
PickwickDéjeme confirmar su número: ocho cero tres, cinco cinco cinco, cero uno nueve nueve. ¿Es correcto?
Learned · problem: AC not cooling · urgency: urgent · language: es
PickwickLe anoté para mañana de siete a nueve. La oficina se lo confirmará en breve y le avisaremos si algo cambia.
An example call, in the agent's own fixed lines. The caller's number is invented.
Who it is for
The Spanish answering service for HVAC, plumbing and electrical shops.
Shops with Spanish-speaking customers, crews or neighbourhoods, where the owner answers in English and the after-hours voicemail answers in nothing.
The caller hangs up and tries the next listing. Now the call is answered in their language and the job is on your phone in English.
Your technicians already speak Spanish on the job. The phone catches up with them.
Whoever picks up chooses the language. A daughter who calls for her parents picks English; her father who calls back picks Spanish. Each call stays in the language chosen for it.
The same Spanish works for HVAC, plumbing, electrical, garage doors, roofing and appliance repair.
Emergencies
Gas, CO, smoke and sparks, in Spanish.
A caller who says "huele a gas" hears this, once, before anything else, said by the system rather than the model, and the call is flagged to your shop that moment:
Pickwick · fixed wordingPor favor cuelgue ahora, salgan todos de la casa y llame al 911. No toque ningún interruptor de luz al salir. Alguien de la oficina le llamará enseguida.
Not a setting a shop can change, in either language. Pickwick is not an emergency service and cannot guarantee it detects every hazard. The full behaviour is in the gas-call guide.
The honest limits
Two languages. One per call.
- No third language. English and Spanish, and that is the list.
- No switching mid-call. The choice is made at the start. A caller who changes language halfway is understood as best the recognizer can, but the agent keeps answering in the language chosen.
- No translation of your dashboard. You read every call in English, with the Spanish transcript as it was heard.
- Your fee, hours and area are said in Spanish only if you write them in Spanish. Otherwise the agent says it will have someone confirm, rather than translating a price.
Pricing
No bilingual surcharge.
Spanish is a switch on every plan. After-hours & overflow is $149 a month for 600 minutes, Pro $349, both free for fourteen days on your own line with no card. See the plans, or work out what the missed calls cost first on the calculator.
Turning it on
One switch at sign-up.
Tick "answer in Spanish" when you set up, or later in the dashboard's shop settings. From the next call the greeting offers both languages. Write your diagnostic fee in Spanish too if you want it said; the agent will not translate a price on its own.
How does the caller choose Spanish?
Before anything else the greeting offers both languages: press one for English, or two for Spanish, by keypad or by saying it. The choice is made once and the whole call stays in it, including the recording notice, the questions and the read-backs.
Is the recording notice in Spanish?
Yes. The notice is said after the language choice so a Spanish-speaking caller hears that the call is recorded in words they understand, not in English before the menu.
What happens on a gas smell in Spanish?
The same fixed words as in English, in Spanish, said by the system rather than the model: hang up, get everyone outside, call 911. The matcher knows the Spanish phrases too, like 'huele a gas' and 'huevos podridos'.
Does the owner need to speak Spanish?
No. The dashboard, the transcript and the approval request are in English whatever language the call was in. You approve the booking the same way.
Which plans include Spanish?
All of them. After-hours & overflow is $149 a month for 600 minutes and includes Spanish when you turn it on; Pro is $349. There is no bilingual surcharge and no per-call fee.
Can it answer in other languages?
No. English and Spanish only, and one language per call. We would rather say that here than have a caller find out on the line.
Hear it answer in Spanish on your own line.
Fourteen days free on your own number, no card. Or see the plans first.