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Reception, after hours and overflow

Every call answered, on the first ring.

Your clients miss calls on another line, in a meeting, or after closing, and each one goes to whoever answers second. The reception agent stops that.

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callerfirst ring, any hourCall summarywho rangwhat forwhat was donesent by text and email
Answered on the first ring, written up for the business within seconds.

What the agent does

A receptionist that never puts anyone on hold

Answers the main number on the first ring, 24 hours a day, public holidays included, in a normal conversation rather than a menu tree.

The business's own voice

Its own greeting, then answers about services, prices, hours and location from the knowledge base. Over 80 English-speaking voices, New Zealand and Australian, male and female, plus te reo Māori and other languages.

Knows who is ringing

The number is matched against the address book or a connected CRM, accounting or job system before the greeting plays. A known customer hears their name. A VIP goes straight through.

Different after hours

Trading hours run on the clock of the number. After hours, weekends and public holidays each get their own behaviour: a message, a booking, or an escalation. See after hours.

Says local names properly

The whole New Zealand gazetteer, over four thousand place names, plus the business's own words. Travel and service-area pricing is worked out from the business's own rates.

Hard details by text

An email address is easier to type than to spell. The agent asks first, then texts the caller mid-call to take it. A recording of the caller saying their name travels with the enquiry.

Never guesses, never pretends

Locked rules a client cannot edit out: never guesses, never pretends to be human, never takes card numbers, never gives medical, legal or financial advice. When it does not know, it arranges a call back.

How it goes for the caller

One call, start to finish

  1. The phone rings onceThe advertised number is diverted to the agent's own local number. No queue, no hold music.
  2. The caller is recognisedBefore the greeting plays, the number is matched against the address book and any connected system.
  3. The conversation happensThe agent answers from the knowledge base, takes a message, offers a booking, or lodges the enquiry in the business's own system.
  4. Somebody is toldWithin seconds the business has a text and an email summary, and the call is on the dashboard.

What the business gets

A record and a message for every call

A text and an email summary within seconds of every call, push and app notifications per person, and call notifications into Slack, Microsoft Teams or any webhook. Every call is logged on the dashboard, with a recording and transcript if the business switches them on.

Where the business keeps a diary, the agent books into it (see bookings). Where it runs a service desk in Freshservice or Autotask PSA, both early access, the open ticket is read before hello. Where its accounts live in Xero or MYOB, the agent knows who is ringing and what they owe.

Five shapes of the same agent, each a template:

  • Reception. Answers, informs, takes messages, books and transfers.
  • Sales. Qualifies and scores the enquiry, books a demo, files a lead in the CRM.
  • Job and quote. Asks the business's own question list and hands the answers to email, text or the job system.
  • Personal assistant. One person's own line, calendar only.
  • Call centre. Five, ten or fifteen calls at once on one number, no queue.

A new local number is included. Keeping an existing number means one divert set on the client's own carrier, the only step they do themselves. Numbers can be ported in, and out again if they ever leave.

The glass lobby of an office tower at night, lit and empty, seen from the street
An office tower after hours. The main number still rings, and the agent answers it.

Sold through partners

Reception is the first thing most clients buy

Reception is usually the first thing a client asks for, so it is where most partners start. You set the price and own the client relationship; Talkgate runs the platform, the numbers and the hosting. The partner programme explains how a client is set up, supported and billed.

Works with

Systems the agent reads before it says hello

Caller recognition from the systems your clients already run, connected direct. See all integrations.

Next step

Hear reception take a live call

A partner briefing shows a live account, the templates clients start from, and how reception pairs with bookings and escalation.

Book a partner briefing