How much does a missed call cost a service business?

The cost of a missed call varies by industry. For HVAC it's $300-500 per call, plumbing $250-400, electrical $200-350, roofing $500-1000. When you factor in lifetime customer value, a single missed call can cost $2,000-5,000.

What percentage of callers leave voicemail?

Only 20% of callers leave voicemail. The other 80% hang up and call a competitor. This means for every voicemail you get, you're likely missing 4 other potential customers.

The True Cost of Missed Calls: Calculate Your Lost Revenue

Every service business owner knows that missed calls are bad. But most dramatically underestimate just how bad they are.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: 80% of callers who reach voicemail will never call back. They'll call your competitor instead.

Let's do the math on what that's actually costing you.

80%

of callers won't leave a voicemail — they'll call a competitor

The Missed Call Formula

Here's a simple way to calculate what missed calls cost your business:

                Monthly Lost Revenue =

                Missed Calls per Day × Working Days × Conversion Rate × Average Job Value

                Example: 5 missed calls × 22 days × 40% conversion × $350 avg job = $15,400/month

Cost by Industry

Here's what a single missed call typically costs, based on average job values and conversion rates:

Industry	Avg Job Value	Cost Per Missed Call
Roofing	$8,000	$800 - $1,200
HVAC	$450	$135 - $180
Plumbing	$375	$110 - $150
Electrical	$325	$95 - $130
Garage Door	$350	$105 - $140
Locksmith	$150	$120 - $150
Towing	$150	$120 - $150

Note: Locksmith and towing have higher cost-per-missed-call ratios because their conversion rates are near 100% — the caller hires whoever answers.

The Voicemail Myth

Many business owners think: "If it's important, they'll leave a message."

The data says otherwise:

80% of callers don't leave voicemail
67% hang up out of frustration
75% won't call back if they reached voicemail once
85% of calls never convert after going to voicemail

That means for every voicemail you receive, you're likely missing 4 other callers who hung up without leaving a message.

When Calls Go Unanswered

Every business has periods when calls go unanswered:

Typical Problem Times

Lunch hour — Office is empty from 12-1 PM
Before/after hours — Calls come in at 7 AM and 6 PM
Weekends — Emergencies don't take days off
High volume periods — After storms, during heat waves
When you're on another call — New caller goes to voicemail

The Hidden Cost: Lifetime Value

A missed call doesn't just cost you one job. It costs you a customer for life.

Consider an HVAC customer:

First service call: $450
Annual maintenance (10 years): $1,500
New system in year 8: $8,000
Referrals to neighbors: $2,000+

Lifetime value: $12,000+

That's what you lose every time a first-time caller goes to voicemail.

The Solution: Answer Every Call

The math is simple. If answering every call costs $99-249/month and missing calls costs $5,000-20,000/month, the ROI is obvious.

Options for capturing every call:

AI Answering Service — Answers 24/7, captures information, dispatches emergencies ($99-249/mo)
Hire a receptionist — Full-time coverage but expensive ($3,000-4,000/mo)
Traditional call center — Live humans but per-minute billing adds up ($500-2,000/mo)

                Key Takeaway: Do the math for your business. Multiply your missed calls by your average job value. That's how much you're leaving on the table every month. Then ask yourself if $99-249/month to capture those calls is worth it.
            