Missed call text back: the free guide for roofers, plumbers and HVAC

From Anti-Agency. Setup steps checked against GoHighLevel's and Grasshopper's own help pages, October 26, 2026.

Short answer: you cannot answer every call, but the caller has to hear from you before they call the next name. Call back fast, use a voicemail greeting that tells people to text you, and turn on missed-call text-back so a text goes out the moment a call is missed. Register for A2P 10DLC first, and end every text with "Reply STOP to opt out."

For roofers, plumbers, HVAC, and any local trade where the phone rings while you are working.

You cannot answer every call. You are on a roof, under a sink, or in an attic. That is fine. This guide is about what happens in the next ten minutes, after you miss one.

Four parts:

1. Why a missed call is a lost job
2. Call back fast: three habits
3. A voicemail greeting that tells callers what to do
4. Missed-call text-back: an automatic text the moment you miss a call

Then three ready-to-paste texts, and the texting rules you must follow in the US.

1. Why a missed call is a lost job

Think about why people call a roofer, a plumber, or an HVAC company. Water is coming through the ceiling. The basement is wet. The furnace quit.

That person does not wait for you. They found you in a list on Google, and your name was one of several. When you do not pick up, they tap the next name. The first company that answers, or replies, usually gets the visit.

So the job is not lost when you miss the call. It is lost in the minutes after, when nothing happens.

You do not need to answer every call. You need the caller to hear from you before they call the next name.

2. Call back fast: three habits

Habit 1: Pick one person who calls back. If it is "whoever sees it," nobody does it. Name one person per day: you, the office, or a crew chief. Write the name on the board.

Habit 2: Check the phone at every natural stop. Coming down the ladder. Back at the truck. Between jobs. Make the phone check part of the stop, like grabbing water.

Habit 3: Call back before you call anyone else. A missed call from an unknown number is probably a new customer. Call it back before returning calls from people who already know you.

When you call back, say who you are and why you called: "Hi, this is Ray from Ray's Roofing. I missed your call a few minutes ago. How can I help?"

3. A voicemail greeting that tells callers what to do

Most greetings say "leave a message." Many callers do not. They hang up and call the next name.

A better greeting tells them the fastest way to reach you and what to say.

Greeting (about 20 seconds). Swap the [brackets].

You've reached [Company]. We're probably on a job right now. If your number can get texts, hang up and text this number your address and what's going on. We read every text. Or leave your name, address, and the problem after the tone, and we'll call you back [today / within the hour]. If water is coming in right now, say "emergency" in your message.

Rules for the greeting:

• Only say "text this number" if your business number can receive texts. Test it first from your own cell.
• Only promise a callback time you will keep.
• Record it in a quiet place. Not in the truck with the engine running.
• Check that your voicemail box is not full. A full box means the caller cannot leave a message.

If you use GoHighLevel, you can upload your own voicemail recording on the same settings page as missed-call text-back (part 4).

4. Missed-call text-back

This is the setting from the video. When a call is missed, the system sends the caller a text right away. The caller gets an answer in seconds, not when you climb down the ladder. They can reply with their address and the problem, and you call back with all the facts.

Before you start: read the texting rules in part 6. In the US, business texts from a normal 10-digit local number need A2P 10DLC registration first. If you skip it, your texts can be blocked.

Route A: GoHighLevel (step by step)

These steps are from GoHighLevel's own help article, "Where and how to configure the Missed Call Text Back feature" (last updated 7 Sep 2026). Menus can change. If a label does not match, search that title in GoHighLevel's help center.

You need a phone number inside GoHighLevel for this to work. No GoHighLevel account yet? See its plans (affiliate link, disclosed at the top).

1. Open your sub-account. Click Settings in the bottom-left corner.
2. In the left menu, click Phone System.
3. In the top menu, click Voice.
4. Open Voicemail & Missed Call Text Back.
5. Set the Incoming call timeout slider. This is how long the phone rings before the text goes out. GoHighLevel recommends 10 to 20 seconds.
6. Optional: upload your own voicemail recording (from part 3) to replace the default greeting.
7. In the side panel, click Missed Call Text Back.
8. Tick Enable Missed Call Text Back.
9. Click Customize. Paste one of the texts from part 5 into the Enter message field.
10. Send a test message to your own cell. Read it on your phone.
11. Click Save.

Two things that trip people up:

• Calls forwarded to your cell. If GoHighLevel forwards calls to your personal phone and your cell's voicemail picks up, GoHighLevel can count that as an answered call, and no text goes out. GoHighLevel's fix is a setting called Call Connect: you hear a short message and press a key to take the call, so only calls a person really answers count as answered. To turn it on: Settings > Phone System, click the three dots next to your number, Edit Configuration, open Advanced Settings, and switch on Call Connect and Play Whisper Message. (Source: GoHighLevel help article "Improve Call Tracking Accuracy with Call Connect.")
• Repeat callers get repeat texts. The text goes out for every missed call, even when the same person calls three times in five minutes. GoHighLevel's suggestion is to edit the missed-call recipe in Workflows and add a wait step (about 20 minutes) or tags for first and second calls.

Test it: call your business number from a friend's phone, let it ring out, and check that the text arrives. Then reply to it and check that the reply shows up in GoHighLevel's Conversations.

Route B: Grasshopper (no GoHighLevel)

Grasshopper is a business phone service with an app for your cell. Its version of text-back is called Instant Response. These steps are from Grasshopper's own support article, "Set up an instant response text on a phone number."

What Grasshopper says you need first:

• You are an admin on the account.
• SMS texting is turned on as an add-on.
• Texting registration on your number is complete.

Steps (newer admin portal):

1. Sign in to the Grasshopper admin portal.
2. Go to Text management > Instant response.
3. Pick your phone number and turn on Send instant response.
4. Type your message. Limit: 160 characters. (All three texts in part 5 fit.)
5. Choose which missed calls get the text.
6. Click Save.

(In the older portal it is Settings > Instant Response, with a choice of "First-time callers" or "All callers." With "All callers," each caller gets at most one text per day.)

What Grasshopper says will not get a text:

• Callers who leave a voicemail.
• Callers who hang up before picking an extension.

So with Grasshopper, your voicemail habit matters even more. A caller who leaves a message gets no text. Call them back.

Your carrier or a different phone app

Many business phone apps have a missed-call auto-reply. Look in its settings for words like "auto-reply," "missed call text," or "instant response." Before you trust it, check three things on the vendor's own help page: does it need texting registration, how many characters can the text be, and which callers get it.

5. Three texts, ready to paste

Swap the [brackets]. Each one fits in 160 characters with short names filled in, so it works on Grasshopper too. Each one ends with opt-out wording (see part 6).

Text 1: The simple one

Sorry we missed you. Reply with your address and we'll call back in [10 minutes]. - [Name], [Company]. Reply STOP to opt out.

Text 2: On a job

Hi, it's [Name] at [Company]. On a job and can't pick up. Text me your address and what's going on. I'll call you back [today]. Reply STOP to opt out.

Text 3: After hours

Thanks for calling [Company]. We're closed now. Reply with your name, address and the problem. We'll call first thing [tomorrow]. Reply STOP to opt out.

Rules:

• Only promise a callback time you will keep. A broken promise is worse than no text.
• Use your real business name. The caller should know who is texting.
• When they reply, call them. Do not run the whole job over text.

6. US texting rules (read before you turn anything on)

This is not legal advice. It is what the phone industry and the software companies say, in plain words.

A2P 10DLC registration. If you send business texts to people in the US from a normal 10-digit local number, you need A2P 10DLC registration. GoHighLevel's help center says registration "is required when a business sends SMS or MMS messages to U.S. recipients." You register your business (the "Brand") and how you text (the "Campaign"). The phone carriers make the approval decision, not GoHighLevel. There is a registration fee; GoHighLevel lists it on its help page "A2P 10DLC Messaging Fees."

• In GoHighLevel: Settings > Phone System > Trust Center, then Start Registration under A2P Messaging (SMS). After approval, check that your number shows the green A2P Verified label.
• Toll-free numbers (800, 888, and so on) do not use A2P 10DLC. They have a separate verification.
• Grasshopper's support page says carriers "are now blocking all unregistered outbound SMS," and that registration is mandatory for all providers.

Use your exact legal business name and Tax ID when you register. Small mismatches cause delays.

Opt-out wording. CTIA, the US wireless industry group, publishes the texting guidelines carriers follow ("Messaging Principles and Best Practices," May 2023). It says senders "should state in the message how and what words effect an opt-out," and that standard "STOP" wording should be used. That is why every text in part 5 ends with "Reply STOP to opt out."

If someone replies STOP (or "stop," "end," "unsubscribe," "cancel," or "quit"), do not text them again. CTIA says to send one final message confirming they are opted out, and nothing after that.

Plain sense. A missed-call text is a reply to someone who just called you. Keep it that way. Do not use those numbers for sales blasts later.

Do this today (30 minutes)

1. Pick the one person who calls back. Write the name down.
2. Re-record your voicemail greeting with the script in part 3.
3. Check your texting registration. If you are not registered, start it today. Approval can take days.
4. Turn on missed-call text-back (part 4) and paste Text 1.
5. Test it from a friend's phone.