The branch is closed. The enquiry still gets answered — and booked

A telephone answering service — whether it is sold as an out of hours service or an after hours answering service — takes a message and passes it on, so the enquiry still has to be done the next working day. Sortx answers supported inbound calls and conversations outside branch hours, qualifies them against your rules, and books a viewing or valuation when the required checks pass, so the work is finished rather than queued.

It depends on what you are covering — which channels, which hours and what you want to happen at the end of the conversation. The honest comparison is not a per-call rate; it is what you are left holding on Monday morning: a list of missed calls to return, or work already done. We confirm the real conditions and pricing for your setup during a demo rather than quoting a headline figure.

It can book, when the evidence supports it. A virtual receptionist that only takes details still leaves you the booking. Before offering a slot, Sortx checks the property, your coverage area, which staff are eligible for that appointment type, and genuine capacity in the connected diary. If all four pass, the appointment is booked. If any fails, nothing is booked and the enquiry goes to your team.

Sortx answers supported inbound calls and conversations outside branch hours, under the availability and escalation rules you set — your hours, your channels, your routes. What a 24 hour answering service covers in practice is confirmed during onboarding or a demo rather than promised as a blanket guarantee.

The same front desk covers supported inbound calls, WhatsApp, website chat, email, SMS and supported property portals. Which portals and numbers are in scope is confirmed before you commit.

It is captured properly rather than dropped. Sortx hands over instead of guessing: the original request, the facts collected so far and the remaining decision travel together to your team, so it is waiting complete when the branch opens instead of being a name and a number.