Frequently asked questions.

Yes, and we tell them. Your receptionist introduces itself by the name you give it, says it's an automated assistant, and that the call is recorded. It still sounds natural and moves fast, and most callers just feel like they finally got through to someone who could help.

No. You keep your number and set your carrier to forward calls to Midebo. Forward only the ones you miss, only after hours, or all of them. That part is your choice, and you can change it whenever you like.

They both get answered right away. Midebo isn't a single phone line, it's software, so every caller gets their own AI receptionist at the same time. No busy signals, no hold music, and no one sent to voicemail because you were already on another call.

It won't book you. Set your hours per weekday - Saturday 9 to 12 with the rest 8 to 5 is normal - then check off the US holidays you close for and add your own closed dates and vacations. You can block out part of a day as well, for a school pickup or an appointment. This isn't the assistant being asked nicely to avoid those times: a closed day is enforced everywhere a slot is offered or accepted, so it can't be booked into by any route. On a vacation it offers the first slot the week you're back, which turns the week off into a queue instead of a hole.

Yes, and it books to how much you can genuinely do at once rather than one job at a time. Capacity means simultaneous work, not daily total - five groomers with two bath stations is a capacity of two. Set a default for each location, then change it by weekday, by time of day, or for one specific date when you're short-handed. The most specific rule wins, and time off always beats capacity: "three techs every Monday" and "closed this Monday" isn't a conflict, it's closed.

The AI only gathers the details. Our own code checks the calendar and reserves the slot, so the booking never depends on the AI getting it right. The slot is claimed in one write, so two callers can never take the same one. A calendar you've connected syncs about every ten minutes, so something you block out there can take that long to show up.

Each plan includes a block of talk-minutes. A typical call runs 2 to 4 minutes, so the 200-minute entry plan covers roughly 50 to 66 calls a month. If you go over, you keep going for another 20% of your minutes at $0.40 each - on this plan that is 40 more minutes, about $16. After that the assistant stops. If you have given us a backup number your callers are forwarded to it; if you have not, they hear a short message asking them to call you directly. It comes back when you buy a block of minutes, move up a plan, or your next payment clears - not automatically when a new month starts. We tell you at 80% and again when your minutes run out, so there is never a bill you didn't see coming - and buying minutes up front, or moving up a plan, both cost less per minute than running over.

Your first month is guaranteed. If Midebo isn't earning its keep, tell us before the month is out and we refund the month in full - one first month per business, and any extra minute packages you have already used aren't included. After that there's no contract to get out of: cancel anytime, keep your number, and nothing follows you.

Fifty-three trades so far, and the full list is on the home page: any home or local service business that lives and dies by the phone. HVAC, plumbing, electrical, lawn care, grooming, barbers, septic, locksmiths, tattoo studios and more. Each one arrives already knowing the calls it gets, so an HVAC shop's assistant tells no heat from no cool from an install quote. If a missed call is a lost job, Midebo is for you.

Google Calendar, Outlook and Microsoft 365, Jobber, and anything that speaks CalDAV, which covers Apple Calendar, Fastmail and Nextcloud. You can also connect nothing at all: your jobs live in Midebo either way, so a calendar is a convenience rather than a requirement. Whichever you connect, it reads what is already there only to work out when you are free, adds the appointments it books, and only ever changes events it created itself.

They get screened before they reach you, and you can see what was turned away rather than having to take our word for it. It is worth asking any answering service what happens to those calls and whether you are billed for them, because the answer is often yes and it is rarely on the pricing page.

It takes the details and marks that someone owes them a call back, rather than forcing a booking that does not fit. Some calls should not end in an appointment, and a caller who was pushed into the wrong slot is worse than one you call back. You see those on your dashboard with everything they said.

Same day. You pick your trade, connect your calendar, set your hours, and forward your line. That's it - most shops are taking calls the same afternoon.

For anything it can't answer, Midebo takes a clear message with the caller's name, number and reason, and logs it for you. The customer is never left hanging, and you follow up when you're back.

Yes. You write the greeting, pick from 39 voices, name your receptionist, and set your hours, service area and a few FAQs. Change any of it anytime and the next call uses the update. The one line you can't edit is the sentence telling the caller they're speaking with an automated assistant on a recorded call. Recording and consent laws vary by state, and complying where you operate stays your responsibility. That sentence is there to help you do it.

No. We answer your phone and book the job. Your customers are your relationship, and we leave that to you. You'll know who's coming tomorrow, and how you follow up is your call.

Yes, if you want it. It's a setting you switch on, not something we do by default, so nobody gets their evening interrupted who didn't ask for it. With it on, a caller who asks for you gets you: Midebo calls you, tells you what the call is about, and only then connects them. If you don't pick up it keeps the caller and keeps booking, so nobody lands in voicemail. One thing to know: it has to call a different line from the one that forwards to us, or the call comes straight back to Midebo.

None. You keep your existing phone and number. You just forward the calls you'd miss to Midebo. It's all software, no hardware to buy or install.