Updated 21 October 2026 · About a 6-minute read
The short answer
Acknowledge every enquiry within minutes, even if it's automatic. Give a proper answer, with a next step, within the hour for urgent jobs and the same working day for everything else. If an enquiry comes in overnight, reply before about 9am. The acknowledgement and the answer are two different things, and separating them is what makes this realistic for someone who's on the tools all day.
Why speed matters more than it used to
Customers rarely contact just one tradesperson. They fill in two or three forms, post on a directory where several firms see the same job, or ring down a list. Whoever replies first with something sensible sets the bar, and often gets the visit.
The research is mostly older and mostly American, but it points the same way. A study published in Harvard Business Review in 2011 audited web enquiries to 2,241 US companies. The average first reply took 42 hours, and 23% of companies never replied. Firms that responded within an hour were nearly seven times more likely to qualify the lead than those that waited even an hour longer. Closer to home, a 2022 Fix Radio survey of more than 220 UK tradespeople found that 34% believed they'd lost work because they couldn't answer the phone.
We wouldn't read too much into any single number. The useful point is simpler: the gap between a fast reply and a slow one is usually measured in hours, and in that time the customer has probably found someone else.
Suggested reply targets by type of enquiry
These are working targets, not rules. Never interrupt safe work to type a message. Reply at the first safe moment, and let an automatic acknowledgement cover the gap.
| Enquiry | Acknowledge | Proper reply |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency (leak, no heating, unsafe electrics) | Within minutes | As soon as safely possible, with safety advice and a time |
| Small repair or service | Within minutes | Within a few hours, with a slot or the questions you need answered |
| Install or larger job | Within minutes | Same working day, offering a survey or asking for photos |
| Overnight or weekend | Within minutes | By about 9am on the next working day |
| Directory lead seen by several firms | Within minutes | As fast as you can, because others are replying too (see replying to directory leads) |
What a good first reply says
A fast reply that says nothing useful can lose the job as easily as a slow one. A good first reply does five things:
- Uses the customer's name and their job in their words, so they know their message was read.
- Gives any safety advice that applies, such as turning off the stopcock, or for a gas smell, the National Gas Emergency number, 0800 111 999.
- Asks only the questions you really need: postcode, a photo, the make and model, access.
- Offers a next step with a time: two slots, a survey visit, or when you'll ring.
- Gives a price where you can, such as your call-out fee, so there's no surprise.
Hi Sarah, thanks for getting in touch about the leaking shower. I'm on a job until 3pm, but if you send a photo of the shower tray and the ceiling below, plus your postcode, I'll come back to you with a time today. If water is coming through the ceiling, turn off the stopcock for now.
That's a made-up example, but it's the shape that works: it shows you've read the message, keeps the customer safe, and stops them shopping around while they wait.
How to hit these times when you're on the tools
- Automate the acknowledgement. Set your website form and your email to send an instant "we've got your message" reply that says when you'll be in touch.
- Turn on voicemail-to-email or missed-call alerts. Most phone providers do this for free, and it means missed calls end up in the same place as your other enquiries.
- Keep a few saved replies. One each for emergencies, repairs, installs and "not in our area" saves you typing the same thing in the van.
- Block two short reply slots a day. Lunchtime and the end of the day are enough for most sole traders, as long as the acknowledgement has already gone out.
- Follow up once or twice. A short nudge a day or two later wins back a surprising number of customers who simply got busy.
- Or hand it to someone. That's what we do: every enquiry is acknowledged at once, qualified, and drafted into a reply you approve with one tap. See how it works.
Measure your own reply time
Most owners don't know how long their replies really take, because nobody times them. Pick five recent enquiries and note when each arrived and when the customer first heard back. Or ask us for a free speed test: with your OK, we send one small, genuine-style enquiry to your website and send you a one-page result showing how long it took, what the customer saw, and the reply we would have drafted. We never book fake appointments or take emergency slots.