AI voice agent for chimney sweeps: what to ask when the phone rings in October
A chimney sweep's phone does not ring evenly. It stays quiet all summer, then fills up the week the first cold snap hits, and many of those callers have a specific worry: smoke in the room, a smell, a noise in the flue. An AI voice agent for a chimney business should sort those worries from plain yearly sweeps, write down what your crew needs, and book the visit while you are on the roof.
Separate the scary calls from the routine ones
Most callers want a sweep before the first fire. A few are calling because something already went wrong. Put one screening question near the top of the flow: has the chimney or stove had a problem, such as smoke coming into the room, a fire in the flue or an alarm going off?
If a caller says there is smoke in the house, a fire in the chimney or a carbon monoxide alarm sounding, the agent should tell them to get everyone outside and call emergency services before anything else. Write that rule yourself, in your own words, and make a test call to hear it. Everything else can wait for the booking questions.
Calls you will hear in a chimney business
"When was it last swept? I honestly don't remember." This is the most common answer. Let the agent accept "I don't know" and move on, and note whether the home is newly bought, since a new owner often wants an inspection before the first fire.
"I'm selling the house and the buyer wants the chimney checked." There is a deadline behind this call. Ask for the date the report is due and who to send it to, and flag the lead so someone calls back the same day.
"There's a bird or something scratching in the chimney." Decide ahead of time whether you remove animals or refer callers elsewhere. Put the answer in the knowledge base so the agent never improvises a promise.
"Water is coming through the ceiling near the fireplace." Capture where the stain is, whether it only happens when it rains, and whether the cap on top is missing, if the caller knows. Do not let the agent guess at the cause.
"I have gas logs, do I still need this?" Your answer belongs to your business, not to the agent. Write it down once and let the agent repeat it.
"My insurance company asked for an inspection." Ask for the insurer's deadline and whether they need a written report.
What the agent should capture for your crew
The appliance: open fireplace, insert, freestanding wood stove, pellet stove or gas unit. How many flues, if there is more than one fireplace in the house. How many stories the house has and whether the roof is steep, since that decides who you send and what you bring. The date of the last sweep, or "unknown". Any symptom the caller mentions, in their own words. Whether anyone will be home, and where the fireplace is, such as a finished basement or a second floor.
A good habit is to ask whether the caller has already lit a fire this season. It tells you how urgent the visit is without sounding like an interrogation.
A call, written out
Caller: Hi, I just bought a house with a fireplace and I'd like someone to look at it before winter.
Agent: Congratulations on the new house. Is it a wood-burning fireplace, an insert, or a gas unit?
Caller: Wood burning, I think. There's a brick chimney outside on the side of the house.
Agent: Perfect. Do you know if it's been swept or inspected recently, or is that something you can't tell?
Caller: No idea, the seller didn't say.
Agent: That's fine, I'll write down that it's unknown. Has anyone lit a fire in it yet?
Caller: No, we're afraid to.
Agent: Understood. I'll book an inspection and sweep. What's the address and which days work for you?
The agent never told the caller the chimney was safe or unsafe. It collected the facts your technician needs and booked the visit.
Mistakes to avoid
Letting the agent say a chimney "sounds fine". It collects and books. Judgments belong to your crew on site.
Using one flow all year. In September and October the first question is about getting ready before the first fire. In February it may be about a problem that showed up during use. Update the opening when the season changes.
Asking for a roof photo or measurements on the phone. Callers cannot do that while the agent is talking. Ask for the number of stories and let your technician measure on site.
Forgetting the wood-fuel question. If the caller burns something besides firewood, your crew should know before they arrive.
Not checking where messages go. Test who receives the urgent flag and how fast, then call after hours to confirm it works.
Setting it up in InfiVoice
Build the flow in the visual builder, load your service area, the services you do and do not offer, and your visit policy into the knowledge base, connect Google Calendar for bookings and assign a number. You can send the call details to another tool with webhooks. InfiVoice agents work in 30+ languages, so a Spanish-speaking customer can be answered in Spanish. See features and the pricing guide.
Plans and pricing
The Free plan includes 100 credits. The Pro plan costs $79 per month and includes 250 credits. One credit equals 60 seconds of call time. See pricing.
Frequently asked questions
How does the agent handle a caller who says they smell smoke right now?
It follows the rule you write. Put the safety instruction first in the flow, in plain words, and test it with a call before you publish the number.
Can it take a request for a pre-sale inspection with a deadline?
Yes. Add a question for the report due date and the person who needs it, and route those calls to someone who phones back the same day.
What if I do not remove animals from chimneys?
Add that to the knowledge base with the referral you want to give. The agent only repeats what you load.
Does it know the difference between a sweep and a repair?
Only through the questions you build. Ask about the symptom in the caller's own words and mark anything beyond a routine sweep for a person to review.
Will it work for a one-person crew?
Yes. The Free plan includes 100 credits so you can test it on a local number before deciding on Pro.