What are the different ways Trade Engine handles a call?
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Trade Engine is set up around four core workflows, all running on the same number: (1) New lead capture — collects caller details and sends you an instant summary; (2) Emergency triage — detects urgent language and escalates immediately; (3) FAQ handling — answers common questions about your business using your pre-loaded knowledge base; (4) After-hours coverage — answers every call outside your working hours so nothing goes to voicemail. Most clients use all four from day one.
Will my customers know they're talking to AI?
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Trade Engine is upfront — the greeting makes clear it's an answering service, not a human receptionist. In our experience, callers care about being heard quickly, not who's listening. The important thing is their details are captured and someone calls them back fast.
What if a caller asks a question about my business?
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Before you go live, we build a custom knowledge base for your Trade Engine — your services, service area, rough pricing ranges, common questions you hear regularly, and anything else you want callers to know. When a caller asks something that's in scope, Trade Engine answers it directly. If a question falls outside what's been pre-loaded, it captures the question as part of the call summary so you can call back with a clear, specific answer. Nothing gets dropped.
What if I already have a phone number?
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You keep your existing number. We set up simple call forwarding through your telco (Spark, One NZ, 2degrees) so calls route to Trade Engine automatically. You can turn it on and off whenever you want. No changes to your marketing or listings needed.
Can Trade Engine actually book an appointment?
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Yes — and this is one of Trade Engine's biggest strengths. For callback scheduling, Trade Engine captures the caller's preferred time and sends you an instant summary so you can confirm it. For on-site visits, we can connect Trade Engine directly to your booking system (Calendly, Google Calendar, or similar) so the caller locks in a time before they hang up. No back-and-forth. No missed follow-ups. The job is as good as booked before you even know the call came in.
What if a caller insists on speaking to a real person?
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Trade Engine acknowledges the request, takes their details, and flags it in your summary as a priority callback. On Pro and Custom plans, we can also configure live call transfer to your mobile — so if someone genuinely needs to reach you directly, the call can be passed through in real time. You set the rules for when that happens.
How long does setup take?
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Most clients are live within 48 hours. We handle everything — scripting, setup, testing, and call forwarding. You just need to answer a few questions about your business so we can customise the greeting and capture the right lead information.
What happens with emergencies?
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Trade Engine is trained to detect urgent language — "flooding", "no power", "it's an emergency". When it picks these up, it flags the call as urgent in your summary sent to you straight away. You decide your escalation rules: we can also set up live call transfer to your mobile for genuine emergencies.
Is there a lock-in contract?
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No lock-in. Cancel anytime. We're confident Trade Engine will pay for itself in the first recovered job — but if it's not working for you, you're not stuck. Most clients stay because they can see exactly what it's catching.
What do I actually receive after each call?
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Within 60 seconds of every call you get a summary with the caller's name, phone number, suburb, what they need, urgency level, and preferred callback time — by email on Starter, and by both SMS and email on Pro. Pro also includes a full transcript of every call. Everything you need to call back and convert the job.