Business voicemail greeting scripts, and how to find out how many callers hang up instead
Owner Workflows sells a related service, for a fee: an inbox that catches missed calls and inquiries. The scripts are free to copy with no sign-up.
A business voicemail greeting needs five things: your business name, when you’ll call back, what to leave, a route for urgent calls, and a text or web option. Below are 12 greetings for trades and salons, including after-hours emergencies and an English/Spanish version, each with a speaking time. A greeting only helps callers who stay on the line, so the end of the page shows how to count the ones who hang up.
What every greeting needs
- Your business name.
- When you’ll call back.
- What to leave: name, number, and what the call is about.
- A route for urgent calls.
- A text or web option.
Length advice from phone-system vendors runs from 10 to 30 seconds: Shopify says 10–15 seconds, Nextiva 15–30 seconds and Quo 20–30 seconds. Each is vendor advice, with no source given. The speaking times below are estimated at about 2.5 words a second, which is my assumption, not a sourced rate.
Greetings for plumbing, HVAC and other trades
1. On a job, during business hours (trades) · about 25 seconds
Hi, you’ve reached [Business name]. This is [your name]. I’m on a job and can’t pick up right now. Leave your name, number, address and what’s going on, and I’ll call you back by [the end of the day / within two hours]. You can also text this number, or book a visit at [website]. Thanks for calling.
Change this: promise only a callback time you can keep every day.
2. Office busy or on another line · about 20 seconds
Thanks for calling [Business name]. Everyone’s helping other customers right now. Please leave your name, number and the reason for your call, and someone from our team will call you back within [two business hours]. You can also book online at [website].
Change this: “within two business hours”, not “as soon as possible”.
3. After hours, with an emergency route (plumbing and HVAC) · about 45 seconds (long by design; cut the examples if you need it shorter)
You’ve reached [Business name]. Our office is closed. We’re open [Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.]. If you smell gas, leave the building first, then call 911 or your gas company from outside. If you have an emergency, like [a burst pipe, water you can’t shut off, a sewage backup, or no heat in freezing weather], press 1 [or call our on-call technician at (number)]. After-hours visits cost [more than daytime visits / $amount], and we’ll tell you the price before anyone comes out. For anything else, leave your name, number, address and what’s going on, and we’ll call you back after [7 a.m.] tomorrow.
Change this: your own list of emergencies; your real fee wording. The gas line follows SoCalGas’s instruction to evacuate and call “from a safe location”, and 911 where life or property is at risk (SoCalGas, read 12 Oct 2026); outside its area, use your own gas utility’s wording. Whether you need anyone answering after hours at all is on the after-hours page.
4. After hours, no emergency service · about 25 seconds
You’ve reached [Business name]. We’re closed, and we don’t offer after-hours emergency service. If you smell gas, leave the building and call 911 or your gas company from outside. Otherwise, leave your name, number and what you need, and we’ll call you back after [8 a.m.] on [the next business day].
Change this: if you refer emergencies to another company, name it here.
5. Weekend or holiday closure · about 20 seconds
Thanks for calling [Business name]. We’re closed for [holiday] and back on [day, date]. [For emergencies, press 1.] Leave your name, number and the reason for your call, and we’ll call you back when we reopen. [Happy holidays.]
Change this: the return date, every time. Set a reminder to switch back.
6. Busy season (heat wave or freeze) · about 30 seconds
Thanks for calling [Business name]. With [the heat / the cold snap], we’re getting far more calls than usual. Leave your name, number, address and what’s wrong, and we’ll call you back [today / within four hours]. If someone at home is [elderly, a baby, or unwell] and you have no [cooling / heat], say so in your message. You can also text this number or book at [website].
Change this: keep the “say so in your message” line only if you will actually call those callers first.
7. 24/7 emergency line, on-call technician · about 20 seconds
You’ve reached [Business name]’s emergency line. Our on-call technician is on another call. Leave your name, the address and what’s happening, and we’ll call you back within [15 / 30] minutes. If you smell gas, leave the building and call 911 or your gas company from outside.
Change this: the callback time must match what your on-call rota can do at 3 a.m.
Greetings for salons
8. Salon, during appointments · about 25 seconds
Hi, you’ve reached [Salon name]. We’re with clients and can’t get to the phone. To book, change or cancel, use [website / app] any time, or leave your name, number and the day you’d like, and we’ll call you back [between clients / by the end of the day]. Need to change a booking? Please give us [24] hours’ notice; our policy is at [website].
Change this: the notice window must match your written policy (wording on the salon cancellation policy page).
9. Salon, closed day · about 15 seconds
Thanks for calling [Salon name]. We’re closed today. We’re open [Tuesday to Saturday, 9 to 7]. You can book any time at [website]. Leave your name and number and we’ll call you back when we open.
English and Spanish
[Spanish: native-speaker review required before publishing]
10. English and Spanish, one greeting · about 35 seconds
Thanks for calling [Business name]. We can’t answer right now. Please leave your name, number and what you need, and we’ll call you back by [time].
Gracias por llamar a [Business name]. En este momento no podemos contestar. Por favor, deje su nombre, su número y lo que necesita, y le devolvemos la llamada [antes de las (hora) / hoy mismo].
Change this: if most of your callers speak Spanish, put Spanish first. Promise a Spanish callback only if someone on your team will make it.
If your greeting promises a text back
11. "We'll text you back" · about 25 seconds
You’ve reached [Business name]. We can’t pick up right now. In a moment you’ll get one text from this number, so you can tell us what you need by text. Reply STOP if you’d rather we didn’t text. Or leave a voicemail with your name and number, and we’ll call you back by [time].
Change this: use this only if your phone system sends one automatic text after a missed call (see the missed-call text page), and keep that text to a reply about the call, with no offers.
What sources say about texting callers. This is a report of what I read, not advice.
- Twilio’s messaging policy (updated 13 Apr 2026) requires “prior express consent from the message recipient”, and prior express written consent for promotional messages; when a consumer texts first, the business may reply within that exchange, which “does not provide you necessary consent to engage in ongoing recurring engagement”; STOP must be honored, with one confirmation text allowed (Twilio).
- The FCC’s July 2015 order (FCC 15-72) said a one-time text sent immediately in response to a specific consumer request, containing only the requested information and no marketing, does not violate the TCPA (Loeb & Loeb summary, 22 Jul 2015).
- Whether a missed phone call counts as a request for a text is not settled in any source read. Carrier registration for business texting: see the missed-call text page.
- Sources describe California’s all-party consent rule for recording confidential calls (Penal Code §632) as relevant to any greeting that says calls may be recorded; the page on who answers the phone reports what the code says. Not covered further on this page.
When the mailbox is full
12. When the mailbox can't take messages · about 15 seconds
Thanks for calling [Business name]. We can’t take a message on this line right now. Please text this number or request a visit at [website], and we’ll get back to you by [time].
Change this: better still, clear the mailbox every day. On many systems a full mailbox stops callers hearing your greeting at all (my inference; not checked per system).
Recording tips
Vendor advice from Nextiva and Booksy:
- Record in a quiet room.
- Speak at a steady pace.
- Re-record for holidays and closures.
- Listen back once a month.
How many callers leave a message?
| Figure | Source | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| 42% say they leave a voicemail when a business misses their call | CallRail, 25 Sep 2025, 1,000 US consumers (vendor) | Stated intent, not behavior |
| 69% hung up rather than leave a message | Moneypenny, Nov 2016, 300 micro businesses plus call data, US and UK mixed (vendor) | History |
| No measured US small-business message rate exists | JustCall, 29 Sep 2026, says phone logs are the only reliable rate (vendor) | The reason to count your own |
To count, open four weeks of call history from your phone system or carrier, keep incoming calls over 15 seconds with spam removed, and mark which missed callers left a message. Google Business Profile no longer keeps call history (Google, removed 31 July 2024). The full method, with where to find the log in each phone system, is on the missed-call statistics page.
Questions
How long should a business voicemail greeting be?
Vendors advise 10 to 30 seconds (Shopify 10–15, Nextiva 15–30, Quo 20–30), and none of them gives a source. Aim for the shortest greeting that still says who you are, when you’ll call back and where urgent calls go. The scripts above run 15–45 seconds at about 2.5 words a second, which is my own estimate.
Should I say when I'll call back?
Yes, if you can keep the promise on your busiest day. A specific time, such as “by the end of the day” or “within two business hours”, tells the caller whether to wait or try someone else.
Can I say "text this number"?
Only if the number can receive texts and someone reads them. If your phone system sends an automatic text after a missed call, sources say texting consent and carrier registration apply to that text (see the missed-call text page), and none of the sources I read settles whether a missed call counts as a request for a text. Have the wording checked for your state.
What should an after-hours greeting say about emergencies?
Say what counts as an emergency for your business, how to reach the on-call person, and whether after-hours visits cost more. If gas is possible, tell callers to leave the building first and call 911 or the gas company from outside, as SoCalGas instructs. Script 3 above has wording.
Sources
- CallRail, consumer survey on missed calls, 25 Sep 2025 (vendor): callrail.com
- Moneypenny, small business call report, 21 Nov 2016 (vendor): moneypenny.com
- JustCall, voicemail statistics 2026, 29 Sep 2026 (vendor): justcall.io
- Shopify, business voicemail greetings, no date given, read October 2026 (vendor): shopify.com
- Nextiva, business voicemail greetings, no date given, read October 2026 (vendor): nextiva.com
- Quo, professional voicemail greeting examples, no date given, read October 2026 (vendor): quo.com
- Booksy UK, voicemail messages for beauty salons, no date given, read October 2026 (vendor): biz.booksy.com
- SoCalGas, safety, read 12 Oct 2026: socalgas.com
- Twilio, messaging policy, updated 13 Apr 2026 (vendor): twilio.com
- Loeb & Loeb, summary of FCC order 15-72, 22 Jul 2015: loeb.com
- California Penal Code §632, via Justia: law.justia.com
- Google, Business Profile call history removal, 31 July 2024: support.google.com