Phone receptionist setup
How to work with Rachel, the AI phone receptionist
Rachel should answer calls with the same basic judgment a trained receptionist would use: identify the caller, understand the reason for the call, collect the right information, and route or summarize it clearly. She needs exact rules before handling live calls.
Best first use: test Rachel with internal calls before routing real customers. Make sure she can handle the top 10 call types correctly.
Give Rachel these inputs
- Greeting, business name, service area, hours, and basic services.
- Call types: new lead, current customer, billing question, emergency, vendor, spam, appointment change.
- Questions to ask for each call type.
- What counts as urgent and who should be notified.
- Information Rachel must never promise, quote, or decide without approval.
Build the call script around outcomes
| Caller type | Rachel should collect | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| New lead | Name, phone, address, service needed, urgency, best callback time. | Create a clean lead summary. |
| Current customer | Name, address, issue, timing, photos if needed. | Route to owner or support process. |
| Emergency | Location, issue, safety risk, callback number. | Escalate immediately. |
| Sales call or spam | Company, reason, callback info if legitimate. | Summarize only, no interruption. |
Prompt Rachel like this
You are the phone receptionist for my small business. Your job is to answer professionally, identify the caller's need, collect the required details, and summarize the call. Do not quote prices, promise appointment times, or make commitments unless I have given that exact rule. Escalate urgent or safety-related calls immediately.
Test calls before going live
Start with the first 12 minutes: Use the Marblism Rachel greeting builder to write one short opening, save it in First Greeting and hear the exact caller experience before testing longer call journeys.
- Call as a new lead asking for service.
- Call as an angry customer with a billing question.
- Call with a vague problem and see whether Rachel asks enough questions.
- Call after hours and confirm the summary is clear.
- Call with something Rachel should not answer and verify she escalates.
Ready to test routing? Use the 15-minute Rachel call-transfer challenge to choose one handoff mode and verify one transfer trigger plus one no-transfer rule.
Letting Rachel book appointments? Run the 15-minute Rachel calendar-booking challenge to connect one authority calendar, protect a busy time and verify the saved event before customers call.
What to avoid
- Do not put Rachel live until the top call types are tested.
- Do not let Rachel quote prices unless pricing rules are exact.
- Do not use vague emergency rules. Define the words that trigger escalation.
- Do not make the script too long. Clear rules work better than a giant script.
Based on hands-on small business use and the official Marblism help materials for Rachel and phone-reception workflows.