Plumbing after-hours call script: stop the water, then decide
A plumbing after-hours script does one thing before anything else: it gets the caller to the shut-off valve. Then it sorts the call into three buckets, water running now, sewage or no water, and everything else, and it books or dispatches from there. The script below covers a burst pipe, a sewer backup and a water heater, with the shut-off instructions written out.
Bluewater Plumbing after-hours line, this is Tom. Is water running somewhere it shouldn't be right now?
Okay. Do you know where your main water shut-off is? It's usually where the water line enters the house, often in the basement, the garage, or near the water heater. Turn it clockwise until it stops.
If it's just one fixture, there's a small valve under the sink or behind the toilet. Turn that clockwise instead and leave the main on.
Is the water stopped? Good. Now let's get your details and get someone out.
The valve instruction is the most valuable sentence in the script. Stopping the water changes the call from an emergency into a scheduling decision.
Can I have your name, the address, and the best number to reach you tonight?
Where was the water coming from, and how much came out before you stopped it?
Is there water near any electrical outlets, or coming through a ceiling? If so, switch off the breaker for that room.
Are you the owner, or is this a rental? If it's a rental, I'll need the landlord or property manager's number too.
Ask owner or tenant. It decides who approves the work and who gets the invoice, and it's the question most after-hours scripts forget.
Is it coming up in more than one drain, like the tub and the toilet together?
Please stop running any water in the house until we arrive. Every flush adds to it.
If you have no water at all, has your street had any work today, and do your neighbours have water?
Multiple drains means the main line, which is tonight. No water and the neighbours have none is the utility, not you.
Here's where we are. The water is stopped, so nothing is getting worse tonight. Our after-hours visit is a flat call-out, which I'll confirm now, on top of the repair. Or the first slot tomorrow is 7:00am at the standard rate. Which would you like?
You're booked for 7:00am tomorrow. Leave the main off overnight, and keep a bucket under the spot if it's still dripping. You'll get a text confirmation in a moment.
If you'd rather have someone tonight: Dev is on call and can be there in about an hour. He'll ring you from the road.
Once the water is off, most callers take the morning slot when they hear the difference in price. Say the difference; offer both.
Thanks for calling Bluewater Plumbing. The office is closed, and you're speaking with our AI assistant. Is water running right now where it shouldn't be? If yes, say emergency and I'll walk you to the shut-off valve and get the on-call plumber. If not, I can book the first slot tomorrow or take a message.
Closed, AI, the one sorting question, and the emergency word that triggers the routing rule.
Why this script saves the ceiling and the callout
It puts the shut-off before the name and address. Every second of running water is more damage, and a caller who is watching it pour can't concentrate on spelling their street.
It gives the valve location in plain words. Most homeowners have never touched their main; "where the water line enters the house" is enough to find it.
The owner-or-tenant question stops the invoice dispute before it starts. Tenants call at midnight; landlords pay in the morning.
The price sentence gives the caller a real choice. With the water off, tomorrow at the standard rate is usually the right answer, and the caller who picks tonight knew the number.
How to adapt it for your company
Rewrite the valve instruction for your area's housing. Slab homes, crawl spaces and apartment risers all put the main somewhere different, and your plumbers know where.
Decide the tonight list in advance: active leak that can't be stopped, sewage in the house, no water with a vulnerable occupant, gas water heater with a gas smell. Everything else is 7:00am.
Say your after-hours call-out as a number. Rates vary by company, and the script leaves the slot open for yours.
For property managers who use you, add a line asking for the property and unit number so the invoice lands on the right building.
If an AI answers after hours, say it first
How GreetKeeper runs the after-hours script
The shut-off instructions are answers you train it on. Ask "where's my shut-off valve?" and it answers from your notes, at 1am, while the caller is still standing in the water.
"Emergency" is a routing rule. GreetKeeper transfers the call to the on-call plumber's number, tries a second number you nominate if the first doesn't pick up, and texts the plumber the caller's name, address and what's leaking. Your hours and closure dates are settings, so it answers as closed on the days you set.
The 7:00am slot is a booking into Google Calendar or Microsoft 365 on every plan, including Starter at $49 for 200 calls. It reads the name, number and time back before it commits, and the caller gets one text with the confirmation after the call.
Every overnight call arrives as a transcript and a short summary, so the first plumber in reads what happened before the van leaves. Very short calls and calls it screens out don't count toward your plan.
Questions people ask about these greetings
What should a plumber's after-hours message say?
If a person or an AI answers: ask whether water is running now, walk the caller to the shut-off, then offer tonight at the after-hours rate or the first slot tomorrow. If only a recording answers, it should give the shut-off instruction and the emergency number in the first twenty seconds.
How do you tell a caller to shut off their water?
Find where the water line enters the house, usually the basement, garage or near the water heater, and turn the valve clockwise until it stops. For a single fixture, use the small valve under the sink or behind the toilet and leave the main on.
What plumbing problems are emergencies at night?
A leak you can't stop at the valve, sewage coming up in more than one drain, no water at all with a vulnerable occupant, and a gas smell near a water heater. A drip, a slow drain or a running toilet waits for the morning slot once the fixture valve is off.
Should you ask whether the caller is a tenant?
Yes, on every after-hours call. It decides who approves the work and who is invoiced. Take the landlord's or property manager's number before you dispatch.
Put the shut-off script on your night line
14-day free trial, no card, every feature on. Train the valve answer, set the on-call number, forward the line after close.