A receptionist that never closes

Why do after-hours calls matter so much?

After-hours calls matter because a caller who reaches voicemail rarely waits. Most callers who reach voicemail do not call back and dial the next business on the list instead. After hours is when the leak is worst, because emergencies, motivated buyers and new clients all call when the front desk has gone home. A week has 168 hours, and a 40-hour front desk covers fewer than a quarter of the week. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national median wage for receptionists was $38,010 a year in May 2025 (BLS OEWS), for the 40-hour week alone. Keres AI estimates that service businesses miss 25–40% of inbound calls overall, higher after hours (how we got there). For example, a furnace failing on a Saturday night produces the most valuable call an HVAC company gets all weekend. Remi answers the Saturday call in two rings, at the weekday rate.

What happens when a call comes in at 2 a.m.?

A call at 2 in the morning is a normal call for Remi: the steps match a daytime call, the rate is the same, and there is no after-hours surcharge. For example, a burst pipe overnight gets the same intake questions as a booking request at noon. Remi by Keres AI follows five steps on every overnight call.

1. First, Remi answers in two rings and asks what the caller needs.
2. Next, Remi asks your intake questions for that kind of job, matter or appointment.
3. If the call matches one of your emergency rules, Remi alerts your on-call person by text with the details.
4. Otherwise Remi offers real times from your calendar, books the appointment on the call, and texts the caller a confirmation.
5. Finally, everything lands in Google Calendar, HubSpot or ServiceTitan, and the night’s calls are in one text the next morning.

Which calls count as emergencies?

An emergency is any call your rules define as urgent. You decide during a 30-minute setup call run by Keres AI. For example, a typical home-services setup flags no heat or no cooling with vulnerable people in the house, an active leak, or a sewage backup. A law firm might flag an arrest or a court date tomorrow, and a property manager might flag a lockout. For a caller reporting a gas smell, Remi tells the caller to leave the building and call the gas utility or 911, then alerts your on-call person. Calls matching a rule reach the on-call person by text with the details Remi collected, whether the call comes overnight or on a holiday. Finally, everything else is booked for the next open slot in Google Calendar, HubSpot or ServiceTitan. The owner sees every overnight call in the next morning text.

What does it look like by trade?

• HVAC: a no-cool call on a July evening is triaged, the on-call tech is texted, and a routine tune-up request is booked for Monday.
• Law firms: a new-client call on Saturday gets the matter type and the names your firm needs for its conflict check, and a consultation on Monday.
• Real estate: an evening call about a listing is qualified (agent, pre-approval, timeline) and the showing is booked.
• Dental and med spas: a Sunday call books a new-patient appointment and texts the forms.

What does 24/7 coverage cost?

Remi is quoted to your call volume: one monthly rate with included minutes, then per minute, with no per-call fees and no after-hours surcharge. Keres AI does not publish a Remi price, because night and weekend volume varies so much by trade. For context, published AI receptionist plans start at $24.95 a month (Upfirst, 30 calls) and $29 a month (Dialzara, 60 minutes). Live answering starts at $99 a month for 50 minutes (PATLive), according to each vendor’s pricing page on October 11, 2026. A full-time receptionist costs a national median of $38,010 a year in wages (BLS, May 2025) and covers about 40 of the week’s 168 hours. Compare Remi with answering services and other AI receptionists on what an AI receptionist costs, or see pricing.

More on how Remi works: the AI receptionist · AI answering service vs live answering · example calls.