The AI receptionist built for septic service companies
A septic backup is a call homeowners make to whoever answers first. Remi by Keres AI picks up in two rings, books routine pumping, and sends an alarm or a backup to your crew on the rules you set, so calls stop going to voicemail.
Keres AI answers the phone for septic service companies with Remi, an AI receptionist that picks up every call in two rings, around the clock. Remi asks your septic intake questions (last pump date, system type, alarm or backup, closing date for inspections) and books pumping, inspections and urgent visits into Google Calendar, HubSpot or ServiceTitan. Keres bills a monthly rate with included minutes, then per-minute, with no per-call fees. Keres sets it up for you.
Why do septic companies miss calls?
- Backup calls missed while the crew is out on a truck
- Routine pumping calls nobody had time to return
- Real-estate inspection requests with a closing date attached
- Alarm calls at night with nobody on the phones
Septic work is small crews and long drives. The person who would answer the phone is usually the one running the truck, so calls pile up exactly when the business is busiest.
What a septic call to Remi sounds like
Example call, not a customer. Written to show the flow; names and addresses are made up.
- Remi Thanks for calling [your company], this is Remi. How can I help?
- Caller The alarm on our septic system started beeping an hour ago.
- Remi Is the alarm light on as well, and are any drains backing up inside?
- Caller The light’s on. Drains are fine so far.
- Remi Until a technician checks it, keep water use low: no laundry, dishwasher or long showers. What’s the property address?
- Caller 9 Mill Pond Road.
- Remi Do you know when the tank was last pumped?
- Caller Maybe three years ago.
- Remi Thank you. I’m sending this to the on-call technician as an alarm call. You’ll get a text when they confirm a time.
In this example the owner’s script includes the water-use advice and treats any alarm as on-call work. A shop that handles alarms next morning would have Remi book the first slot instead. Hear a recorded example call →
Which septic calls are emergencies?
You decide, with Keres, during setup, and Remi follows those rules. A typical septic setup flags:
- Sewage backing up into the house, or surfacing in the yard near the tank or drain field.
- A high-water or pump alarm on an aerobic or pump system. A typical script asks the caller to cut water use until the crew arrives.
- Every drain in the house slow at once.
- A real-estate inspection with a near closing date is usually priority booking rather than an emergency.
- Routine pumping, riser installs and estimates book into a normal slot.
Flagged calls are warm-transferred to the on-call crew. If nobody answers, Remi sends a “call me now” alert with the address, the symptoms and the last pump date.
What does Remi ask a septic caller?
Your script decides. A typical septic intake covers:
- Name, callback number and property address: where the truck is going
- Where the tank is, if known: and whether the lid is buried or on a riser
- Last pump date and tank size: so the crew brings the right truck
- System type: conventional, aerobic, mound or pump
- Symptoms: alarm, slow drains, odour, backup, wet ground
- Reason for the call: routine pumping, inspection with a closing date, or a problem
- Access: gates, dogs, where the truck can park
What can Remi book for a septic company?
Routine pumping
Real-estate transfer inspections
Alarm and backup calls sent to the on-call crew
Riser, lid and repair estimates
Does it book into ServiceTitan, Jobber or Housecall Pro?
Remi writes septic jobs into ServiceTitan, or books Google Calendar and logs the caller in HubSpot. Zapier can carry the last pump date into another system you use.
- Live: ServiceTitan, Google Calendar, HubSpot and Zapier
- Rolling out, not live yet: Jobber, Housecall Pro, FieldEdge and Service Fusion
What does a missed septic call cost?
Keres AI has not published a septic benchmark, so this page gives no septic statistic. What a missed call costs depends on the kind of call: a missed routine pumping call may come back later, while a backup call goes to whoever answers.
Septic customers also come back. A household you pump today will need pumping again, and it is far more likely to call you if it has your number.
What matters in an answering service for septic companies?
Use this list in any demo, including ours:
- Does it ask the last pump date and system type?
- Can it tell an alarm or a backup from a routine pumping call?
- Can it book real-estate inspections against a closing date?
- Does it know your service area and say no politely outside it?
- Does it write the job somewhere your crew already looks?
- Is it billed per call or by the month with included minutes?
Keres AI’s own answers are on Remi’s page and pricing.
Guides for septic operators
- The Septic Service Automation Playbook — Where AI saves septic operators the most time: intake triage, pumping reminders, emergency call handling, and invoice follow-up.
- Customer Intake Automation for Field Service — How to automate customer intake calls and forms so no lead slips through the cracks.
- Measuring the ROI of Business Automation — A simple framework for measuring the real cost and time savings of automation.
Answering is one part of winning the job: Found gets you found on Google and Theo follows up on open estimates. More trades: HVAC · Plumbers · Roofing · Towing · all home services.
Questions
AI receptionist for septic: questions
Can an AI receptionist handle septic backup calls?
Yes, on the rules you set during setup. A typical septic setup treats sewage in the house or surfacing in the yard as an emergency and warm-transfers it to the on-call crew, with a “call me now” alert if nobody picks up.
Does Remi book routine pumping?
Yes. Remi asks when the tank was last pumped, its size if known, and whether the lid is buried, then books a slot and texts the homeowner a confirmation.
Can it take real-estate inspection requests?
Yes. Remi asks for the closing date, who is paying, and the agent’s contact, and books the inspection with that deadline in the notes.
Does it send pumping reminders?
Remi records the last pump date. Reminders are the job of Theo, the Keres follow-up agent, or of your own system.
Does it know my service area?
Your script lists the towns or counties you serve. Callers outside them hear that plainly instead of getting booked for a visit you cannot make.
Answer septic calls while the crew is on the truck
Book a 30-minute call and hear Remi take an alarm call with your rules.
Get a quoteLast updated · Reviewed by the Keres AI team