Emergency vs routine: phone questions every trade should ask
Same core list whether you answer yourself or someone else does. Sort danger and diary pressure in a few minutes, then get back on the tools.
Updated 31 July 2026
Ask every caller for name, callback number, full address and postcode, access, the exact problem, when it started, any immediate danger, and whether they have only one toilet, heat source or access door. Then add trade-specific questions (stopcock, gas smell, sparking, lock type, active leak). Bucket the job as urgent, same-day, or diary. Two to four minutes is enough for most calls.
A roofer takes two calls in one lunch break: “ceiling's wet after last night” and “can you price a garage conversion?” Without a habit, both feel like “work ringing.” With a habit, one gets a same-day look and a tarp plan; the other gets a survey slot next week. The questions are how you tell.
What questions should you ask on every call?
- Caller name and best callback number (repeat it back)
- Full address and postcode
- Who will be on site, and how do you get in?
- What exactly is wrong, in their words?
- When did it start? Getting worse?
- Any immediate danger (water near electrics, sparking, gas smell, structural movement, someone locked out with vulnerability)?
- Is this their only toilet / only heat / only access door?
- Budget or price expectation if they raise it; otherwise give your attendance terms
What extra questions does each trade need?
Plumbers
- Where is the water coming from, and can they get to the stopcock?
- Is water near lights, sockets, or the consumer unit?
- Upstairs leak into a ceiling? Any sagging or active dripping onto electrics?
Heating engineers
- Heating, hot water, or both?
- Boiler make / fault code / pressure (see cold-snap triage guide)
- Gas smell or CO alarm → 0800 111 999 first
Electricians
- Burning smell, scorch marks, or sparking?
- Which circuits are out? Whole board or one area?
- Any DIY already (loose wires they 'tucked back')?
Locksmiths
- Locked out, lock broken, or keys snapped?
- Door type / lock type if they know (uPVC, mortice, night latch)
- Anyone vulnerable inside or outside? Proof of address plan when you arrive
Roofers
- Active leak into the property, or storm damage spotted from outside?
- Tarping already in place? Safe access?
- Rough age of covering; any scaffolding already up?
Builders
- Emergency make-safe (impact damage, unsafe structure) vs quote request?
- Photos available now?
- Planning / neighbour constraints if it is a bigger job
Winter boiler deep-dive: cold-snap phone triage.
How do you decide urgent versus routine?
Treat as urgent
Uncontrolled water, no heat in freezing weather with vulnerable people, exposed live electrics, lockout with children/elderly outside, structural risk after impact or storm.
Same day if you can
Single toilet out in a one-bath house, no hot water, intermittent trip that resets, leaking that is contained in a basin.
Diary / quote track
Refits, elective upgrades, 'when you have a minute' odd noises, price shopping with no symptom. Be polite; do not pretend it is an emergency.
If you want the money maths on calls that never get this far, use the missed-call cost calculator. For evening policy, see after-hours calls.
Brief whoever answers like you brief a mate
Graftline is built to ask trade-shaped questions (job, postcode, urgency, access) and send you the answers on WhatsApp. Use this checklist as the standard; point your divert at something that can keep it when you cannot.
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Intake questions about intake
How long should intake take?
Two to four minutes for most calls. If they cannot answer postcode and symptom, you do not have a bookable job yet. Longer chats are fine when access or safety is messy; short ones are fine when the job is obvious and they already have photos ready.
Should I put this on a card in the van?
Yes. Or keep it in the Notes app. When you are cold and rushed, you skip questions and invent them later on site. A written checklist keeps partner cover and your own callbacks consistent.
What if a partner or service answers for me?
Give them this list. A message that only says 'John rang, ring back' wastes everyone's time. They should ask the same core questions you would: postcode, problem, urgency, access, and a solid callback number.
Does asking more questions put callers off?
Urgent callers want competence. Vague 'someone will call you' is what puts them off. Clear questions signal you know the trade and can decide whether to attend, diary, or send them elsewhere.