Written by Jim Miller, Founder of Bellalu AI
What customers say they expect
EZ Texting's 2026 Consumer Texting Behavior Report, which surveyed 959 U.S. consumers in January 2026, found nearly 70% expect a business to respond within an hour.1 That survey covers texting in general, not trades specifically, so treat it as a read on how people text rather than a count of your own callers.
The bar for texting is high, and customers do not usually say so out loud. They expect the same quick answer they get from other apps, and they rarely explain when a slow reply means they moved on.
Calls go unanswered more often than most owners think
Invoca's analysis of calls to home services businesses found that 27% go unanswered.2 A different figure circulates too. CallJolt reports a 62% missed-call rate, citing a 2024 ServiceTitan study of more than 50,000 contractor phone lines.3 The two numbers disagree a lot, probably because they measure different call sets and different businesses. Either way, the missed calls are real, and you can count your own in one month.
| Unanswered calls | |
|---|---|
| 27% | 62% |
| of calls go unanswered | missed-call rate reported |
| Sources 2 and 3: Hatch and CallJolt |
Figures show potential opportunity, not guaranteed results.
How fast businesses actually respond
Blazeo's 2026 Speed-to-Lead Benchmark Report looked at 573 service businesses across several industries and found that 74% do not respond within five minutes.2 Hatch's 2024 survey of more than 120 home service call centers tells a somewhat better story: 54% reach out to new leads in under five minutes, while 43% take longer.2 The gap between these numbers comes from who was measured. Call centers are built for speed. Most small shops are not.
Why the first reply matters
A study often cited from MIT found that calling a lead back within 5 minutes made a business 21 times more likely to qualify that lead than calling after 30 minutes.4 Many shoppers call several companies, so the first useful reply often wins the job.
What to do this week
None of these steps needs a new tool. Start with the calls and texts you already get.
- Pick a first-reply target you can hit during the hours you staff, and say it out loud to your team.
- Count last month's missed calls and unanswered texts. Note which ones came after hours.
- Decide who or what handles calls when your crew is on a roof or under a sink.
If you want to see where your calls and texts slip between the first ring and the first reply, talk with Bellalu about an AI Business Audit at https://www.getbellalu.com/audit. We will look at how your leads reach you today and point out the gaps worth fixing first.
Sources
- PR Newswire (EZ Texting) — 2026 Consumer Texting Behavior Report: SMS Has Won. Now 89% of Consumers Expect Every Message to Earn Its Place.
- Hatch — 36 speed to lead statistics for home service businesses in 2026
- CallJolt — Missed Call Statistics for Home Service Businesses 2026
- HiGrovi — The Contractor Missed Call Report 2026