Missed call text back sends an automatic text to someone whose call you could not answer, saying who you are, when you will ring back and how to get a price sooner. It needs a phone service that can send texts from your number, so ask your provider first. Keep the message free of offers, ring back when it is safe and count missed calls as enquiries.
What is missed call text back?
It is an automatic text message sent to someone whose call you did not answer. The caller gets a reply within a minute or so, saying you saw the call and how to get a price. For a chauffeur company the appeal is obvious, because the person who answers the phone is often behind the wheel with a passenger in the back.
A missed call is an enquiry you have already paid for. If it came from an ad, the click cost the same as one you answered. A traveller who gets no answer can simply ring the next company on the list, so a quick reply can decide who gets the job.
What happens when it works?
The text exists to keep the customer from ringing someone else until you can ring back. It does not replace the call.
- The call goes unanswered You are driving, on another call or asleep.
- A text goes out within a minute It says who you are and when you will ring back, with a link to your quote form.
- The customer sends the details, or waits Either way they know someone has seen the call.
- You ring back when it is safe You call as soon as you are parked, with a price if the form has given you what you need.
- You log it as an enquiry Won or lost, it goes in the same list as your other enquiries.
What do you need to set it up?
You need a phone service that can detect a missed call and send a text from your number. Whether you can do this depends on the kind of number you publish, so start by asking your phone provider these questions.
- Can my number send texts at all? Many landline and some business numbers cannot, and a text from a different number may look like spam to the customer.
- Can it send automatically after a missed call? Some business phone services include it. Others need a separate service connected to your number.
- What happens outside my country? Chauffeur customers are often abroad or travelling, and a text may cost more, arrive late or not reach an international number at all. Test with a foreign number if you can.
- What about calls I decline? Decide whether a declined call should trigger the text, and whether the system should skip it during the hours you are open and someone is on duty.
We do not recommend a particular service here, and prices and features vary by country. Our own system, 4fleet, does not send text messages, so this has to come from your phone provider. Send a test from a mobile that is not yours before you rely on it, and check what the customer actually sees.
What should the text say?
Keep it short and make it sound like your company. A customer reading it should learn four things: who you are, that you saw the call, when you will ring back, and how to get a price sooner if they prefer. Use your company name, because a bare number and a link looks suspicious. Keep the link to one, going straight to your quote form with no home page in between.
Promise only a time you can keep. “We will ring you back within the hour” is a commitment, and a driver on a long airport run may not be able to honour it. Set up a different wording for nights and weekends if your hours change, so that nobody at midnight is told to expect a call in ten minutes.
When should you not rely on it?
Text back is a safety net for the calls you cannot reach, and it gets worse the more you lean on it. A company that misses half of its calls has a staffing problem, and a text will not fix that.
Look at what is available before you add it.
- A second person: forwarding unanswered calls to someone else during busy hours gets the customer a human straight away, and it is the better answer if you can afford it.
- An answering service: someone takes the details and passes them on. It suits companies with many calls outside office hours, at a monthly cost.
- A clear quote form: many travellers would rather not call at all. If your website form is quick to use on a phone, fewer people need to ring you in the first place.
Urgent trips deserve particular thought. A customer whose flight has landed and whose driver has not arrived needs a person. Keep a separate number or a clear escalation route for live bookings, and do not let an automatic reply be the only response to an existing customer in trouble.
What are the rules?
Keep a clear line between answering a caller and marketing to them. A text that replies to a call is a different thing from a promotional message, and adding an offer or a discount can turn it into marketing. In the UK and the EU, marketing by text is covered by privacy and electronic communications rules, which usually require consent or an existing customer relationship. The rules differ by country, so check with your adviser before you add anything promotional.
Do not add callers to a mailing list because they rang you, and do not send a second automatic message if they do not reply. If the caller asks you to stop, stop.
What should you measure?
Count missed calls first. Your phone provider’s call log will usually show them. For two weeks, note how many calls you missed, how quickly you rang back and how many of those people booked.
Then look at three numbers each month.
- The share of calls you miss, by hour: a pattern points to the real fix. If most are between 7 and 9 in the morning, the answer may be a second person for those two hours.
- The time to ring back: use the median, the same way as in the guide on speed to lead.
- How many missed calls become bookings: compare this with calls you answered. The gap shows what a missed call is costing, and it tells you whether the setup is paying for itself.
Add those numbers to your other enquiries, as the Stop losing enquiries page recommends, so that missed calls show up in your figures rather than disappearing. If you run Google Ads, the call tracking guide shows how to see which campaigns those calls came from.
