Business Phone Greeting Service

When a customer calls your business, the first thing they hear sets the tone. A greeting service answers that call for you with a professional greeting built around your company name and the details you provide. Instead of a caller reaching voicemail or an unanswered phone, they reach a receptionist that knows your business.

AllDayDesk answers calls around the clock using the business information you save. The receptionist greets callers, answers questions from that saved information, and takes messages when it does not know an answer, a price, or an available appointment time. You can read every call, transcript, and summary in your dashboard, so nothing depends on a handwritten note.

This is different from a plain voicemail box or a recorded menu. A greeting service holds a real conversation: it can answer follow-up questions, describe your services, and collect what the caller needs before ending the call.

• Greets each caller with your business name and your saved details
• Answers questions using the information you provide about your business
• Takes a message whenever an answer, price, or appointment time is unknown
• Keeps a record of calls, transcripts, summaries, and bookings in your dashboard

Setup starts with your business, not a blank script. You choose your business or enter its website, and AllDayDesk pulls together the details it will use to represent you. You check those details, correct anything that is off, and then hear a personalized sample of how your calls would be answered.

The sample is a preview of your greeting, not a real booking. Once you like how it sounds, you choose your phone setup. You keep your public phone number; you simply forward your calls to AllDayDesk. The exact forwarding steps depend on your phone service, and our guides cover the major providers.

After that, calls are answered with your greeting around the clock. New appointments go on the built-in AllDayDesk dashboard calendar by default, once you have configured your services and availability. If you prefer Google Calendar, you can connect and authorize your account in Settings as an optional step.

• Choose your business or enter its website to build your saved details
• Check the details and hear a personalized sample greeting
• Keep your public number and forward calls using your provider's steps
• Bookings land on the dashboard calendar, or on Google Calendar if you connect it in Settings

Because you keep your existing number, the main technical step is forwarding, and the instructions depend on who provides your phone service. Here are verified examples from major providers:

Verizon mobile: dial *72 plus the 10-digit destination to forward all calls, *71 plus the destination for unanswered calls, and *73 to turn forwarding off. Setup must be done from the phone while in Verizon coverage, and charges depend on your plan. Verizon business landline uses *72 to activate and *73 to deactivate from the same line.

T-Mobile: dial **21*1 followed by the 10-digit destination and # for unconditional forwarding, and ##21# to disable. **61*1 covers no reply, **62*1 covers unreachable, and **67*1 covers busy, each disabled with the matching ## code. ##004# resets forwarding to defaults.

Comcast Business: forwarding is managed through Voice Mobility, My Account, or the Comcast Business App, depending on which service you subscribe to, so identify your product first. Optimum Business Phone uses *72 then the destination, with *73 to turn it off. AT&T, Frontier, Spectrum, Vonage, and other providers each have their own steps, and the product name on your bill matters.

• Verizon mobile: *72 + destination (all calls), *71 + destination (unanswered), *73 to disable
• T-Mobile: **21*1 + destination + # (all calls), ##21# to disable, with separate codes for no reply, unreachable, and busy
• Optimum Business Phone: *72, wait for dial tone, dial destination; *73 turns it off
• Identify your exact product or plan before using any provider's instructions

A caller reaches your greeting, explains what they need, and the receptionist responds using your saved business information. If the caller asks something the service does not know, such as a price that is not saved or an appointment question outside your configured availability, it takes a message instead of guessing.

If you configure a transfer destination and rules, the receptionist can transfer calls to you under those rules. A transfer reaching you is not guaranteed, since it depends on your destination being available, so messages remain the reliable record of who called and why.

Changes to existing appointments are passed to you as requests rather than confirmed changes, so you stay in control of your schedule. Everything, including the transcript and a summary, is waiting in your dashboard after the call ends.

• Unknown answers, prices, or times become messages, not guesses
• Transfers follow the destination and rules you configure, with no guaranteed pickup
• Appointment changes arrive as requests for you to approve
• Transcripts and summaries are stored in your dashboard

Greeting services fall into a few broad groups, and the right fit depends on your call volume, budget, and how you work. Comparing documented features, rather than marketing claims, keeps the decision honest.

Human virtual receptionist services, such as Ruby and Smith.ai's live receptionist offering, staff calls with people. Ruby advertises plans starting at $245 per month as of October 2026, and Smith.ai prices its human receptionist service per call. Human coverage and fees vary by service and plan, so verify included minutes or calls, overage rates, hours, and contract terms on a current quote.

AI receptionist services, including AllDayDesk and Smith.ai's separate AI receptionist product, answer calls automatically. AllDayDesk answers around the clock using your saved business details, shows transcripts and summaries in a dashboard, and books onto a calendar you control. When comparing, ask the same questions of every option: What does the greeting say? What happens when the service does not know an answer? Where do bookings land? How do I see what was said?

Also compare scope. An in-house receptionist greets visitors and handles office tasks beyond the phone, so a phone service replaces call coverage, not a full front-desk role.

• Human services: people answer, with monthly or per-call pricing that varies by plan
• AI services: automated answering around the clock, usually at a lower monthly cost
• Ask what happens when the service cannot answer a question
• Ask where bookings and call records end up, and how you review them

AllDayDesk plans include a monthly allowance of answered minutes, with a per-minute rate for time beyond the allowance. The right plan depends on your typical call length and volume, and you can start on one plan and move as your needs change. Current pricing is displayed on the plans section of this site.

• Solo: 200 included minutes per month
• Starter: 600 included minutes per month
• Pro: 1,200 included minutes per month
• Each plan has a different per-minute rate for minutes beyond the allowance