A storm-night severity scale
| Severity | Signs | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (worst) | Water still entering, sewage, sagging ceilings | Crew tonight |
| 2 | Standing water, source stopped | First crew in the morning |
| 3 | Wet carpet, small area | Book assessment |
| 4 | Old damage, insurance questions | Office callback |
Same questions, every call
Consistency is what lets you rank 60 calls. Every call gets the same five questions, so your crew lead sees comparable answers:
- Is water still coming in?
- How many rooms, which floors?
- Any sewage?
- Any sagging ceilings or water near outlets?
- Insurance carrier and claim status?
Water came in under the back door during the storm.
Is it still coming in? About how many rooms are wet?
It stopped. Two rooms, carpet's soaked.
Severity 2 · carrier: Allstate · first crew in the morning
Keeping callers from calling around
Storm victims call several companies. The one that answers and gives a time usually wins. 85% of callers who can't reach a business won't call back (BIA/Kelsey). Even severity-3 callers should hear a concrete next step, not "someone will call you".
What Josie does
- Surge Overflow: When the office line is busy or a heat wave hits, Josie answers the overflow, all at once.
- 24/7 Emergency Line: Answers every after-hours call and sorts real emergencies from routine jobs with your rules.
- On-Call Paging + Schedules: Calls your on-call tech with the details. Press 1 to accept. No answer? Next person, then you.
- For your trade: Answering Service for Water Damage Restoration Companies
Common questions
How do restoration companies handle storm call volume?
By answering every call at once with an overflow line, asking the same loss questions each time, and ranking calls by severity so crews go to the worst damage first.
Can an answering service capture insurance details?
Yes. HireJosie asks for the carrier and claim status and includes them in the summary.
What does HireJosie cost?
HireJosie is $29/month for 200 AI minutes, starting with a 7-day free trial — cancel before day 7 and you pay nothing. Pro is $79/month for 500 minutes, with $0.25/minute overage after that. Every feature is on every plan, and every plan starts with a 7-day free trial.