After hail, Penny’s roofing answering service books inspections into your open calendar times.
The morning after hail, homeowners call while your inspectors are already out. Penny captures the address, storm date, and damage visible from the ground, then offers your open inspection times. An active leak follows your safety and on-call rules before an inspection is scheduled.
Penny checks the caller’s town or ZIP against your service area before she books an inspection.
14 days of Pro, including 100 phone minutes and 300 website conversations. No credit card.
Or call her from your phone: (630) 324-4620
Start with the shared demo, then test your own inspection intake
The live demo uses Summit Heating, a fictional HVAC business. Listen to her intake here; test your own trade’s rules in your Penny account.
(630) 324-4620- Ask for a roof replacement estimate and give the roof age, material, and number of stories.
- Ask whether a gutter review can be added to an existing inspection request.
- Describe hail damage visible from the driveway and check that the booking carries the address and what you saw.
- On your configured account, report an active ceiling leak and check the safety and on-call rule.
After hail, the next inspection starts with the address
Hail moves through overnight. This is the next day at a roofing office with Penny on the line, in the order it runs.
- 6 a.m.
The first call comes from a homeowner on the west side who saw shingle pieces in the yard on the way to the truck. Penny takes the address, what he can see from the driveway, and his carrier, and books the first open inspection time.
- 7:30 a.m.
Calls are stacking as people wake up and look at their ceilings. Each one leaves with the address, the visible damage, and the storm date on the ticket.
- 9 a.m.
Your inspector heads out. The morning’s inspections are on the calendar with each address and the damage the caller saw from the ground.
- Mid-morning
A caller asks whether hail damage is covered and whether you can waive the deductible. Penny says the coverage question is for the adjuster and the waiver is not something the company does, takes the number, and flags the call for you.
- Noon
A caller reports an active leak. Penny follows the safety rule, emails you the address and affected room, and connects whoever is on call if transfer is on for that rule.
- 3 p.m.
The afternoon calls are estimates and second opinions. Penny books them into tomorrow’s open times and captures roof age, stories, and whether a claim is open.
- 5 p.m.
The day’s intake is in your inbox with addresses, carriers, claim numbers where they exist, and the transcript of every call.
The roof estimate is one of the calls your office handles
- Everyday call
A homeowner wants to compare shingles with standing-seam metal.
The caller hearsHow old is the roof, and how many stories is the house?
Penny doesCaptures the existing material and preferences, then books your replacement estimate.
- Everyday call
A caller wants gutters included with an upcoming roof estimate.
The caller hearsWhat address is the estimate for, and which gutters would you like the inspector to review?
Penny doesAdds the request to your intake and follows your rule for updating the inspection scope.
- Everyday call
A customer asks when the crew is scheduled after a weather delay.
The caller hearsWhat name and address is the project under?
Penny doesTakes the name and address and sends the schedule question to the office.
- Needs attention
Water is coming through a ceiling near a light fixture.
The caller hearsDon’t touch the water or electrical equipment, and keep everyone out of that room. Don’t go on the roof.
Penny doesUses your safety rule, emails you the address and affected room, and connects whoever is on call if transfer is on for that rule.
A post-hail inspection booked with what the homeowner saw from the ground
An inspection request after hail, with ground-level observations and the carrier noted, booked into the next open inspection time.
- PennyThistrel Roofing, this is Penny. What can I help you with?
- Ximena (caller)We had hail last night. There are shingle pieces in the yard and dents on the gutters. Could someone inspect the roof?
- PennyI can arrange an inspection. Have you noticed any water coming inside?
- Ximena (caller)No, everything inside is dry.
- PennyThanks. We’ll use what you can see from the ground; please leave the roof inspection to our team. Can I get the address and your name?
- Ximena (caller)1180 Heron Crossing Drive in Moore. Ximena Aldana.
- PennyThanks, Ximena. From the driveway, can you see anything on the roof or in the yard, like shingle pieces, dents on the gutters, or granules washed down to the downspout?
- Ximena (caller)There are pieces of shingle by the fence and the gutters look dinged up. Our insurance is Windrow Mutual, if that matters. I don’t know if this is even covered.
- PennyI can’t tell you whether it’s covered, but I’ll note it as a hail claim with last night’s storm date so the inspector brings the documentation your adjuster will want. Is a claim open yet, or is that still to be decided?
A fact from the knowledge pack, used on the call.
- Ximena (caller)Nothing filed yet.
- PennyNoted. I have tomorrow at 9:40 in the morning or 1:15 in the afternoon open for the inspection. Does either work, and is this the best number to reach you?
- Ximena (caller)9:40 works. Yes, this is my cell.
- PennyYou’re set for 9:40 tomorrow at 1180 Heron Crossing Drive: hail, shingle pieces and gutter dents visible from the ground, no water inside, Windrow Mutual, and no claim open.
- Ximena (caller)I will. Thank you.
Visible damage and the storm date prepare the inspector’s visit
From the roofing knowledge pack
- Repair against full replacement, tear-off against overlay, and the two-layer limit that makes an overlay the last one before a tear-off.
- Squares, pitch, decking, underlayment, ice-and-water shield, step and valley flashing, drip edge, and pipe boots, so “the metal bit by the chimney” lands on the ticket as flashing.
- Leak triage: water travel, so the stain is not the source; the bowl-shaped ceiling bulge; water near a fixture or the panel; and which of those is same-day tarping.
- What a caller is never told to do: climb the roof, poke a ceiling bulge, tarp at height in weather, or touch wet electrical.
- Insurance and storm claims, recognized and routed rather than advised: ACV against RCV, depreciation and the two-check process, supplements and Xactimate, ordinance-or-law, AOB, and the duty to mitigate.
- Storm-chaser and fraud signals: deductible waivers, “we already inspected your roof,” sign-today pressure, and competitors fishing for pricing and crew capacity.
- Materials by slope: 3-tab, architectural, and Class 4 impact-resistant shingles, standing-seam metal, tile, slate, shake, and TPO or EPDM on low-slope and commercial work.
- Manufacturer against workmanship warranties, what “lifetime” means once it prorates, and what GAF Master Elite or Owens Corning Platinum Preferred certifies.
- What to capture when booking an inspection: address, request type, roof age, stories, insurance or out of pocket, and the adjuster date if one is set.
- Installation day in order: tear-off, deck inspection, underlayment, shingles, flashing, magnet sweep, and walkthrough, plus the weather holds that move it.
Your roofer assesses the job before naming the repair price
She never quotes
- A repair or replacement price, in squares or in dollars
- Whether the damage is covered or what the adjuster will approve
- That the deductible can be waived, absorbed, or rebated
- That the caller should get on the roof or look at the leak from a ladder
- An arrival time for the tarping crew
What she does instead
Penny never quotes a replacement over the phone and never promises a waived deductible. She books the inspection and tells the caller the written estimate comes from it.
A homeowner asks about standing-seam metal from your website
- Services
- Hours
- About
- Contact
Put your own missed-call count against a sourced average roof repair ticket
Change the three numbers to yours. The default job value comes from a named source, dated.
Default job value $1,171, from HomeAdvisor — average roof repair cost (as of 2025-12-11). Change it to yours.
If you miss 5 calls a week and book 40% of them at $1,171 a job, those jobs would represent about
This is estimated gross revenue, not measured lost revenue or profit. Some missed callers may still book with you. Change the assumptions to match your call records.
Storm intake sent to Jobber or Housecall Pro after the call, or to your CRM through Zapier
- Jobber
- Housecall Pro
- Google Calendar
- HubSpotvia Zapier
Connect Zapier or signed webhooks to send the captured details to the tools your office uses.
Questions from roofing offices the morning after a storm
Send setup or plan questions to support@pennyassistant.com.
A storm lead becomes a Jobber Request or a Housecall Pro lead after the call, with the address, visible damage, storm date and carrier attached. HubSpot can hold the lead for your sales team through Zapier. Your office confirms field-service scheduling; Google Calendar or Outlook can book an inspector’s available appointment during the call. Zapier and signed webhooks export the intake.
Read the reception workflows for crews working elsewhere on the building
“Is this a permit job, and who’s pulling it?” Penny asks before she books the walk-through.
Penny asks whether the furnace starts and quits or never starts at all, then puts the caller’s answer on the booking.
An existing customer’s question reaches your lead with the project address; drying decisions and equipment removal stay with your technician.
Penny bills a monthly price with minutes included; when you choose to keep answering past them, 60 more minutes are added at a time at the plan’s rate. The answering service cost guide sets it beside per-minute human services, and the plans are on the pricing page.
Give Penny a call before you forward yours.
Try the HVAC demo, then set up Penny for your business. Your account starts with 14 days of Pro, including 100 phone minutes and 300 website conversations; Free keeps your website chat after the trial.
14 days of Pro, including 100 phone minutes and 300 website conversations. No credit card.