A free Claude skill that writes the texts that save missed calls — the two-minute reply that stops your caller from dialing the next business on Google, plus the full follow-up flow.
They didn't leave a voicemail; they left for a competitor. This skill writes the text-back flows — first message, nudge, final touch — matched to your business and your hours.
Any business where the phone is the front door and the crew can't always answer it: plumbers, electricians, HVAC, salons, dental offices, auto shops, restaurants.
Works whether your phone system sends texts automatically or someone types them by hand between jobs.
“We keep missing calls.” · “Write a text for when we can't pick up.” · “Set up missed-call follow-up texts.”
You tell Claude: “We're a two-man plumbing shop, we miss most evening calls, and burst pipes can't wait until morning.” Here's the flow that comes back:
Three touches, then out
T+0 (auto): “It's Dan at Ridgeline Plumbing — sorry we missed you. It's after hours, but I still get these. What's going on? If it's urgent (burst pipe, no heat), reply URGENT and I'll call you.”
On URGENT: Dan calls within 10 minutes. If he can't, holding text: “Got it — calling you inside 10 minutes.”
8:00 AM next day: “Morning — following up on your call last night. Want me to get you on today's schedule?”
+1 day (final): “If you got sorted elsewhere, no worries at all. We're at (515) 555-0184 if anything comes up.”
Handoff rule: any reply gets a human within 5 minutes during hours. Setup note: wire T+0 into the VoIP auto-reply; the rest can be manual until volume justifies automating.
Every message earns a reply or gets out of the way — three touches, then it stops. And the URGENT branch means a burst pipe never waits for morning.
Option 1 · Claude Code
In your terminal, run:
npx skills add buildwithreef/claude-skills
Pick missed-call-textback from the list (or install the whole set). Done.
Option 2 · Claude.ai
Download the .zip below, then in Claude.ai go to Settings → Capabilities → Skills and upload it.
Download missed-call-textback.zipOption 3 · Manual
Copy the SKILL.md below into ~/.claude/skills/missed-call-textback/SKILL.md. The zip also includes the industry script library (trades, salon, dental, restaurant, auto) the skill draws from.
---
name: missed-call-textback
description: Writes SMS text-back scripts and follow-up flows for missed customer calls so the business saves the job before the caller dials a competitor. Use when the user mentions missing calls, wants automatic text-back messages, or says things like "we keep missing calls", "write a text for when we can't pick up", or "missed call follow-up texts".
---
# Missed-Call Text-Back
A caller who hits voicemail is usually calling the next business on the list within two minutes. A text that lands in those two minutes keeps you in the running; the goal of the first message is not to close the job — it's to stop the next dial.
## Step 1 — Intake
- [ ] Business type and the #1 reason people call (book, quote, emergency, question)
- [ ] Business hours, and whether anyone monitors texts after hours
- [ ] Booking link or quote form URL, if one exists
- [ ] Phone system: does it support auto-text on missed calls (most VoIP and tools like a business-texting platform do), or will a human send these manually?
- [ ] Is the caller base mostly new leads, existing customers, or both?
## Step 2 — First-message rules
- Send within 5 minutes. At 30+ minutes the caller has usually committed elsewhere; still send it — some haven't.
- Name the business and a real first name. "It's Dan at Ridgeline Plumbing" outperforms "Thank you for contacting Ridgeline."
- Acknowledge the miss without groveling: "Sorry we missed you" once, no double apology.
- Ask the one question that starts the job: for trades, "What's going on and what town are you in?" For salons/dental, offer the booking link. For restaurants, hours/reservation info.
- Keep it under ~300 characters (two SMS segments). One question, not three.
- A booking link belongs in the first message only when booking is obviously why they called; otherwise ask the question first — replies start conversations, links end them.
## Step 3 — Build the flow, not just the message
**During hours (someone can take over):**
1. T+2 min: text-back with the opener question.
2. On reply: a human takes over within 5 minutes. The auto-text buys time; a bot-feeling thread loses the job.
3. T+1 hour, no reply: one nudge — "Still happy to help if you need us — want me to call you back?"
4. Next morning, no reply: final touch, then stop. "If you got sorted elsewhere, no worries at all. We're at [number] if anything comes up."
**After hours:**
1. Immediate: set expectations honestly — "It's after hours at [business], but I still get these. What's going on?" For emergency trades, include the emergency option: "If it's urgent (burst pipe, no heat), reply URGENT and I'll call you."
2. 8 a.m. next day: "Morning — following up on your call last night. Want me to get you on today's schedule?"
**Voicemail left vs. no voicemail:** if they left one, reference it ("Got your voicemail about the water heater — few quick questions") and skip the generic opener. No voicemail = assume high shopping intent, lead with the question.
**Known customer:** drop the business intro, keep the name. "Hey Sarah, it's Dan — saw we missed you. Everything okay with the furnace?"
Industry-specific script sets (trades, salon, dental, restaurant, auto) are in [references/scripts.md](references/scripts.md).
## Step 4 — Deliver
```
**Flow:** After-hours missed call — new lead, emergency-capable trade
T+0 (auto): [message]
On URGENT: [human calls; holding text if delayed]
8:00 AM: [message]
+1 day: [final message]
**Handoff rule:** [who takes over, within how many minutes]
**Setup note:** [how to wire this into their phone system, if asked]
```
## Compliance (one paragraph, not a law degree)
Texting back someone who just called you is a reply, not marketing — but always honor STOP immediately, identify the business in the first message, and if using a texting platform with a new number, complete its A2P 10DLC registration or messages will silently fail. Don't add missed callers to marketing lists without separate consent.
## What not to do
- Don't send "Your call is important to us." It's the sound of a company that won't call back.
- Don't ask for details they already left in a voicemail.
- Don't send more than 3 messages total without a reply.
- Don't let an auto-text promise something no one will honor ("we'll call you right back" at 11 p.m.).
---
Built by Reef — AI systems for small business → https://buildwithreef.comYes — this one. Missed-Call Text-Back is a free, open-source Claude skill that writes the SMS scripts and follow-up flows for missed customer calls: the immediate text-back, the one-hour nudge, the next-morning touch, and the after-hours and emergency variants — matched to your business type.
Three ways: run npx skills add buildwithreef/claude-skills in your terminal and select missed-call-textback (Claude Code), upload the .zip from this page in Claude.ai under Settings → Capabilities → Skills, or copy the SKILL.md above into a folder at ~/.claude/skills/missed-call-textback/.
No — the skill writes the scripts and flows; you can send them manually from any business phone. If you use a VoIP system or business-texting platform with auto-replies, the output includes a setup note for wiring the flow in, plus the A2P 10DLC registration reminder so messages don't silently fail.
Texting someone who just called you is a reply, not marketing — but the skill still bakes in the rules: identify the business in the first message, honor STOP immediately, and never add missed callers to marketing lists without separate consent.
Yes. MIT licensed, no signup, no catch. It's published by Reef, an Iowa-based studio that builds AI systems, websites, and automation for small businesses. If you'd rather have this whole workflow running done-for-you, that's the work Reef takes on.