For local service businesses in the DMV
Your phone rings at 9:47 PM. Right now, nobody answers it.
Northstar builds and runs an AI receptionist that picks up every call, answers questions about your business, books the appointment while the caller is still on the line, and sends you the full transcript when it's done. We build it, we test it, we maintain it. You don't configure anything.
Month to month. No contract. No setup fee. Or just call us: (202) 717-7505
You're not losing jobs because you're bad at your job. You're losing them because you were on a ladder.
37.8%
Share of calls to small businesses that actually get answered by a live person.
411 Locals — 85 businesses, 58 industries, 30 days
82%
Consumers who say they'll call a competitor when a business doesn't pick up. 78% have abandoned a business over it.
CallRail, 2025 survey of 1,000 US consumers
$91–$166
What home service businesses pay per lead in Google Ads.
LocaliQ Search Advertising Benchmarks, updated Feb 2026
You already paid for that call. It rang out, and it went to the next name on Google.
What it's costing you
Do the math on your own numbers.
You're losing about $10,400 a month.
Northstar costs $499 a month. Capturing 1 of those jobs pays for it.
Sliders are estimates, not a quote. We'll run your real numbers on the call.
Proof
Don't take our word for it. Listen.
You can't be talked into believing this sounds human. You have to hear it.
Call our demo line and try to trip it up. Ask about pricing, ask for an emergency appointment, ask something weird.
[PLACEHOLDER: demo phone number]Emergency water damage call — booked in 90 seconds
Caller asking about pricing and availability
Robocall, screened and dropped
Existing customer rescheduling an appointment
“Can't I just buy one of those $49 tools?”
| Comparison | A DIY tool | Hiring a receptionist | Northstar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who builds it | You do | — | We do |
| Who writes the scripts | You do | You do | We do |
| Who tests the call flows | You do | — | We do |
| Time to running | Weeks of your evenings | 3–6 weeks hiring | About a week |
| Hours covered | 24/7 | About 40/week | 24/7 |
| When something breaks | Your problem | Retraining | Our problem |
| Books appointments live | Often a paid upgrade | Yes | Yes |
| Roughly per month | $49–$149 | $4,100–$5,800 all-in | $499 |
Those cheap tools are real and they work — if you have a free weekend to write call scripts, test every flow, wire up your calendar, and then keep tuning it every time a caller asks something it wasn't ready for. Most owners start and never finish, and a half-built agent is worse than voicemail. We do all of it, we test it before it ever touches a real customer, and when something needs fixing it's our job, not your evening.
Receptionist cost based on BLS median wage plus benefits, payroll taxes, training, and turnover.
What your receptionist actually does.
Answers on the first ring
Every call, every hour. No hold music, no phone menu, no “press 1 for service.”
Books the appointment live
It checks your real availability and puts the appointment on your calendar while the caller is still on the phone.
Knows what an emergency sounds like
Burst pipes, no heat, water damage. Urgent calls get routed straight to you.
Screens out spam
Robocalls and sales pitches never reach your phone.
Sends you everything after the call
A written summary, the full transcript, and the recording of every conversation.
Speaks English and Spanish
It switches automatically based on the caller.
Built for businesses where the phone is the business.
- Restoration & Water Damage
- HVAC
- Plumbing
- Electrical
- Roofing
- Dental Practices
- Med Spas
- Law Firms
- Property Management
- Auto Repair
- Landscaping
- Cleaning Services
If your customers call you before they hire you, this works.
Live in about a week. You do almost nothing.
01
We learn your business
One 20-minute call. Your services, your pricing rules, your service area, who urgent calls go to.
02
We build it
Call scripts, your FAQs, spam screening, emergency routing, calendar connection. You do nothing during this part.
03
You try to break it
You call it yourself and tell us what to change. Nothing goes live until you're happy with it.
04
You forward your calls
Keep your existing number. Nothing about your trucks, ads, or Google listing has to change.
Two plans. Both month to month.
Reception
$499 / month
Your phone, handled.
- AI receptionist answering 24/7
- Live appointment booking on your calendar
- Emergency call routing to your phone
- Spam and robocall screening
- English and Spanish
- Summary, transcript, and recording of every call
- Includes up to 2,000 minutes of talk time per month
- Optional: a brand new, conversion-optimized website for your business
Reception + Growth
$999 / month
Your phone handled, and your phone ringing more.
- Everything in Reception
- Facebook ad campaigns built and managed
- Full CRM and follow-up system built for you
- Your team watching the system around the clock, making sure everything is working the way it should
Month to month. No contract. No setup fee. Cancel with 30 days' notice.
We're local, and we pick up our own phone.
Northstar Reception is based in the DMV. We take on a limited number of businesses at a time, because every receptionist we build gets built properly and then actually gets watched.
When something's wrong with yours, you text a person who knows your account. Not a support queue, not a chatbot, not a ticket number.
Test us on it — call (202) 717-7505.
Questions people actually ask.
Somebody answered that 9:47 call. It just wasn't you.
Twenty minutes on the phone and you'll know whether this fits.
Or skip the form and call us: (202) 717-7505