ETA Case Study: How an AI receptionist saved $28k in missed jobs during the first month after acquiring a landscaping company

July 30, 2025
by a professional from University of Waterloo in San Francisco, CA, USA
A search-fund operator I’m working with closed on a 15-truck residential landscaping business in SoCal last quarter. During diligence we noticed a chronic problem: if the owner couldn’t grab the phone within three rings, calls went to voicemail and prospects moved on. Here’s what we rolled out the week after closing:
What we implemented
Forward any unanswered call after ring 3 to a cloud AI receptionist.
Loaded it with the company’s service list (weekly mow, sod install, hardscape, etc.), price ranges, and service ZIP codes - setup took about a day.
First-30-day results:
- Missed calls from 269 -> 0
- On site estimates booked from overflow: 14
- New revenue booked: $28.4 K
- Added payroll hours: 0
- AI cost (minutes + line): $247
The assistant sounds like a real human, grabs address, lot size, and preferred visit time, then emails a concise summary to the ops manager. Every morning the team wakes up to fresh, qualified jobs - no extra staff, no late-night call returns.
Why share this
If you’re acquiring (or already own) a service business - landscaping, pool service, pressure washing- where the seller still doubles as receptionist, an overflow AI line can stop revenue from slipping through the cracks on day one.
Happy to help anyone who wants to test the idea - just DM me.
from University of Oxford in London, UK
from Duke University in Los Angeles, CA, USA