Inbound calls: what happens when you miss one

Inbound calls and missed calls

Your FirstFiveMin number is a working business line. A call to it rings your cell for about 20 seconds. If you answer, that is the whole story. If you miss it, FirstFiveMin follows your missed-call setting, and every caller is captured as a lead either way, so nothing disappears into a voicemail nobody checks.

The setting: "If I miss an inbound call"

On Settings, the field If I miss an inbound call has four choices:

• Send a text back: the caller gets a text right away (the default).
• My AI assistant answers the call: the assistant picks up, introduces itself, can book an appointment or take a message, and you get the transcript.
• AI answers, and if they hang up early we text them back: both.
• Neither — do nothing on a missed call.

If the line under the field says "Not active on the platform yet", your choice is saved and takes effect the moment AI answering is turned on for the platform.

"Who answers first"

• Ring my cell first, AI only if I miss it (the default).
• AI answers immediately (business-line mode) — it can transfer to me: use this when the number is published as your main business line and you would rather never have your cell ring first.

This only applies when your missed-call choice includes the AI. A caller can always ask for a person.

Press 1 to take a lead's call

When a lead calls your FirstFiveMin line and your phone rings, you hear a short message before the call connects: it names the line and the last four digits of the caller's number. Press 1 to take the call. If you do not press 1, the call is not connected to you: it goes on to the next person you set up, then to your assistant or the text you chose. So the voicemail on your phone never picks up a call from a lead.

• When the lead called a FirstFiveMin line of your own, your phone shows that line as the caller, not the lead's number. On the Phone numbers page, choose Save your FirstFiveMin lines as a contact so your phone rings even when it silences unknown callers.
• Each phone rings for up to 15 seconds, and a lead never waits more than about 25 seconds before the call goes on.
• The lead hears ringing the whole time and never hears the message meant for you.

At night: who answers first

Outside your working hours (the week you set on the Calendar page) the assistant answers first even if you chose "Ring my cell first" — your cell stays the transfer target, and a caller who asks for you is still offered the transfer or a callback. The line under "Who answers first" on Settings says so. Alerts about those calls follow your after-hours alert preference (immediately, in the morning digest, or not at all).

What the assistant asks first

On every inbound call the assistant asks why the person is calling and, if it is about a property, listing, job or sign, which one — and repeats it back so the record is exact. The reason it classifies (for real estate: property inquiry, showing request, thinking of selling, renter, existing client, vendor, wrong number) appears on the lead row, on the lead's page and in your alert ("Sign call about 123 Main — wants a showing"). Analytics shows inbound calls by reason. Vendors and wrong numbers are never counted as leads.

Expected callers per line

On Phone numbers you can write one line about who usually calls each forwarded line or FirstFiveMin number ("property inquiries from the yard sign", "general office calls"). The assistant reads it before it answers, so the first question fits the line. It is optional and you can change it any time.

Assistant time per caller

Each caller gets up to 20 minutes of assistant time per billing period. After that the assistant takes a short message and offers a callback instead of qualifying or booking — a caller who talks for an hour cannot use up your plan. Usage & plan shows your inbound assistant minutes this period.

Pointing your existing number here

You do not have to reprint anything. On your Phone numbers page, Forward a number you already have gives you the exact codes for your carrier with your FirstFiveMin number already filled in — tap one on your phone and it dials itself. Forward only the calls you miss (recommended) or every call; the same card shows the code that turns forwarding off and tells you when a forwarded call has been seen. See *Forward the numbers you already have* for the details.

How inbound AI calls are billed

An inbound call the assistant answers counts as one engaged lead on your plan, the same meter as everything else, never a per-minute charge. A caller who hangs up in the first seconds without booking is not counted.

Common problems

• A caller was texted back but you expected the AI: check the missed-call setting and whether the "Not active on the platform yet" line is showing.
• A repeat caller got no text: one responsive text per caller per 24 hours, by design.
• A caller who texted STOP earlier gets nothing: their number is on your do-not-contact list. That is the compliance ledger working.

Spam and scanner calls

Not every call to your line is a person. Before the assistant answers, FirstFiveMin screens the caller: a number on your block list, a call whose caller ID failed the carriers' STIR/SHAKEN check, or a number that has hung up on the assistant within seconds several times in a day is treated as spam. A spam call hears the short "we are helping other clients" line and a hangup: no assistant minutes are spent, no lead is created, no text goes out, and nothing is counted against your plan. Someone who has already consented to hear from you is never screened.

A call that did reach the assistant but ended within a few seconds with nothing captured is tagged afterwards as a short spam call in your call records; it was never counted either.

If a real caller ever ends up on the block list by mistake, ask your FirstFiveMin operator to remove them.