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
The call didn't go unanswered because you're lazy. It went unanswered because you were working.
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 $299 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.
(240) 896-5519Emergency water damage call — booked in 90 seconds
Caller asking about pricing and availability
Robocall, screened and dropped
Existing customer rescheduling an appointment
How this compares to your other options.
| Comparison | Voicemail | Answering service | Front-desk hire | Northstar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Available after hours | Takes a message | Limited hours | No | 24/7/365 |
| Books the appointment | No | Takes a message | During hours | Live, on the call |
| Knows your business | No | Reads a script | Yes | Trained on it |
| Handles emergencies | No | Rarely | If they're in | Always, routed to you |
| Who builds and maintains it | — | Them | You train them | We do |
| Sick days and turnover | — | N/A | Yes | Never |
| Roughly per month | Free | $300–$800 | $2,900–$5,000 | From $149 |
Voicemail loses the caller. An answering service takes a message and leaves you to call back — usually after they've already booked someone else. A front-desk hire works forty hours a week and calls in sick. We build you a receptionist that answers on the first ring at 2 AM, knows your pricing, and books the job before the caller hangs up. And we're the ones maintaining it.
Front-desk 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. Included on Growth and above.
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. Included on Growth and above.
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 a few days. 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.
Simple pricing. Month to month, no setup fee.
Every plan includes a receptionist custom-built for your business — conversation design, live calendar booking, a dedicated phone number, and full testing before it ever takes a real call.
Starter
$149 / month
For solo operators just getting started.
- 200 minutes included (about 50–65 calls)
- 1 receptionist, 1 business line
- Live appointment booking
- Your FAQs and pricing, built in
- 24/7 answering
- $0.35/min after 200
+ Add a custom website — $100/mo
Growth
$299 / month
For busy service businesses that can't afford a missed call.
Everything in Starter, plus:
- 600 minutes included (about 150–200 calls)
- Emergency triage and priority routing
- Reschedules and cancellations handled
- English and Spanish
- Monthly call analytics
- $0.30/min after 600
+ Add a custom website — $50/mo
Pro
$549 / month
For multi-location operations replacing a front-desk hire.
Everything in Growth, plus:
- 1,500 minutes included
- Multiple locations and multiple receptionists
- CRM integrations available
- Monthly script tuning and revisions
- Dedicated onboarding and a quarterly review
- Custom website included
- $0.25/min after 1,500
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