Enquiry desk — mockup

Four states of one product. Everything is fictional: the business, the customers, every message and amount.

state 1 · the customer's side: a form that asks the right question, and what the desk does with the answer

Enquiry desk Gagnon Plomberie
Form live on gagnonplomberie.exampleMax on call

The form on your site

One question first: what do you need? The answer decides the next questions, the lane, the person, and the promise the customer sees the moment they press send.

gagnonplomberie.example/contact

How can we help?

Laval and the North Shore. We answer every message the same day.

Something is leakingor overflowingNot workingheater, toilet, drainA quoterenovation, new installA questionanything else
YesNo, I closed the valve
2140 rue des Érables, Laval
Kitchen, under the sink
sink-1.jpgsink-2.jpg+
Sylvie Bergeron
514 555 0163

Leaks with water running: a plumber calls you within 30 minutes, 7 days a week.

What the desk does with it your sentences

Leaking, water runningany time, any day
→
Today · text Max (on call)promise: a call within 30 min
Not workingweekdays
→
Today · Émilie books a visitpromise: a call before 11:00 or 15:00
A quotephotos or plans attached
→
Quotes · Lucpromise: a quote by Friday
A questionmatched to your answers
→
Questions · a drafted replyÉmilie approves it

What Sylvie sees, right away SMS and on the page

Thanks Sylvie, we got it. Max, our plumber on call, will phone you at 514 555 0163 within 30 minutes. If the water gets worse, close the valve under the sink. — Gagnon Plomberie09:52 · sent automatically, the one message that is

The only automatic message is this receipt, and it promises only what the lane can keep. Every other reply waits for a person.

Design notes. Most contact forms ask for a name first and the problem last, then drop everything in one inbox. This one asks what is wrong first, because the answer decides who gets it and how fast. The promise under the button is computed from the lane, so the business never promises a call it cannot make. The single automatic message is the receipt; it names a person and a time.

state 2 · the desk: every enquiry from every channel, in four lanes, each with an owner, a next step and a clock

Enquiry desk Gagnon Plomberie
Tuesday 10:041 promise due in 18 min

One queue

The form, the info@ mailbox, the voicemail and Facebook land here. Nothing is answered from a shared inbox and nothing waits without a name on it.

3today
5quotes
4questions
3waiting on the customer
6done today

Today3

leaks, no heat, not working

Sylvie Bergeroncall by 10:22

Water running under the kitchen sink, two photos. Laval.

MXNext: Max callsform
Restaurant Le Cèdrecall by 11:00

Dishwasher drain backing up since opening.

ÉMNext: book a visitvoicemail
D. Ouelletvisit 13:00

No hot water, 12-year-old 60 gal heater.

KVNext: Kevin on siteform

Quotes5

renovations, new installs

Famille Royquote by Fri

Basement bathroom, plans attached (2 PDF).

LGNext: site visit Thu 16:00form
Condos Vimontquote by Mon

12 units, water heater replacement program.

LGNext: count the units' modelsinfo@
M. Tremblaysent 2 d ago

Kitchen sink and dishwasher hook-up, $1,180.

LGNext: reminder Thuform

Questions4

answered from your own answers

J. Lapointedraft ready

Do you work on Saturdays?

ÉMNext: approve the replyFacebook
A. Nguyendraft ready

Do you install tankless heaters? Which brands?

ÉMNext: approve the replyform
P. Gauthierno answer on file

Can you certify a backflow valve for the city?

LGNext: Luc answers; it becomes an answer on fileinfo@

Waiting on the customer3

the clock is theirs; we remind once

C. Morin2 d

We asked for a photo of the heater's label.

ÉMNext: reminder drafted for tomorrow
Garage Pelletier5 h

Chose between two visit times; no answer yet.

ÉMNext: call at 15:00 if silent
Design notes. Four lanes answer "how fast", the avatar answers "who", the next step answers "what", and the clock is the promise the customer was given, not an internal SLA. "Nobody: 0" is the line an owner checks first. Questions are answered from the business's own answers on file; one with no answer goes to Luc, and his reply becomes the answer next time.

state 3 · one enquiry: the facts pulled out, the next step, the reply waiting for a person

Enquiry desk Gagnon Plomberie
Today · call by 10:22Max on call

Sylvie Bergeron · leak under the kitchen sink

Laval · 514 555 0163 · a customer since 2022 · sent 12 minutes ago from the website form.

What she wrote 09:52

"Water is dripping from the pipe under the kitchen sink, it's pooling in the cabinet. I put a bucket. I'm home all day. Please call."

sink-1.jpgsink-2.jpg
Problem
Leak, kitchen sink drain or supply water running
Address
2140 rue des Érables, Laval 22 min from Max
Available
Home all day
Valve closed?
not said ask on the call

Next step owner: Max

Then book the visit. Max's free slots today:

11:0013:0013:3015:30

The reply after the call drafted, not sent

SMSto 514 555 0163 · from Gagnon Plomberie

Hi Sylvie, Max here. As we said on the phone, I'll be at 2140 rue des Érables today at 13:00 for the leak under the kitchen sink.

Until then, keep the valve under the sink closed and the bucket in place. The visit is $145 for the first hour, parts extra.

— Max, Gagnon Plomberie

The time comes from the slot Max picked, the price from your answers on file. Nothing is sent until Max presses Approve.

Answers on file it used

  • Service call: $145 for the first hour, parts extraupdated May
  • Leaks: close the valve under the fixture, keep a bucketupdated Jan
Design notes. The screen is built around the next step, not the message. Facts are pulled out of what she wrote, and the one thing she did not say (is the valve closed?) is marked as a question for the call, never assumed. The reply is drafted from the slot Max picked and the business's own answers on file, which are listed so a stale price is caught. A person approves every message after the receipt.

state 4 · the owner's week: speed, what became work, what was lost and why

Enquiry desk Gagnon Plomberie
Week of 6 October0 enquiries without an owner

Nothing lost

Every enquiry this week, from first message to booked, quoted, lost or still open. Lost ones carry the reason someone wrote down.

46enquiries+5 on last week
11 minmedian first replywas 3 h before the desk
31booked visits67% of enquiries
$38,400quotes accepted6 of 11 sent

By day enquiries and how many were booked

Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
enquiriesbooked

Promises

44 of 46called back when promised
2 lateby 9 and 14 min, Tuesday morning

Tuesday had 8 leaks before 10:00 with one plumber on call. The desk suggests a second on-call before 10:00 on Tuesdays.

Quotes waiting reminders drafted, you approve them

CustomerSentAmountNext
M. Tremblay2 d$1,180Reminder Thu
Famille Royvisit Thu—Quote by Fri
Condos Vimont——Quote by Mon
R. Caron9 d$6,750Last reminder, then closed

Lost, and why 5 this week

  • Price: went with a cheaper quote2
  • Outside the area (Saint-Jérôme)1
  • Fixed it themselves1
  • No answer after 3 reminders1

0 lost because nobody answered. That line is the reason the desk exists.

Design notes. The owner's question is not "how many emails" but "did anyone fall through". The page answers it in the first line (no enquiry without an owner) and the last (none lost because nobody answered). Promises kept is measured against what the customer was told. Lost enquiries carry a written reason, so price, area and follow-up problems show up as patterns rather than feelings.