About Perceptionist

Built in 1998 for the Business Owner Who Cannot Be in Two Places at Once.

Perceptionist is not a software platform. We are not a chatbot company that pivoted into answering services. We are a team of real people who have spent more than 25 years training agents to represent service businesses the way those business owners would represent themselves.

"We've been working with Perceptionist since the beginning of the year. The service is nothing short of amazing. I value this service and can rest well knowing that I have such support."
M
Mr. Smith
Business Owner — Google Review
★★★★★

How We Started

A Simple Problem. A 25 Year Commitment to Solving It.

Tiger Downey founded Perceptionist in 1998 with a simple observation: service business owners are some of the hardest working people in North America, and they are losing revenue every day because they cannot answer the phone while they are on the job.

The answering services that existed at the time were impersonal, generic, and did nothing to actually close the sale. Callers hit a message taker. The job went elsewhere. The owner never knew.

Perceptionist was built to fix that. Not just to answer the phone but to answer it the way the business owner would. Qualified. Booked. Closed. Before the caller hung up.

More than 25 years later that is still exactly what we do.

1998
Founded by Tiger Downey with a mission to help service businesses capture every call and close every opportunity.
2000s
Expanded to serve franchise networks and multi-location service businesses across the United States and Canada.
2010s
Integrated CRM and scheduling software so agents could book appointments in real time while callers were still on the phone.
Today
One of North America's leading live answering services for home service businesses, contractors, and appointment driven operations.

Our Promise to every client

Four Commitments We Make on Every Call

These are not aspirational values on a wall. They are the standard every Perceptionist agent is measured against on every single interaction.

01
Be Impressionable
Create a Lasting First Impression
Every caller's first impression of your business is formed in the first ten seconds of that call. Our agents are trained to make that impression count. Professional, warm, knowledgeable. Every time, without exception.
02
Be Resourceful
Find the Right Answer Every Time
Callers do not always know exactly what they need. Our agents are trained to listen, adapt, and find the right answer for each situation. Not read from a script. Solve the problem in front of them.
03
Be Personable
Build Real Human Connection
People do business with people they like. Our agents are trained to build genuine rapport on every call. Not performed friendliness. Real human connection in a professional context that builds trust in your brand.
04
Be Conclusive
Every Call Ends With a Next Step
Every call ends with a clear outcome. An appointment booked. A quote requested. An emergency escalated. We do not take messages and hope for the best. We move things forward on every single call.

How We Work With You

We Are an Extension of your business. Not a Vendor

When Perceptionist answers your phone we are not representing a call center. We are representing you. Your name. Your standards. Your brand.

That means we take the time to learn your business before we ever pick up a call. Your scripts, your pricing, your service areas, your escalation process. All of it documented, trained, and approved by you before we go live.

01
You approve everything before we go live. Scripts, pricing, call handling rules. Nothing happens without your sign off.
02
When your business changes, we change with it. This is not a set it and forget it service. We adapt continuously.
03
You have full visibility into every call. Detailed summaries delivered after every interaction so you are never in the dark.
25+
Years building partnerships with service business owners across North America
48hrs
Average time from signup to your first call answered by a trained agent
100%
Of calls handled by real trained humans who know your business by name

Ready to Talk

No Contract. No Complicated Setup. Just Results.

There is no long term contract. No complicated setup. Most clients are live within one week. Start with a conversation and we will show you exactly how Perceptionist works for your specific business.

Process

Purpose + Reason + Actions = Process
Although we believe success starts and ends with people, it is the process that binds us together.