What 34 AI sales calls to Auckland trades taught us

What we did

Ora is NOVA’s AI caller and receptionist. Before we ask any New Zealand business to trust it with their own calls, we use it on ours. On Monday 2 and Tuesday 3 November 2026, Veronica, our own Ora, rang 34 Auckland trades and workshops: plumbers, electricians, painters, builders, glaziers and car workshops.

Every number was on a list a person approved that day. Every call went to a business number, inside calling hours. Ora said it was an AI on every call, and it never left a voicemail. We left our own three test calls out of the numbers below.

The numbers

Small numbers, so read them as early signs, not rates. We’ll post the next round with the same table.

Lesson 1: the owner is rarely the one who answers

At most businesses that picked up, the person on the phone was at the front desk or in the workshop, not the owner. Our first opening pitched to whoever answered, and those calls mostly ended in silence or a hang-up.

What worked was asking for the owner, and when they weren’t there, asking the person on the phone: “When’s a good time to catch them, or would a short email for them be easier?” Both times Ora asked it, it got an email address.

Lesson 2: early afternoon is the wrong time to ring a tradie

Most of our calls went out between about 1 and 3 pm, when trades are on the tools. That’s where most of the 19 unanswered calls came from. Two people asked to be called back at 7 am, and another said to catch the owner at about 9.

So we’re adding a 7:00 to 8:30 am weekday calling slot alongside the usual hours, and Ora will compare the two. Callbacks people ask for, like “ring me at 7”, are booked and dialled automatically.

Lesson 3: short and plain beats clever

Eight calls ended during or just after the opening. The longest openings did worst. Ora now says who we are and how we help in one sentence, says it’s an AI, and asks for the owner. The reason for calling comes once the owner is on the line.

When the one owner we reached heard the pitch, the words that didn’t land were the product words. “AI receptionist” meant little on a noisy line. “It picks up your phone when you can’t and sends you the job details” is clearer.

Lesson 4: phone menus are a dead end

Six of the 34 calls reached a “press 1 for…” menu. Ora stays silent to recordings and hangs up, which is the right thing to do, but redialling the same number only reaches the same menu. These businesses are now marked “needs a direct number”, to be rung on a mobile or a direct line instead.

What we’d tell any NZ business trying AI calls

1. Say it’s an AI, early and plainly. Like a job title, not an apology.
2. Ring business numbers only, inside sensible hours, and keep a do-not-call list. Our guide to cold calling rules in NZ covers the rest.
3. Never leave robot voicemails.
4. Have a person approve every list.
5. Ask for the owner first, and offer an email when they’re out.
6. Follow up yourself. An AI can open the door; the owner still wants to hear from a person.

More on this: AI receptionists for plumbers, electricians and mechanics, and how AI phone calls work.

Figures are from Ora’s own call records for NOVA, 2 and 3 November 2026: 34 outbound sales calls to Auckland businesses, excluding 3 internal test calls. No business or person is named.