[← How to test an AI receptionist before you buy](https://tradey.com/guides/how-to-test-an-ai-receptionist) · [Find a receptionist bot](https://tradey.com/find-receptionist) # Printable AI receptionist test scorecard **Short answer:** a confirmed booking is a new event in your own calendar with the right details; a captured request or a message summary is not a booking. Score every test call against that. A printable scorecard for eight test calls (the five core calls from our test guide, plus a corrected detail, an out-of-area request and a request for a person): mark Pass, Fix or Not supported for each run, note what happened and a retest date, and work out the real monthly cost. Print it or save it as PDF from your browser. Scorecard v2 · 2026-10-13 **To print:** use your browser's Print command (Ctrl+P or ⌘P). Choose "Save as PDF" to keep a copy. Navigation, forms and links are hidden on paper. - Use a test calendar or test service type, and give every product the same setup sheet (hours, services, approved prices, who gets urgent calls). - Make each call twice and change only the detail you're testing. - After each call, open the calendar, the call summary and the recording side by side, then tick Pass, Fix (fixable by a setting; retest) or N/S (not supported). - Tell anyone helping you test that calls may be recorded. **Product 1:** **Trial dates:** Scorecard v2 · 2026-10-13 | # | Test call and what a pass looks like | Run 1 | Run 2 | What happened (booking on calendar? summary right?) | Retest date | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | **Routine booking**Pass: Slot on your calendar with the right day, time, service and contact; read back; confirmation matches | Pass Fix N/S | Pass Fix N/S | | | | 2 | **Reschedule or cancel**Pass: Old slot freed, new one booked, no duplicate | Pass Fix N/S | Pass Fix N/S | | | | 3 | **Urgent call after hours**Pass: Reaches on-call person or follows your rule; no promised time you didn't allow | Pass Fix N/S | Pass Fix N/S | | | | 4 | **Price or diagnosis you didn't give it**Pass: Says someone will confirm, or quotes only your prices | Pass Fix N/S | Pass Fix N/S | | | | 5 | **Hard line (noise, accent, second language)**Pass: Name and number right, or asks again | Pass Fix N/S | Pass Fix N/S | | | | 6 | **Corrected detail**Pass: Caller corrects the phone number or time mid-call; the saved booking has the corrected detail, not the first one | Pass Fix N/S | Pass Fix N/S | | | | 7 | **Out-of-area request**Pass: Address outside your service area: politely declines or follows your rule; no booking you can't serve | Pass Fix N/S | Pass Fix N/S | | | | 8 | **Ask for a person (no answer)**Pass: Transfers or offers a callback when asked; if nobody picks up, takes a message and tells the caller what happens next | Pass Fix N/S | Pass Fix N/S | | | **Monthly cost** = plan $ + overage $ + number/add-ons $ = $ ÷ calls/month = **cost per call** $ **Decision:** Keep testing Forward some real calls Stop (one invented price or lost booking is enough) **Product 2:** **Trial dates:** Scorecard v2 · 2026-10-13 | # | Test call and what a pass looks like | Run 1 | Run 2 | What happened (booking on calendar? summary right?) | Retest date | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | **Routine booking**Pass: Slot on your calendar with the right day, time, service and contact; read back; confirmation matches | Pass Fix N/S | Pass Fix N/S | | | | 2 | **Reschedule or cancel**Pass: Old slot freed, new one booked, no duplicate | Pass Fix N/S | Pass Fix N/S | | | | 3 | **Urgent call after hours**Pass: Reaches on-call person or follows your rule; no promised time you didn't allow | Pass Fix N/S | Pass Fix N/S | | | | 4 | **Price or diagnosis you didn't give it**Pass: Says someone will confirm, or quotes only your prices | Pass Fix N/S | Pass Fix N/S | | | | 5 | **Hard line (noise, accent, second language)**Pass: Name and number right, or asks again | Pass Fix N/S | Pass Fix N/S | | | | 6 | **Corrected detail**Pass: Caller corrects the phone number or time mid-call; the saved booking has the corrected detail, not the first one | Pass Fix N/S | Pass Fix N/S | | | | 7 | **Out-of-area request**Pass: Address outside your service area: politely declines or follows your rule; no booking you can't serve | Pass Fix N/S | Pass Fix N/S | | | | 8 | **Ask for a person (no answer)**Pass: Transfers or offers a callback when asked; if nobody picks up, takes a message and tells the caller what happens next | Pass Fix N/S | Pass Fix N/S | | | **Monthly cost** = plan $ + overage $ + number/add-ons $ = $ ÷ calls/month = **cost per call** $ **Decision:** Keep testing Forward some real calls Stop (one invented price or lost booking is enough) ## Call scripts (copy and paste) Use made-up details and a test calendar. Tell anyone helping you that calls may be recorded. - **Routine booking:** "Hi, I'd like to book [your most common job] for next Tuesday morning. My name is [test name], number [test number], address [test address]." - **Reschedule or cancel:** "I booked for Tuesday morning under [test name]. Can we move it to Thursday afternoon instead?" - **Urgent after hours** (call outside your hours): "I've got [a leak under the sink / no heat / a burst pipe / water coming through the ceiling]. Can someone come tonight?" - **Price you didn't give it:** "How much will it cost to [a job you never priced for the bot]? Just give me a ballpark." - **Hard line:** call from a noisy place or speak quickly, and spell an unusual name. - **Corrected detail:** give your number, then say "Sorry, the last two digits are [different digits]", and later "Actually, make that 2 pm, not 10". - **Out-of-area:** "I'm at [an address outside your service area]. Can you come out this week?" - **Ask for a person:** "Can I talk to a real person please?" Have nobody answer the transfer, and note what the bot tells the caller. Scores: **Pass** = did what a pass looks like; **Fix** = failed but the vendor says a setting can fix it (retest after the change); **N/S** = not supported by the product. Decide from what happened on the calls, not a total score. This sheet is not an emergency-handling certification of any product. [Download the scorecard as CSV](https://tradey.com/guides/ai-receptionist-test-scorecard.csv) (for a spreadsheet; same calls and fields). No email needed. This scorecard names no vendors and is not a ranking. Tradey hasn't published any test results yet, and no bot has been Tradey-verified. General information, not legal advice. Last reviewed: 2026-10-13. Corrections: [contact](https://tradey.com/contact). ## Questions owners ask before buying **Does it book on my calendar during the call, or only take a message?** Ask for a real appointment on a test call, then open your own calendar or dispatch app before you hang up. A booking is a new event with the right name, number, service and time. An email, text or voicemail summary means the bot took a message. Ask the vendor to show the event appearing in your system during the demo. **How do I know the booking really exists?** Within 10 minutes of each test call, check that exactly one event exists, on the right staff member's calendar, at the time the bot read back. Look for duplicates, missing events after a slow or dropped call, and bookings outside your hours. **Does it mess up scheduling?** Run at least five test calls and count the mistakes, not just whether one call passed: wrong time, wrong person, double bookings and missed reschedules. Write down the error rate, for example 1 wrong out of 10 calls, and test again after the vendor fixes your setup. **Does it sound robotic, and do callers hang up?** Make the test calls yourself and listen as a customer would: long pauses, talking over the caller, repeated questions. Ask a few people who agree to take part to call it too. During a trial with real calls, compare how many callers hang up before giving their details with your current setup. Laws on AI disclosure and call recording vary by state and country and change often. Some US states require everyone on a call to consent to recording, and some have rules about telling people they are talking to AI. US federal rules also restrict outbound calls that use AI-generated voices. Check the rules where you and your callers are, or ask a lawyer. This is general information, not legal advice. **Does it work after hours, on weekends and for emergencies?** Place test calls in the evening, on a weekend and with an emergency (no heat, a burst pipe, a power cut). Check that it follows your rules, such as booking the next open slot, transferring or paging your on-call person, or taking a message, and time how long an emergency takes to reach a person. **Does it get names, phone numbers and emails right?** On each test call, spell a hard name and give a phone number and an email address, then compare what the bot saved with what you said. Count every wrong field. Check that it reads details back and lets the caller correct them. **Can it follow my intake questions and screen out calls I don't want?** Give the bot your questions (service type, address, job size, service area) and your rules for jobs you don't take. On test calls, play one caller who fits and one who doesn't, and check that it asks every question and handles the non-fit the way you set. **Can it handle Spanish or other languages?** Ask which languages the vendor supports on your plan and whether the bot switches by itself or needs a menu choice. Test with a fluent speaker who agrees to take part: book a job entirely in that language, then check the saved details and any text or email the caller receives. **Do spam calls and robocalls use up my minutes?** Check the vendor's pricing page for whether you pay per minute, per call or per caller, and ask whether spam, robocalls, wrong numbers and very short calls count. Ask whether it can screen or block spam before answering, and check your usage report after the first week. **Is it worth it if I only get a few calls a day?** Work out the monthly cost at your real volume, for example 50, 150 and 500 calls a month, including the plan, overage and add-ons. Compare that with what one missed job is worth to you. At low volume, a plan with a low base price and per-call or per-minute billing can cost less than a large bundle. **Which calendars and booking tools does it work with?** Ask the vendor for the exact tools it connects to (for example Google Calendar, Outlook, Calendly or a field-service app) and whether it books directly or sends a request you approve. Test with the tool you already use, not a demo calendar. **Is it ready to use, and has anyone verified it?** Tradey has not verified any receptionist bot yet, and nothing on Tradey is a ranking. Vendor claims and online reviews are only a starting point. The test calls in our guide are the best way to see whether a bot works for your business before you change your published number. General information, not legal advice. These answers name no vendors. Last reviewed: 2026-10-13. ## Related pages - [How to test an AI receptionist before you buy](https://tradey.com/guides/how-to-test-an-ai-receptionist) - [Find a receptionist bot that books jobs](https://tradey.com/find-receptionist) - [Checklist: plumbing companies](https://tradey.com/guides/ai-receptionist-checklist-plumbing) - [Checklist: electricians](https://tradey.com/guides/ai-receptionist-checklist-electrician) - [Checklist: landscaping companies](https://tradey.com/guides/ai-receptionist-checklist-landscaping) - [Checklist: HVAC companies](https://tradey.com/guides/ai-receptionist-checklist-hvac) - [All buyer guides](https://tradey.com/guides) - [Checklist: barbershop](https://tradey.com/guides/ai-receptionist-checklist-barbers) - [Checklist: salon](https://tradey.com/guides/ai-receptionist-checklist-salons) - [Does an AI receptionist book appointments, or just take messages?](https://tradey.com/guides/does-an-ai-receptionist-book-appointments)