Two things are certain for business owners: endless notifications and frustrating missed calls. Even solopreneurs can miss a few calls each month, and the larger your business grows, the more common they become.
Missed calls aren’t just a source of lost revenue for your business — they could potentially damage customer relationships.
This isn’t your fault — you can’t be everywhere at once or constantly glued to your phone. But you can learn how to respond to missed calls by text to build trust with callers even when you can’t pick up the phone. In addition, we provide 10 missed call text templates and explore how to prevent missed calls in the first place.
How to respond to a missed call by text in 6 steps
There’s no such thing as a ‘perfect’ response to missed business calls, but following basic SMS texting etiquette is a good place to start. In every message, you should:
- Reply promptly. This should be within a few minutes of their call, although responding instantly is even better. Remember: the longer you leave your customers hanging, the more likely they are to go to a competitor.
- Apologize. You don’t need to be overly dramatic, but a simple ‘Sorry we missed your call’ shows callers that you value their business.
- Explain the reason you missed the call. A quick explanation, such as an out-of-office text message, will help callers understand why you’re not available.
- If you know why your customer called, address it. If the caller left a voicemail or contacted you by email and stated the reason for their call, your response should address it. If you have a self-service option available — think appointment scheduling links or ticketing portals — be sure to share them in the text.
- Let them know you’ll call them back. This could be as simple as ‘I’ll call you back soon to help you resolve your query as quickly as possible.’
- Give the time and date you’ll contact them. If you can’t give a specific date or time, give a general range, such as ‘within 24 hours.’
Now that you know what to include in a missed call text, let’s look at some templates to get those creative juices flowing. We’ll look at five specific use cases you can edit to better suit your business needs.
Side note: For each use case, we include one after-business-hours text message template and one for during business hours, since OpenPhone supports both of these features (as shown in the screenshot below).
5 Ready-to-use missed call text templates
1. Missed call from a customer
Don’t want your existing customers to get frustrated? Start with the following template:
“Hey [name], just saw you tried to call! So sorry I missed you today — I was at [specific event] and away from my phone. I listened to your voicemail and heard you wanted to talk about [subject]. I’d love to call you back on [date or time], but if you’d rather text, you can message this number directly. Chat soon!”
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If a customer contacts you outside of business hours, you can use this template to set expectations:
“Thanks for calling, [name]! We’re sorry we missed you. [Business name] is closed until [date/time]. We’ll start responding to messages on [date/time]. Looking forward to speaking with you soon!”
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2. Missed call from an unknown number
Here’s a template you can send to unknown callers during business hours:
“Hi [name], this is [name] from [business]. I’m sorry I missed your call — I was assisting another customer. Please let me know the reason for your call, and I’d be happy to call you back at [specific time] to discuss it. Let me know if another time works better for you!”
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And here’s one you can use after your business closes for the day:
“Hi [name], looks like I missed your call — sorry about that! Our office is closed for the day, but I’d love to connect. I’ll reach out tomorrow between [specific time]. If that doesn’t work, reply with a time that works better for you. Speak soon.”
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3. Missed call from team member
If you accidentally miss a coworker’s call, you can let them know you’ll get back to them soon.
“Just got your voicemail [name]! I’m sorry I missed your call earlier — I was [reason] at the time. If this is about [specific topic], I have space on my calendar on [date]. I’ll call you back at [specific time], or feel free to reply here if you’d rather speak over text. Chat soon!”
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If you’re off the clock or on vacation, you can send a text reply like this:
“Hey [name]! Letting you know I got your message. So sorry — I’m out for [reason] and won’t be back until [date/time]. You’re welcome to leave me more details by texting me back here, and I’ll respond around [date/time]. If this is urgent, you can give me a ring at [number], and I’ll help however I can.”
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4. Missed call from an interviewee
If job candidates have last-minute questions for you, sending a quick reply during business hours could help ensure they show up for their interview.
“Hi [name], I apologize for missing your call earlier. I was [reason] at the time. If this is about confirming details for your interview or any related questions, I’ll be happy to assist. I’ll give you a call back today at [specific time], or feel free to reply here if you prefer to text. Thanks again for your patience and interest in [company].”
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If a candidate tries to call outside of business hours, you can use this message to provide next steps.
“You’ve reached [company]. We are currently closed until [date/time]. If you wish to follow up on a recent interview, please call back during business hours ([date/time]). If you need to reschedule an upcoming interview, please leave a detailed message and a preferred date or time. You will receive a phone call from our team within 24 hours.”
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5. Missed call from a client who wants to make an appointment
Running a service-based business? Be sure to help customers with self-service options if you can’t immediately pick up the phone.
“Hi [name], thank you for your call. We apologize for not being able to answer — all our lines are currently busy. If you are calling to schedule an appointment, you can book a time on our website: [URL]. I will follow up within 24 hours to see if there’s anything I can help you with. If this is an emergency, please hang up and call [number].”
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Even if you’re currently closed, booking links make it easy for customers to reserve appointments at any time.
“Hi [name], thank you for your call. We apologize for not being able to answer at the moment — our office is closed until [date/time]. If you’re calling to schedule an appointment, you can book a time using our online booking portal here: [URL]. I’ll also follow up with a call at [specific date/time] to see if there’s anything I can help you with. See you soon!”
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How to automatically respond to a missed call by text in OpenPhone
Do you lack the time to follow up on missed calls individually?
Good news! OpenPhone makes it easy to automate text responses to missed calls so you can instantly respond when you’re unable to pick up the phone.
Here’s how to get started in 15 minutes or less:
- Sign up for an OpenPhone account. You’re welcome to take our seven-day free trial first, but you can’t send any text messages without completing US carrier registration.
- On the left-hand menu, tap Settings. Under Workspace, tap Phone Numbers. Select the number you wish to add auto-replies to.
- Scroll down to the section that says Auto-Replies. You’ll notice there are four options you can use to create personalized auto-replies for missed calls, which are:
- Auto reply for missed calls without voicemail during business hours
- Auto reply for missed calls with voicemail during business hours
- Auto reply for missed calls without voicemail after business hours
- Auto reply for missed calls with voicemail after business hours
💡If you’re not sure how to update your business hours, refer to our helpful guide.
- Enter auto-replies into their dedicated text boxes. If you choose to use one of the templates above, be sure to customize them to prevent awkward conversations later.
- Continue refining auto-replies as your company grows. For example, you might offer alternative ways to schedule appointments or an emergency contact number if your customers need help after hours.
Keep in mind that OpenPhone only sends one auto-reply text every three hours to the same contact number. This means if a customer calls you five times in one hour, they won’t get five automated texts.
Prevent missed calls before they happen with OpenPhone
Missed calls are almost inevitable in every business. But if you use missed call text back software like OpenPhone, you can make them the exception rather than the rule.
OpenPhone can help you prevent missing customer calls by setting up shared phone numbers. With shared phone numbers, you can invite everyone on your team to the same phone number and split the responsibility of receiving incoming calls and texts. This increases the chances of someone being available to answer your customers’ calls.
With shared phone numbers, you can also:
- Assign ring orders. You can set up random ring orders that alert everyone on the number of an incoming call or set up a custom ring sequence that notifies ‘batches’ of team members in any order you specify.
- Tag a teammate in internal threads. Only internal team members can see internal threads — never your customers or reps outside the number. That way, you can easily get your teammates’ attention to ask questions, delegate tasks, or provide context before following up.
- Use helpful tools to make texting easier. You can tap into our text message response generator to brainstorm ideas for messages. You can also use snippets to create templated messages, then queue them up for the future with scheduled texts.
- Set your business hours and work schedule. With business hours, you can automatically send after-hours calls to voicemail so they understand why you missed their call. With work schedules, team members can update their time on the clock so they only get notified of calls while working. Both of these tools can help you maintain a work-life balance.
- Find more coaching opportunities. You’ll have access to all messages in one unified SMS inbox, making it easy to spotlight great customer service moments or highlight areas of improvement to help your team grow. For example, is there a team member refusing to answer certain calls? Are they not sure how to answer specific questions? OpenPhone also makes it easy to review call recordings and AI-generated call transcripts so you don’t have to listen to every call.
OpenPhone: The best phone system to grow your business
Having a streamlined way to respond to missed business calls can help you recover missed opportunities. Of course, the better solution is to avoid missed calls in the first place — which is where OpenPhone comes in.
With OpenPhone as your small business phone system, you can send an unlimited number of SMS messages in the US and Canada. You can also use auto-replies to provide quick responses to missed calls and ensure no conversation falls through the cracks.
No need to take our word for it, though. Take OpenPhone for a spin with a seven-day free trial.
FAQs
Many customers whose calls aren’t answered won’t call your business again. This could represent hundreds of missed leads and opportunities, not to mention top-line revenue for your business.
Do your best to empathize with your customers. Something as simple as, ‘So sorry — let’s reschedule’ addresses their frustration and immediately offers a solution.
A missed call text back strategy is a plan that helps your team decide how and when to respond to missed calls by text. That way, you can stay in touch with customers even when you miss their calls, preventing lost leads and revenue.
When you text back a missed call, be sure you:
1. Reply promptly
2. Apologize
3. Explain why you missed the call
4. Address the problem or provide next steps if you can
5. Let them know you’ll call them back
6. Give a specific date or time range for the callback
