Ansela / Who it’s for / Funeral directors
For funeral directors
When the call is about a death, you decide who answers it.
Ansela answers in your firm’s name and deals with the routine calls. For a death you choose: put through to your on-call mobile, or a message taken gently and a call back from you.
£1.99 your first month, including VAT, then from £99 a month + VAT. 60 minutes in month one. No contract.
Set up in about 15 minutes.
Ansela is a Bookeasy.ai product. You sign up at ansela.bookeasy.ai, and you’ll see BOOKEASY.AI on your card statement.
Is there an answering service for funeral directors?
Yes, but a call about a death is your decision. Ansela is an AI phone receptionist. She answers in your firm’s name, handles office-hours and pre-arrangement enquiries from what you’ve given her, and for a death puts the call through to your on-call mobile or takes a gentle message. Plans start at £99 a month + VAT.
01
The call after the hospice rang the family
This firm has chosen to take a message in the evening. Another firm might put the call straight through to the on-call mobile. Either way the caller isn’t given advice or costs, and Gareth is the one who rings back.
Example call; Pennington Vale Funeral Directors and the caller are made up.
This call may be recorded. Thank you for calling Pennington Vale Funeral Directors. Please hold for a moment while I connect you.Recorded, and played before she picks up.
Pennington Vale Funeral Directors, Ansela speaking. How can I help you?
Hello. I don’t really know how to say this. It’s my mother-in-law. She died this afternoon, at the hospice. Sorry. I think we were told to ring you.
I’m very sorry. Thank you for ringing. Take your time. Is it all right if I take a few details, so that Gareth can call you?
Yes. Yes, of course. Her name was Dorothy Aldous. I’m Carol, Carol Aldous. She’s my husband’s mum.
Thank you, Carol. What number should Gareth call you on?
This one. 07700 900441. Can you tell me what happens now? Do I have to go to the registrar first, or can it wait?
I can’t advise on that, and I wouldn’t want to get it wrong. Gareth will talk it through with you when he calls. Is there anything he should know before he does?
Only that the hospice said they’d keep her there until we ring. And how much will it be? Roughly?
I haven’t been given anything on costs that I can pass on, so I’d rather Gareth went through it all with you himself.
Right. Yes. That’s fine.
I’ve got all of that for him, Carol. Gareth will call you back. I’m sorry again.
02
What she does for a funeral director, and what she won’t
She works from your office hours, address, visiting rules, how pre-arrangement enquiries are handled, and the rule for a call about a death.
- Office hours, address and visiting questions, answered in your words.
- Pre-arrangement enquiries, taken with a name and number, or booked in your Ansela diary.
- A call about a death, put through to your on-call mobile, or a message taken gently, as you decide.
- Calls while you are at a service, taken and written up for you.
- Won’t discuss costs or arrangements beyond what you’ve given her. She says you’ll go through it yourself.
- Won’t give advice on registering a death or on the law, and won’t guess. She says who will talk it through with the caller.
- Won’t confirm who you are looking after, to a relative, a neighbour or anyone else who asks.
03
What happens when a funeral director can’t answer the phone?
You are often with a family or at a service when it rings. A pre-arrangement question or a query about opening hours can wait for a message. A call from someone just bereaved is different, and a ringing line nobody answers is hard on them.
That is why the rule is yours. Ansela answers the routine calls, and the one call you may want a person for is handled the way you have chosen.
04
What does an AI receptionist do when someone rings a funeral director?
The routine calls: office hours, the address, whether families can visit, and pre-arrangement enquiries. She answers from what you’ve given her, takes a name and number, or books an appointment into her Ansela diary.
She doesn’t discuss costs or arrangements beyond what you’ve given her, and says plainly that you will go through them with the caller, in person or on the phone.
05
Who takes the call when someone has died?
You decide, and she follows your rule. Either the call goes straight through to your on-call mobile, or she takes the name and number gently and says someone will ring back. She doesn’t offer comfort she can’t stand behind, and she doesn’t say anything about arrangements.
Decide what you want if your mobile isn’t answered, and test it before a family hears it. She is only on the hours you set, so don’t treat her as round-the-clock cover. You may well want a person for this call, and that is a reasonable choice.
06
What won’t she say to a bereaved caller?
She won’t give advice on registering a death or on the law, and she won’t guess. She won’t confirm whether you are looking after someone, whoever asks, relative or neighbour. Membership of a trade body such as NAFD or SAIF is yours, and she says it only if you add it.
The calls are recorded, and you get a summary, recording and transcript by email. Think about whether that suits the first call after a death.
Plans start at £99 a month + VAT: see what each plan includes. Paying a per-call service now? See how Ansela compares.
07
The front office, when the door is closed
We built Ansela because we kept ringing tradespeople who couldn’t pick up, and then booking someone else. She isn’t a call centre. She answers in your name, says what you’ve told her to say, and writes down what the caller wanted.
If she gets a call wrong, forward us the recording.
Anselahello@ansela.ai
08
How do you set up Ansela?
You choose a plan before your number goes live.
For funeral directors: keep your current number and divert it to Ansela, or take a new UK business number for your website and cards, or use both.
- Give her your website and your wording. She reads it and comes back with your hours, address and pre-arrangement wording to check.
- Decide the death rule, then test it. Choose between your on-call mobile and a message, and listen to every word before a family hears it.
- Divert your mobile. We give you a UK number. One short code diverts your mobile to it when you don’t pick up. Another turns it off.
09
What does Ansela cost? Three plans, no contract
Starter suits most single family firms. The rule for a death is yours, whichever plan you pick.
Ansela is a Bookeasy.ai product. You sign up at ansela.bookeasy.ai, and you’ll see BOOKEASY.AI on your card statement.
| Plan | A month + VAT | Minutes | Calls at once |
|---|---|---|---|
| StarterSole traders, one or two vans | £99 | 600 | 1 |
| TeamDiaries for up to 10 people | £279 | 1,800 | 3 |
| ScaleSet up with you, not self-serve | £499 | 3,500 | 3 |
Minutes are time she spends on the phone with callers. Extra minutes are 20p each, up to a limit you set.
First month £1.99 including VAT, with 60 minutes, on Starter. Card needed; nothing else to pay in month one. Cancel from your billing page and it stops at the end of the month you’ve paid for. Plan prices exclude VAT.
Not VAT-registered? With VAT that’s £118.80 a month on Starter, £334.80 a month on Team and £598.80 a month on Scale.
Scale is set up with you. Need her plugged into your own systems? Talk to us about Enterprise.
10
Questions funeral directors ask
Can she put a call about a death through to my mobile?
Yes, if that’s the rule you set. Decide what happens if you can’t pick up, and test it first.
Does she give funeral costs?
Only what you’ve given her to say. By default she doesn’t discuss costs or arrangements, and tells the caller you will go through them.
Will she tell callers whether you are looking after someone?
No. She doesn’t confirm or deny it to a relative, a friend or anyone else.
Does she cover nights and weekends?
Only the hours you set for her, and she isn’t a replacement for an on-call arrangement. Decide with care what happens to a call about a death out of hours.
Do I have to change my number?
No. We give you a UK number and you divert your own to it with a short code (codes by network). Turn the divert off whenever you like.
What is a minute, and can she take two calls at once?
A minute is time she spends on the phone with callers. Starter includes 600 a month, extra minutes are 20p each up to a limit you set, and Starter takes 1 call at a time. A caller who rings while she’s busy can leave a voicemail, which doesn’t use your minutes.
Is there a contract, and what happens after the £1.99 month?
No minimum term. After the first month it carries on at your plan price plus VAT unless you cancel, which you can do from your billing page at any time.
However you want the call answered, you set the rule.
Ansela is a Bookeasy.ai product. You sign up at ansela.bookeasy.ai, and you’ll see BOOKEASY.AI on your card statement.