EE
O2
Vodafone
Three
giffgaff
Sky Mobile
SMARTY
Talkmobile
iD Mobile
Asda Mobile
Virgin Mobile
Missed call text service
for veterinary practices
A ringing phone in a veterinary practice is often somebody frightened about an animal. When the line is engaged or nobody can get to it — because the team is in theatre, or holding a distressed dog, or dealing with three things at once — that caller is left with nothing, at exactly the moment they most need an answer.
Why veterinary practices miss calls
Consulting and surgical work take precedence over the phone, and rightly so. Small practices without dedicated reception cover get long stretches where nobody can pick up, and lunchtime and end-of-day peaks arrive precisely when the team is thinnest on the ground. Branch surgeries operating part-time have whole days where the line rings out.
The maths
Why this matters beyond the money
The commercial case is real — a registered client is worth years of routine and emergency care — but this trade has a second reason. An owner who cannot reach anyone about a sick animal is frightened as well as inconvenienced. A text that tells them who you are, when you will call back, and where to go if it is an emergency is genuinely better care, not just better marketing.
TextTheCaller is £6.49 a month. Set against the value of the work above, it only has to keep one caller from ringing the next name on the list to have paid for itself several times over.
What to write in your text
You write the message once and it goes out on every missed call. Here's one that works for veterinary practices:
Thanks for calling Elmwood Vets. We can't get to the phone and will call you back. If this is an emergency, call our out-of-hours line on 01234 567890.
It sends from your business name
The caller sees your business name, not a phone number — so there's nothing for them to reply to. Give them something they can act on instead: a booking link, an email address, or a time you'll ring back.
160 characters
One SMS segment. The example above fits with room to spare, and we'll show you the count as you write so nothing gets cut off.
How it works
No app, no new number, no contract.
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1
Sign up with your mobile number
Enter your number, pick your network and set your business name. No password — we email you a magic link.
About 30 seconds
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2
Set unanswered-call forwarding
Follow the tailored dial-code or handset instructions for your carrier, then make a quick test call.
One time only
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3
Write your text-back
Use the example above or write your own. Next time a call rings out, the caller gets it within seconds.
Change it any time
It works on your existing number on every compatible UK network, and only ever triggers on calls you don't answer. Pick up as normal and nothing happens at all. If you want the general version before the veterinary practices detail, read the missed call text service overview.
Step two is the only one that changes depending on who your line is with. We have written the unanswered-call divert up for each network separately — EE, O2, Vodafone, Three, giffgaff, Sky Mobile, SMARTY, Talkmobile, iD Mobile, Asda Mobile and Virgin Mobile — because the menu names, the codes each one accepts and what happens after a SIM swap are genuinely different. If you are not sure where to start, the general guide to stopping calls going to voicemail covers the part that is the same everywhere.
Questions from veterinary practices
It is more appropriate than silence. The message names your practice, says you will call back, and points emergencies at your out-of-hours provider — which is more than a rung-out phone gives them.
By putting your out-of-hours number in the message, yes. The text cannot triage, but it can tell a frightened owner exactly where to go, which is the important part.
Not if they are on your skip list. Most practices add their referral centres, out-of-hours provider, labs and suppliers.
Also built for
Every missed call is a job someone else gets
Keep your number. Two minutes to set up. Cancel whenever you like.
7 days free, then £6.49/mo. Cancel any time.