The Problem: Peak Season Calls Were Going to Voicemail While the Crew Was on the Job
Marcus Webb has been building decks in the St. Louis metro area for fourteen years under his company Webb Outdoor Living, based out of O'Fallon, Missouri. He runs two crews, handles all estimating himself, and does the kind of custom composite deck builds that show up in neighborhood Facebook groups and drive a steady stream of referral leads every spring and summer. Business is good. But for years, Marcus dealt with a problem that good businesses in high-demand trades always face: the busier you are, the less time you have to answer the phone when the next customer calls.
Deck building is a seasonal business in Missouri. The real inquiry rush starts in April and runs hard through July, when homeowners start thinking about outdoor entertaining and realize they want a deck before summer is over. During those months, Marcus and his crews are on job sites from 7 a.m. to 4 or 5 p.m. every weekday. His phone goes to voicemail regularly. His website gets traffic from Google — people searching for "deck builder St. Louis" or "composite deck contractor O'Fallon" — and some of those visitors scroll through the photo gallery, get interested, and hit the contact page. Then they leave a message or fill out a form and wait.
The waiting was the problem. Marcus returned calls in the evenings, usually between 6 and 8 p.m. A fair percentage of those callbacks went to voicemail themselves. The back-and-forth to schedule a single estimate appointment sometimes took three or four days of phone tag. In the meantime, the homeowner had called two other deck companies. Whoever showed up first won the job. Marcus estimated that he lost 12 to 15 estimate appointments per season simply from response time — and with an average project value of $14,000, that was as much as $210,000 in annual revenue walking out the door because nobody picked up the phone.
Homeowners also had questions before they were ready to request an estimate. What's the difference between pressure-treated lumber and composite decking? How long does a deck build typically take? Do permits need to be pulled? Will the quote include demolition of the old deck? These were basic, answerable questions — but answering them required Marcus to take a call, which wasn't always possible from a job site.
The Solution: A Chatbot That Works While the Crew Builds
Marcus implemented an AI chatbot on the Webb Outdoor Living website through Anchor Co AI. The focus was on two things: answering the pre-estimate research questions that visitors had before they were ready to commit, and capturing contact information from leads who were ready to move forward so Marcus could reach them with a specific callback time instead of playing phone tag.
The Anchor Co AI team trained the chatbot on Webb Outdoor Living's full service offering — deck construction, pergola and covered patio builds, outdoor kitchen framing, privacy screens, and deck replacement. It learned the material types Marcus works with (pressure-treated, cedar, Trex composite, Azek, TimberTech), how to explain the trade-offs in cost and durability between them, and what factors most influence project pricing. The chatbot was also trained to answer the permit question clearly: yes, permits are typically required for new deck construction in most Missouri municipalities, and Webb Outdoor Living handles the permit process as part of every build.
For lead capture, the chatbot was configured to collect project information — deck size estimate, existing deck removal needed, material preference, timeline — and deliver it to Marcus as a structured email so he could prepare for the callback.
What the Chatbot Does
- Explains the difference between pressure-treated lumber, cedar, and composite decking materials — including cost range, maintenance requirements, and lifespan
- Answers timeline questions: how long a typical deck build takes from signed contract to completion, including permit timeline
- Describes the estimate process — that estimates are free, what Marcus needs to see to produce one, and approximately how long an on-site estimate visit takes
- Addresses permit and HOA questions directly, explaining that Webb handles the permit process and that homeowners should check with their HOA for any aesthetic requirements before selecting materials
- Captures estimate request information: approximate deck dimensions, location, material preferences, and contact details — delivered to Marcus as a structured lead
- Answers questions about deck demolition and disposal of existing structures, railing options, and post installation standards
The Results
- Estimate request volume increased by 44% during the first full spring/summer season after chatbot deployment
- $31,000 in project revenue directly traced to after-hours chatbot leads in the first six months — leads submitted between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. that would previously have sat as website bounces
- Phone tag cycles dropped significantly — leads who came through the chatbot already had their basic questions answered and were ready to schedule the estimate in a single call
- Marcus reclaimed roughly 3 hours per week previously spent answering repetitive pre-estimate questions by phone
- Two large projects ($22,000 and $28,000) booked from leads that first engaged the chatbot on a Sunday afternoon when Marcus was unavailable
Why It's a Perfect Fit
Deck builders operate in a high-competition, seasonal market where speed-to-estimate is often the deciding factor. A homeowner who wants a deck before the Fourth of July isn't waiting four days to play phone tag — they're calling three companies and going with whoever shows up first. A chatbot that captures the inquiry instantly and gives Marcus a structured, ready-to-call lead the next morning keeps him in the running even when he can't answer the phone at 2 p.m. on a Thursday.
The material question volume is also a natural fit. Homeowners researching composite versus pressure-treated decking have genuine questions that, when answered well, actually increase their willingness to spend more on quality materials. A chatbot that gives a clear, honest comparison builds trust before the estimate appointment and often results in higher-value project scopes.
For a business doing $800K to $1.5M in annual deck builds, a $29/month chatbot that recovers even two projects per season pays for itself more than 1,000 times over. Plans start at $29/month at anchorcoai.com/pricing.