How ThePhoneLab Turned Missed Calls into Revenue With a Hybrid Voice–WhatsApp Workflow

ThePhoneLab is the largest phone repair chain in the Netherlands, with more than 19 stores across the country. Every day, their teams handle a steady stream of repair requests, pricing questions, and appointment bookings. Most of them start the same way: someone picks up the phone and calls their nearest store.

It's a simple habit that makes complete sense. Customers want a quick answer. What does a new screen cost for my iphone? How long does it take? Can I come in today? A phone call feels like the fastest route to a yes.

But with store teams focused on hands-on repairs and in-person service, managing every incoming call makes it hard to focus on the actual work. Spikes in call volume were common, especially during peak hours. Staff had to balance front‑desk service with phone support, and as a result, unanswered calls grew into a recurring operational challenge.

For ThePhoneLab, every missed call represented a potential lost booking, and therefore lost revenue. Improving how missed calls were handled, and enabling customers to transition smoothly from voice to messaging, became a strategic priority.

Desafío

High call volume and limited store capacity

ThePhoneLab's store teams are experts at what they do. With locations across the Netherlands and a loyal customer base, they were handling a high and growing volume of in-store visits, walk-ins, and phone inquiries every single day.

That demand is a good thing. But it also created a real operational tension: when the team was focused on delivering great in-store service, incoming calls didn't always get picked up. And outside of business hours, those calls simply went unanswered entirely. With no routing or automation to capture that demand, every missed call, whether during a busy afternoon or after closing time, was potential missed revenue.

Missed calls translating into lost bookings

Most missed calls weren't casual inquiries, they were customers looking for concrete information about repair status, pricing, or scheduling. And with no fallback in place, there was nothing guiding them toward another channel to get that answer. In a business where revenue runs on appointments, an unanswered call is more than a missed conversation. It's a booking that might not happen.

Solución

A hybrid Voice + WhatsApp workflow

ThePhoneLab moved their phone calls to Trengo and connected it directly to WhatsApp, creating a smooth and automatic handoff between missed calls and digital messaging. The moment a call goes unanswered, the conversation doesn't end. It just continues somewhere else.

Automatic follow‑up for every missed call

As soon as a call goes unanswered, Trengo triggers an automated WhatsApp message to the caller. No manual step required, no delay. The customer gets an instant acknowledgment and from there, the conversation keeps moving on its own.

When the customer replies, an AI agent picks up the thread. It answers common questions, pulls live repair status updates straight from their Lightspeed system, and helps customers book an appointment, all within the same WhatsApp conversation.

The demand that used to disappear is now captured and handled the moment it happens.

Unified inbox for smooth operational handling

All voice and WhatsApp conversations flow into a single Trengo inbox. Each store handles their own communication, but with everything in one place, nothing slips through. When a customer reaches out on WhatsApp, automations identify which store the conversation belongs to and assign it accordingly. Staff can then respond quickly, continue the thread, and finalize booking details without losing context.

How the workflow operates

1. A customer calls a store.
2. If the call is missed, an automatic WhatsApp follow-up is sent.
3. The customer continues the conversation on WhatsApp.
4. AI Agents handles customer questions instantly.
5. Staff steps in when extra details are needed.
6. The full conversation stays in WhatsApp, reducing phone pressure and keeping communication consistent.

This system creates a seamless transition from phone to messaging, without requiring any manual steps from staff.

Impacto

Efficiency gains

Missed calls no longer mean missed opportunities. They automatically become WhatsApp conversations, and store teams no longer spend time chasing callbacks or playing phone tag. During peak hours, the workload is absorbed by automation rather than piling up on staff.

Operational benefits

No customer inquiry is lost because a store happened to be busy. Staff can spend their attention on the conversations that need them, rather than fielding the same handful of questions on repeat. And because everything runs through a shared inbox, handling is consistent across every location.

Customer experience improvements

For customers, the experience feels seamless. If a call doesn't connect, they immediately hear back with no waiting and no wondering. Common questions get answered fast. And when a human is needed, someone picks up the thread without asking the customer to repeat themselves.

From missed call to booked appointment

Missed calls used to be a quiet drain, easy to overlook, hard to quantify, and difficult to fix without adding headcount. With Trengo's Voice–WhatsApp integration, ThePhoneLab closed that gap. Every missed call, whether it happens during a busy afternoon or outside business hours, now triggers an instant WhatsApp follow-up, answered straight away by the AI agent from Trengo. No call goes unhandled. Every conversation has a real chance of becoming a booking.

That's not a small operational tweak. For a business built on appointments, it's a meaningful shift in how revenue gets captured and how customers experience the brand, even before they walk through the door.

‍