Yelp has added a new Request a Call feature to help service businesses more easily connect with potential clients. Users can specify a preferred call-back time. It’s then up to businesses to either confirm or ask for a different time.

How Request a Call works. People who land on your Yelp business page can click on a Request a call button. They must then select a service they want from you, then enter their phone number and preferred call time. This time could be super specific or a larger time window. 

When someone requests a call from your business, you will get a message in your Yelp for Business inbox, asking them to call the potential customer at the requested time window. Businesses then have three response options:

• Confirm call time. You will be prompted to specify a date and time you will call the customer (e.g., “I will call you this Friday at 1:30 p.m.”)
• Reschedule/unavailable. You can suggest a different call time to the customer.
• Need more information. You can ask the customer for whatever additional information you need before confirming the call. 

Businesses won’t be able to call a user on their actual phone number. That’s because, for privacy, Yelp creates a masked, temporary phone number. There is also an authentication PIN (personal identification number).

Now available. Request a Call is now available to Yelp business pages that have opted into receiving leads via Request a Quote. Support for iOS and Android will come later.

Built upon Request a Quote. Yelp noted the “why” behind this feature was in part due to the success of its Request a Quote feature, which launched in 2016, was updated in 2020 and has gained wider adoption in the past year, according to Yelp. Two stats of note:

• In the first quarter of 2022 Request a Quote requests were more than 30% above 2019 levels.
• There was a 10% increase in total projects started on Yelp’s website.

Why we care. It can be difficult for people to reach local service businesses. Missed phone calls are lost leads. Hopefully the new Request a Call will help local service providers more easily connect with consumers and convert qualified leads into customers. 

From the customer side, I’ve experienced the never-ending game of phone tag, most recently trying to contact landscapers and plumbers in my area. It’s annoying leaving messages and waiting, hoping you don’t miss that call if or when they finally do call back. 

New search filters. Yelp also has introduced job-specific filters for more than 80 categories (e.g., landscaping, pest control, massage, auto repair, real estate agents, salons, junk removal). So when users search for a plumber, for example, they can choose from unique filters for specific types of jobs or repairs (e.g., installations, sewers, faucets).