Kyle runs A Notch Above Photo Booths in Cleveland, Ohio—a company that’s made a name for itself by delivering memorable experiences at weddings, mitzvahs, and corporate events. Like most small business owners, Kyle wears a lot of hats. But answering the landline wasn’t one he wanted to keep wearing.
"We were largely ignoring the landline phone calls because there were so many sales calls," Kyle explains. He knew some of those calls could be legit customers—maybe even out-of-state clients ready to book a booth. But the endless sales pitches made him dread picking up.
Kyle tried one or two other answering platforms, but they just didn’t cut it. "The functionality just wasn’t as good as Upfirst. So far Upfirst has worked really, really well in terms of actually answering questions for people, and not giving unneeded information, but knowing what the customer’s actually looking for."
Challenge
For Kyle, the main challenge was simple: He didn’t want to miss real business, but he also didn’t have time to sort through junk calls. His landline rang with a mix of salespeople, spam, and the occasional client with urgent questions or last-minute bookings. If he didn’t answer, he risked letting business slip away. But if he answered everything, he lost precious hours he could spend running events or helping actual customers.
Solution
Upfirst gave Kyle a virtual receptionist that’s always on. Setting it up took just a few minutes—he added details about his packages, event types, and booking process to the knowledge base. Now, every call is answered, with the AI receptionist handling common questions, offering booking info, and filtering out the sales noise.
Kyle especially appreciates how Upfirst separates the wheat from the chaff: "It’s honestly the ability to filter those calls. It’s very clear to me in an instant whether it was a sales call, or if that’s a customer I need to call back and schedule something with. It makes it very cut and dry, you know, whether I need to take action or I don’t. And that’s, as a small business owner, that’s huge because it cuts down wasted time."
The text message feature is a game-changer for Kyle. Since his business landline isn’t always within reach—he’s often at events—getting instant text summaries with the caller’s reason means he never misses an urgent customer. "I’ve been at events before and gotten calls from other customers that were urgent, but I got the text and because I could see what they were calling about, I was able to call them back quickly rather than making them wait until I got back to the office."
Results
The impact was immediate. The first time Upfirst helped Kyle book a customer he would have missed, he knew it was worth it. "That alone makes that worth it for at least a couple months," he says. Now, instead of ignoring the phone and hoping for the best, Kyle knows every call is handled. Genuine leads get fast responses, and time-wasters never disrupt his day.
A Notch Above is now able to:
- Book more events by capturing missed leads
- Respond faster to urgent customer questions, even while working offsite
- Avoid the frustration and lost time of sorting through irrelevant calls
Upfirst didn’t just help Kyle answer calls—it helped him reclaim his time and focus on delivering the experiences his clients love. "If I did have other friends that own small businesses, I would absolutely recommend you guys."
If you’re tired of letting calls slip away or wasting hours on the phone, give Upfirst a try. It only takes a few minutes to set up, and you’ll be amazed at how much easier running your business can be.
