Missed-Call Text-Back automatically sends a text to anyone whose call to your shop goes unanswered — no-answer, busy, or a failed call — so instead of a caller just giving up, they get an instant text inviting them to reply, and that reply lands right in your Inbox as a normal conversation. The on/off switch and message settings live under Settings → Notifications, in the Missed-Call Text-Back card.
Turning it on
Go to Settings → Notifications and find the Missed-Call Text-Back card. Flip the "Enable missed-call text-back" switch on — it's off by default, and the change saves as soon as you toggle it, with no separate save step for the switch itself.
Turning the switch on isn't the whole setup, though. The card itself notes that missed-call text-back also requires a Twilio Voice number connected to your shop's line, which SalesThumb configures on its side. If you've switched it on and calls still aren't triggering a text, that connection is the first thing to check with support.
Writing your message (or leaving it to AI)
Below the switch is an optional Custom message box, capped at 600 characters, with a live character counter. You can use the merge token `{{shop_name}}` in your message and it'll be swapped for your shop's name when the text sends. Type your message and click Save message — the button only activates once you've actually changed something from what's saved, and it shows a brief confirmation once the save lands.
Saving a custom message doesn't guarantee it's the exact text a caller gets, though. Whenever your shop's AI is available at the moment a call is missed, SalesThumb writes a fresh AI-personalized reply for that specific call instead — even if you've saved a custom message. Your saved message is what goes out when AI isn't available right then, and if you haven't saved one either, a friendly built-in default message is used. Either way, a caller who gets a missed-call text is never left without a reply.
What happens when a call is missed
The text goes out directly off Twilio's report that a specific call wasn't answered — it isn't a periodic job scanning your call log, so the text typically goes out right away once Twilio reports the call as no-answer, busy, or failed. A call your team actually picks up never triggers anything.
A few things are built in to keep this safe and well-behaved:
- Exactly one text goes out per missed call, even if Twilio's status report for that same call arrives more than once — you won't see a caller get double-texted.
- If the caller has texted STOP in the past, they're never texted here either — the opt-out is respected automatically, the same as every other automated message.
- The send still respects your shop's normal messaging budget and safety limits. If a send would exceed those, it's simply skipped for that call rather than sent late or retried.
- If the caller isn't already a customer in SalesThumb, the missed call creates a new customer record for them, so the follow-up isn't just a text into the void — it's a real lead you can see in your customer list, and their reply threads into a normal Inbox conversation like any other text.
Things to know
- Off by default. Turning the shop-level switch on is only half the setup — it also needs a Twilio Voice number connected to your shop by SalesThumb before texts can actually go out.
- Only genuinely unanswered calls count: no-answer, busy, or failed. An answered call never triggers a text.
- The only merge token supported in the custom message is `{{shop_name}}` — the longer merge-field list further down the Notifications page (customer name, appointment date, etc.) belongs to other message templates, not this one.
- AI can take priority over your saved message. When your shop's AI is available at the moment of a missed call, the caller gets a fresh AI-personalized text instead of your saved custom message. Your custom message is what's used when AI isn't available right then.
- One text per missed call is guaranteed, even though Twilio can report the same call more than once.
- Opted-out numbers are always skipped, and a send is silently skipped (not queued or retried later) if it would exceed your shop's messaging limits.
- If you turn the toggle on or try to save a message and see a message that the feature "isn't available yet" for your shop, that's a setup step still pending on SalesThumb's side, not something wrong with your settings — contact support.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Where do I turn missed-call text-back on?
A: Settings → Notifications, in the Missed-Call Text-Back card. Flip the switch — it saves immediately, with no extra step.
Q: What message does the caller actually get?
A: It depends on whether your shop's AI is available at that moment. If it is, the caller gets a fresh AI-personalized reply, even if you've saved a custom message — the AI writes it, not your saved text. If AI isn't available right then, the caller gets whatever you've saved in the Custom message box (with {{shop_name}} filled in), or a built-in default message if you haven't saved one. Either way, the caller always gets a text.
Q: If I save a custom message, will that always be what's sent?
A: Not necessarily. If your shop's AI is available when the call comes in, SalesThumb sends a fresh AI-personalized reply instead. Your saved message is used when AI isn't available at that moment.
Q: Will a caller ever get texted twice for the same missed call?
A: No. SalesThumb sends exactly one text per missed call, even if Twilio reports the same call more than once.
Q: I turned the toggle on, but callers still aren't getting texted — why?
A: The toggle is only half the setup. It also requires a Twilio Voice number connected to your shop's line, which SalesThumb configures on its side. Contact support to confirm your shop's number is connected.
Q: Does it text someone who's opted out of texts?
A: No. If a caller has texted STOP in the past, missed-call text-back skips them, the same as every other automated text.
Q: Does this run on a schedule, like once an hour?
A: No. It fires immediately off Twilio's report that a specific call wasn't answered — there's no batch job or delay built in.