Dial Milo vs. a traditional answering service

The short answer#

Traditional answering services charge per-call (usually $1-3) and take a message. Milo charges per-minute ($0.20 typical) and actually doesthe thing — books the appointment, sends the text, answers the question.

When a human answering service wins#

• You're a medical practice subject to HIPAA
• You're a law firm doing sensitive intake that requires a human ear
• Your calls are typically > 10 minutes and need real judgment

When AI wins (the 80% case)#

• Most calls are routine: bookings, pricing, hours, simple FAQs
• You're missing calls because staff are busy with the actual work
• You want calls answered nights and weekends without paying overnight rates
• You want bookings in your real calendar, not on a paper pad someone faxes you

The economics#

A salon getting 40 booking calls a day at 90 seconds each: an answering service costs roughly $40-120/day. Milo costs roughly $12/day. The bigger win isn't the cost though — it's that bookings land in your calendar in real time instead of stacking up in a message log.