Your receptionist can greet returning callers by name when their phone number is saved in your Customers list. It's a simple way to make regulars, clients, and family feel recognized from the first second of the call.
How it works
Before your receptionist answers, SkipCalls checks the caller's phone number against your customers. If it matches, your receptionist uses your greeting for contacts and fills in the caller's name. If there's no match, it uses your greeting for everyone else.
Step 1: Make sure your callers are saved as customers
Your receptionist can only greet someone by name if SkipCalls knows who the number belongs to.
In the mobile app:
Go to Settings → Integrations.
Tap Sync Contacts to bring in your phone's contacts.
On the web dashboard:
Click Customers in the left sidebar.
Click Add customer, or use Import to upload a CSV or JSON file.
Make sure each customer has a first name and the phone number they call from.
SkipCalls can also create customers automatically when new callers share their name. See Customers: Managing Your Customer List.
Step 2: Write the greeting for contacts
In the mobile app:
Go to Settings and tap Receptionist Settings.
Under Behavior, tap Instructions & Greetings.
Tap Greeting for contacts and write what saved customers should hear.
On the web dashboard:
Click Receptionists in the left sidebar and open your receptionist.
Open Call Script and choose Incoming Calls.
Under Opening Messages, edit For Known Contacts.
Name placeholders
Type one of these placeholders in your greeting. SkipCalls replaces it with the caller's details:
{{contact_first}}: first name, such as John{{contact_last}}: last name, such as Smith{{contact_name}}: full name, such as John Smith{{contact_company}}: company name, such as Acme Plumbing
Example greeting:
Hey {{contact_first}}, good to hear from you. How can I help?
When John Smith calls from his saved number, your receptionist says:
Hey John, good to hear from you. How can I help?
Greeting for everyone else
Set a separate greeting for callers who aren't in your customers list, for example: "Hi, thanks for calling. How can I help today?" In the app, it's Greeting for others in Instructions & Greetings. On the web, it's For Unknown Callers under Opening Messages.
Best practices
Keep it short. A name greeting should feel natural, not scripted.
Use
{{contact_first}}for most businesses. Full names can sound formal on the phone.Keep phone numbers accurate. The number is how SkipCalls recognizes the caller.
Put useful context in the customer's notes, not in the greeting. For example, a note can tell your receptionist that a caller prefers morning appointments.
Always keep a greeting for unknown callers so new leads still get a smooth welcome.
Troubleshooting
The receptionist didn't say the caller's name. Check that the number they called from is saved on their customer profile. A different number means SkipCalls treats them as a new caller. Also, if your greeting uses a placeholder the customer has no value for (for example {{contact_last}} with no last name saved), your receptionist uses the greeting for everyone else instead, so callers never hear a blank.
The wrong name was used. Open the customer's profile and confirm the phone number belongs to the right person. If the same person has two profiles, merge them.
The placeholder was read out loud. Check the spelling. Only the placeholders listed above work, for example {{contact_first}}, not {{first_name}} or {{name}}.