Michiana is one market split by a state line, two area codes and a time zone. A plumbing company in Mishawaka might take a call from a 269 number in Niles, a 219 number in La Porte (an hour behind, on Central Time) and a well-pump call from rural Marshall County, all before lunch. Whoever answers your phone has to get all three right.
Connie is an AI receptionist built in South Bend. It answers only the calls you miss, in your company's name, books jobs into Google Calendar, hands emergencies to your on-call number, and emails you every call. You set it up yourself online in a few minutes. Pick your town for local details: freeze timing from the National Weather Service,1 how forwarding works with your carrier, and what callers there tend to need.
| Town | County | Area code | Time zone | Avg. first hard freeze (nearest NWS station) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Bend, IN | St. Joseph County | 574 | Eastern | November 3 (South Bend) |
| Mishawaka, IN | St. Joseph County | 574 | Eastern | November 3 (South Bend) |
| Elkhart, IN | Elkhart County | 574 | Eastern | October 24 (Goshen) |
| Granger, IN | St. Joseph County | 574 | Eastern | November 3 (South Bend) |
| Goshen, IN | Elkhart County | 574 | Eastern | October 24 (Goshen) |
| Niles, MI | Berrien County | 269 | Eastern | November 3 (South Bend) |
| La Porte, IN | LaPorte County | 219 | Central | November 3 (South Bend) |
| Michigan City, IN | LaPorte County | 219 | Central | November 3 (South Bend) |
| Plymouth, IN | Marshall County | 574 | Eastern | November 3 (South Bend) |
| Warsaw, IN | Kosciusko County | 574 | Eastern | October 24 (Goshen) |
Hard-freeze dates are 1991 to 2020 simple means of the first 28°F night, from the NWS Northern Indiana tables.1 LaPorte County observes Central Time.2
Outside Michiana?
Connie works anywhere in the US; you set it up yourself online in a few minutes. Start with Connie for plumbers, read the honest comparison of answering services for Indiana and Michigan plumbers, or check what a missed call costs you with the calculator.
What we can and can't say yet
Connie has one live site today: the South Bend computer repair shop where it was built. Over 90 days it answered 150 real calls that the counter couldn't pick up, 38 of them after hours or on a weekend (read the case study). We don't have a plumbing customer to quote yet, and we won't invent one. Email summaries work today; text summaries and missed call text back are Coming at launch. Bookings go to Google Calendar; a Jobber integration is planned for Pro and Scale and isn't built yet.