Feature
Inbox
Calls, texts, voicemails, email and social messages in one list, each on its contact. A known caller shows by name; an unknown one is not a lead.
The inbox in Combdex is one list of every customer conversation: calls, texts, voicemails, email and messages from Google Business, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Each conversation sits on the contact it came from, so a known caller shows by name and the person who answers sees the history before they speak.
What is in the inbox?
Open Inbox, on the web or on the phone. The list on the left groups conversations by where they came from:
- Phone: calls, voicemails and texts on the numbers your phone system tracks.
- Email: the email threads of the people who connected a mailbox.
- Social: messages from Google Business, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, in that order.
Beside them sit Team (the company's own chats), Sent (every email sent from Combdex) and Not matched (a message that names no contact yet). Filter by Open, Closed or All, then by Unread or Awaiting reply. Comments and reviews stay in Marketing, because they are public and need a different answer.
What does a call show?
Each call is a card with one of four titles: Incoming call, Outgoing call, Missed call or Voicemail. A call that rang out counts as missed. Where the phone system has them, the card carries the recording, the call summary and the transcript speaker by speaker. A voicemail's transcript arrives about one minute after the voicemail. Listening to recordings is its own capability, so a company decides who hears them.
When visitor tracking is on your website, a call from a known number also shows what the caller read on your site before they rang. See Visitor tracking.
How is a caller recognised?
Combdex reduces every number to its digits and matches the last ten against all the contacts of the company. "(555) 010-0199", "555.010.0199" and "+1 555 010 0199" are the same caller. A match puts the call on that contact's timeline, beside their quotes, invoices, sessions and emails.
A number that matches nobody is saved as a contact named by the number. It stays out of the Named only view of contacts until somebody gives it a name. It does not become a lead.
Why does a new caller not become a lead?
Because half the unknown calls a trade business gets are sales calls, wrong numbers and robots. A leads list that fills with them stops being read. When a call is real work, press Start a lead from this call, then Start lead. The lead carries the contact and the call. See Leads.
Dex can do the paperwork after a call. With the company's agents switched on, a finished call, a voicemail or a burst of texts can produce a drafted task, note or calendar event for you to approve. See Dex.
How do I reply?
Type in the reply bar and press Send message. The text goes out through your connected business number and is logged on the contact. Three rules protect the customer and the number:
- Quiet hours. No text goes out between 21:00 and 08:00 in the company's time zone unless you confirm the override.
- Opt-out. A contact who replies STOP is blocked from texts until they reply START.
- Queued sends. A send is queued and retried, so a weak signal on site does not lose the message.
Picture messages a customer sends arrive with the photos.
How do I connect the phone system?
On the web, open Settings, Connections, and connect Quo (shown in the app as OpenPhone) with an API key from your own workspace. Choose the numbers to track, paste the webhook signing secret, and Combdex imports the recent call and text history. The steps are in Phone system. Contacts can also flow the other way, so the phone shows the customer's name when they call; that switch is off by default.
What Combdex does not do yet
Quo is the only phone system Combdex connects to. Combdex does not place calls itself; Call opens your phone or the phone system's app. Texts cannot be scheduled. A reply to an email sent from Combdex goes to your company's email address today, not into this inbox; see Email. Comments and reviews are answered in Marketing, not here.
Related
- Contacts and leads: the contact every conversation sits on.
- Connections: the phone system and the social channels.
- Contact management for contractors: the inbox from the job's side.
- Contractor website contact form: the other way enquiries arrive.
Questions people ask
How does Combdex know who is calling?
It matches the number against every contact of the company. The number is reduced to its digits, so a number saved with spaces, brackets or a country code still matches. A known caller shows by name, with the contact's history one tap away.
Does an unknown number become a lead?
No, not by itself. Combdex saves the number as a contact named by the number, and keeps it out of the Named only view. When the call is real work, press Start a lead from this call. Spam calls never fill the leads list.
Can I reply to a text from Combdex?
Yes, through your connected business number. Texts do not go out between 21:00 and 08:00 in the company's time zone unless you confirm the send. A contact who replies STOP gets no more texts until they reply START.
Which phone system does it connect to?
Quo, the business phone system formerly called OpenPhone. The connection takes an API key from your own workspace and a webhook signing secret, so Combdex refuses any event it cannot verify. It is the only phone system Combdex connects to today.
Can a technician see the inbox?
Only when the company grants it. The customer inbox is a capability, off by default for technicians. Calls, texts and email need a second capability, See calls, texts and email. A user without either still has the team chat.