When should you read a call transcript?
Almost never, and that is the point. A summary answers what happened. A transcript answers why it happened that way, which you only need when the summary has surprised you — but on those calls it is the difference between a theory and an explanation.
The three worth reading in your first fortnight
Not to check it worked — to hear how the assistant talks about your business when nobody is watching. This is the call that tells you whether the greeting and the tone are right.
Where the caller wanted something and left without it. The moment it went wrong is usually visible and usually fixable.
Before responding. A transcript turns "your robot was useless" into a specific sentence you can do something about.
The three patterns behind most bad calls
Where the caller repeated themselves, which means they were not understood the first time. Where the assistant gave a long answer to a short question. Where it hesitated on something your website should have said. Those three patterns account for most disappointing calls, and all three are fixed by adding knowledge rather than by changing settings.
What a transcript is not for
Reading everything. A business doing thirty calls a week that reads thirty transcripts has replaced answering the phone with reading about answering the phone, which is worse. The summaries exist so you do not have to, and the transcript is there for the exception.
Treat them as sensitive
A transcript contains whatever the caller volunteered, which is often more than they meant to. It is personal data, it has a retention period, and it should not be forwarded around casually — a summary usually conveys everything a colleague actually needs.
Frequently asked
Yes, in the dashboard. Most weeks you will not need to — the summary carries what you need and the transcript is for the exceptions.
The first booking it made unaided, one that ended without a booking, and any call somebody complained about.
Repetition, over-long answers, and hesitation on things your website should say. All three are fixed by adding knowledge rather than changing settings.
Sparingly. They contain whatever the caller volunteered, and the summary usually tells a colleague everything they need.