Pawn shop IVR · Call Recording · Post-Call Surveys · powered by Shmello

What's an IVR? And why does your shop want one?

You've used one a thousand times: press 1 for hours, press 2 for a human.

This page is the walkthrough. What it is, what it buys you, and what it catches.

Let's Talk About Your Shop Walk me through it
Sample

Incoming call · (555) 014-7789

  1. "Thanks for calling. Quick menu:"
  2. Press 1: Hours & location
  3. Press 2: Reach the counter
  4. Press 3: Our other stores

Answered automatically

Saved to the customer's Shmello thread

Your counter never stopped for it.

Step 1 · what it is

The robot that answers the easy calls.

in·ter·ac·tive voice re·sponse (IVR)

noun · the receptionist you don't have to pay

The phone menu that answers before your team does.

  • Press 1 for hours and location.
  • Press 2 for the counter.
  • Press 3 for your other stores.

That's the whole machine. The point is what it buys you.

Step 2 · why you want it

One employee. Two customers who both deserve first place.

The customer at your counter believes they're the most important person in the shop. They're standing right there.

The customer on the phone believes the same thing. They called.

Your employee splits the difference and makes both of them mad.

Both of them are getting mad, and it's not your employee's fault.The IVR took the call. Your employee never looked up, and nobody got mad.

Step 3 · why record the calls

Because you can't stand at the counter all day.

Everybody's hired the new guy who's short on the phone, misquotes a rate, or just doesn't know yet.

Recording is how the owner hears it without hovering. And it catches the most expensive sentence in pawn:

Shmello · Call recording

Sample

The no-click

  1. CallerHey, do you take laptops?
  2. ShopNo, we don't take those.
  3. *click*

Deal lost. Customer calls the shop down the street.

Shmello · Call recording

Sample

The better question

  1. CallerHey, do you take laptops?
  2. ShopAre you looking to sell it, or are you really just looking to get some cash today?
  3. CallerHonestly I just need cash.
  4. ShopGot it. What else do you have? Gold, tools, a clean title? Let's get you taken care of.

Customer comes in. Loan written. Relationship started.

Sample

Call log · spot check

  1. 9:04 AMAnswered
  2. 9:31 AMAnswered
  3. 10:12 AMAnswered
  4. 10:47 AMAnswered
  5. 11:20 AMAnswered
  6. 11:58 AMAnswered
  7. 12:36 PMAnswered, a no-click
  8. 1:15 PMAnswered
  9. 2:02 PMAnswered
  10. 2:49 PMAnswered

Checked by hand

~10%

Across 1,000+ calls we spot-checked by hand, roughly one in ten was a no-click at some shops.

If even a fraction of those become loans, recording pays for itself in a week.

Step 4 · the safety net

At the end of the call, the customer grades you.

One question: did we take care of you today? A pass is a quiet win.

A fail texts the owner instantly, recording one tap away, while the customer can still be saved.

Sample
Sample

9:41

Tuesday, July 14

Shmello · Failed call survey

Store 1 · customer said we didn't take care of them. Tap to hear the recording.

Shmello

Call survey passed. Logged as a win.

The objection every owner raises

"I don't have time to listen to all these recordings."

You don't listen to them all. The survey flags the failed calls, you spot-check a couple, and that's it.

And phase two puts AI on every single one, so you never audit by hand at all.

If a customer says your team failed them, that's the one call worth hearing.

Under the hood

Every call lands in the customer's Shmello thread.

Callers hear the standard "recorded for quality and training" up front.

Then every call files itself, playable and searchable, forever.

Sample

(555) 014-7789

Search calls and texts

  1. Hey, do you take laptops?

    Text · 9:02 AM

  2. Incoming call · Recorded

    Transcript

    Caller: Honestly I just need cash.

    Shop: Got it. What else do you have? Gold, tools, a clean title? Let's get you taken care of.

  3. Come on in. Bring the laptop and anything else you want looked at.

    Text · 9:20 AM

  1. Call comes in

    "This call may be recorded for quality and training."

  2. It records

    Straight into the Shmello thread for that customer.

  3. Optional transcript

    Get a text version of any call you want.

  4. Always searchable

    Pull up any call, any customer, anytime.

A true story

The $3,000 scam that one AI search unraveled.

A customer took a loan, then ran a dispute to claw back about $3,000. So we asked AI to audit the account.

Sample

AI call & text search

Who else called about this item?

The disputed loan

Calls back to January

Every text thread

The boyfriend's calls

Same item, full history

It pulled every call she'd ever made. It found her boyfriend calling about the same item.

It tied the rest of the crew together through the recordings. One search. Whole scam. Documented.

That's the Ask AI function: ask a question in plain English, get the answer from your entire call and text history.

Coming late 2026 · Open beta

Version two has a name: Shmo Calls.

Call recording v1 captures everything. Shmo Calls puts AI on top of it.

Set your SOPs, and AI grades every call against them automatically.

Sample
Shmo CallsCall report

  • AI SOP grading.

    Did they introduce the shop? Did they pull the no-click? AI checks every call against your rules.

    • Introduced the shop
    • Asked the better question

  • Sentiment & flags.

    Detects frustration, profanity, and specific phrases, then notifies management automatically.

    Frustration detected, manager notified

  • AI call search.

    Ask a question across your entire call history and get the answer, not a list of recordings.

    Ask your calls anything

Hear it before you buy it.

On the call we'll play you a live IVR from a real shop and look at how many calls your shop is missing right now.

Apply to Work With Us

Line 1 · Pawn Leads

"Thanks for calling Pawn Leads. Quick menu:"

Your town needs a favorite pawn shop. Let's make sure it's yours.

Apply to Work With Us