Base salary $32,000-$42,000/year for a competent front desk in most US markets. Add payroll tax (7.65%) + benefits (10-15% for health/dental even at minimum coverage) + workers comp + unemployment insurance. Add training time during ramp ($3,000-$5,000 in productivity opportunity cost). Add turnover replacement cost ($4,000-$8,000 when she quits in 18 months — and front desk turnover is high). Annualized total: $40K-$55K all-in.
An 8-5 Monday-Friday human who's at the desk most of the time (with bathroom breaks, lunch, water cooler conversations, the natural 80% of 8 hours). You get the human relationship + judgment that AI can't deliver. You don't get after-hours coverage, you don't get weekend coverage, and you lose coverage when she calls in sick, takes vacation, or quits.
24/7/365 coverage at consistent quality. No sick days. No turnover. Books appointments directly into your PMS. Handles overflow when you'd have hit voicemail anyway. Doesn't handle complex emotional situations or recovery conversations well — those still need a human.
Best-fit setup for most single-location service businesses: keep the existing front desk (or hire a PART-TIME human for $18K-$22K/yr for 4 hours/day during peak), use AI for everything else. Total cost: $30K-$35K/year. Coverage: 24/7. You get human warmth when needed AND complete call capture. Vs hiring a full-time receptionist at $50K with only 40-hour coverage.
Three questions: (1) How many calls per month do you currently miss? (over 30 → AI starts to make math sense), (2) Do you need someone physically at a desk during business hours for walk-in or in-person reasons? (yes → keep some human staffing), (3) What's the complexity profile of your inbound calls? (mostly routine → AI handles 80%; mostly complex → human handles more). Free 5-min audit walks through your specific math.