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How We Compare · vs. hiring a receptionist

One salary buys one shift.
Coverage needs all of them.

A great receptionist is worth every penny — in the room. The question isn't whether to have one; it's whether hiring another person is the right way to cover nights, weekends, lunch, and the calls that come in three at a time.

Warmth with people in the room

Hiring a receptionistUnmatched — nothing replaces a person at the desk
Luna FrontNot the job — Luna Front covers the phone, not the room

Coverage hours

Hiring a receptionistOne shift, minus lunch, breaks, and PTO
Luna Front24/7, including weekends and holidays

Simultaneous calls

Hiring a receptionistOne at a time
Luna FrontSeveral at once — no busy signal

Cost

Hiring a receptionist$38,010/yr median salary (BLS, May 2024) — before benefits, taxes, and turnover
Luna FrontFrom $449/mo with call minutes included, $299 setup stated upfront

Time to productive

Hiring a receptionistWeeks of hiring plus training
Luna FrontLive and answering calls within 5 business days

Sick days, turnover, rehiring

Hiring a receptionistYours to manage
Luna FrontNone
Hiring a receptionist compared with Luna Front, one row per aspect.
Hiring a receptionistLuna Front
Warmth with people in the roomUnmatched — nothing replaces a person at the deskNot the job — Luna Front covers the phone, not the room
Coverage hoursOne shift, minus lunch, breaks, and PTO24/7, including weekends and holidays
Simultaneous callsOne at a timeSeveral at once — no busy signal
Cost$38,010/yr median salary (BLS, May 2024) — before benefits, taxes, and turnoverFrom $449/mo with call minutes included, $299 setup stated upfront
Time to productiveWeeks of hiring plus trainingLive and answering calls within 5 business days
Sick days, turnover, rehiringYours to manageNone

The Honest Version

Where each one actually wins.

This isn't a replacement decision

If your front desk is drowning, the instinct is to hire. Sometimes that's right — an in-person team member does things no phone service can. But if the specific problem is the phone — missed calls, after-hours inquiries, busy-stretch overflow — a second salary is an expensive way to solve it, and it still doesn't cover 2 AM.

What the salary actually buys

The median U.S. receptionist earns $38,010 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2024) — before payroll taxes, benefits, coverage for their time off, and the cost of rehiring when they move on. That buys roughly 40 hours a week of coverage. Your phone is live for 168.

What Luna Front buys instead

One monthly rate — from $449, with call minutes included — for every hour of every day, configured to your services, booking rules, and voice, and run for you. Your existing team keeps the in-person work; the phone stops depending on whoever can grab it.

Questions

Asked before, answered here.

No. Luna Front covers the calls your team physically can't get to — after hours, mid-appointment, when several ring at once. The in-person experience stays with your people; the phone stops being the thing that falls through.

If you need someone in the room — greeting, checkout, hands-on coordination — hire the person. If the pain is specifically the phone, Luna Front covers more hours for a fraction of a salary, and you can always add the in-room hire later.

A receptionist's median salary is $38,010 a year before benefits and taxes (BLS, May 2024). Luna Front starts at $449 a month — about $5,400 a year — plus a one-time $299 setup, and covers 24/7 rather than one shift. The ROI calculator lets you run the numbers on your own call volume.

If it doesn't cover its plan fee in 30 days, you aren't charged it.

Month-to-month, no cancellation fee. The one-time $299 setup is not refundable, so it is the most you can be out. How the guarantee works →