Yelp launched a feature that allows users to request a phone call directly from service businesses to discuss a potential job or provide them with a quote, removing the initial friction often experienced in the hiring process.

The feature, Request a Call, builds on the success of Request a Quote, which enables Yelp users to message services businesses, request quotes and schedule appointments in the app.

Request a Call also represents a new way for businesses to generate leads and connect with more consumers. Yelp also expanded existing features in the service such as Cost Guides and services search filters to help consumers search and find the perfect pro.

Many services jobs like home renovations or event planning are complicated to describe and difficult to quote via messaging due to the varying needs of consumers, as well as costs of materials, labor and time, which has skyrocketed in the past year.

Calling the business directly might not be the best way to quickly schedule a service professional for the job, since service businesses, especially small independents, often do not answer the phone at all times. Yelp research shows 40% of consumer calls to services businesses are under 30 seconds long, which indicates that they either weren’t picked up or didn’t result in meaningful conversation.

Request a Call is available on any Yelp business page that opted into receiving leads via Request a Quote on Yelp.com, with iOS and Android support coming later.

When a user requests a call from a business, they can enter their preferred call time. Business owners then receive a message in their Yelp for Business inbox asking them to call the potential customer at a requested time.

Businesses can respond to these inquiries by selecting “Confirm call time” to schedule the call or responding to the consumer to reschedule a different call time. When submitting a Request a Call, Yelp automatically hides the consumer’s phone number from the business and creates a temporary phone number for the business to use to contact the caller.

Yelp also recently announced search filters for services businesses that make the search experience faster to find the correct professional to hire.

For example, a search for plumbers will highlight unique filters based on the specific types of jobs or repairs for the category such as installations, sewers, faucets, and more. These job specific filters are now available for more than 80 search categories on Yelp, including new additions, such as landscaping, pest control, massage, auto repair, real estate agents, salons, and junk removal.