Home service business owners think a lot about that very first call. "It's the first point of contact we have with a potential customer. And it has to work," says Sharissa Martinez, President of Mister Sparky Electric in South Texas.
But picking up the phone is just the first crucial step. From there, a CSR has to navigate the problem with the customer, gathering critical information to schedule the job. Not all jobs get booked when they should.
I didn't like that some customers were getting Ferrari levels of service while the next one's getting Ford. I wanted something consistent.
It was that desire for consistency that made Sharissa decide to try out AI-first.
What does this mean exactly? Every time a customer calls one of the two Mister Sparky South Texas locations, Dane picks up.
Same Dane, Different Day
Dane is Broccoli's most popular AI CSR. If he sounds like a real human, that's because his voice came from one — the son of a Broccoli employee. For Sharissa, the decision was all about giving her customers the best possible experience every single time.
"We operate 24/7. So I need my phone answered 24/7," Sharissa says. "The call that comes in at 2 am is just as important as the call that comes in at 9 am or at 3 pm. They need to be treated with the same level of service."
And the results speak for themselves. Since bringing Broccoli on board in October 2025, Dane has handled more than 27,000 calls, maintaining a booking rate above 70%.
Last year we ended our year at a little over $14 million. We are pacing this year in 2026 for $20 million.
The Human Touch
Even though she's an advocate for AI-first, Sharissa is quick to point out that the technology is only as good as the humans behind it.
"There's a factor of human touch that's always going to be involved," she says. "It's just like anything — how you use it matters."
In fact, Sharissa believes it's the combination of Dane's efficiency and the human touch that has produced the most success for her business. What matters to Sharissa, like all home service business owners, is that the customer is always taken care of.
"We utilize Broccoli as a tool and we marry that with the human factor in-house," she says. "Before the end of the day, one of our people is always going to reach out and confirm. I feel like we have one of the best operating systems because of how we use it."
A Generational Shift
Sharissa's father George Saldaña started his first contracting business when he was just nineteen. His technical background as a music DJ in the early 80s translated well into commercial electrical work. He joined the Mister Sparky franchise in 2007.
With both parents in the trades, Sharissa proudly identifies as a "trade baby." Now, she runs both locations with her husband Bryan Martinez, who serves as Vice President.
Alongside the generational transition, Sharissa ushered Mister Sparky through the technological transition as well. Both her parents were hesitant about using AI. What won them over was when she pointed out the variables that lead to losing customers.
"You're gonna have people that are out on PTO," she says. "You're gonna have people that didn't sleep at night and aren't listening."
Those were variables Sharissa couldn't control. AI gave her a way to take them out of the equation.
A Legacy That Matters
Going AI-first is just one part of a larger mission to carry Mister Sparky South Texas into the future. "My father wanted to build a brand that had the reputation within our community that would transcend generations."
For Sharissa, that means embracing new technology without losing the human touch that built the business in the first place.
