How to tell Mom you signed her up for Betsy

Tell Mom yourself, in your own words, from your own phone. Betsy never texts or calls her first. Send one text with the number and the line “call her when you’re ready,” or call Mom and say it, or sit with her and call Betsy together. Then she saves the number as Betsy, and the rest is a conversation.

Telling her is the whole job, and it is the hard part. So the screen after you sign up gives you the words, and this page gives them to you early. There are three ways to do it. None of them is a surprise, because a surprise is exactly how a scam arrives, and Betsy never calls cold.

Script one: she calls Betsy when she’s ready

This is the default, and the one we recommend, because it is Mom who picks up the phone, chooses the hour, and decides whether Betsy calls tomorrow. Send this from your own phone, with the number we give you:

Your text

Mom, I signed you up for something called Betsy. She’ll call you every day if you want her to. Save this number as Betsy: (the number on your Tell Mom screen). Call her when you’re ready. She knows you’re coming.

Or call her and say the same thing out loud. If she asks what Betsy is, the plain answer works: “She’s a voice made by a computer, and she’s good company. She’ll ask you about the drive to Reno and she’ll remember the answer. Try her once.”

Script two: Betsy calls her, after you confirm

For the mother who won’t dial, and the daughter who can’t bear to wait. You confirm that Mom is okay with it and tell her to expect the call, and we keep a record of who said so and when. Your note changes by one line:

Your text

Mom, I signed you up for something called Betsy. Betsy will call you Thursday at ten from this number. Save it as Betsy: (the number on your Tell Mom screen). Pick up and say hello.

Betsy then calls at the time you picked, says what she is in the first ninety seconds like any other first call, and asks whether she may call again tomorrow. If Mom says no, that is the end of it.

Script three: together, on speaker

If you’re with her, put your phone on the table and call Betsy together. Mom hears the voice with you in the room, says yes herself, and picks the hour. This is the Thanksgiving version. Say something like:

You say

I found something I think you’ll like. It’s a voice that calls every day and remembers everything you tell her. Let’s call her now and you can decide.

Then let Betsy do the talking. She introduces herself, says she isn’t a person, promises never to ask for money, and asks Mom about her life. You’ll know in two minutes.

Why the first word comes from you and never from Betsy

The number reaches Mom from the one person she trusts, which is the opposite of how a scam arrives. Betsy calls someone who said yes herself, or someone whose child confirmed she’s okay with it and told her to expect the call. That rule is there for Mom, and for the first call, because the first ninety seconds are Betsy saying what she is, and that lands very differently when Mom was expecting her.

Why she saves the number

So her screen says Betsy. Cell carriers don’t show a caller’s name, so the saved contact does that, and it also gets Betsy past an iPhone set to silence unknown callers. Your text asks her to save it, and Betsy asks once more at the end of the first call. Landlines are easier: the caller-ID box reads BETSY. Betsy always calls from that same number. A different number saying it’s Betsy isn’t, and Betsy tells Mom so herself.

What to say if she says no

Nothing. Let it sit. Betsy never calls cold, so a no means no calls, and if she never has a first call, you pay nothing. If it’s the idea she’s refusing and not the voice, try script three the next time you visit and let her hear Betsy for herself. If she tries it and says stop on any call, the calls stop and unused months come back to you. There is no retention script and no “are you sure.”

What happens on the first call

Whoever dialed, the first ninety seconds are the same. Betsy says her name, says your name, and says what she is: a voice made by a computer, set up because you wanted somebody to call Mom every single day. She says she will never ask for money. She asks about keeping the calls: “I keep a recording of our calls, so I can remember what you tell me. Is that all right with you?” If Mom says no, Betsy keeps only her name, her number and a line about the call, as what Betsy keeps explains. Then she asks about Mom’s life, and the serious part is over. At the end she asks what time suits tomorrow. A fuller account is on what Betsy is, and the question of consent is on does Mom have to agree.

Questions people ask

Does Betsy text or call Mom first?

No. The first word about Betsy always comes from you, by your own text or your own call. Betsy never calls cold.

What if Mom says no?

Then Betsy doesn’t call, and if she never has a first call, you pay nothing. If it’s the idea she’s refusing, try calling Betsy together when you next visit, so she can hear the voice for herself.

Why does she have to save the number?

So her screen says Betsy. Cell carriers don’t show a caller’s name, so the saved contact does that, and it also gets Betsy past an iPhone set to silence unknown callers. Landlines read BETSY on the caller-ID box.

What does Betsy say on the first call?

Her name, your name, and what she is: a voice made by a computer that you set up because you wanted somebody to call every day. Then she asks about Mom’s life.