Ruby 2.0 Virtual Receptionists vs Chimney Expert SideKick
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Ruby 2.0 Virtual Receptionists
This service provides virtual receptionists for small businesses, handling phone calls and website chats to enhance customer experience. Highly trained professionals use proprietary software to answer questions, transfer calls, take messages, and collect lead information.
- Virtual phone receptionists
- Website chat support
- Personalized customer experiences
- FAQ answering
- Call transferring
- Message taking
- Lead information collection
Read full descriptionHide full description
Ruby serves small businesses by delivering exceptional customer experiences over the phone and online via website chat. We’re a team of service-oriented professionals blended with an innovative tech company. Our highly trained receptionists use proprietary software to personalize a caller or website visitor’s experience, answer FAQs, transfer callers and take messages, and collect information that makes it easy for the businesses we represent to follow up.
Chimney Expert SideKick
This app streamlines chimney service operations with features for scheduling, inspections, estimates, and invoicing. It offers guided inspection workflows, AI-generated reports, and client communication tools, including weather intelligence for field crews.
- Guided inspection workflows
- AI-written report summaries
- Weather intelligence system
- Smart calendar scheduling
- Estimates to invoices
- Two-way business texting
- Client job progress tracking
Read full descriptionHide full description
SideKick Pro is the field platform for chimney service companies — scheduling, inspections, estimates, jobs, invoicing, and client texting in one app, with a weather intelligence system that briefs your crew every morning and watches the sky all day. FOR YOUR CREW • Guided NFPA 211 Level I–III inspection workflows covering firebox, flue, crown, chase, and exterior • Capture job photos with your camera; findings organized by severity with automatic risk categorization • AI-written, homeowner-friendly report summaries and branded PDF reports • Personal morning weather briefings, storm alerts before your techs are on the roof, and a one-tap safety check at every ladder FOR YOUR OFFICE • Smart calendar with drag-and-click booking that respects your business hours • Estimates that convert to scheduled jobs and invoices in one unbroken chain • Client records, property history, and two-way business texting with consent handling built in • Roles and permissions for office staff, technicians, and helpers FOR YOUR CLIENTS • "On My Way" texts with live location and auto-calculated ETA • Online booking, digital estimate approval, and instant report sharing • A live job page showing progress, scope, photos, and who's coming SideKick Pro is built for professional chimney companies. Access is provisioned by your company — sign in with the account your administrator created for you.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Chimney Expert SideKick at free against Ruby 2.0 Virtual Receptionists's freemium. Chimney Expert SideKick also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Ruby 2.0 Virtual Receptionists's advantage is ratings volume (338 vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.5). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Chimney Expert SideKick holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ruby 2.0 Virtual Receptionists has 338 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
| Parameter | Ruby 2.0 Virtual Receptionists | Chimney Expert SideKick |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (338 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 26.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 338 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.5 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 69 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ruby Virtual Receptionists LLC | Chimney Expert Sidekick LLC |
Customer experience
Ruby 2.0 Virtual Receptionists
Chimney Expert SideKick
Bugs and requests
Ruby 2.0 Virtual Receptionists
Reported bugs
14 issues- App is frustratingly slow and unreliable
- App hasn't had meaningful updates in over a year
- Messages lag, call logs take forever to load, push notifications often fail
- iOS and website app are horrific and incoherent
- Duplicated charges for the same call
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- Consistent errors with the service
- App version 1.2.2 broke outgoing texting functionality (missing toll-free number option)
- New app rollout was a disaster with poor quality assurance
- Abrupt switch to a new app with no prior notice caused downtime
- Password reset functionality is broken, requiring multiple devices and resets
- No notification for incoming texts
- System makes it difficult to click on customer calls and texts, sometimes texting own number
- Broken image link where a texted video was supposed to be
- Ruby 2.0 iOS version does not function on or provide support for legacy devices
Requested features
8 requests- Release a native rebuild of the app
- Fix the technology problems plaguing the platform
- Fix the issue with outgoing texts showing a random local number
- Improve app quality assurance
- Provide notifications for incoming texts
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Make it easier to click on customer calls and texts
- Fix the broken image link for texted videos
- Ensure app functions on legacy devices
Chimney Expert SideKick
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Ruby 2.0 Virtual Receptionists
No in-app purchases
Chimney Expert SideKick
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Ruby 2.0 Virtual Receptionists free?
Is Chimney Expert SideKick free?
Which has better reviews, Ruby 2.0 Virtual Receptionists or Chimney Expert SideKick?
Do Ruby 2.0 Virtual Receptionists or Chimney Expert SideKick have ads?
Other comparisons
