Sam is Fountain’s AI Satisfaction Manager: it checks in with workers through short voice conversations at key moments in their employment. This article covers what happens once a check-in is live: when Sam reaches out, what the worker experiences, and how usage is counted.
Once a check-in is live, Sam runs on its own: it identifies the right workers each day, reaches out at the milestone you configured, and holds a real conversation with each worker who joins.
The check-in schedule
Sam runs a sequence of check-ins across a worker's first 90 days, plus an exit interview. Each check-in targets a specific milestone and asks milestone-appropriate questions.
Current Check-in | Check-in | When it runs |
Pre-First Day | Pre first day check-in | 3 days before the start date |
Post Day 1 | Post first day check-in | 1 day after the start date |
Post Day 7 | First week check-in | 7 days after the start date |
Post Day 30 | 30 day check-in | 30 days after the start date |
Post Day 60 | 60-day check-in | 60 days after the start date |
Post Day 90 | 90-day check-in | 90 days after the start date |
Exit Interview | Exit interview | The day before the worker's termination date |
Each call runs a few minutes, with shorter early check-ins (roughly 3–5 minutes after the first day) and longer reviews later (roughly 8–10 minutes at 90 days).
During every call, Sam opens with a warm, milestone-appropriate greeting, asks open-ended questions and listens, probes on anything that sounds uncertain or unresolved, answers basic questions it can handle, flags anything that needs a human, and closes on a supportive note.
The call language
Sam holds each call in the worker's Preferred language, the language recorded on their worker profile. Sam speaks English, Spanish, and French. If a worker has no Preferred language, or it's set to another language, Sam uses English (US). There's nothing to configure: Sam reads the Preferred language when each call starts.
Check Preferred Language Before Going Live
Workers with a missing or outdated Preferred language hear Sam in English (US) or in the wrong language, so review the field for the workers a survey will reach.
How Sam reaches workers
At each touchpoint, the daily automation identifies the workers who match that milestone's segment and notifies each of them by email and SMS.
The email comes from the account's sender (for example, [email protected]) and includes a button to start the call, plus a link to copy and paste if the button doesn't work.
The SMS carries the same short link with a brief prompt to start the check-in.
Your team can change the wording of each survey's email and SMS, or turn one channel off. See Set Up Sam.
Both links open the worker's Fountain worker portal and log the worker in, landing them directly on Sam. If a worker hasn't logged in for a while, they may need to log in again first.
Notifications Respect Business Hours
Workers are notified only during business hours (9am–5pm), based on the account's Preferred office timezone (Settings → Company & EINs).
The browser call experience
When a worker opens the link, they land on the Agent Call screen in their worker portal and can start the call right in their browser, with no phone number needed and nothing to download.
The start screen shows Sam's avatar and the message "Sam is waiting for your call." with the guidance "For the best experience, find a quiet place where you can talk freely. Do not start if you are driving or busy," and a disclaimer: "Sam is an AI assistant that records and transcribes the call to assist your hiring team, but does not make any decisions." A green Start now button (with a microphone icon) begins the call.
On a computer, the page also shows which worker is logged in and a QR code icon. A worker who would rather talk on their phone can click the icon to open View on Mobile, then scan the QR code or copy the link into their phone's browser.
Once the worker taps Start now:
The browser prompts them to enable their microphone, and Sam shows Connecting… ("This can take a few seconds").
During the call, the screen shows a Recording… indicator with a running timer, a live threaded transcript with labeled Sam and You bubbles, and Mute and End controls at the bottom.
When the call ends, a confirmation appears ("Thank you! Thanks for chatting. You can close this window now.") with a Show transcript button. Tapping it reveals the full call transcript, with a Hide transcript option.
Browser calls carry no telephony cost, include closed captions, and work anywhere in the world without depending on a phone number.
When a call can't connect
If a worker denies microphone permission or the browser call drops, the landing page keeps them from getting stuck:
A Retry call button appears if the call fails to connect.
A Call me instead option may also appear, so the worker can finish the check-in by phone.
What Sam does after the call
Once a call is complete, Sam automatically extracts structured data from the conversation: a satisfaction score, a milestone experience score, any follow-up actions, and a retention risk flag. This output usually appears 15–60 seconds after the call ends. For where to find and interpret all of this, see Analyze Sam's Results.
Credits and usage
Sam uses credits only when a call is completed, meaning a real conversation took place, whether in the browser or over the phone. Each completed call uses a fixed number of credits.
The following do not use credits: a voicemail left, a no-answer, a scheduled callback, a worker who has left the role (no full conversation), or an execution that failed before the call was placed.
To estimate how many calls you’ll be billed for each month, multiply your monthly new hires by the number of check-ins you’ve turned on and by your expected answer rate. Then add the exit interviews you expect based on your attrition rate. Voicemails and no-answers don’t count.
Sam can have its own credits, separate from your shared AI credits. Sam uses its own credits first, then AI credits. If your balance reaches zero and overages are off, Sam pauses until credits are added. You can see Sam’s balance and usage, buy credits, and manage billing in Credits & Usage. For how balances and overages work, see How Agentic Credits & Billing Works.
In-Flight Calls Are Protected
If you run low on credits, calls already in progress are not affected. For credit top-ups or billing questions, use Credits & Usage or contact your Fountain account team.
Troubleshooting and FAQs
Sam isn't sending notifications or calling my workers.
Sam isn't sending notifications or calling my workers.
Check that the survey is Active (on the Surveys tab; if it shows Paused, open it and click Resume, that the trigger conditions are being met, and that the worker's phone number is in valid E.164 format for the phone fallback path.
Also check that the person appears in Worker Profiles with the status and dates the survey's segment expects. Sam doesn't reach applicants who were never created as workers, so if you hire through Fountain Hire, confirm an automation turns hired applicants into Active workers. See Set Up Sam.
The call won't start in the browser.
The call won't start in the browser.
This is most often a denied microphone permission. The landing page automatically shows a Call me instead option so the worker can finish by phone.
The browser call dropped or failed to connect.
The browser call dropped or failed to connect.
The landing page shows a Retry call button along with the phone fallback, so the worker isn't stuck.
Did the worker get an unexpected call?
Did the worker get an unexpected call?
Sam only starts a call when the worker taps the link in their notification. An unexpected call means the link was tapped.
Does Sam record calls?
Does Sam record calls?
Yes, both browser-based and phone calls are recorded.
Sam spoke to a worker in the wrong language.
Sam spoke to a worker in the wrong language.
Sam uses the worker's Preferred language and supports English, Spanish, and French. Any other value, or no value, results in English (US). Check the Preferred language on the worker's profile.