Priority and Dispatch Standard

Why priority matters

On a hot July day, a client may get three times more calls than it has technicians. Someone with no cooling and a newborn at home must not wait behind a tune-up. Priority tiers make that decision fair, fast and consistent, so nobody on the team has to guess.

Example priority tiers

Tier	Name	Examples	Target response
P1	Emergency, dispatch now	Any safety hazard after it is cleared by 911 or the utility; no heat when it is below freezing outside; no cooling in extreme heat with a vulnerable person at home; active leak that cannot be stopped; sewage backing into the home; total loss of power to the home from a known electrical fault; leaking boiler	Next available qualified technician, now or tonight
P2	Urgent, same day	No heat in cold but not freezing weather; total AC failure in hot weather; reduced heat in freezing weather; no hot water; one main drain blocked; partial power loss	Same day, or first window tomorrow if the day is full
P3	Standard	Noises, smells that cleared the safety screen, minor leaks with water shut off, system running but not keeping up in mild weather, one outlet not working	Next available regular window
P4	Planned	Tune-ups, estimates, second opinions, installs, inspections, non-urgent upgrades	Booked to best fit the board

Weather triggers (example)

• Heat advisory issued for the client's area: move every AC failure up one tier.
• Freeze warning issued: move every heating failure and every "no water" call up one tier (frozen pipes).
• Heat pumps follow heating rules in winter and cooling rules in summer.
• After a hail or wind storm: roofing leaks with water coming inside are P1 for emergency tarping if the client offers it.

Members first

Most clients give members priority scheduling. Within the same tier, a member is usually booked before a non-member. Check your client's rule. Never move a non-member's P1 emergency behind a member's P3.

Arrival windows

Typical window lengths (your client sets the real ones)

Appointment type	Typical window
Service and repair calls	2 to 4 hours (for example 8 to 10, 10 to 12, 1 to 3, 3 to 5)
Maintenance tune-ups	2 to 4 hours
Comfort advisor or sales appointment	Exact start time or a short 15 to 30 minute window
Roofing inspection	Exact start time or short window, about 1 to 2 hours on site
Install or replacement	Start time for the crew, often a full day

The language of windows

• Always: "Your technician will arrive between 10 AM and 12 PM."
• Never: "They'll be there at 10:45." Never: "Definitely before lunch."
• Never: promise a same-day overflow slot that dispatch has not approved.
• When the customer asks "Can you narrow it down?": "The technician will call or text when they're on the way, usually 20 to 45 minutes before arrival." (Use your client's real on-the-way practice.)

Dispatch principles

1. Right skill. Match the job to a qualified technician: service versus install, residential versus commercial, HVAC versus plumbing versus electrical. Licensed trades (plumbing, electrical, gas work) need technicians with the right license under your client's rules. Replacement opportunities go to a comfort advisor, not a service technician, unless the client says otherwise.
2. Right place. Group jobs by zone so technicians are not crossing the city. Put each technician's first job near where they start the day.
3. Right priority. P1 first, then P2, then members, then the rest, per client rules.
4. Room for the unexpected. In peak season many clients keep one floating slot per day for emergencies. Do not fill it with a tune-up unless the client allows.
5. Recalls go back to the original technician when possible.
6. Never miss a window silently. This is the most important dispatch rule.

The late rule

If a technician will miss the arrival window, the customer hears it from us before the window closes, with a new estimated time. Never after.

You: Hi (CUSTOMER NAME), this is (YOUR NAME) from (COMPANY NAME). I'm calling about your appointment today between 1 and 3. Your technician's previous job is taking longer than planned, and I want to give you an honest update. We now expect your technician between 3 and 4. Does that still work for you, or would you prefer to move to tomorrow morning?

Then update the job, note the reason and what the customer chose, and tell the technician.

Emergency inserts

When a P1 comes in and the board is full:

1. Find the nearest qualified technician who can be moved with the least damage.
2. Get approval from the dispatch lead or on-call manager if your client requires it.
3. Call every customer who is displaced, immediately, before the technician leaves for the emergency. Offer a new window or another day.
4. Note the reason on every moved job.
5. Tell the P1 customer the honest estimated arrival time.

After-hours handling

After-hours means outside the client's normal office hours: nights, weekends and holidays. Many Narqix teams cover these hours. The client decides what is dispatched tonight and what waits for the morning.

Step by step

1. Safety first. Run the safety screen. Follow the Safety and Emergency Protocol if needed.
2. Tier the call. P1 may be dispatched tonight. P2 may be dispatched tonight or first slot tomorrow, per client rules. P3 and P4 go to the first daytime slot.
3. Disclose the after-hours fee before dispatching.

You: After-hours visits have an emergency fee of (AFTER-HOURS FEE), plus any repair the technician quotes you on site. Would you like us to send someone tonight, or book the first appointment tomorrow morning at no extra fee?

1. Page the on-call technician using the escalation ladder below. Log the time of every attempt.
2. Call the customer back with the technician's name and an estimated arrival time as soon as on-call accepts.
3. Write the handoff to the day team before your shift ends.

Example escalation ladder (your client sets the real one)

Minute	Action
0	Page the primary on-call technician (call and text, per client method)
3	No reply: call primary again and page the secondary on-call technician
6	Still no reply: call the on-call manager or dispatch manager
10	Still no reply: call the owner or the final contact on the client's list
Every 15	Update the customer: "I'm still working on getting a technician to you."

After-hours note format

End-of-day board standard

By the end of each day, every job on today's board is in one of four states:

1. Completed, with the technician's outcome recorded.
2. Rescheduled, with the new date confirmed with the customer.
3. On hold, with a reason (waiting for parts, waiting for customer decision, waiting for landlord approval) and a follow-up date.
4. Cancelled, with a reason.

Holds are passed to the follow-up team. Nothing is left "in progress" without a note.

Check yourself

1. It is 35°F outside, a non-member has no heat, and there is a 75-year-old at home. A member's tune-up is booked in the same window. Who goes first, and why?
2. What do you say when a customer asks for an exact arrival time?
3. When must a customer hear that their window will be missed?
4. On the after-hours ladder, what do you do at minute 3 if the primary on-call has not replied?
5. Name the four states every job must be in at the end of the day.

Answers

1. The no-heat call with the vulnerable person goes first. Member priority applies within the same tier; it never pushes a higher-tier emergency behind a planned tune-up.
2. Give the arrival window and explain the on-the-way call or text. Never give an exact minute.
3. Before the window closes, with a new estimated time and a choice.
4. Call the primary again and page the secondary on-call, and log both times.
5. Completed, rescheduled, on hold (with reason and date), or cancelled (with reason).

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