How do you prioritize which jobs get same-day service?

We moved away from subjective calls two years ago. Now it's math:

• Contract tier (platinum/gold/standard) = 40%
• Revenue at risk if delayed = 30%
• Actual severity score from intake questionnaire = 20%
• Technician proximity = 10%

80+ points = same-day guarantee. 60-79 = next day unless slot opens. Below 60 = standard scheduling.

Dispatcher can't override without ops manager approval. Eliminated 90% of the "why did they get priority" complaints.

Love the structure. We do something similar but we weight severity higher — 35% — because we got burned by a safety incident that would've been flagged if we'd actually listened to the intake notes.

Pro tip: build in a fast-track override for liability issues. Burst pipe over a fuse box trumps everything, even if they're a standard-tier customer who just called in.

We tried scoring. Too complicated for my dispatchers during busy season... they just started guessing the numbers anyway.

Now we run three actual buckets:

• Code Red: safety, property damage active, no heat below 40°/above 90°
• Code Yellow: comfort issue + contract customer OR high-value residential
• Code Green: everything else

Code Red gets next available tech regardless of route efficiency. Code Yellow gets same day if possible. Code Green gets told morning or afternoon next day.

Works because there's no math at 7am when you're already behind.

This is closer to where we started. How do you handle the customer who argues their "small leak" should be Code Red?

Photo requirement. They send a photo, we code it. No photo = Code Green automatically. Stopped 95% of the arguments.

Another way to think about this: what are you optimizing for? Brandon's model optimizes for revenue retention and contract value. Ray's optimizes for operational simplicity and liability avoidance. Both are valid depending on your business priorities.

We've found that customer lifetime value is a better predictor than current contract tier. A standard-tier customer who's been with us 8 years and refers neighbors is worth more than a gold-tier customer who churns every 18 months. We weight tenure and referral history in our scoring now.

The real test: can you explain your priority decision to an angry customer on the phone and have them accept it? If not, your criteria aren't defensible enough.

From the field side: whatever system you pick, give us the why in the job notes. Nothing worse than walking into a same-day where the customer expects us to know their whole history and why they're "special" today.

Pro tip: if it's a priority override, put that in the first line of notes. Tech sees "CODE RED - ACTIVE WATER DAMAGE 2ND FLR" before they even knock. Sets the right tone.

Great discussion here! We want to make sure you're set up for success with whatever framework you choose.

A few of our customers have found success combining structured scoring with dispatcher training on empathetic communication — the "no" matters less than the "here's exactly when and why."

Happy to share some call scripts we've seen work well if helpful. Feel free to reach out directly!

We stopped promising same-day entirely. Moved to "emergency today, urgent within 24 hours, standard 48-72."

Revenue went up. Complaints went down. Techs stopped rushing and making mistakes.

Sometimes the right answer is don't try to do everything.

Worth considering. What's your definition of "emergency" vs "urgent"? And did you lose customers in the transition?