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

Sylvia Chen

We hit capacity issues every summer and I need a better system than "whoever yells loudest."

Current setup:

  • Emergency = safety hazard, no heat/ac in extreme temps, active water leak
  • Same-day = everything else requested today

The problem: my dispatchers are making judgment calls that aren't consistent. One customer's "small leak" is another's "flooding emergency."

Looking for a framework others use. Do you score jobs? Tier by customer? Revenue threshold?

Parents

  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • in reply to Brandon Okafor

    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.