How do you handle after-hours emergency calls?

Strongly disagree with making dispatchers triage over the phone. That's a liability nightmare waiting to happen.

We use a dedicated emergency line that forwards to an answering service after hours. They do the initial screening using our script, then page the on-call tech. This separates the liability from your company and honestly? Customers take it more seriously when there's a formal intake process.

Also — and I know this is controversial — we stopped offering same-night response for anything that isn't actively flooding or a safety hazard. Revenue actually went up because we stopped burning out our best techs on $300 after-hours calls that should have been $1800 replacements we sold the next morning.

Let me tell you how we do it: every customer gets a printed 'what counts as an emergency' card on every install. Sets the expectation upfront.

Strongly disagree with making dispatchers triage over the phone. That's a liability nightmare waiting to happen.

We use a dedicated emergency line that forwards to an answering service after hours. They do the initial screening using our script, then page the on-call tech. This separates the liability from your company and honestly? Customers take it more seriously when there's a formal intake process.

Also — and I know this is controversial — we stopped offering same-night response for anything that isn't actively flooding or a safety hazard. Revenue actually went up because we stopped burning out our best techs on $300 after-hours calls that should have been $1800 replacements we sold the next morning.

Let me tell you how we do it: every customer gets a printed 'what counts as an emergency' card on every install. Sets the expectation upfront.

honestly gwen that sounds great in theory but the answering service we tried was terrible — they would call me for stuff like 'the customer says the thermostat looks weird' at 11pm and I'm like ok? so basically I still had to triage just with a 10 minute delay

what service are you using that actually works

Connor, totally fair — most are garbage. We went through three. Currently with DispatchHealth Connect (not affiliated, just what worked). The key is spending time training them on your actual equipment and having a tight script. We review calls monthly and give feedback. It's work upfront but pays off.

Another way to think about it: if you're getting bad emergency calls, your intake isn't the problem — your daytime communication is. Customers call at 11pm because they couldn't reach someone at 4pm when the problem started.