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How do you handle technician scheduling during peak seasons?

Mike Dolan

HVAC peak season is here and my dispatch board looks like a accident scene. We're already running 60 hour weeks and I'm still turning away jobs.

Currently have 12 techs, normally handle 8-10 calls per day per tech. Right now we're at 14-16 and quality is starting to slip. Callbacks are up.

What actually works? I don't need theory, I need something I can implement Monday morning.

Specifically:

  • Are you using temporary/contract techs? Worth the training overhead?
  • Overtime vs hiring — where's your break-even?
  • How do you prioritize when everything's "urgent"?

Also — anyone using the new bulk assignment feature that shipped last month? Saw the announcement but haven't had time to test.

Parents

  • Another way to think about the contractor question: we use them exclusively for preventive maintenance and simple swaps (capacitors, contactors, basic thermostats). Anything diagnostic or involving refrigerant stays with our permanent team.

    This protects customer relationships while still expanding capacity. The contractors know their lane, we pay a flat rate per job type, and there's no confusion about expectations.

    From a broader operational perspective, peak season is when your processes get stress-tested. If you discover gaps now, document them. September is the time to fix systems, not just recover.

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  • Another way to think about the contractor question: we use them exclusively for preventive maintenance and simple swaps (capacitors, contactors, basic thermostats). Anything diagnostic or involving refrigerant stays with our permanent team.

    This protects customer relationships while still expanding capacity. The contractors know their lane, we pay a flat rate per job type, and there's no confusion about expectations.

    From a broader operational perspective, peak season is when your processes get stress-tested. If you discover gaps now, document them. September is the time to fix systems, not just recover.

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