The Freeze-Week Dispatch System
Client identity withheld.
Results
$66K
Booked revenue in 90 days, at the shop's own prices
73
October tune-ups and repairs booked from past customers
48
Visits booked from forecast alerts before the freeze
62
Service calls booked by the phone assistant
3.2 → 3.6
Jobs per service tech per day during freeze week
22% → <2%
Calls left unanswered during freeze week
Company Profile
Company
Residential HVAC shop. ~$1.55M revenue, 6 service techs, 1 installer, 1 dispatcher-CSR and the owner. ~2,600 past customers and ~250 maintenance plan members.
Stack
Field-service management software with GPS, VoIP phone system, Google Local Services Ads.
Operating Need
Fill October, and keep the schedule and the phones under control when the first freeze hits.
The Challenge
October in the Detroit suburbs was slow, with the board about 60% full. Then the first freeze arrived and everything broke at once. The dispatcher answered phones while reshuffling routes by hand, calls went to voicemail, and techs crossed the metro chasing emergencies. Members waited with everyone else, and many of the breakdowns came from furnaces nobody had checked in years.
The Audit
We reviewed two years of call volume and dispatch data by week, along with the service history.
Patterns Found
- October capacity averaged about 61% over two years
- About 22% of calls went unanswered in the first freeze week
- Techs averaged 3.2 jobs a day that week, with long cross-town drives
- The dispatcher rebuilt routes by hand around 20 times on freeze days
- About 950 customers were overdue for a furnace check
- Members got no priority before the freeze
The shop needed to move work into October and give the dispatcher a way to stay ahead of freeze week instead of reacting to it.
The Architecture
Four systems working as six parts, covering the slow weeks and the surge.
Past-Customer Wake-Up
Cleaned 2,600 customers to 2,200 reachable numbers and texted overdue furnace checks in batches sized to October openings.
Weather Trigger
Texts members first, then older furnaces, 5–7 days before a hard freeze, and warns the owner about expected volume.
Call Handling
An AI assistant in backup mode that picks up after 3 rings, on busy lines and after hours, follows the owner's no-heat emergency rules, and books routine work.
Smart Dispatcher
Builds each morning's routes by skill, location and drive time, and proposes changes for the dispatcher to approve as emergencies arrive.
Customer ETA Texts
Tells customers when their tech is on the way, cutting "where's my tech?" calls during the surge.
Monday Recovered Revenue Report
One page every Monday with bookings, jobs per tech and running totals.
How the System Operates
The system books ahead, answers and routes. The dispatcher approves every schedule change.
- Every schedule change is approved by the dispatcher before techs or customers are notified
- Members are contacted first before a forecast freeze
- No-heat calls with vulnerable people at home always page the on-call tech
How It Flows
- 1October openings and the forecast are checked daily
- 2Past customers and members are texted ahead of the cold
- 3Freeze-week calls are answered, and routes adjust as emergencies come in
- 4Every booking is logged on the Monday report
Schedule changes are reviewed by the dispatcher before they go out.
Implementation
| Stage | Focus | Key Results |
|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 | Season audit | Freeze-week call and dispatch patterns mapped; 950 overdue furnaces flagged |
| Stage 2 | Setup and approval | Skills matrix, dispatch rules and messages approved |
| Stage 3 | October launch | Wake-up batches and Call Handling live |
| Stage 4 | Freeze readiness | Weather trigger, Smart Dispatcher and ETA texts live; Monday reports every week |
Ownership
The shop now has a fall plan and a dispatch setup it reuses every winter.
A customer list sorted by furnace age and last visit
A skills matrix and dispatch rules for every tech
Approved pre-season and forecast messages
Every Monday report and call summary
Operational Impact
October now pays for itself, and the first freeze no longer means chaos. Members and older furnaces are seen before the cold, calls are answered while the dispatcher plans, and routes adjust without being rebuilt by hand. Techs finish more jobs per day in the week it matters most.