Emergency Call Triage & Prioritization

Purpose

Defines how CSRs triage and prioritize emergency service calls to ensure life-safety issues and major property damage are handled immediately.

When to Use

When a customer calls with an urgent issue that may require same-day or immediate response.

Procedure

Priority 1: LIFE SAFETY — Immediate Dispatch

These get the next available tech, no exceptions:

• Gas leak / gas smell: Follow Gas Leak Response Protocol. Tell customer to leave the home and call the gas company. Dispatch a tech immediately.
• Carbon monoxide alarm: Tell customer to evacuate immediately, call 911. Dispatch tech once scene is cleared.
• Active flooding / main water line break: Walk customer through shutting off the main water valve. Dispatch immediately.
• Sewage backup into living space: Health hazard. Dispatch same-day.
• No heat + water pipes at risk of freezing: Winter emergency. Same-day dispatch.

Priority 2: MAJOR DISRUPTION — Same Day

• No hot water: Customer has no working water heater. Same-day dispatch if slots available.
• Only toilet not working (single-bathroom home): Same-day dispatch.
• Active leak (contained but ongoing): Same-day if possible, otherwise first slot next day.
• Sump pump failure during rain: Time-sensitive. Same-day dispatch.

Priority 3: INCONVENIENCE — Next Available

• Slow drain: Schedule within 1-2 days.
• Dripping faucet: Schedule at convenience.
• Running toilet: Not urgent unless it's flooding. Normal scheduling.
• Water heater making noise but still functioning: Schedule within 2-3 days.
• Estimate requests: Schedule at mutual convenience.

Triage Questions to Ask

"Is anyone in danger right now?" (gas smell, flooding, etc.)

"Is there water actively flowing that you can't stop?"

"Do you smell gas or has a CO alarm gone off?"

"How long has this been going on?"

"Can you access the main water shutoff valve?"

Communicating with the Customer

• For Priority 1: "I understand this is an emergency. I'm dispatching a technician to you right now. In the meantime, [safety instruction]."
• For Priority 2: "I'm going to get you on today's schedule. Our tech will call you 20-30 minutes before they arrive."
• For Priority 3: "I can get you scheduled for [date/time]. Does that work for you?"

Important Notes

• When in doubt, escalate to a higher priority — it's better to over-respond than under-respond.
• Always walk the customer through immediate safety steps (shutoff valves, evacuation) before booking.
• Document the emergency nature of the call in ServiceTitan job notes.
• Emergency dispatching may require bumping lower-priority appointments — communicate changes to affected customers immediately.

Related SOPs

• Gas Leak Response Protocol — gas emergency procedures
• Inbound Call Handling Script — standard call flow
• Dispatch Board Management — scheduling emergency calls