1
Capture the request
Who
CSR during business hours. AI phone and text assistant after hours and when both lines are busy.
Tools
Google Local Services AdsBusiness text line (OpenPhone or Podium)Housecall Pro online booking
Procedure
- Answer within 3 rings. A missed call gets a text within 1 minute asking what is going on.
- The AI says at the start that it is an automated assistant, and offers a person on request. After hours, that person is the on-call lead if the matter cannot wait, and otherwise the 7:30 AM queue.
- Collect the name, mobile number, service address, system type (AC, furnace, heat pump), the symptom, and how long it has been happening.
- Ask who lives in the home. Infants, elderly residents and anyone on medical equipment raise the urgency.
- Ask the safety questions from the safety triggers list on every call.
- Read the address and phone number back to the caller.
- Create or match the customer record in Housecall Pro before the call ends.
AI does
Answers after hours, asks the same intake questions in the same order, writes the record, and reads the address back to the caller.
Person does
Takes live calls first, handles upset callers, and picks up anything the AI cannot classify.
AI handles it unless
The caller mentions any safety trigger. The AI gives the 911 guidance, then pages the on-call lead and the service manager at the same time. If neither answers within 3 minutes, it phones the owner and keeps trying until a person picks up.
Done when the record holds address, phone, system, symptom and the safety answer.
2
Triage and book
Who
AI books routine and same-day jobs. A person approves emergencies: the CSR by day, the on-call lead after hours.
Tools
Housecall ProPrice book
Procedure
- Rank the call. Emergency: no heat or no cooling with a vulnerable resident, or an active leak. Same-day: no heat or cooling otherwise. Routine: tune-ups, noises, thermostats, booked within 5 business days.
- Check the record: past jobs, equipment age, warranty, membership plan, any unpaid invoice.
- Quote the diagnostic fee from the price book.
- Book the window and send a confirmation text with the date, arrival window and fee.
AI does
Ranks urgency from the intake answers, pulls the customer and equipment history, proposes the slot, and books it when it is open.
Person does
Confirms every emergency booking.
AI handles it unless
The customer has an unpaid balance, the address is outside the service zone, the equipment is commercial, or the job is a warranty callback inside 30 days. Those go to the office manager.
After hours
The AI books the emergency and pages the on-call tech and the on-call lead at the same time, by call and text. The on-call tech heads out on the page and does not wait for approval. If the tech does not acknowledge the page in 5 minutes, the on-call lead assigns the next senior tech. The on-call lead confirms the job in the app. If the lead has not answered in 5 minutes, the page goes to the service manager, and 5 minutes after that to the owner. Once on the road, the tech taps "on my way," which sends the automated ETA text.
Done when a job exists with job type, window and fee, and the confirmation text has gone out.
3
Dispatch
Who
Office manager acts as dispatcher by day. The on-call lead dispatches after hours.
Tools
Housecall Pro dispatch board
Procedure
- Open the board at 7:30 AM and again after every emergency booking.
- Match each job to a tech by certification (refrigerant, gas, heat pump), location and remaining capacity.
- Put emergencies ahead of scheduled work and tell the displaced customers by text.
AI does
Proposes the assignment and drive order, and flags overlapping windows. The 20-minute late alert comes from the step 4 automation.
Person does
Accepts or changes every proposal. The board is not final until the dispatcher says so.
AI handles it unless
The job is an emergency or a warranty callback. By day, the dispatcher assigns those by hand, and a callback goes back to the tech who did the original job when possible. After hours, the on-call path below applies.
After hours
The on-call lead confirms the on-call tech in the app, or reassigns the job if another tech is closer. The office manager reviews every after-hours dispatch at 7:30 AM.
Done when every job today has a tech and a window, and no tech has overlapping windows.
4
Customer heads-up
Who
Automated, on a schedule and from the tech's app.
Tools
Housecall Pro customer notifications
Procedure
- The night before a scheduled job, the customer gets a reminder with the arrival window.
- When the tech taps "on my way," the customer gets a text with the tech's first name, photo and live ETA.
- If the tech runs more than 20 minutes late, the customer gets a delay text and the dispatcher sees an alert.
Automation does
Sends the reminder, on-my-way and delay texts from templates. No AI is involved in sending them.
AI does
Sorts customer replies into questions and confirmations.
AI handles it unless
The reply contains a complaint, a cancellation, or any
safety trigger. It goes to the CSR at once, and a safety trigger follows the step 1 path.
Done when the on-my-way text is sent and the arrival time is logged.
5
Diagnose and quote
Who
Technician. The customer approves.
Tools
Housecall Pro mobile appPrice book with good, better, best options
Procedure
- Check for the safety triggers before touching the equipment.
- Photograph the data plate and the failed part.
- Record a short voice note on what was found.
- Pick the repair from the price book and show the customer the options on the tablet.
- Get the customer's signature on the option they choose, or log why they declined.
AI does
Reads the data plate photo to fill model, serial and age (the tech confirms them before the warranty lookup), pulls service history and warranty status, drafts the findings from the voice note, and flags a price book item that does not match the part described.
Person does
The tech diagnoses, recommends and sells. AI never sets the diagnosis or the price.
If a safety trigger is found
For a gas smell, do not operate switches, phones or anything electrical near the leak. Get everyone out, shut off the gas at the appliance or meter if it is safe to reach, and call the gas utility from outside. For a carbon monoxide reading, get everyone out, ventilate, and shut the appliance down. For an electrical hazard, kill power at the breaker. Then red-tag the unit, photograph it, and notify the service manager before leaving. Nobody restarts the unit until the service manager clears it. If the customer refuses the red tag, the tech explains the hazard, gets a signed refusal, and attaches the signature and photos to the record. For a gas leak or a carbon monoxide reading, the tech also calls the gas utility, which can shut off or lock the meter, following the utility's rules and local code.
The tech decides alone unless
The quote is above $1,500, the customer asks about replacing the system, or the tech wants to discount more than 10%. The service manager approves by text with photos, usually within 15 minutes. With no reply in 15 minutes, the request goes to the owner. The tech does not start the work until someone approves. With no approval in 30 minutes on a routine job, the tech books a return visit and leaves. On an emergency job, the tech makes the system safe and does a temporary repair within their own limit before leaving, and the on-call lead is told.
Done when there is a signed approval, or a logged decline with the reason.
6
Complete the work and collect payment
Who
Technician. AI drafts the paperwork.
Tools
Housecall Pro invoicingCard reader or card on fileText-to-pay link
Procedure
- Finish the repair, then take before and after photos.
- Add the parts used to the job.
- Read the AI-drafted job summary, fix anything wrong, and send it to the customer.
- Collect payment on site by tap to pay, card on file, or a text-to-pay link.
- If payment is not collected, leave the invoice open. Automatic reminders go out for 30 days, then the invoice goes to the office manager for collection.
AI does
Turns the voice note into a plain-English summary for the customer and a shorter internal note, and builds the invoice from the approved option and the parts list.
Person does
The tech reads the summary before it goes out. The office manager approves payment plans up to $2,000. The owner approves larger ones.
Stop and escalate when
The customer disputes a charge, asks for a refund, or reports damage from the visit. No automatic reply is sent. The office manager gathers the facts the same day and settles disputes and refunds up to $500. Above $500, or for any damage claim, the owner decides and is told within 1 hour.
Done when the invoice is paid or an approved payment plan is noted, photos are attached, and the job is closed.
7
Books and sync
Who
Office manager daily. Bookkeeper monthly.
Tools
Housecall Pro to QuickBooks Online sync
Procedure
- Invoices and payments sync to QuickBooks overnight. This is a built-in integration with no AI in it.
- By 8 AM the office manager receives one exception list.
- The office manager clears the list in about 15 minutes, giving each open item an owner and a date.
- The bookkeeper reconciles the month against the bank and card processor.
AI does
Builds the exception list: payments that differ from the invoice, closed jobs with no parts cost, closed jobs with no photos, and duplicate customer records.
Person does
Fixes each item. AI does not edit financial records.
Escalate to the owner when
The same exception shows up on 3 jobs in a week, or a payment mismatch is above $500.
Done when the list is empty or every item has an owner and a date.
8
Follow-up and reviews
Who
Automated request. Office manager takes the low scores.
Tools
Housecall Pro review requestsGoogle Business Profile
Procedure
- 24 hours after the job, every customer gets the same text. It asks for a private 1 to 5 rating and includes the Google review link.
- A rating of 1, 2 or 3 also goes to the office manager, who calls within one business day and logs the call. The owner sees the week's low scores every Monday. The call fixes the problem. It never asks the customer to change or remove a review, and nothing is offered in exchange for one.
- New Google reviews get a reply within 2 business days.
- Customers whose system is 5 or more years old, who are not already members and who opted in to marketing texts, get the maintenance plan offer.
AI does
Drafts review replies and the maintenance plan offer, after checking membership status. Sending the requests and routing the scores is rule-based automation.
Person does
The office manager posts every review reply. For the first 30 days, the office manager also approves each plan offer before it goes out.
Stop and escalate when
A message mentions a lawyer, an injury or property damage. It goes to the owner immediately and gets no automatic reply.
Why everyone gets the link
Google's policy against selectively soliciting positive reviews, and the FTC's guidance to businesses, both rule out sending the link only to customers expected to rate high. The score routes the follow-up call. It never decides who is asked.
Done when the request is sent, every low score has a logged call, and eligible customers have the plan offer.