Plumbing dispatch is the job of deciding, several times a day, which truck goes to which property next, and telling the technician without a phone call. In a two-truck shop it is done by the owner from memory. In a five-truck shop it is a full-time role, and the person doing it is the reason the trucks are either earning or driving. This page describes how a dispatch day actually runs in a service plumbing business and what dispatch software changes about each part of it.
The morning board
The day starts with the booked jobs on a board, each with a time window, a property, a technician and the parts likely to be needed. A good dispatcher builds the board so each truck's jobs are close together and the technician with the right license is on the right job. Dispatch software shows the board as a map as well as a list, and moving a job between trucks is a drag on the screen that reaches the technician's phone at once.
The emergency call
A burst pipe call at eleven in the morning is the whole reason dispatch exists. The question is which truck is nearest, free soonest and carrying what the job needs, and the answer has to be given while the customer is on the line. Software that shows live truck positions and each technician's remaining jobs turns a guess into a decision. It also lets the dispatcher tell the customer an honest window and the displaced customer a new one without a second call.
The parts question
Half of dispatch is whether the truck has the part. A water heater call sent to a truck without a heater on it is a wasted trip and a second visit. Dispatch software that knows what each truck carries, or at least what the job needs, lets the dispatcher route the job or the part. The inventory guide on this site covers truck stock; the point here is that dispatch and stock are one decision.
What the record has to hold after the day
Every dispatch decision produces a job record: who went, when, what was done, what was invoiced. That record is what tomorrow's board is built from and what the callback next spring depends on. The free tools on this site produce the estimate, the work order and the invoice for each job; the paid product keeps them against the customer and the property, which is what a dispatcher looks at before sending anyone.
Questions people ask about plumbing dispatch
Is dispatch software the same as scheduling software?
Scheduling is the calendar. Dispatch is the calendar plus the map, the trucks, the skills and the live changes. A one-truck shop needs a schedule; a service shop with several trucks needs dispatch.
Can the owner dispatch from the truck?
With software, yes. The board on a phone and job changes pushed to each technician mean the owner can run dispatch between jobs. Without software it means the owner is on the phone in every driveway.
What is the first sign a shop needs dispatch software?
Technicians calling the office to ask what is next, and the office calling technicians to move jobs. When those calls are the dispatcher's whole morning, the board needs to be on the phones.