During a busy heatwave last summer, the dispatcher at All Comfort Services called Nick Chacos in tears.
“I don't know how I'm supposed to do this, it's not sustainable," the dispatcher said. "Am I not good at my job?"
Chacos, the general manager of the residential HVAC, plumbing and electric shop, knew the dispatcher wasn’t the issue.
It was their dispatching process in general.
Every day, the dispatcher built schedules for 14 techs and had to look up each address in the Madison, Wisconsin, area to minimize drive times. Simultaneously, she was also fielding calls, updating appointments and arriving techs.
Of course she was stressed. Chacos, who would be taking over the company when the owners retired, wanted to fix the dispatching issue once and for all.
He didn’t have to wait long for a solution. ServiceTitan had just released a tool called Dispatch Pro, which automatically assigns techs to jobs that fit their location, expertise and sales history. It was exactly what Chacos and his team needed.
Now, rather than getting overwhelmed managing 14 techs, All Comfort’s dispatcher can “handle 20 technicians pretty easily,” Chacos said.
“She glows anytime you ask her about (Dispatch Pro). It's her best friend.”
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Trust the data
Dispatch Pro doesn’t just look at a tech’s skills and location when assigning jobs. It also looks for the overall best fit for an appointment—including techs’ sales history.
“It takes a look at who's going above and beyond, and who's subpar,” Chacos said. “Not only is that important for us getting the right technician to the right job, but (it) also is a tool for coaching.”
Dispatch Pro can also offer surprising insights.
Recently, All Comfort’s dispatcher noticed that a certain tech kept getting assigned to lucrative jobs by Dispatch Pro. She wasn’t sure why, since this soft-spoken tech was not a high-performer.
Then she looked at the data.
“(The dispatcher) was like, ‘Holy cow, this guy is crushing these calls, sending in leads, converting members,’” Chacos said. “That was really, really cool because it shined a light on someone’s performance (who) otherwise wasn’t on our radar whatsoever, and allowed us to do right by him and give him the proper recognition.”
Big results—less stress
Dispatch Pro takes the pressure off of dispatchers, but its value doesn’t end there. Here’s what else Dispatch Pro has done for All Comfort:
Save a salary: Before Dispatch Pro, Chacos considered hiring another dispatcher, but that wouldn’t solve the issue of his team spending hours optimizing techs’ jobs. After switching to Dispatch Pro, there’s no longer a need to hire—and Chacos’ dispatcher actually has time to work on more exciting projects.
Location, location, location: No tech wants to drive a van across town all day. With appointments grouped by location, sometimes a block away from each other, Dispatch Pro has reduced drive time—and saved a lot of money in gas.
Make more money: Every 10 minutes, Dispatch Pro automatically updates to adjust appointment times and assign new jobs. “You think that your day is full and you're going to do 25 service jobs and you're going to make $7,500,” Chacos said. But with Dispatch Pro, “you end up running 35 service calls and (make) $11,000.” These calls help boost the bottom line: This year, Chacos has a goal of $13.5 million in revenue, up from $12 million in 2022.
Worry-free on-boarding
Ask any dispatcher to give up control of their board to a software system, and you’d probably be met with some resistance.
All Comfort’s dispatcher was no different. How did she know Dispatch Pro wouldn’t mess things up? What if the system broke and left techs stranded in the field?
She didn’t have to worry. ServiceTitan’s comprehensive onboarding plan walked Chacos and his dispatcher through everything they needed before implementing Dispatch Pro.
Once they went live, the team never felt alone, thanks to weekly check-in calls with their ServiceTitan rep.
“The support that we received through (onboarding for) Dispatch Pro, and really through any of the Pro systems that we've used in general, has been really great,” Chacos said. “We've always been able to book a call with (our customer rep to) help us out with any issues that we've had.”
