The problem with a phone list on the fridge
Most shops run on-call from a spreadsheet and a group text. It works until it does not: the tech on call is at his kid's game with the ringer off, the backup never knew he was the backup, and the customer with water coming through the ceiling calls the next shop on the list. On-call dispatch in SWITCHBOARD replaces the spreadsheet with a rotation the phones actually follow. The planning side is covered in how to set up an on-call rotation.
Rotations and opt-in hours
A rotation names who is on call: single techs, crews or teams, taking turns weekly, every other weekend, a new person each night, or a custom pattern. Any date can be overridden: just tonight, a holiday, or an approved swap between two techs.
A tech is only ever on call inside the hours they opted in for. They set those hours, the job types they will take and how far they will drive, on their own phone, and the office approves the change. Their hours win: when the scheduled person's hours stop, the next turn covers. Everyone else with approved hours at that moment forms the opt-in pool. A tech on time off is never rung, and a tech already at their maximum calls for the shift is skipped.
The gap check
The calendar walks the next two weeks half an hour at a time and flags every stretch inside a rotation where nobody at all could be reached. You see the gap on Tuesday, not at 2am on Saturday. Switch, the AI, also watches for gaps and for emergencies nobody took, so the owner hears about both.
When an emergency calls
An emergency can come from the AI receptionist (press 1 for an emergency, or the receptionist hears it in the call) or from the shop's website, where a customer can ask to be called back. Both walk the same ladder, set once by the owner:
- On call: the app alert first, then the tech's own cell with a short spoken summary of the job, how far away it is, and "press 1 to accept, 2 to pass".
- Backup: the next person in the rotation, the same way.
- The pool: everyone opted in right now, all at once. The first to accept wins.
- The owner: the owner's cell last, if the owner leaves that switch on.
- Nobody: the caller is offered the earliest real opening on the schedule, and the office gets a callback task for the morning.
Every timer on that ladder is the owner's to change. If the shop charges an after-hours fee, the receptionist can tell the caller before anyone is woken up; pricing it is covered in how to price after-hours emergency calls.
What happens on accept
The job is made and assigned to the tech who accepted (with a crew, the lead, and the helpers are told where to meet). The after-hours call-out line goes on a draft invoice, and the caller is joined to the tech on a live call, so the customer is talking to the person who is coming rather than waiting for a callback. The office's live board shows tonight's emergencies with their timelines and who is free, and lets the office reassign one or listen in. In the morning, a log shows what happened overnight.
On-call pay
When the shop turns pay on, standby pay for the primary and backup, a call-out premium and a holiday rate are logged from the rotation, and the office sends them to timesheets in one step. Techs see their on-call pay with the rest of their pay. Only people allowed to see pay see other people's. For how shops structure it, see how to pay techs for on-call.
Who it is for
Any shop that takes emergency calls: plumbers with burst pipes, HVAC companies in a heat wave, electricians with a dead service. Pair it with automatic messages, which can remind whoever is on call at 4 pm. See it on a 30-minute walkthrough.
Questions people ask
What if the tech on call does not answer?
The ladder moves on: the backup, then everyone opted in at that moment all at once, then the owner if that switch is on. If nobody accepts, the caller is offered the earliest real opening and the office gets a callback task.
Can techs choose when they are on call?
Yes. Each tech sets the hours, job types and drive distance they will take on their own phone, and the office approves. A tech is never on call outside their approved hours.
Does the customer have to wait for a callback?
No. When a tech accepts, the caller is joined to that tech on a live call.
Can it track on-call pay?
Yes, when the shop turns it on. Standby pay, call-out premiums and holiday rates are logged and sent to timesheets by the office.
How do I know there is a gap in coverage?
The calendar checks the next two weeks half an hour at a time and flags any stretch inside a rotation where nobody could be reached.