Four Things OnCrew Does, and the Dispatch Decision It Leaves to You
The phrase describes software that answers the shop's line when nobody can pick up, takes the caller's details, sorts urgent calls from routine ones, and alerts the person on call. OnCrew is the AI receptionist that does those four things for electrical, HVAC, plumbing and appliance repair companies. The one thing a dispatcher does that OnCrew does not is decide who goes: OnCrew triages and alerts; the dispatch decision stays with your team.
Safety boundary: OnCrew does not send a truck, assign a job, quote a price, commit to an arrival time, or guarantee a callback window. Your team still owns the board, the schedule and the work on site.
What an AI dispatcher means in practice
- 1. Intake. Sarah answers in your company name and takes the caller's name, best callback number, service address, the problem in their own words, whether it is a home or a business, how urgent it is, and a preferred time. She confirms the number and the address once, as they are given.
- 2. Urgent flag. Electrical, HVAC and plumbing lines carry urgent examples built into the receptionist's trade profile. Appliance repair, and every trade outside the four built-in profiles (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing), flags urgent on the caller's own word. On an urgent call she asks for the address and callback number right away and takes only the name, number, address and what is happening.
- 3. On-call alert. You or your on-call contact gets a text with the caller's name, number, address and need; the transcript and recording go by email to every address on your alert list. Urgent requests are flagged so they are seen first.
- 4. A person decides. Someone on your team reads the text and decides whether a truck rolls, who goes, and what to quote. Sarah never tells a caller that a truck is already rolling and never gives an arrival time; she promises only that the team gets the details and someone should call back.
Details Sarah takes on a call
- Caller name and best callback number
- Service address, confirmed once as it is given
- The problem, in the caller's own words
- Whether the location is a home or a business
- How urgent it is
- A preferred time for the callback or visit
- Anything more your notes ask for on routine calls, one short question at a time
- Full transcript, recording and summary for your team
What counts as urgent, trade by trade
The urgent examples below are quoted from the receptionist's own trade profiles, so the page and the line say the same thing. A caller who matches one is asked for the address and callback number right away and is flagged urgent so your team sees the call first; when the call involves a carbon monoxide alarm, a gas smell, smoke, fire, a burning smell, sparking, active flooding or a burst pipe, she gives the trade's safety line as well.
Electrical
The electrical profile's urgent examples, in the receptionist's own words: "sparking outlets or panels, burning smell from wiring, exposed live wires, partial or full power loss, breaker problems that will not reset, or the caller says urgent/emergency"
Safety line: For sparking, smoke, or burning smells, tell the caller to keep clear, shut off the breaker only if safe, and call 911 first if there is any fire risk.
HVAC
The HVAC profile's urgent examples, in the receptionist's own words: "no heat, a furnace or boiler that is not running, no hot water, no cooling in extreme heat, carbon monoxide concern, smoke or burning smell from equipment, major water damage related to HVAC, sparking/electrical danger, or the caller says urgent/emergency"
Safety line: If there is a carbon monoxide alarm, gas smell, smoke, or fire, tell the caller to leave the area if safe and call 911/emergency services first.
After hours: After hours, on any furnace, boiler or heat call, ask once: "Is the heat completely out right now?" If they say yes, treat it as urgent.
Plumbing
The plumbing profile's urgent examples, in the receptionist's own words: "a burst pipe, active flooding, sewage backup, no water to the home, a major leak the caller cannot stop, gas water heater concerns, or the caller says urgent/emergency"
Safety line: For active flooding or burst pipes, suggest shutting off the main water valve if the caller knows where it is and it is safe. For any gas smell, tell them to leave the area and call 911/the gas company first.
Appliance repair
Appliance repair is not one of the four built-in trade profiles, so there is no appliance emergency list. The line runs the neutral profile, and a call is urgent when: "the caller says the matter is urgent or an emergency, or describes something that clearly cannot wait for a routine callback"
Safety line: If anyone is in immediate danger (fire, smoke, a medical emergency), tell the caller to call 911/emergency services first.
Who makes the dispatch decision
OnCrew triages and alerts; the dispatch decision stays with your team. The receptionist's own rules say it plainly: she collects details and passes them to the team for a callback, and she promises only that the team will receive the details and someone should call back. She never tells a caller that a truck is already rolling and never gives an arrival time. A person on your team reads the text, decides whether a truck rolls tonight, and picks who goes. Your team keeps the board in the dashboard too: mark each call handled and add a note, so the morning dispatcher sees what is already done. If you want urgent callers connected live, switch live transfer on, and your notes can tell Sarah to connect certain emergencies to the on-call person you name.
Want the wider trade view? See the answering service for contractors overview, compare options in the AI vs live vs voicemail side-by-side, or open pricing to size the plan to your call volume.