# Dispatch: how should service calls be assigned?

> Dispatch explained for field service companies: how calls get assigned to technicians, which criteria matter, a worked example from Laval and common mistakes.

Updated on October 15, 2026 · https://app.pilotiko.com/en/glossary/dispatch

Dispatch is the process of assigning incoming service requests to available technicians or crews, based on their schedules, workload, skills and location. A dispatcher decides who goes where, when and in what order, and records that decision so the job, the customer and the technician all stay in sync.

## In short
- Dispatching decides who does which job, when and in what order.
- Typical criteria: availability, workload, skills, area and urgency.
- Each assignment should leave a written trace, usually a work order.
- In Quebec French, the preferred word is répartition, not dispatch.

## What does a dispatcher actually do?

The accounting dictionary reproduced in Quebec's terminology bank describes task assignment, or loading, as spreading the workload across staff, equipment or work stations [2]. In a home-services company, that means four steps repeated all day: take the request, qualify it, pick the person, and confirm.

Each decision should produce a [work order](https://app.pilotiko.com/en/glossary/work-order), a document that sets out how the job is to be carried out and can include the tools needed or the expected duration [3]. Without that record, nobody can say later who was supposed to do what.

1. **Take the call** — Record the address, the problem, how urgent it is and the customer's preferred window.
2. **Qualify** — Estimate the likely duration and the skill required, such as a gas licence.
3. **Assign** — Compare calendars, today's workload and where each technician is working.
4. **Confirm** — Notify the technician and the customer, and open the work order.

## Why do French-speaking teams avoid the word dispatch?

Quebec's Office québécois de la langue française notes that dispatcher entered French through North American management and trade vocabulary, mostly in the sense of distributing or regulating. It recommends French verbs such as répartir, distribuer, aiguiller or planifier instead [1].

If your crews work in French, writing répartition on schedules and forms avoids confusion with customers and keeps your documents consistent with Quebec usage.

## Which criteria should drive the choice of technician?

| Criterion | Question to ask | Common trap |
|---|---|---|
| Availability | Who has a free slot at the right time? | A paper calendar nobody updated |
| Workload | Who is already overbooked this week? | Always sending the fastest tech until they burn out |
| Skills | Who has the training or licence required? | Sending an apprentice alone on a complex job |
| Area | Who is already in that neighbourhood? | Crossing the city twice in one day |
| Urgency | Is the customer without heat or water? | Handling emergencies first-come, first-served |

Grouping jobs by area cuts driving; calculating an optimal route is a separate problem.

## What does a busy dispatch morning look like in numbers?

**Example: a five-technician plumbing company in Laval**

On a winter Tuesday, 22 requests come in before 10 a.m., four of them urgent (a leak or no hot water). The figures are hypothetical.

- Requests received : 22
- Same-day emergencies : 4
- Hours available (5 technicians × 8 h) : 40 h
- Estimated time for all 22 jobs : 46 h
- Hours to push to tomorrow : 6 h
- **= Six hours don't fit: the dispatcher places the four emergencies first, then moves roughly six hours of non-urgent work to the next day and tells those customers.**

## Which dispatch mistakes cost the most?

- Dispatching from memory without a shared calendar, so two techs show up at the same house.
- Ignoring workload until your best technician quits.
- Not reassigning a slot freed by a cancellation, which inflates the felt impact of your [no-show rate](https://app.pilotiko.com/en/glossary/no-show-rate).
- Keeping no written record of who was sent and why.
- Never checking billable hours per technician on a [dashboard](https://app.pilotiko.com/en/glossary/dashboard).

## What does Pilotiko do for dispatching?

Pilotiko proposes an assignment based on each person's calendar and workload, prevents scheduling conflicts and shows genuinely open slots for online booking. The proposal is prepared for you, and a person makes the call, which is the idea behind [human-in-the-loop](https://app.pilotiko.com/en/glossary/human-in-the-loop) approval.

In the virtual office, urgent items appear in the right department's room, and an [AI agent](https://app.pilotiko.com/en/glossary/ai-agent) can draft the assignment proposal from your real data.

> Coming soon: route optimisation. Pilotiko does not yet calculate optimal driving routes between addresses; assignment already accounts for calendars and workload.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is a dispatcher in a service business?

The person who receives requests and decides which technician or crew takes each one, and when. In a small company, that is often the owner or the office manager.

### What is the difference between scheduling and dispatching?

Scheduling builds the calendar ahead of time, often weeks out. Dispatching reacts to today's requests, including emergencies, and assigns them to specific people.

### Do I need software to dispatch?

Not at first; a shared calendar can be enough. Software becomes worthwhile when several people take calls or scheduling conflicts start piling up.

### Does automatic dispatch replace the dispatcher?

A tool can suggest an assignment, but someone still needs to handle the special cases: a vulnerable customer, an emergency, a technician who calls in sick. In most small businesses the final decision stays with a person.

### What should a dispatch record include?

At minimum, the customer, address, problem, assigned technician, time window and any special instructions. That record usually becomes the work order the technician fills in on site.

## Sources

1. Office québécois de la langue française (Vitrine linguistique), « Les emprunts déconseillés dispatcher et dispatching (BDL) », https://vitrinelinguistique.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/23659/les-emprunts-a-langlais/emprunts-hybrides/les-emprunts-deconseilles-dispatcher-et-dispatching (accessed on 2026-10-15)
2. Office québécois de la langue française (Vitrine linguistique), « attribution des tâches (GDT) », https://vitrinelinguistique.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/fiche-gdt/fiche/503383/attribution-des-taches (accessed on 2026-10-15)
3. Office québécois de la langue française (Vitrine linguistique), « bon de travail (GDT) », https://vitrinelinguistique.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/fiche-gdt/fiche/8354405/bon-de-travail (accessed on 2026-10-15)