# Contractor Emergency Call Priority Matrix

Use this matrix before urgent contractor calls hit voicemail, generic AI answering, dispatch software, a calendar link, or a broad after-hours workflow.

## 1. Severity score

Give one point for each signal:

- Active water leak, sewer backup, no heat, no cooling, electrical hazard, roof leak, storm damage, lockout, restoration risk, safety issue, or vulnerable customer
- Repeat customer, warranty-sensitive issue, high-value diagnostic, or known customer with property-damage risk
- Delay changes safety, trust, property damage, crew utilization, or revenue
- The request arrived through GBP, LSA, website phone, quote form, text, referral, QR card, invoice, voicemail, social profile, or repeat-customer route with urgent language

**Priority:** 3+ points means owner, dispatcher, or on-call tech callback now.

## 2. Source priority

- **High urgency:** LSA emergency call, GBP map-pack call, website phone call, repeat customer, referral, active text thread, voicemail using urgent language
- **Medium urgency:** quote form, booking request, invoice/QR link, social profile message, existing estimate follow-up
- **Low urgency:** generic calendar click, out-of-area price shopper, vague request without service area or job details

## 3. Callback window

- **Now:** safety risk, property damage, no heat/no cooling, active leak, electrical hazard, storm damage, lockout, restoration, vulnerable customer
- **15-60 minutes:** urgent but stable repair, known customer, high-ticket diagnostic, repeat customer warranty issue
- **Next business day:** maintenance, tune-up, simple inspection, low-urgency repeat work, calendar-ready job
- **Proof first:** homeowner needs reviews, photos, city coverage, FAQs, financing, warranty, or contractor quote-form clarity before booking

## 4. Route decision

- Emergency callback with owner, dispatcher, or on-call tech
- AI answering escalation only after severity and handoff rules are written
- Service-page proof or contractor quote-form route when the customer needs trust before action
- Scheduling software only for qualified, calendar-ready jobs
- No-show controls when low-urgency or price-shopper leads are being pushed to appointments

## Product-fit guardrail

Webzaz fits only when emergency priority calls expose weak service-page proof, city pages, reviews, FAQs, project photos, or quote-form readiness. LocalKit fits only when the fix is lightweight GBP, QR, social, invoice, referral, or local-action routing. Emergency callback, AI answering, scheduling, dispatch, and no-show-control decisions stay separately measured.

## Trade-specific examples

- **Plumbing:** active leak, sewer backup, burst pipe, water heater failure, and emergency shutoff calls usually need callback now.
- **HVAC:** no heat, no cooling, holiday furnace failures, vulnerable-customer calls, and replacement-risk calls need escalation windows.
- **Roofing:** storm damage, active roof leaks, tarp requests, inspection leads, and insurance-repair questions need callback ownership plus proof.
- **Electrical:** panel smell, outage, sparking, generator failure, EV charger issue, and safety calls need human escalation before AI intake.
- **Restoration / locksmith:** water damage, fire damage, lockout, and access-risk calls need fast source and callback-window checks.

## Keyword and copy check

Primary phrase: contractor emergency call priority matrix. Supporting phrases: emergency call priority, emergency callback, AI answering escalation, service-page proof, scheduling rules, no-show controls, plumber emergency calls, HVAC no-heat calls, roofing storm calls, electrician emergency calls.