Every caller who says "emergency" means it. Not every call is one. A water heater leaking into a floor drain can wait until morning. A water heater leaking onto the ceiling below cannot. A furnace out at 55 degrees outside is uncomfortable. A furnace out at 5 degrees with an infant in the house is urgent.
The job of triage is not to argue with the caller. It is to ask the same questions, in the same order, every time, so the answer comes out of the facts instead of the caller's tone or the CSR's mood. That protects the customer, your on-call tech and your emergency call scheduling.
Note. Your CSRs are not emergency responders. For anything involving a gas smell, a carbon monoxide alarm, fire, smoke or sparks, the script sends the caller to safety and to 911 or the gas utility first. Review the safety lines with your own safety program and local utility guidance.
Step 1: life safety first (always ask)
"Before anything else, is anyone in danger right now? Do you smell gas, is a carbon monoxide alarm going off, or do you see smoke, fire or sparks?"
If yes to any of those, the CSR says:
"Please leave the house now, with everyone and any pets. Don't flip any light switches or use anything electrical on the way out. Once you're outside, call 911, and for a gas smell, also call your gas company's emergency line. We'll stay on standby, and once they say it's safe, call us back and we'll get someone out."
This follows public guidance: the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says to leave immediately and call local gas authorities from outside if you smell gas, and to get outside and call 911 when a CO alarm sounds (CPSC winter safety tips, checked October 2026). Do not book a tech into an active gas or CO situation before emergency services have cleared it.
Log the call, the time and what you told the caller.
Step 2: the triage questions
If nobody is in danger, ask these in order. Write the answers in the job notes.
| # | Question | Why you ask |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "What's happening, in your own words?" | Lets the caller say it once; you listen for keywords |
| 2 | "Is water actively coming out right now, and where is it going?" | Active water onto finished surfaces is damage growing by the minute |
| 3 | "Can you shut it off? Do you know where your main shut-off is?" | Turns many urgent calls into next-morning calls |
| 4 | "Do you have heat (or cooling) anywhere in the home? What's the temperature inside?" | Separates discomfort from risk |
| 5 | "Is anyone in the home elderly, an infant, or medically vulnerable?" | Raises priority for no-heat and no-cool calls |
| 6 | "Is this the only bathroom, or do you have water in another part of the house?" | A second working fixture changes the urgency |
| 7 | "Is the power out to part of the house or all of it? Any burning smell?" | Burning smell goes back to Step 1 |
| 8 | "Is this a business? Are you open right now?" | Commercial calls may have an SLA |
Step 3: the decision table
| Tier | Examples | What you offer |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 0: life safety | Gas smell, CO alarm, fire, smoke, sparks | Leave, call 911 or the utility, call back when cleared |
| Tier 1: now | Water flowing onto finished floors or ceilings that can't be shut off; no heat in freezing weather with vulnerable people; sewage backing up into living space; commercial client with a response commitment | Dispatch the on-call or nearest qualified tech now |
| Tier 2: today | Water shut off but no water to the home; no heat or cooling, no vulnerable people, moderate temperatures; single drain backed up with other fixtures working | First reachable slot today, or first thing tomorrow if none |
| Tier 3: next available | Dripping fixture, noisy unit still running, one outlet dead | Normal booking with the first open time |
Write the tiers for your trade and your climate. "Freezing weather" means something different in Minneapolis and Phoenix.
Step 4: what to say at each tier
Tier 1.
"This needs someone tonight. Our after-hours rate applies: the emergency service fee is [amount], and the technician will give you the price for the repair before starting any work. I can have a technician on the way. Is that okay?"
Then, once dispatched:
"[Tech first name] is on the way. You'll get a text with the arrival time. While you wait, keep the water shut off at the main, and move anything valuable away from the area."
Tier 2.
"I understand how disruptive this is. The good news is it's safe to wait a few hours. The earliest a technician can reach you is [time]. If anything changes, like water starting again or a burning smell, call us right back and we'll treat it as urgent."
Tier 3.
"That sounds like something we can take care of on a regular visit, and it'll save you the after-hours fee. The first time I have is [day and time]. Does that work?"
When no one can come.
"I don't want to promise a time we can't keep. Nobody can reach you safely tonight. Here's what to do until morning: [shut-off steps]. I've booked you as the first call tomorrow at [time]. If it gets worse, call 911 or call us back."
How to adapt it
Plumbing and water damage. Questions 2, 3 and 6 decide most calls. Add shut-off instructions for common fixtures to the CSR's screen.
HVAC. Questions 4 and 5 decide most calls. Write your outdoor temperature thresholds into the tiers before peak season.
Electrical. Any burning smell, heat at a panel or sparking goes to Tier 0. Partial outages are usually Tier 2.
Garage door and locksmith. Add "Is anyone locked in or out, or is a vehicle trapped that's needed for medical reasons?"
The tier sets priority. Finding who can actually get there is a scheduling question: which qualified tech can reach the address today, counting the jobs already on their day and the drive from where they are. CrewLink's same-day emergency tool finds a qualified tech who can still get there today, or says why no one can, which is the answer your CSR needs for Tier 1 and Tier 2. Read after-hours service and on-call rotation for how to staff the nights, and same-day service for holding capacity during the day.
What to take away
- Always ask the life-safety question first, and send gas, CO, fire and sparks calls to 911 or the utility.
- Ask the same triage questions in the same order so the tier comes from facts, not tone.
- Shut-off instructions turn many night calls into first-call-tomorrow calls.
- State the emergency fee before dispatching, and promise only times a tech can actually reach.
Common questions
What questions should a CSR ask on an emergency service call?
First, whether anyone is in danger: gas smell, CO alarm, smoke, fire or sparks. Then what is happening, whether water is flowing and can be shut off, whether there is heat or cooling, whether vulnerable people are in the home, and whether other fixtures or circuits still work.
Should a CSR send a technician to a gas leak?
Not before emergency services or the gas utility have made it safe. The caller should leave the building and call 911 or the utility from outside. Your company can return once it has been cleared.
How do you decide if a service call is an emergency?
Use a written tier table for your trade: active damage you cannot stop, health risk from no heat or cooling, sewage in living space and commercial response commitments are typically urgent. Anything that can be shut off safely usually waits for the first slot.
Should you tell the customer the emergency fee on the phone?
Yes. State the after-hours fee before dispatching, and say the technician will price the repair before starting. It prevents disputes at the door and lets some callers choose to wait until morning.