Built a dispatch system that reduced callbacks by 40% — here's how

We were drowning in callbacks — customers calling back within 48 hours because the first visit didn't resolve the issue. It was costing us about $800/week in unbilled truck rolls and killing our Google reviews. The problem wasn't the technicians. It was how we dispatched. We were sending whoever was closest, regardless of skill match. A drain guy would get sent to a water heater call and vice versa. Here's what I built (nothing fancy, just a Google Sheet + process): 1. Created a skills matrix for each tech: drains, water heaters, gas lines, remodel, fixtures, etc. Rated each tech 1-3 in each category. 2. When a call comes in, the CSR categorizes the job type. Then they check the sheet and assign the highest-rated available tech for that category. 3. If no high-rated tech is available, we schedule for the next day rather than sending a bad match same-day. 4. Added a "callback" column to our job tracking. Every callback gets reviewed weekly — what was the original issue, who was sent, what was missed. Results after 3 months: - Callbacks dropped from ~12/week to ~7/week (42% reduction) - Average Google review went from 4.2 to 4.6 - Tech utilization actually went UP because fewer callbacks meant fewer wasted truck rolls - Revenue per tech increased about 8% because they were doing jobs they were good at The system is dead simple but it works because it matches skill to job type instead of just proximity. Sharing in case it helps anyone else.