Emergency keyword
An emergency keyword is a word or phrase, such as burst pipe, no heat, sparks, or sewage backup, that switches the agent into emergency mode when it hears it in a caller’s first sentences. Each trade starts with a list of these, and you can edit the list yourself.
Why it matters for a service company
A caller with water coming through the ceiling should not be walked through the same booking script as someone who wants a quote on a water softener. They need one safety instruction, then a fast path to a technician. The keyword list is how the software makes that call in the first few seconds, before the caller has finished explaining.
The right list depends on the trade and the season. “No heat” is an emergency for an HVAC shop in January and a routine complaint in June. “Sparks” or “burning smell” from a panel matters to an electrician at any hour. “Water on the floor” means one thing to a plumber and something else to a roofer, who is listening for “leaking through the ceiling” during a storm. A generic list either misses the calls that matter or flags everything, and a list that flags everything gets ignored.
The keyword is only the trigger. It does not decide what happens next; your emergency rules do. That separation is what lets you tune the list without rewriting the whole script, and it means a false alarm costs a couple of confirming questions rather than a wasted truck roll.
How DispatchLine handles it
Each trade starts with its own list, and you edit it in the portal under Agent settings without opening a ticket. Some situations sit above the list entirely: on a gas smell, smoke, fire or a carbon monoxide alarm the agent tells the caller to leave the building and call 911 before anything else. For other emergencies it gives one safety instruction first, such as the main shutoff or the breaker, and then confirms the situation with a triage question or two.
From there it follows the action you chose: book the emergency slot and alert the on-call technician; live-transfer the call to a number you set, staying on the line until someone picks up and taking a message if nobody does; or take the details and promise a callback. Urgent alerts reach you by email today, and text alerts to the owner are optional with opt-in and program approval. The agent will not diagnose the problem, promise a fix, or quote a price you did not give it. The emergency rules guide shows how to set the actions, and the emergency triage feature page walks through a full call.
Related terms
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