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Setup guide · About 5 minutes · Starter for one contact · Pro for the on-call schedule

Write the emergency rules for your shop

Give Penny the words that make a call urgent, the safety line to say first, and the person to reach. Start from your trade’s rules and test both paths.

Time estimate excludes account approvals and carrier support.

Before you begin

  • The trade rules for your business
  • Your responsible trade professional’s approved safety instructions
  • The transfer number, or your on-call schedule on Pro
Intake questions and required detail controls
The intake screen holds ordinary questions; your approved emergency rule must put the safety instruction first. Shown with sample data.

Step 1

Start with the published rules for your trade

Read your trade’s examples on the Emergency Rules feature page with the person responsible for safety in the business. Choose the situations you handle and keep immediate safety instructions separate from service scheduling.

Step 2

Write what the caller can report

Use an observable trigger such as an active leak or a reported alarm. Do not require Penny to identify a failed part, diagnose a symptom, or estimate damage to decide which rule applies.

Step 3

Add the caller instruction and business action

Use the approved wording for the caller. Then choose whether Penny connects the caller to whoever is on call; when the caller says it is already taken care of, she offers to instead. You get an urgent email either way. A life-safety instruction comes before routine intake and before a call to your team.

Step 4

Know what happens when nobody answers

If nobody answers, Penny comes back on the line, takes a message, and emails it to you. Keep the caller’s next step clear. An attempted transfer must not be described as a technician accepting the job.

Step 5

Test an urgent call and a routine request

Have your on-call contact available. Read the test scenario to Penny, listen for the instruction, and check which phone rings. Inspect the log for the rule and transfer result, then make a routine booking request to test the other path.

You are ready when

The urgent test uses the approved instruction, reaches the correct contact, and records the result separately from any unconfirmed booking.

If the test does not pass

  • If too many calls trigger the rule, narrow the situation the caller must report; keep safety triggers intact.
  • If the receiving phone never rings, verify the saved number and shift rather than rewriting the safety instruction.

Questions about this setup

Can a rule book an emergency visit?

No. A rule connects the caller to whoever is on call, or only emails you an urgent alert. Your team decides when to go out.

How do I stop routine requests from waking the on-call person?

Make the trigger specific to what the caller reports, then test a routine and an urgent version of the request. Adjust the service trigger while preserving the approved safety instructions.