Dispatch a Route

Dispatching a route releases it to its crew member. Each crew member has one route per day. The basics are in Introduction to Routes.

Dispatch a route

Dispatch a route once its stop order is final, while it is still Draft or Optimized.

1. Open the route from the Routes page.
2. Click Dispatch in the route actions.
3. Click Dispatch route in the dialog.

The route's status changes to Dispatched, and Notify customers appears in the route actions.

Notify customers

Use Notify customers on a dispatched route to email each customer an on-the-way alert with the estimated arrival time.

1. Open the dispatched route.
2. Click Override quiet hours only when an alert must go out during quiet hours.
3. Click Notify customers.

Each stop that has not been alerted yet gets an email, unless a rule below blocks it.

Override quiet hours skips the opt-out and quiet hours rules, but a customer with alerts turned off, or with no email address, still gets no alert.

A second click skips stops that were already sent or failed. A stop that a rule blocks is marked suppressed, so a later click skips it too, even with Override quiet hours checked.

Suppress all alerts

Use Suppress all alerts to block alerts for stops that have not been alerted yet.

1. Open the dispatched route.
2. Click the More route actions menu.
3. Click Suppress all alerts.

Stops that have not been alerted yet are marked suppressed.

Undispatch a route

Undispatch a route to pull it back from the crew, so you can change its stop order.

1. Open the dispatched route.
2. Click the More route actions menu.
3. Click Undispatch route in the menu.
4. Click Undispatch route in the dialog.

The route returns to Optimized, and the Dispatch button returns.

Mark stops as you work

Once a route is dispatched, its crew member marks each stop as they work it.

1. Open your assigned route.
2. Click On my way when you head to the next stop.
3. Click Arrived when you reach the stop.
4. Click Mark done when the job is finished.

The stop shows Done, and the next unfinished stop shows Up next.

Marking a stop On my way moves it to On the way even when no alert goes out.

What the crew sees

A crew member sees only their assigned routes. On a dispatched route, each stop shows a status badge, and the next unfinished stop also shows Up next. The badges read Not started, On the way, Arrived, Done, Skipped, or Failed.

The stop's next-step button reads On my way, Arrived, or Mark done, depending on the stop's status.

On a dispatched route, the assigned crew member sees a Share my location checkbox. Checking it shares their location with dispatch while they are on the route.

Who can change a route

Dispatching, undispatching, Notify customers, and Suppress all alerts need edit access to routes. The route page shows those controls only to members who can edit routes. The server refuses those requests from members limited to assigned routes.

A member limited to assigned routes can still mark stops on their assigned route. A member with edit access to routes can change any stop.

Who gets an alert

A stop marked On my way sends its customer an on-the-way alert automatically. No on-the-way alert goes out when one of these is true:

• The customer has alerts turned off.
• The customer is set to text messages, which aren't available yet.
• There is no email address on file.
• The customer has opted out of on-the-way alerts.
• The customer is in quiet hours.
• An alert already went out for this arrival time.

Override quiet hours on Notify customers skips the opt-out and quiet hours items for that send. Marking a stop On my way passes no override, so quiet hours and opt-outs still apply.

A changed arrival time sends a new alert. If an email fails to send, the stop still moves to On my way, and the failure is recorded on the stop.