How to dispatch rides: running a car service dispatch desk
Updated · 3 min read
Customers judge a car service by the dispatch desk as much as by the drivers. The desk takes the booking correctly, puts the right car on it, and notices a problem before the passenger does. This guide covers each part of the job, from the first call to closing out the ride.
Take the booking completely, the first time
Most problems on the road start as something missing from the booking. Use the same checklist on every call:
- Passenger name and a callback number that will be answered on the day.
- Exact pickup address, with details: entrance, terminal, building name, gate code.
- Destination, and any stops on the way.
- Date and pickup time. For airport pickups, the flight number.
- Number of passengers and bags, and any car seats or accessibility needs.
- Vehicle type requested.
- How it will be paid: cash, card, or the account it is billed to.
- The price, quoted from your rates.
Read the pickup time, address and price back to the caller before you hang up. It takes ten seconds and prevents most wrong-address and wrong-time mistakes.
Assign the right driver
The nearest free car is usually the right one, but check that the vehicle matches what was booked and that the driver can reach the pickup on time. Spread work fairly: drivers who feel they are always given the bad runs stop answering offers.
Always get a confirmation back. A ride is not covered until the driver has accepted it. Sending it and assuming it was seen is how rides get missed.
Manage future rides and standing orders
Much of a car service’s work is booked days or weeks ahead, and some of it repeats: the same passenger to dialysis every Tuesday and Thursday, or the same executive to the airport every Monday. Enter repeating work once as a standing order, so nobody has to remember to rebook it.
Review the next day’s work every evening. Check every ride has a driver, that the early pickups are covered, and that changes to standing orders, such as a holiday or a cancelled date, have been made.
Catch late pickups before the customer calls
Watch rides in the half hour before pickup, not after. If a driver isn’t moving toward an early pickup, call them or reassign the ride while there is still time to fix it.
If a car will be late, tell the passenger before they have to ask. A call saying “your car is ten minutes out” keeps a customer. Silence until they call you loses them.
For no-shows, have a fixed policy: how long the driver waits, what they record, and what is charged. Note the time the driver arrived, so the charge holds up if the customer disputes it.
Keep drivers and customers informed
Drivers need the passenger’s details, the notes and directions in front of them, plus a quick way to reach dispatch. Customers want a confirmation when they book, a message when a driver is assigned, and a notice when the car is on its way. Every message they receive automatically is one less “where is my car?” call for the desk.
Close out every ride
A ride isn’t finished when the passenger gets out. Record waiting time, tolls and extra stops that changed the price, take payment or confirm it is billed to the account, and make sure it counts toward the driver’s pay. Rides that are never closed out turn into unbilled revenue and pay disputes at the end of the week.
Signs you have outgrown the whiteboard
Paper, whiteboards and spreadsheets work for a while. These are the signs they no longer do:
- Two dispatchers need to see the same bookings at the same time.
- A standing order was missed because nobody rebooked it.
- You can’t answer “where is the car?” without calling the driver.
- Month-end billing takes more than a few hours.
- The same trip gets quoted at different prices.