Set up emergency callout routing for locksmiths: WhatsApp alerts, on-call rotas and nearest-engineer dispatch

Category: Integrations • Niche: locksmiths, on-call, WhatsApp Business, Power Automate, Google Maps, Google Sheets

Contents

• Quick answer
• Who this is for
• What you’ll build
• Step-by-step setup
• Rotas and escalation rules
• Compliance: 999, consent and PECR
• Costs and reliability tips
• Troubleshooting
• What are people saying on Reddit?
• FAQ

Quick answer

You can automate emergency locksmith callouts in minutes with a simple stack:

• Intake: a short web form or WhatsApp template that captures name, location (postcode), and issue.
• Decision: Microsoft Power Automate checks who’s on call and uses Google’s routing to find the closest engineer with the fastest ETA.
• Alerts: Power Automate posts two WhatsApp messages: one to the chosen engineer (job card + map link) and one to the customer (name, ETA and a safety note).
• Log: a Google Sheet row with time, lead source, assigned engineer, ETA and outcome for reporting.

Who this is for

• 24/7 locksmiths covering a town or region
• One‑man bands who share an on‑call rota with a mate
• Multi‑trade firms that do out‑of‑hours lockouts alongside glazing or boarding up

What you’ll build

• A WhatsApp‑first intake and alert workflow that works even if the customer found you on Google at 2am
• Automatic nearest‑engineer selection using Google’s travel time
• A clean on‑call rota in Google Sheets that Power Automate reads
• Customer and engineer message templates that look professional and reduce back‑and‑forth

Step-by-step setup

1) Prepare your data in Google Sheets

Create two sheets in one spreadsheet:

• Rota: columns Date, Shift start, Shift end, On‑duty engineer name, Mobile, Home postcode
• Engineers: columns Name, Mobile (E164 format +447…), Base postcode, Skills (e.g., uPVC, mortice, auto)

Tip: Keep postcodes full (e.g., SW1A 1AA). You’ll feed these into routing.

2) WhatsApp Business intake options

• WhatsApp Business app: set up Quick Replies and an Away message for out‑of‑hours. See WhatsApp’s Help Center for away messages and auto‑reply basics.
• WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API via Meta/Twilio/360dialog): lets you send templated messages to customers and staff. You need opt‑in and approved templates for business‑initiated messages.

3) Build the flow in Power Automate

Core steps:

1. Trigger: When a new form submission lands (Microsoft Forms, Google Form via webhook, or a WhatsApp inbound webhook if you use the Cloud API)
2. Look up who’s on call: Read today’s rota row from Google Sheets
3. Calculate travel time: Call Google’s Routes API (Compute Route Matrix) with origin = engineer base postcode and destination = customer postcode
4. Pick nearest: Choose the engineer with the shortest duration in traffic
5. Send alerts:
   • To engineer on WhatsApp: Job address, issue, Google Maps link, and a Confirm/Decline button if your provider supports interactive messages
   • To customer: “We’ve assigned [Name]. ETA [hh:mm]. They’ll show ID. If you feel unsafe, call 999.”
6. Log the job to Google Sheets and your CRM if you use one

4) Message templates that work

Engineer (WhatsApp):

Job: Emergency lockout Address: 12 Example Road, SW1A 1AA Customer: Sam, 07… Notes: uPVC door. No damage preferred. Maps: https://maps.google.com/?q=SW1A+1AA Reply 1 to accept, 2 to decline

Customer (WhatsApp):

Hi Sam, it’s [Your Business]. We’ve assigned [Engineer Name]. ETA about [12] minutes based on current traffic. They’ll carry ID and won’t start work without your go‑ahead. If your safety is at risk, call 999.

5) Test with real postcodes

Run three tests at different times of day to check ETAs match reality. Adjust base postcodes and shift times if needed.

Rotas and escalation rules

• Simple weekly rota: one engineer per night, backup listed second
• Escalation: if no WhatsApp reply in 90 seconds, route to backup; after 3 minutes, notify supervisor
• Skills filter: only consider engineers whose Skills include the job type
• Fairness: rotate first pick each night so the same person isn’t always pinged

Compliance: 999, consent and PECR

• WhatsApp cannot be used to call 999. Advise customers to use their phone dialler for emergencies. In the UK, 999 and 112 connect to emergency services.
• Consent: WhatsApp marketing messages require PECR consent for individuals. Service messages about an active job are fine. Always include a simple opt‑out for future promos.

Costs and reliability tips

• Power Automate: per‑flow or per‑user plans
• WhatsApp Business Platform: charge per conversation window; Twilio/360dialog add their own fees
• Google Maps Platform: small cost per route matrix call; set quotas and caching to keep costs down
• Reliability: fall back to SMS if WhatsApp fails; keep an on‑call phone as a final backup

Troubleshooting

• Wrong engineer chosen: check the base postcode and make sure Google returned a travel time
• Messages not sending: confirm your WhatsApp template is approved and you have opt‑in
• Flow timeouts: break the flow into two parts or use shorter timeouts on HTTP calls

What are people saying on Reddit?

• Locksmith scam awareness and on‑call realities: https://www.reddit.com/r/Locksmith/comments/1mtre8d/first_hand_experience_with_hickeys_or_train/
• Legal on‑call rota questions in England: https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/comments/1glwh5u/oncall_rota_questions_england/

FAQ

Can I do this without coding?

Yes. Power Automate has HTTP actions; Meta’s Cloud API and Twilio both provide copy‑paste examples. You mainly configure connectors and paste API URLs and tokens.

Will this work if there’s no mobile data?

WhatsApp needs data. Keep SMS as a fallback and always have a call‑through number on your site. You can still compute routing if the office has internet.

What about customers who phone instead of WhatsApp?

Have the dispatcher fill the same form while on the call. The rest of the flow runs the same.

Is this GDPR‑compliant?

For active jobs, messages are service communications. For marketing later, capture explicit consent. Keep records of opt‑ins and provide opt‑out in each promotional message.

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