> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.avoca.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How to define what an emergency is in Avoca

## How to Set Up Emergency Guidance in Booking Windows

Emergency Guidance allows you to define specific criteria that determine when a customer's issue qualifies as an emergency. The AI will strictly follow your rules instead of making assumptions, giving you direct control over when emergency slots are offered during calls.

## What Emergency Guidance Does

Emergency Guidance works with your Booking Windows configuration to help the AI determine:

* **When to offer emergency-only time slots** (e.g., after-hours, weekends)
* **When to bypass capacity limits** for urgent situations
* **When to trigger on-call notifications** to technicians

## How to Set Up Emergency Guidance

<Steps>
  <Step>
    Navigate to **Booking Windows** in your Avoca dashboard
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Scroll to the **Emergency Guidance** section
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Click **"Add Guidance"**
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Write your emergency criteria as bullet points

    * Use clear, specific scenarios
    * Separate into "EMERGENCY" and "NOT EMERGENCY" sections
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Click **Save**
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/avoca-hc/MH4mxrDXeo8nYAg7/images/responder/image-60.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=MH4mxrDXeo8nYAg7&q=85&s=0c89eb85838bb677af84efe4abfdeed9" width="2916" height="1554" data-path="images/responder/image-60.png" />
</Frame>

**Your rules are now active** — the AI will use these criteria to determine emergency status on every call.

## Best Practices

### Be Specific and Scenario-Based

Instead of vague descriptions, use concrete situations:

**❌ Don't write:**

* "Heating problems"
* "Urgent situations"

**✅ Do write:**

* Consider Trade-Specific Rules and organize your guidance by service type

```bash theme={null}
EMERGENCY:
[HVAC]:
- No heat when outdoor temperature is below 40°F
- No cooling when outdoor temperature is above 85°F
- Customer is a member AND has no heat or no cooling
- HVAC system recently installed (within 30 days) and not functioning
- Equipment is 10+ years old AND needs heating/cooling repair

[Plumbing]:
- Active water leak causing property damage
- No hot water AND customer has young children or elderly residents
- Toilet not working when it's the only toilet in the home
- Sewage backup into living spaces

NOT EMERGENCY:
- Routine maintenance requests
- Equipment less than 10 years old needing repair
- Estimate or quote requests only
- Minor leaks that can be contained
```

### Include Customer Verbally Requesting Emergency

If you want to allow customers to determine what is an emergency, for example when a customer explicitly states "I need an emergency appointment," you can configure that to trigger emergency classification:

```bash theme={null}
EMERGENCY:
- When customer actively states "Emergency" or "Urgent"
```

This ensures customer intent is respected even without specific technical details.

### Account for Membership Status

Many businesses prioritize members for emergency service:

````bash theme={null}
EMERGENCY:
- Customer is a verified member AND has no heat or no cooling
- Customer is a member AND equipment is 7+ years old needing repair

NOT EMERGENCY:


- Non-member requesting after-hours service (unless safety issue)
```text
---
````