What Do the Markers on the Customer Map Mean?
Each marker on the customer map is one customer, and it shows at a glance who is going there and whether any work there still has nobody. The Key button at the foot of the map, on both the Calls screen and the Scheduler, lists every kind of marker with a real example beside a caption.
How do I see what the map markers mean?
Select Key at the right of the line along the foot of the customer map. A panel headed What the markers mean opens over the map, with an example of each marker and a caption. Close it with its Close button (×), by selecting Key again, or by pressing Esc (Escape).
The captions are:
- One engineer has this customer’s work
- Three calls there, one engineer
- Four engineers between them
- Nobody yet — two calls waiting
- Somebody is going, one call still unclaimed
- Customer on hold — service or credit
- The sheet is open on this one
- Too close to draw apart — zoom in to separate
The panel ends with "Every engineer keeps one colour — the one they wear on the board and in the rail."
The examples in the key are drawn by the same rules as the markers on the map, so the key always matches what you see. On the Scheduler, the key leaves out the two rows about waiting calls (the hollow ring and the small dot) while the To schedule column is closed, because the board only holds booked work and those markers cannot appear. With the column open, the Scheduler's key uses its own captions for them; see How to Pick Up Waiting Calls from the Scheduler Map.
What does a marker with an engineer's initials or photo mean?
A round marker showing an engineer's photo, or their initials where there is no photo, means one engineer is going to that customer: exactly one engineer has been given work there in the list or on the board. The marker stands at the customer's location, not the engineer's: ABM Service does not know where an engineer is right now. If some of that customer's calls still have nobody, the marker also carries a small dot (see below). Its border is in that engineer's colour: the same colour they have on the Scheduler's lanes, in the filter rail and in the Calls list's Engineer column. If you have chosen your own colour for an engineer, their markers use it too.
When the customer has more than one call in the list or on the board, a small number badge on that engineer's marker says how many calls there are, as in Three calls there, one engineer.
When more than one engineer has work at the customer, the marker shows the number of engineers instead of a face, as in Four engineers between them, and has no single engineer's colour.
Hover over any marker to read the whole answer in words: the customer's name, how many calls, and who is going, for example "(customer) — 2 calls, (engineer)". If some of that customer's calls have nobody yet, it adds how many are "to schedule", and it ends with "— on hold" for a customer on hold.
What does a hollow ring on the map mean?
A hollow ring means work nobody has been given: the customer has calls in the list, and no engineer has been scheduled for any of them. The number inside the ring is how many calls are waiting there; a ring with no number has one. The caption in the Key is Nobody yet — two calls waiting, and the tooltip says "nobody scheduled yet".
Rings are the markers a dispatcher should not miss. On the Calls screen, choose To schedule under Which calls to see only these customers. On the Scheduler, rings appear only while the To schedule column is open: selecting a ring with one waiting call picks that call up for booking, and selecting a ring with several opens the customer's list of waiting calls to choose from.
What does the small dot on an engineer's marker mean?
The small dot on an engineer's marker means somebody is going to that customer, but at least one of its calls in the list still has nobody. The Key caption is Somebody is going, one call still unclaimed, and the marker's tooltip adds how many calls are "to schedule".
It is worth checking before you book: an engineer already going to the site may be able to take the waiting call on the same visit. Select the marker to see the customer's calls and which of them has Nobody yet.
How can I tell a customer is on hold on the map?
A customer on hold carries a small exclamation mark badge on its marker, and its tooltip ends with "— on hold". The Key caption is Customer on hold — service or credit: the badge appears when the customer has Stop log calls or Service credit note hold switched on in its Defaults & holds, and the sheet you open by selecting the marker says On hold.
Check with whoever manages the account before you send an engineer to a customer on hold.
What does a numbered circle that is not a customer mean?
A plain numbered circle is a group of customers too close together to draw separately at this zoom, and the number is how many customers it holds. The Key caption is Too close to draw apart — zoom in to separate, and hovering over it reads, for example, "12 customers — zoom in to separate them".
Select the circle to zoom in on those customers, or zoom in yourself. On the Scheduler, the customer of the call you are scheduling is never folded into a group, so you can always find it.
How do I know which marker I selected?
The marker whose sheet is open wears an extra ring round it, shown in the Key as The sheet is open on this one, and it is drawn above its neighbours. The ring goes when you close the sheet.
On the Scheduler, the marker of the call you are scheduling from the To schedule column pulses, with a ring spreading out from it, for as long as the call is in hand. If your computer is set to reduce motion, the ring stays still instead of pulsing.