1. Dispatch Conduct

This is the dispatch counterpart to the Supervisor Brand Standards & Conduct article. Same values, different surface — you hold the line over chat, phone, and the channel rather than at the curb.

You're the invisible axle. No End User sees you, no store sees you — but without you the shift doesn't move. You won't meet anyone in person, yet you're who they reach when something's wrong, and in that moment you are Autolane. For almost every End User, this is their first autonomous delivery. How you handle them in a chat window or on a call is the whole experience.

1 · Sound like Autolane

You carry the brand in text and voice, so the standard is the same one Supervisors hold at the curb – warm, patient, human.

• Meet frustration with understanding. You may be on your 50th ticket of the day; it's their first delivery ever. Anything new is hard. Answer like it's the first time you've explained it, because for them it is.

• Be warm in writing. A reply is still a human moment — no cold, clipped, or robotic answers. A little warmth is what makes an autonomous delivery feel less eerie.

• Know the flow cold. When a Supervisor end End User comes to you confused, be the answer, not someone also fumbling. Own the troubleshooting flow so you can walk them through it over chat or phone.

• No profanity, ever. Nothing else to say.

2 · You are Autolane on the line

To an End User, a store, or a Supervisor who reaches you, you're not a person at a desk – you're the whole company.

• To the Retailer and the Supervisor, you are Autolane. How fast you pick up, how you handle a bad moment, whether you keep your word – that's what they see of us. Handle one rough moment well and it does more for us than a hundred smooth ones nobody noticed.

• Be the reliable one. Consistency earns trust. Be reachable on shift, respond fast, and close the loop. Retailers and Supervisors start treating you like part of the crew when you show up the same way every time.

• Treat Retailers and Supervisors like teammates. Coordinate, don't command. When they understand what you're doing, they make the shift easier and flag problems before they blow up.

3 · When things go wrong

Things will go sideways. The universal rule: the End User should never feel like you don't know what to do. Even when you don't yet, stay calm, acknowledge them, and buy yourself 60 seconds to work it. Confidence is contagious; so is panic. "I don't have the exact answer yet, but let's sort this out together."

End User can't work the app or the pickup. Walk them through it, patiently, over chat or phone – no sighing, no rushing. If you can't resolve it quickly, stay with them (keep replying) while you work it so they never feel abandoned.

Wrong order or missing items. Don't guess, don't promise, and don't offer refunds or replacements on your own authority. Acknowledge immediately – "I completely understand, let me get this sorted right now" – then work it and escalate. For food quality itself (cold food, a wrong item from the kitchen), point the End User to the merchant; that's not Autolane's to fix.

Angry End User. Let them finish. Don't interrupt or defend Autolane while they're venting. When they're done: "You're completely right to be frustrated, and I want to make sure we fix this." Then fix it or escalate. If someone becomes abusive, you don't have to absorb it – calmly end the call or chat and escalate. No one is owed your mistreatment.

Something unsafe, or a vehicle acting up. Not yours to diagnose. Escalate immediately via @ops (Running Dispatch → Escalation) and coordinate from there. In a field emergency the Supervisor calls 911 first – your job is to escalate fast and keep everyone informed.

4 · Hard questions about the technology

An End User may ask, in a chat, some version of "isn't this taking jobs?" or "is this safe?" The move is empathy and redirect, never debate.

• Acknowledge once, then move on. One thoughtful reply, not a back-and-forth about the future of work.

• Never be dismissive. These are real feelings from real people. Never lead with what's been removed – lead with what's being added.

• Never speak for the merchant or a partner. Redirect those questions to the partner directly.

• When in doubt, say nothing and flag to Kyle (kyle@goautolane.com). If a journalist is involved or a thread is heating up, don't engage – escalate.

Most people asking about jobs are really asking one of three things underneath it: Is it safe? Are you thinking about the people affected? Who's accountable if it goes wrong? Answer the real one.

On safety: "Every vehicle in our operation has a trained supervisor on board. We're in the early stage of supervised autonomous delivery and we take that responsibility seriously – safety before speed, every time."

On jobs: "It's a fair concern and one we don't dismiss. This shift is happening with or without any single company. We'd rather it happen with thoughtful systems in place than without them – and autonomous delivery creates new roles in supervision, fleet operations, and coordination that didn't exist before."

On accountability: "We're the infrastructure layer – not a logistics company, not an AV company. We're the neutral platform that lets vehicles and businesses work together."

5 · Escalation and reporting

Report issues on the same shift, not at end of day. You already have the path:

• Escalate via @ops in #ext-tso-dispatch

• Log every exception in the order's Activity as it happens

• Document while it's fresh – the note is what the next person and Autolane rely on.

End of shift doesn't mean end of responsibility. If it happened on your shift, it's logged before you go off dispatch.