5. Exception Playbook

Running Dispatch says what the duties are. This is how to handle the five situations that generate most mid-shift judgment calls. Every one of them ends with a Console note on the order.

1 · Missing or wrong address

• Autonomous order: call the store first — they typed the order in. Then call the End User if the store can't resolve it.

• Manual order: call the End User directly. Lead with reassurance: "We're right outside — just need your apartment number."

• Batched manual + autonomous, stuck on the manual leg: 10-minute clock, then move on to protect the autonomous delivery.

• GPS confidently wrong (right address, wrong spot): Supervisor cross-checks in a second maps app on arrival; your note on completion names the address so future orders get fixed at the source.

2 · Gates, access, buildings

• Re-read the ticket notes — codes and meet-points are often already there.

• Call the End User: "The Supervisor is at your gate — what's the code, or where should they meet you?"

• No answer: ask the store for order contact details in the retailer's manager channel.

• Still stuck at 10 minutes: photo at the gate, note, move the Supervisor onwards.

• Ahead of the problem: an apartment or gated complex with no code or unit in the notes gets an End User contact before the vehicle is five minutes out.

3 · Batching calls

• Never let a Supervisor leave the store without Start Delivery active. One order not ready: Skip it or wait — never drive off around it.

• Store adds a second order 10+ minutes out after a ready order is claimed: the Supervisor reports the wait; you make the roll-or-hold call. Don't let hot food sit for a batch.

• A manual completion does not push navigation: after completing any order by hand, manually advance the next one and confirm the vehicle has a destination.

• Log order numbers on every manual intervention.

4 · Proof of delivery

• The retailer reports "customer says it never arrived": pull the delivery photo from the order, reply in their manager channel with photo and timestamp — same shift.

• Photo missing, black, or unusable: raise it with the Supervisor while they're still on shift, and note the order.

• A proof photo pending alert means fix it now, while the Supervisor is still out. Usable proof photo = ~10 feet back, food in frame, door and address number visible.

5 · Store manager calls — remakes, returns, address changes

• End User gives a new address mid-delivery: confirm with the store before retargeting the vehicle — their order record has to move with it.

• Undeliverable food (closure, no-show, blocked access): give the store the facts — order number, customer name, vehicle position — and let the store make the remake/keep/return call.

• Refunds and comps: work directly with the store manager in their channel (usually a dedicated Slack channel). They own the remedy and can issue it on the spot so the End User doesn't wait. Then, Autolane settles with the retailer on the back end.

• Close every loop: if you told a store you'd do something, such as return an order, pull a photo, chase a Supervisor, post a one-line follow-up in their channel when it's done.