Escalation Matrix
Dave KowalskiReviewed 2026-06-273 min read
Purpose: When something goes sideways, this page says who owns it first, who it escalates to, and how fast. The goal is that nobody at Summit ever has to guess who to call, and customers never hear "I'm not sure who handles that."
The matrix
| Situation | First owner | Escalates to | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| New lead not contacted in 15 minutes (business hours) | Assigned sales rep | Marcus | Immediately once noticed; Marcus audits daily |
| Pricing question beyond the standard ranges | Tara | Dave | Same business day if Tara is unsure |
| Discount request over 5% | Tara | Dave | Same business day; customer gets an answer that day |
| Refund request up to $500 | Rosa (logs it) | Pete | Pete decides per Complaint Escalation SOP |
| Refund request over $500 or re-do over one crew-day | Rosa (logs it) | Dave | Dave decides within 1 business day |
| Customer asks for a firm production start date | Pete | Dave (only if a commitment dispute exists) | Pete confirms within 1 business day of signed contract |
| Crew delay or weather reschedule | Pete | Dave (multi-day slips on remodels) | Customer informed the moment Pete knows |
| Severity 1 complaint (routine fix, small miss) | Crew lead | Pete | Resolved within 2 business days |
| Severity 2 complaint (workmanship, schedule, repeat issue) | Pete | Dave (if unresolved in 3 business days) | Customer contacted within 1 business day |
| Severity 3 complaint (legal threat, safety incident, insurance dispute, likely to go public) | Dave | Nobody higher; Dave may bring in insurer or counsel | Same day, personally |
| After-hours emergency call | Answering service | Pete's on-call rotation | Real time, 24/7 |
| Emergency triage dispute (customer refuses $450 dispatch fee) | On-call lead | Pete, then Dave for a waiver | During the call; only Dave waives the fee |
| Estimate not delivered within 3 business days of site visit | Tara | Dave | Rosa flags at day 3; Dave hears at day 4 |
| Negative review posted | Jenna (drafts response) | Dave (approves before posting) | Draft within 1 business day |
| Invoice 30+ days overdue | Rosa | Dave | At the 30-day mark |
| Remodel scope change discovered mid-job | Crew lead | Pete, then Tara (pricing) and Dave (approval) | Work pauses until the change order is signed |
| Subcontractor problem on site | Pete | Dave | Same day if cost or safety is involved |
| Media inquiry, legal notice, or insurance-company dispute | Whoever receives it | Dave, immediately | Nobody responds except Dave |
| Agent is uncertain or a request falls outside its permissions | Hermes agent | The relevant owner above, or Dave by default | Immediately; the agent never guesses |
Rules of the road
- Escalate the situation, not the blame. Pass along facts: what happened, what the customer was told, what has been tried. Complaint severity definitions live in Complaint Escalation SOP.
- One escalation path at a time. Do not copy Dave "just in case" on things Pete owns. If the first owner goes quiet past the timing column, then escalate.
- Tell the customer someone owns it. "Pete is handling this personally and will call you today" is an acceptable answer. Silence is not.
- Log it in GHL. Every escalation gets a note on the contact record so the next person has context.
Known gap
A handful of rows still end in "Dave decides" with no written rule behind the decision: goodwill gestures, firing a customer, adjuster disputes. That reliance on Dave's judgment is one of the six items in the Knowledge Gaps Report and gets narrowed each quarter as recurring cases turn into written rules in Approval Rules.
Related
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