Dealer guide
Will-call vs. automatic delivery: which customers should be on which?
Every independent dealer runs a mix of will-call and automatic delivery customers. Here is how each affects your routes, your runout calls, and your phones, and how to move the right customers to auto-fill.
The two models
Will-call: the customer watches their gauge and calls to order. Automatic (keep-full): you schedule deliveries from degree days or tank monitor readings, and the customer doesn't have to call.
| Will-call | Automatic | |
|---|---|---|
| Who controls timing | Customer | Dealer |
| Runout risk | Higher: customers forget or wait for price | Lower, if degree-day K-factors are kept current |
| Route efficiency | Lower: small, scattered, urgent drops | Higher: planned, fuller drops |
| Phone volume | High, spiking on the first cold snap | Low |
| Customer loyalty | Shops on price each fill | Stickier |
| Credit exposure | Often COD or prepay | Needs credit approval or a budget plan |
Who belongs on will-call
Seasonal or low-use customers (cooking, a fireplace, a pool heater), customers with poor payment history, and those who insist on choosing their own timing. These are fine on will-call, but they are the source of most runout and "can you come tonight?" calls.
Who to move to automatic
Year-round heating customers with good credit and steady usage. Moving them cuts emergency deliveries and the leak checks that follow runouts, and it smooths your route planning.
A simple conversion playbook
- Pull will-call customers with 2+ heating-season deliveries last year.
- Text them in early fall: "Want us to keep your tank full automatically so you never run out?"
- Offer a budget plan alongside auto-fill to remove price anxiety.
- After any runout, follow up with the auto-fill offer. That is when they are most open to it.
- Send everyone left on will-call a "time to check your tank" reminder before each forecast cold snap.
PropaneLink's Full Office plan runs steps 2 to 5 automatically from your CRM. See the propane delivery CRM.
What to measure
Track the share of gallons on automatic, runouts per 100 will-call customers, emergency (after-hours) deliveries per month, and average gallons per drop. All four should improve as auto-fill share grows.
Related
Questions dealers ask
Is automatic delivery always better for the dealer?
Not always. Low-use and slow-pay customers can cost more on auto-fill than they're worth. Use usage and credit to decide.
How do I keep auto-fill customers from running out?
Recalibrate each customer's K-factor after every delivery, adjust for added appliances, and consider tank monitors for high-risk or remote tanks.
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