Why We Chose Salesforce Field Service for AGS—and What We Learned

There comes a time in every service business when the spreadsheet pile reaches an unmanageable height, and the inevitable question arises: What software do we use?

For us at Alliance Global Solution (AGS), that moment came fast and hard. With over 250 field technicians being dispatched across multiple programs, manually managing scheduling, assignments, and reporting was becoming a logistical nightmare. So, we recently pulled the trigger on a Salesforce Field Service (SFS) build-out—not a cheap investment, but one we believe is necessary for our growth.

So I am giving you a behind-the-scenes look at why we chose Salesforce, what it’s costing us, how it stacks up against the competition, and what we expect to gain from it. If you’re considering a field service software solution, this breakdown will help you navigate the pricing, process, and pitfalls before you make the leap.

Now, before we dive in, a disclaimer: This is NOT my first rodeo with Salesforce.

The Ghosts of Salesforce Past

Twelve years ago, I made a similar attempt with a construction company that needed to dispatch installers to hundreds of jobs a month. Back then, Salesforce Field Service didn’t exist, but we were sold the dream of a fully custom build that would handle everything we needed.

And it was a $250,000 disaster. The implementation partner had to build the whole system from scratch, and it never worked the way we expected. The hard truth? Salesforce wasn’t ready for field service back then. I walked away from that experience convinced I had paid for their R&D.

So why did I come back?

Why We Gave Salesforce Another Shot

Since that painful experience, Salesforce has spent billions acquiring and developing its Field Service product. So, I gave them another look.

And when I did an honest, apples-to-apples comparison with the alternatives, I found something surprising:

• Salesforce wasn’t just better than its competitors—it was cheaper too.

• It handled dispatching at scale, something most off-the-shelf solutions struggled with.

• Our ISP partners already use Salesforce. That meant easy API integrations instead of complex workarounds.

The Dispatch Problem: Jeremy Can’t Scale

The biggest issue we needed to solve was dispatching at scale.

Right now, dispatching at AGS is powered by a unicorn—a guy named Jeremy. He’s got real-world field experience, the analytical mind of an MBA, and can juggle the chaos of hundreds of jobs at once. And if you try to recruit him, I’ll hunt you down.

But he has one small flaw: Jeremy doesn’t scale.

When Jeremy takes a day off, the whole dispatch system breaks down. And even if we hired another Jeremy (good luck finding one), we’d still be running an unscalable, human-dependent process.

We needed a system that could handle hundreds of field techs, dispatch them based on:

✅ Geography

✅ Skillset

✅ Available tools

Why We Ruled Out the Competition

We looked at alternatives like Housecall Pro, Jobber, Service Titan, and even a small custom mapping solution, and while some of them claim to work at our scale, they all had deal-breakers:

1. Integration Issues – Our ISP partners use Salesforce as their CRM. That meant we needed a seamless API connection, and no competitor made that easy. The truth of this world is that, if you deal with a large enterprise they are likely using Salesforce of some Oracle buildout.

2. Lack of Enterprise-Grade Dispatching – Most alternatives weren’t built for the level of dispatch complexity we deal with daily. They worked great for smaller operations but would’ve collapsed under our volume and shear number of variables. Or they would’ve required custom configuration to these other systems.

3. Cost – Even if the other software had worked, they weren’t cheaper. Housecall Pro, Service Titan, all came in around $90/user or more. Salesforce came in at $65/user. That was the final nail in the coffin. Note, they will start the negotiation a lot higher, but you have some room to negotiate.

What’s This Going to Cost?

Salesforce pricing was shockingly competitive, but software alone isn’t the whole cost. Implementation is where things get expensive.

Our implementation partner is charging $30,000—about half of what some others quoted us. That’s still a significant investment, but considering the nightmare of my last Salesforce attempt, it feels like a steal.

I won’t mention the name of our implementation partner in this article. If they do a great job I will shout praise from the mountain tops. If they do not…FAFO.

What We Expect from Salesforce Field Service

We’re still midway through the custom build, so we don’t have final results yet. But here’s what we expect:

• ✔ A scalable, automated dispatch system—one that doesn’t rely on a single person’s brainpower.

• ✔ Seamless integration with our ISP partners’ systems for better workflow efficiency.

• ✔ Cost savings over time, compared to hiring and training additional staff to manage scheduling manually.

• ✔ A system that grows with AGS, rather than one that needs to be replaced in a few years.

What’s Next?

So far, the experience has been night and day compared to my first Salesforce experiment. The product has matured, the implementation is more structured, and the pricing is actually competitive.

Again I say, we haven’t seen the final product yet. Will this be the perfect system for AGS? Time will tell.

Stay tuned—once the build is complete, I’ll report back with what worked, what didn’t, and whether I regret giving Salesforce a second chance.

Would we recommend Salesforce Field Service to other construction or service businesses? So far, it looks promising. But we’ll know for sure in the next few months.

To be continued…