# Priority Customers (Platinum)

> This page only applies if your account has **Priority Customers (Platinum) evaluation enabled**. It is not part of the core flow — it runs as an extra layer on top of it, only for stores where it's switched on, and only when there are Platinum orders to consider.

## What it does

When enabled, the dispatcher runs a **double simulation** for each store before committing to a decision:

1. **Normal run** — orders are processed in their regular order.
2. **Platinum-first run** — Platinum orders move to the front of the queue and get a little more delivery-time flexibility.

The two results are compared, and the dispatcher picks whichever one better protects Platinum orders **without excessively harming regular orders**.

## How the choice is made

1. Are there at-risk Platinum orders in the normal run?
   - **No** → use the normal run as-is. The second simulation never runs.
   - **Yes** → continue.
2. Run the Platinum-first simulation.
3. Count how many regular orders would be *newly* harmed by it.
   - **Below the impact threshold** → use the Platinum-first result.
   - **At or above the threshold** → discard it and use the normal result.

A Platinum order counts as "at risk" if it wouldn't be assigned at all, or if its estimated delivery would fall outside an acceptable refund-risk window.

## What you can configure

| Setting | What it controls |
|---|---|
| Enable / disable | Turns the entire layer on or off |
| Buffer minutes | Extra delivery-time flexibility given specifically to the Platinum-first simulation |
| Impact threshold | Maximum number of regular orders allowed to be newly harmed before the Platinum-first result is rejected |

## What it deliberately does not do

Platinum protection works **only** through the double simulation above. There is no rebalancing of existing routes to make room for a Platinum order — that limit and the others are listed in [Known system boundaries](/books/console-yF7/page/known-system-boundaries).

Platinum status also plays no part in ordinary reassignment ([When an order changes driver](/books/console-yF7/page/when-an-order-changes-driver)) or in the Last-Option queue order ([Last-Option: the final safety net](/books/console-yF7/page/last-option-the-final-safety-net)).

If the layer is not enabled, Platinum orders are treated exactly like any other order.