ESC

I spend way too much time on social media and all.  I have apps that report direct to my cell phone for our Facebook Page, Google Business, Nextdoor, and Yelp.  New reviews show up as a notification on my phone and I try to reply as fast as possible to both good and bad reviews.  I work to turn any negative review into a positive.  As you guys know, in the towing business youll never make everyone happy.  I figure that most any customer that is being towed by us is having a bad day in one form or another.  Sometimes they take it out on us.  I currently have plenty of great reviews and a few negative ones.  In a few of those cases, we made mistakes and deserved the bad mark, even though I hate to admit it.   But I did everything that I could to make them right.   Some of the bad reviews that I have I personally think are false reviews.  But I always post a public apology and try to make it known that I want to get more info and attempt to correct the situation.  I find that my replys go a long way with the next customer to read that bad review and our response to an issue tells more about our company and how we do things.   And since we are talking about it.... I get alot of customers from Yelp and Google both, as well as our Facebook page.

On 2/8/2020 at 1:33 AM, yoBdaBenO said:

It's like I have already deleted the App. No Calls, it just dried up. Makes you wonder what happened. One day they were here in this forum. we immediately began receiving more calls and then they weren't and we weren't getting calls. Is this common with everyone?

Personally, I would take that as a blessing in disguise.  But, if you truly want their work... Id contact their tech support and have them check.... I know in the past I have had alot of system glitches ... maybe its some sort of error.

24 minutes ago, dperone said:

This is where it pays to have a network of fellow towing companies. If someone calls me for a service that's 2.5 hours away, I will first suggest one of our friendly competitors who are much closer than us. If you word it correctly the customer understands that you are looking out for them and their wallet and many times, especially if it's a good customer, you'll find that you'll still get the job and the customer won't shop around while you're en route. Worst case scenario is they use a company you're on good terms with and they'll usually reciprocate and send jobs your way in the future. 

 

Too many in this industry are scared to call the other guy, no matter how far from you he is. Many times we get calls from companies an hour or more from us that need something pulled up locally to us, and many times we call on guys to bring us vehicles that are hours away.  Networking with towers in my own town has even lead to a lot more tows for us, as everyone gets busy and needs a hand picking up slack. 

 

I guess my point in this is next time don't drive so far for a 3rd party with a history of price shopping and cheap customers. Refer the call to the local guy and build a profitable relationship for the both of you.

Very good point!    We work with others regularly.   A couple years ago we had a panicked call from a mother about her daughter being stranded on I80 near the northeast extension in PA.  They wanted us to rush right up to tow the kid home (over 3 hours away).  Instead we called EdsTowing through this board and they had someone out to the car within 30 minutes, towed it to their shop and got the car fixed.   Im sure the repair bill was less than I would have charged to tow that customer home.   In the end I was happy as I didnt have to take a 6 hour drive, and the kid was off the road and safe within 30 minutes, the mom could stop worrying and Eds took care of the customer.  It was a win for everyone. @EdsTowing

In my 2011 Dodge and 2015 Dodge both 5500 4x4 we have the tunnel box and standard cab so its 84" CA.   The rear springs were light.  We use a company called Spring Service Station in Reading PA.  They added two leafs to the main pack for me.  $900-1000.   The truck handles weight much better and the trucks have a much safer feel driving them now when loaded.  Before just towing a minivan with them would cause them to feel overloaded.   My 2015 really seemed to sag in the rear end before we added the extra springs.

On 2/8/2020 at 11:22 AM, rreschran said:

Hey Grumps ... thanks for the pictures as it leads me to a different question ... has anyone every BROKE a Holmes Tree? If you have a, "yes", answer, what happened?    Also, may I have your permission to use the last picture in a PowerPointe on carriers?  R 

I haven't personally had an issue, but I do remember a story from Ray at Sanner's Towing of Downingtown PA (now closed up).  Ray always warned me about using trees.   They had something big overturned on a tight road many years ago.  I want to say a tractor trailer or a cement mixer maybe.   They used a couple of trees in the in the heavily wooded area in the rigging to upright it.   During the recovery he broke a tree or two.  The property owner ended up creating a big stink over it and it cost him a few thousand dollars to keep the guy happy. 

They want clean trucks , updated equipment, but wont give a fair rate to justify. Trucks are no longer cheap and the insurance is also crazy.

I was told today by my progressive insurance agent that he can’t even offer me 150k on hook. 

4 minutes ago, Orcas Tow said:

Ive asked the same questions, for years with the same answer, "Sir we are just going down thew call list". Again, poor customer waiting on the side of the road for hours because of Agero's poor mapping.

Its always been such a shame.  As much as I hate clubs, I dont see them going away.   But youd think with all of the technology available today they would have the ability to make a system that works.  If they would get some of us with common sense together and they would treat their providers right, they really could do well.     They waste so much time and money trying to find companies to do the work.   They send one company 20 miles away and give another company a job in my shop parking lot, etc.  Its insane, and seems so simple.   Years ago they treated us ok and we made it work.   I rmemebr 12-15 years ago we got $40 a call to tow 3 miles and $40 for road service.  We averaged 300 calls a month in a 10 mile radius.  Youd get a tow, and on your way to that do a lockout, then load up and grab a tire change on the way back etc.  I made it work well for years.    Over time they gave the light service to a $20 guy working in a car.  Now I cant afford to make the tow job worthwhile.  It made us pinch pennies and really look at things.  I know better.  The trucks cost too much to run.  If the call isnt making enough, the truck can stay parked.... its  more profitable that way.

13 minutes ago, BlackAutoload said:

The big deal I saw was upping on hook ins to 150k. 
I had to login this am and agree to the terms just to submit a invoice from last week.
Playing the motor club game is rough . 

We currently have 120k.... everywhere else we exceed their requirements.    Agero (and other clubs) just want to keep taking from us.... I cant do it.

https://agerosupport.com/WEB.UI.Images/TandCs-4.pdf

I forgot about Tesla... but they are great... they pay me very very well... but we only hear from them once a month or so recently.

NSD- Patrick is their life saver... they are good to me but the volume isnt there.

AAA we dumped many years ago- they were terrible but from my knowledge each region is very different and many are treated far better than the AAA Midatlantic.

The one I really dont agree with is Netcost- they cheated me out of money in the past and now I refuse to do any work for them at all no matter what the pay is.  They wont gt service from us ever again.

I am thankful to see this company was cited.  I hope they learned a very expensive lesson on this one.   I know (myself included) we have all moved something a little to heavy, etc.   But this one seems ridiculous.  Not only did the driver make himself look like a fool, he put himself, his truck and everyone else around at risk.  The media attention is also horrible for the rest of us.

On 2/1/2020 at 12:27 PM, yoBdaBenO said:

Another Week without a call from HONK......... Has anyone else dropped off?

I deleted the app a while back, and haven't heard from them since.  After they pulled the BS with changing the rates... Im not interested in bailing them out when their cheap guy screws up.   I put them in the list with the other clubs now... I quote $375 with a credit card to start a truck for them.   Its amazing how often Agero bites when their cheap guy screws up.

We are located in a rather high end area with alot of BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Tesla, etc.  We have seen issues with lower and lower cars over the years.  In 2013 we ordered a Hino 258ALP with the Jerrdan XLP deck and added the dovetail feature as well.  The truck has air suspension, so with the bags dumped and the low bed angle we don't usually have any issues.  I recently had a low Audi with 4 flat tires that I drove right up the bed without a worry.   We don't typically charge any extra.  But its all figured into our towing rates.  We are not the cheap guy in town.   But a good set of ramps, or nicely cut boards and a winch remote will make things super fast an easy for you.

18 hours ago, GRUMPS The Towman said:

I see no issue with "dragging" (I prefer to call it sliding a vehicle when i explain it to a customer)

"Professionally relocating" the vehicle was a term that I learned in my first WreckMaster class from instructor Will Cain.  Its also a billable service that sounds a lot better than "dragging"

We have all been there Im sure!   I know years ago I rolled up on a cavalier on its roof at 2 am in the rain.   I remember thinking that it looked like an easy one.    It ended upfighting me like crazy.   Things go wrong.   But, In this case, Id personally have had another truck respond to the crash with us for extra hands and to help protect the scene a bit better.  Things would have gone much faster with an extra set of hands in this case.

23 hours ago, Ehofer said:

Nice job. I have done the same thing with stumps. I always cut a notch to keep the chain from sliding up when it is coming over.

That is a good idea.  I asked the guy that cut the tree to do so, but he apparently forgot.

Usually the chain slips around, but in this case it actually stayed put.  I had it a little lower than I would have liked, expecting it to slide up some.

Mom had a cherry tree cut down last week and wanted me to remove the stump.

I made my first attempt with the rigging shown below. The stump started to move just a bit but I couldn’t keep my truck sitting still.

I called for one of our other wreckers to come and give me a hand. With a little more anchor we made it happen quick and easy.

We used two Dodge 5500 4x4 wreckers with an MPL40. Weight of each truck is 13,000 lbs. 8000 lbs winches. The wire rope WLL is 4,150. We used one winch from each truck. 6 snatch blocks total.

Below is the way I had things rigged up. What could I have done better or safer? Would love to see some calculations on the setup and all.

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Just an update on this claim. Agero stood behind us and denied the customers false claim.

I am happy they handled this one well for obvious reasons. But please use this as a reminder to cover your rear end if you choose to work for any road club. These false claims and James a small company up in a hurry. The time and headache I have into proving myself innocent has to be taken into account when setting rates. As I said earlier this job was one that I chose to take just to keep our guys moving on a slow day and it was barley worthwhile as it was. Then to have the hassles of the claim I am way in the hole on this one already. I know better!!!





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Well, we have all seen this happen a million times... and I do know better.  We have been in business over 30 years... and sometimes I need to learn the hard way.

Let me start by saying we hardly do any road club work anymore.  It is very rare, unless the job makes financial sense for me, or pays huge with a credit card up front.  I know the drill, and should have known better on this call.

A couple weeks ago Agero called for a tow from a mile away from us going to Harrisburg... Quick, easy wheel lift job going out the turnpike to Harrisburg.  Tow reason flat front tire, no spare.  My first move was to call and see if we could sell her a tire at our shop rather than tow it to Harrisburg.  The customer told me it was going back to a shop in Harrisburg as they had done something wrong and they were going to put new tires on for free. (Perfect english, sounded nice on the phone) She told me that she was there waiting with the car and would ride with us.   I should have known right there and cancelled the job.  But no.... it was a slow day and we had guys standing around, so I sent a driver out in a wrecker.

Driver of the car on scene could not speak any english.  No big deal, towed it out to a shop in Harrisburg.  Driver of the car watched us unload in the parking lot.  We never entered the car, no open doors, etc.

This morning, I get a damage claim showing damage to the rear part of the drivers front door.  They are saying we own nearly $1,100 in damage.

I called the owner of the car who was the woman I had originally spoken to the day of the dispatch... she insists that we rolled the car backward off of a flatbed while the door was open and we hit something.  I asked if she was the one riding with our driver and she insisted she was.  I Reminded her that the car was not on a flatbed and that it was set directly in the middle of an open parking lot and our operator never opened the drivers door.   She hung up on me.

I called Agero and gave my report.. The claim rep was actually very good with me and seemed like she believed us and was going to contact the vehicle owner.  We are still waiting on a verdict, and we are at their mercy.

Please use this as a reminder about the clubs and how they work.  Guilty until proven innocent.

I took this low dollar job on a slow day, just to help keep cash coming in.... and now look how much it could potentially cost us.... all over someone trying to scam us.   The worst part is I know better!  Ive been through it a million times.   Greed and keeping cash coming in on a slow day got the best of me.   Even if Agero backs me, which i doubt they will, look at all the wasted time and aggravation I have dealing with this deadbeat.

On 12/28/2019 at 12:41 PM, Tow411 said:

In Memory of NationalAutow who said:

 

ESC said " Someday they will figure it out."

I seriously doubt it.

 

Oh how right NattionalAutow was.... they still haven't figured it out!   If anything, they are worse.

Youll need to check with your county/township on that one.

We ran into that before with an employee... the police chief himself called us and informed us that there had been complaints of the truck in a development at night.   He knew that was our on call driver that would respond to crashes for his department.  He wasn't happy that he had to tell us that driver couldnt take a truck home anymore.  Especially since it meant that driver would have to pass thru his township to get to our shop to get a truck only to go back .... but he couldnt get us around the laws.

20 minutes ago, GRUMPS The Towman said:

The set your own rate thing was, Again in my opinion either A) a way to get us all to jump on board the honk band wagon or B) a shot in the dark by them to get rolling only to realize they were not making any money that way. If you go on their website, and look up having a tow performed, they give you a rate of what the services will cost. How do they do that BEFORE they have even contacted any providers?? I looked up having a tow performed locally Just to see what they do and how their system works and I was shocked at the price they gave me. It wasnt even half of what ANY reputable provider around here would charge. Obviously I did not go through the whole thing because I didnt want the service but I am seriously curious as to who or what would have shown up to do the call.. I mean after honk woulda took their piece the provider would have ended up making around $30-$35 according to my math... 

Exactly... set your own rate got them results.  It got us to get out there and get the job done.  They came up from nothing and managed to pull some contracts due to those good results and statistics that they were able to show.  Now they cut rates, and those of us willing to stand up and say NO to their calls their service will decline and they will end up like the rest of the clubs that cant get good help.

17 minutes ago, GRUMPS The Towman said:

I totally get that they have to make $$. My theory is given their business model of just playing middle man between the casualty and the service provider then charge the casualty owner an appropriate rate instead of trying to lowball the service provider they call to help.they are not like a AAA or road america where you pay a yearly fee to have towing coverage. they are open to anyone to use. Basically just a phone book for some one who is too lazy, incompetent, or whatever to look up and call their own towing service directly. At least that is the way I see their business model. maybe I am looking at it in the wrong light. They ( honk ) certainly have their priorities screwed up If you have had senarios as you described. But face it, the commercial accounts will pay out the whazoo for services so of course honk will jump at their beckoned call..

I'm there with you.... i don't like that there is a need for companies like Honk... but lets face the reality, those clubs all saw an opportunity and jumped on it.  I don't think clubs of some sort will ever go away.

I also was the biggest hater of Honk from day one with that stupid loud ship horn in the middle of the night when I would answer the phone.  After an accidental meeting with their CEO at a bar in the hotel at the Baltimore tow show and him covering our bar tab, I gave Honk a shot.  I actually thought they were doing a better job of dispatching the calls close to the provider than most of the other clubs.  Also the ability to decline calls without being penalized.  Plus the big one, we could set our own rate.   I set my rate high enough that if i took a job from them, it would be worth dealing with the added hassle of a club call that we all know.   The calls paid right after completion, etc... it was good.   Now they pull the rates from us and set the rate at a much lower number.  No way.  My trucks will sit at the job and lose money before ill send them out for Honk again.  Now Honk has joined the list of the others that we get a credit card up front at $175 minimum before we go.  

3 hours ago, mhippensteel said:

I think being able to submit and track status updates online would be a great step going forward. I agree.  I think submitting the applications by mail is antiquated.  

 

The changes made last year helped out for sure.  Agreed/

 

I know last year things seemed to move along fast, now we are back to slow response times and the whole process taking longer.  The faster I can process and move these junkers along the better.  So finding a way to get things rolling faster would be great.  Having to wait 3-4 week just for the initial paperwork back, just to start the 30 days seems silly.  Agree.

 

Also having to pay for an advertisement in the local print paper these days seems silly.  When we hold an auction, the fees for the paper make it an added hassle.  Ive never once had someone see that small print add way in the back of the paper and show up to claim their car.  Those ads cost us over $50 each time.  This is what I would like to see changed.  The whole process of valuation of vehicles.  Police officers CANNOT offer a valuation of a vehicle.  They have no knowledge on the subject.  If a car has value, the owner will reclaim their vehicle.  The entire auction process is an unfair cost to the salvor.  I've been a salvor for over 15 years and NEVER have I had someone show up to an auction of a vehicle that has "value".  

In our 30 years in business, we have had someone show up for the auction a handful of times.  Typically guys in the car business that know what they are looking for.   We don't ever get many with any real value, as you said, the valuable cars get picked up.   Once in a while we get lucky and hit a home run.   I'd say maybe we have had 5-6 "valuable" cars over time that ended up left here.... and typically it was because the lien holder didn't want to pay the storage, etc.

And Police making the judgement on the value of a car is a horrible decision.... As you said, many of them have no knowledge at all to what a car is worth.