ESC

I think being able to submit and track status updates online would be a great step going forward.

 

The changes made last year helped out for sure.

 

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.

 

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.

1 minute ago, DennisHONK said:

I understand your feelings on the matter, but please note that you are welcome to continue to be a part of the HONK network. You can accept as many or as few jobs as you see fit, and your account status will never be affected by declining job offers. Maybe you'll see something that does look like a job you'd feel is profitable in the near future. Or not. Either way, we appreciate your feedback and your help with service to this point and beyond. 

For the time being I have turned notifications off.   Until they fix the radius issue, I am not interested in having to keep taking the time to check my phone and decline calls that are nowhere near any of my guys... it became too much of a waste of time and aggravation for me.  If they get back to a point that they only alert me when it is something near my guys, say within 5 miles, I am not opposed to it... but I already dont have enough time in the day.... I cant waste more time with all these calls 45+ min away

49 minutes ago, DennisHONK said:

Like I said in my earlier post, I know that all you see is "lower rates", which has been how every one of HONK's competitors has approached the market before now, and it results in the provider getting taken over a barrel. I can honestly say that we're not here to take money out of your pockets. We want to help make the towing industry as a whole more efficient, and thus more profitable. 

To me, this is exactly what I am seeing.  Honk was different, they let me set my rate that made sense for me to help them.   That has been their big push since day, one.... set your rate.   Now they pull that from us and set the rate much lower.  I am all for being efficient and more profitable.... but this change was a terrible decision.

On 12/11/2019 at 5:07 PM, TowZone said:

I am sure that at some point an app will come along that targets companies or tow trucks within say 15 miles of the motorist. That would work if the system was built out and used by numerous companies. Problem is those who create these apps often do not understand that a large percentage of those using them are in urban areas and not suburban/rural areas. Any Motor Club sending companies more than 45 miles from their base area are defeating the purpose and have likely contributed to the problem of not being able to secure a company to service the member/customer.

 

I would hope that someone with HONK can give us some insight into this topic of discussion soon.

 

To date HONK has dropped from #5 to #8 in the current 2019 Rankings which are far from wrapping up.

 

 

That was the nice think about Honk.  Their app was supposed to target those drivers close to the jobs.  I had my radius set to within 5 miles of the driver.  Each driver had the app and if they were passing within range of a Honk job, it would alert us to try to accept or decline.  Many times, this worked out.  Honestly, it was the best effort I have seen from any club.  It was still lacking, but they are moving in the right direction.  The big blow for me was their change to the rates.  They had always promised you could set your own rates... now they took that away in their favor.   For me, that was the final straw.

On 12/12/2019 at 11:51 AM, DennisHONK said:

Hey Ron, thanks for bringing this to my attention. I've been away from the office for the past few days so I haven't been checking my email much, but allow me a moment here to explain some of this.

 

I get that this looks like the same nonsense you all are used to hearing from motor clubs. "More work for less money!" That's not what we're doing here and I want to explain how this works. You can make your own decisions based on that. 

 

HONK has always been clear that we are trying to get the customer off the road as fast as possible without sacrificing the integrity of their Partner network. The goal is to always dispatch the closest truck. By doing so, we reduce the money you spend on gas and truck maintenance. I think it’s also important to remember that you can reject a job at any time if you think it is too far and doesn’t pay enough. 

 

The instant dispatch method that you’re seeing was built to dispatch the absolute closest available provider to that customer. When a customer breaks down, an alert will go out to the providers who are closest to take the job before it goes to those providers further away. The providers who are farther away might still get an alert asking for their availability. Think of it more like a safety net in case the closer providers aren’t available. Who knows, maybe you are headed in the direction of the customer and are available to pick up the job.

 

Again, keep in mind our goal is to dispatch the closest provider because it gets the customer back on the road quickly while reducing the operational costs a service provider faces on a day-to-day basis. 

 

The team here put together some articles under the Instant Dispatch section that I’d recommend checking out as well: https://intercom.help/honktechnologies/en/
 

Dispatching the closest driver makes perfect sense.   But what has me is this new rate cut.  You guys are setting what you say is a "fair" rate.... which its sure not fair to me.   It wasnt bad to take your jobs when the rates were what I set.  Now that you guys took that away and set a low rate for the job, then want me to drive 45 min away.... not a chance.  Unless things change for the better, you have lost a very qualified towing company to take care of your customers in our area.

12 minutes ago, Jim B said:

I just google a couple of them. Not bad money if you were close , like with in 10 miles

If I happened to be passing by one of them, i could make it work.  But each of those jobs would have tied me up for 1.5-2 hours each... i need to average $95/hr minimum to have a job to be profitable.  That doesnt even take into consideration for the headaches that come along with road clubs and their customers.  For me, Id rather pass on this low budget work.  I have plenty of good accounts that keep us going.

I gave up today and signed out of the app and deleted it from my phone. They were annoying enough when I had rated set my way. Now this low ball stuff took it too far. Another road club bites the dust for us.


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Let's see if we can get some insight from Honk as they were maintaining a top 5 ranking up until the past few days. While I have not added these numbers into the system it could effect the outcome.
 
[mention=3238]DennisHONK[/mention]

Let’s hope they figure this one out quick. Their big push from the beginning has always been “you set your own rates” now this crap.

Just got another silly one. My set service rate was $95. Now they are wanting a $65 tire change at 8:30 pm over 40 minutes away.




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Another one tonight. My set rate was $95 for a jump. And they are only supposed to send me jobs writhing 5 miles. Not a chance am I headed all the way to king of Prussia for less than $300.




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Here’s another one. They was me to go 41 minutes away for peanuts? Quit wasting my time!!!




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We don’t do much motor club work anymore. But I have had the Honk app on my phone for the last year or so. It’s worked well. I take what jobs make sense for me. My rates could be set by me. I had it set to $95 hook plus $5 per mile for a tow. $125 minimum for a winch. Etc. I also have it set to only alert me to calls within 5 miles of me.

 

 

This weekend I got an email from them saying that they made changes to make things better, faster, etc. We all know where this is going!!

 

Now the last few days my phone had been blowing up with jobs. All at rates far lower than I would have been before. And far further away than I’d ever considering going for those rates. Honk will no longer be getting serviced by us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Congratulations!!!    We were there too.... Eagle Service Center

Here is a picture from a few years ago on one of my trucks.   We were getting prepared for what turned out to be a major ice storm.  Alot of down trees and limbs, so we were carrying a chainsaw so we could cut and winch trees out of the way as needed. 

 

Anyway, many years ago I managed to get one of our 4x4 wreckers stuck bad in a deep snow on the way to a police call.  That day I came back to the shop and ordered chains.  I tried them all... The cheap ones worked, but they would get torn up in a hurry.  After a while i found Pewag square link chains... about $300 a pair for the singles.  I now have 2 full sets for each of our truck, front and rear.   I just use singles on the outer rear wheels typically, but when its real bad or icy, i have a pair for the front.   I usually stick a bungee cord or two on to keep them snug.  I carry heavy duty zip ties in case a link breaks so i can make a temporary repair, etc.   They are great.  I wouldnt be without them.   I have a bunch of them in our shed ready to go for winter as needed.    When I have chains on, my minimum call out fee is $175, typically far more for accidents, etc.   I have two wreckers that have plows to help keep our lot open, and on occasion we plow an accident scene, or have to open a roadway to get there.

Thanks for all of the info.     Funny enough, Frank Dibella Vans is less than 10 miles away from us.... So that might be a very good resource.

 

For now, I have started the title process so I can get a title in PA.  Once I have that, Ill see if we can get her fired up and moving.   Im at the point that if i get $1,000 or so and it goes to a good home, ill be a very happy guy.

I personally would have a very hard time seeing how anything inside the vehicle would move around more than while driving down the road under normal conditions.  Typically that sort of item is already securely stored or mounted in limos.   But, as we all know, once we have possession of the vehicle, we are going to get the blame for everything. 

I think it's been years since I spoke to my state Rep. When I have a question/problem and call in they tell me to discuss it with my Rep !!!  WHO!!
 

The last time I called the actual rep, it didn’t go so well. I went around her and talked to Patrick and he handled things. According to my login page it shows a new rep now for the last few months and I’ve not heard from them. Not that I’m worried, as when I have issue I talk to Patrick and he gets it handled.


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Most of these were 345's. Take some interior and inside box shots too. 
 

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19 minutes ago, JT Burkard said:

Where is the IH located? 345 gas with a 5-speed right?

Chester Springs PA.    It is a 5 speed manual with a 2 speed rear.  Engine, unknown so far.  It does have a 2 barrel carb on it.  But from what I have found it can have 2 different engines based on the model.   I just havent had a chance to dig into it.

3 minutes ago, JT Burkard said:

My gut feeling is $1,500 the way it sits. Clean it up, get it running, maybe $3500. It would make a cool camper conversion. 

Well, that makes me feel good about it, cause you and I are in the same ball park.   Id be a happy guy for 1,000 the way it sits.  Once I get a title on it, I may take a bit of time and put a set of plugs and clean up the points and try to fire it up.  Id love to find it a good home.

16 hours ago, JT Burkard said:

Try getting a title through Vermont. Here is a link to the procedure. Works with cars and motorcycles.

 

http://www.chinonthetank.com/2014/04/get-a-title-with-a-vermont-registration/

Thanks!    But, we are a licensed PA Salvor, so we have already started the title process which shouldn't be any problem.  Just takes a little bit of time.

 

I am mainly looking to see if anyone has any knowledge about these trucks and the value of it.  I don't want to see it go for scrap if someone may have interest in it.

They called us for the first time in years a few weeks ago, but didn't want to pay my price.

We always used to have scanners in our trucks, but it was mainly to give us a little advanced warning before we would be called by the police.  And many times when the police would call we would already have trucks on the way to the call.  Scanners were always good for knowing more information about the job before we arrived to the scene as well.    Over the last few years our area has mainly gone digital.  I do have a scanner app on my iphone that I use here and there.  The biggest help to me is an app called PulsePoint.   I can sent it to give me notifications on accidents in our county.  Its great to give us a heads up of whats coming.  We have designated police departments that we tow for so if a crash happens in that township, we know the call is coming.

We just got our renewal for this year, and its up 17% above last year... still not easy to have to take that hit every year, especially with no claims

Yesterday we towed in a 1969 International Loadstar. It has been sitting for 20 years since it was parked in supposedly running condition.

 

Long story short but we are looking to sell it once we get a title. I am not sure if we should go the salvage title route or if it is worth putting the time and money into getting a clean title. This truck seems to be in pretty solid shape considering. It looks like it could make a good start to a restoration project.

 

 

 

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We rarely are told much upon dispatch.  Just that PD is calling us to an address for one vehicle after a crash... or something along those lines.  If we get more info than that we are lucky, and if we do its usually inaccurate or not reliable.   For a typical crash we roll a wrecker and a bed.    Sometimes we show up for one vehicle and come home with multiple as the officers don't realize that others involved weren't driveable, etc.  And plenty of times, we only need one truck, but I prefer to have the extra set of eyes on scene watching our backs.   I bill for what was needed to complete the jobs, so there is plenty of times that we roll two trucks but only bill for one.  If any sort of recovery work is needed, we handle it with a wrecker typically.

They have been calling us a lot lately but they don't often like my price- service for them starts at $175 with a credit card up front.