Jeff Poquette

You're going to lecture people about how to do their job right while you walk around playing Youtube Star on the interstate with no vest on?

I have no idea what you guys are contracted for but is any of this worth it?

At the time we dropped Agero they averaged shorting us $2 per call. That was a half gallon of fuel on every call which was about the same cost of the 5 free loaded miles they also took. Now you're giving them the equivalent of 10 free miles on every call.

We were the second biggest provider in Georgia and that $2 short on every call averaged $1400 a month. That was a payment on a carrier at that time. The 5 free worked out to a second truck payment lost each month.

How about the 10 free en route? You know it takes 12 miles to find the customer who is 10 miles away according to their mapping system. You never get paid for those miles. Those 10 en route are built in to your private call hook up rate of $75 but are they built in to your Agero hook rate at $38? Do you value the time it takes you or an employee to sit on the phone trying to collect these short pays?

What is that cost, a few hours per week? Let's consider that to be another $45 loss per week. That's about one tank of fuel per month you are losing on top of the other losses. Now what little profit there is on the other work is supplementing the losses on the club tow.

Take a day off from your normal duties next week, sit down, run every damn number you've got. There's a good chance you'll see that you are actually paying out of your pocket to tow Agero's customers vehicles. Agero was almost 20% of our call volume and 0% of our profit. We dropped them and the result was far less miles on the trucks, lower fuel costs, happier dispatchers, happier drivers, and the bank account started to increase. The employee we were paying to chase the money Agero owed us was now freed up to stay on top of receivables owed by profitable customers which brought our aging receivables down considerably which had a huge benefit.

I see too many companies seeing that deposit when it comes in and assuming they made money. I'm sure there are a few towers out there who have cracked some secret code and are able to turn a whopping 2-3% of profit off of Agero but I'd bet the vast majority are losing money and don't see it because they don't know their true costs to run these calls. Their job is to take your profits so that they can profit, it's the only way they can continue to exist.

Southside Wrecker Service, Atlanta, Newnan, Union City, Georgia. Call counts down but we are plugging away and doing fine. We are starting to see a rebound.

I really appreciate you listening as well as listening with an open mind. We wanted to do an episode regarding the technology in these new apps that are not going to go away. We wanted to provide some info in regard to how to get the most out of these apps if you choose to work with them. HONK contacted us while we were discussing this show idea and thought who better to speak with. We took great care to not let it turn into a free HONK commercial and this was the first time we set up guidelines with a guest so we all clearly understood the mission. We were so appreciative of them being willing to come to Atlanta to record in person since it really does help the quality of the show when the guests are on-site. Of course you're going to have them identify themselves and provide contact info, of course you're going to show them respect and let them speak. We had Rochelle on because of what she knows and she knows HONK so that's where the conversation is naturally going to gravitate. Most of the feedback has been very positive but you always get that "one guy" who posted he had a problem with the show. It was worded in a very unprofessional manner so we did remove it. We welcome all feedback good or bad but no matter which side you're on we all need to keep it respectful and professional. You did that, thank you.

HONK joined us on the latest show. Rochelle Thielend provided a lot of clear info on the recent changes at HONK and more importantly, how to maximize your volume and profits. This isn't about the rates, it's about the technology

Tow Business Podcast / Towing Technology with HONK

Ron, were HONK and Urgent.ly on the list at some point during the voting and recently dropped off?

Thanks, I wasn't an actual contributor but definitely an early supporter. I believe we were the first Atlanta company to jump on board with the idea and were the first company to pass inspection and become a certified TRIP company. That wasn't so much a big accomplishment as it was the fact they just happened to schedule our inspection first but we gladly accept that title.

Wow, I could go on about these programs for hours. My overall opinion has changed recently but not for the reasons anyone would guess but we'll have to wait about three months to talk about that.

It's hard for me to speak towards this particular thread because our local program is heavy only and companies around here are about 98% carrier as far as their light duty fleet goes so everything is done with a carrier. I think the carrier issue came out of an old argument about manufacturers not rating their equipment for recoveries whatever that could actually mean. One camp claimed their equipment was. I heard this argument for years but can't say I ever saw proof either way. I never quite understood the argument since if you are working within limits than you aren't loading anything more than about 3500 lbs considering your winch line is most likely the weakest link. It's hard for me to picture any of the beds being damaged at that load. I'm sure it's been done more than once but I'm not sure it's worth the argument. The resistance on a passenger car upright is what, maybe 1800 lbs?

Thank you so much for sharing this. 

Slow Down & Move Over—a message you should share with everyone not only this holiday season, but all year round.

The towing industry is extremely passionate and well aware of this cause... Please, be sure to share with your friends and family that may not be familiar with the dangers of not slowing down and moving over.