DodgeTowGuy134

I'm still here

I encourage those on this network to support TowForce.net via patron/sponsorship! 

Our industry NEEDS this type of online forum to be able to collectively network with other tow companies from across the country! It's these types of efforts that our industry NEEDS to leverage to help unify our industry and pull it from the broken factions that we operate and to encourage comradely and communication among our industry. We NEED TO UNITE AND WORK TOGETHER TO ACTIVELY PROTECT OUR INDUSTRY! IF WE FAIL TO DO SO, THEN THOSE WHO SEEK TO CONTROL OUR INDUSTRY FOR THEIR BENEFIT WILL CONTINUE TO SWOOP IN AND CAPITALIZE, RESULTING IN BROAD MARKET DOMINANCE, WHILE STOMPING ON OUR VOICES! IF WE FAIL AT THIS TASK, OUR INDUSTRY WILL LOOK A WHOLE LOT DIFFERENT IN 10-15 YEARS FROM NOW! PLEASE HEED MY WARNING!

We need to work to again have to open dialogues and discussions that we once had on Tow411. I fully acknowledge that our lives ever continue to become "busier and busier" with work, family life and all those other daily tasks and priorities that we place on ourselves. Even state associations are faced with the lack of membership and participation from our industry. It's important to recognize the opportunity we have to grow our industry, *IF* we can work together! Those who come against us are many, from the insurance industry to the motor clubs and the new landscape of the "app based motor club". I implore you to "get involved", both here on this forum and with your state association! Through unity of our collective voices, we *CAN* accomplish much more than those who come against us may recognize! 

Get Involved, our industry depends on it!

Depends on if users have their web browser setup to "remember" their login credentials... I know that I have my primary office computer workstation set to keep me logged in, but if I travel and visit here from one of my laptops or tablet/notebook computers that had been turned off for a while, that it might not do the "auto-login" when I visit the website. So, this "might" be one of the many possible reasons why.. Just providing some of my views. 

Breaking free from the lockdown here!

I can say that APTO in Ohio is aware of the CISA document and has been in contact with our State and DC representatives to provide our input on the matter. Additionally, I'm aware that some Ohio based tow companies have also drafted their own netter and submitted them, such as Bill had done. I had also submitted a letter on behalf of my companies as well. 

I'm surprised that there haven't been any other responses to your request for comment here. 

-Tom

I'm just curious if PWOF is aware that their tentative dates to hold their show in June are in conflict with the new American Towman Games in Ohio that is going to be held during those dates.... I mention this as a matter of importance, so that vendors that have existing commitments with those dates are aware. Thank you for your time, attention and consideration.

As many others have already said, to get a credit card # from the customer upfront and bill for your "service call" (your time & mileage), then there would be a second CC charge for the actual services...On that note, one thing to be especially aware of if you take the CC# from the customer upfront and over the phone: Have some sort of process in place to help protect you from credit card chargebacks in these situations, especially if the customer doesn't notify you to cancel coming out the the location and they have another company onscene...

What we do is two-fold. First, we have the customer take some pictures of the situation and email them to us, with a statement that they (the customer) is requesting us to come out to their location to provide service. Then, we generate an invoice through our credit card processor and email the invoice to the customer for the "service call" and require them to PAY in invoice with their CC.... The email serves as a written request for service and serves to affirm that they requested your services, thus justifying your "service call fee", especially when you get onscene and the customer refuses to sign any of your paperwork! That way, if the customer attempts to file a CC chargeback with their bank, you have written proof (via the email and photos) to submit as supporting documentation for your service call fee that was billed and that the customer, themselves paid online via entering their card info and paying the invoice. 

We have found this process to be exceptionally useful!

It looks as though others are having the same/similar issues/problems with NSD that we are having too...

The state reps are GOA and UTL (Unable to Locate), they do NOT response to emails/phone calls and they are changed too frequently, likely due to the extremely high turnover rate at NSD. 

For YEARS, we have relied on PATRICK as being the ONLY reliable/constant contact at NSD

NSD did have the potential to be/continue to be a great motor club to PARTNER with (Notice that I said "Partner" with and NOT "work for"), but due to their decline in proper vendor relationship management with the network providers, I see that NSD has been and continues to be slipping away from their position within the motor club marketplace.

Do most tow companies prefer DIGITAL dispatching or traditional Voice dispatching (via telephone, radio,etc) ??

I'm curious to know if many companies are making the transition into the digital age to embrace technology or if they are long clinging to the ways of the past. 

Just curious how many provide a company owner phone or tablet to your drivers vs how many allow your employees to BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) such as their personal cell phone or tablet to use for running the Digital Dispatches and such for your company. 

There's pros/cons to both sides of this:

- Employees care more about THEIR phone/tables, and will take better care of it to not damage it vs, if it's not theirs, they don't care if they break it

- Potential for an employee to assert a claim against you IF their equipment gets broken in the course of their work, then you might be on the hook for paying for the replacement, vs, company owned equipment is company owned equipment

- Tracking & Privacy: With the Digital Dispatching and other apps that track your location, there's a concern about breach of privacy for the employee potentially always being "followed" the the GPS/App, unless they log out of it on their personal device, vs, company owned equipment can always be tracked (as a company asset) and can be left at home while off-duty/not working. 

So what are you doing? Is your company providing the phone/tablet to your employees or are you allowing your employees to use their own device with your software/App/Digital Dispatch?? Thanks for your responses in advance!

We all are aware of the digital dispatching options and the push by the motor clubs for providers to go digital... Why, because it allows them to cut THEIR costs! They don;t have to have call center reps calling providers, instead the computer does the work and sends the dispatches out...

That said, on the towing/roadside assistance company side, I'm curious how others are either embracing the change and options of technology vs staying with the long standing dispatching methods. 

The old method goes with the pen/paper and calling the drivers to give them the dispatch info for a job. So you're drivers have to pull over each time to get the job details, as it's not permitted to text or be on the phone and drive a CMV.

Next option is to email/text the job to their phone, but there's problems with that, as it's not permitted to "text or be on a cell phone while driving a CMV" Link here:-> https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/rulemaking/2010-23861

Third option is to use radios and do dispatching via voice over a two-way radio system that you either own or lease access to. Problem is that it has a limited coverage area, so if your driver/truck goes outside your service area of coverage, the radio stops working..

Fourth option is the newer digital dispatch and App based platforms, but still again, the drivers and the dispatcher in your office still need to communicate, so you're either back to calling them on the phone or radio or pulling over to text the office...  

I've seen a few options where it "looks" like a two-way radio for your truck, but it's actually a cell-phone with a Push-to-Talk feature, so you could be based in Florida, and drive to Texas and still be able to use the truck "radio (which is a cell phone with Push-to-talk) and communicate with all of your drivers/dispatch and office while you were long haul trucking to Texas... While this sounds good initially, I do see some inherent flaws in the implementation with this approach. First, it REQUIRES that you have a cellular service connection for it to work! So if you drive thru an area with limited/spotty coverage or lose service, then it stops working..because it's not a real radio, but instead it uses the LTE cellular network.. Secondly, it's an additional cell line of service for each and every unit you have one mounted in to use it, so if you have 9 trucks, 7 service vehicles, 3 support units, plus supervisors/owners and your dispatch offices, then that can VERY quickly add up for having A LOT of cellular lines of service, just to be able to that option...Third, although it's a "cellular radio" that's ALL it can do is the Push-to-Talk, it can't download or run ANY apps! So why pay for all those lines of cellular service if it's not even a real and full functional smart phone?! and on the flip side compared to real two-way radios, those have their limitations, as I already pointed out above!

Is anyone using any other solution? That allows VOICE dispatching..... I don't think there are many companies that still use two-way radios for dispatching and I see that trend continuing to go down, so with technology, what are others doing, besides just calling on the phone?

So, what are others thoughts and what are others doing to dispatch?

I believe that real-time VOICE dispatch is NEEDED and I'm curious what others are doing. Thanks in advance for your responses!

As others have said, motor club work can be a mixed bag, but also depends on where you're located (city/rural) and how many other tow companies are close to you. 

You NEED to have a well laid out plan in place, along with KNOWING AND UNDERSTANDING YOUR costs & expenses!

Also remember this important point:-> VOLUME DOES NOT ALWAYS = $$$....Unless that volume is at a RATE$$$ that also pays enough to cover all of your costs, plus leaves some profit margin!

Try reaching out to Patrick.... Hopefully he can get something done for you: (PS-they have a Facebook, also try reaching "someone" there too)

Patrick Nahoum
Network Manager
Nation Safe Drivers 
800-338-2680 Ext. 272
Fax: 561.226.1127
pnahoum@nationsafedrivers.com

Follow NSD on Facebook

NSD has seen "high-turnover" for their Ohio network rep position recently.... To my knowledge, it's currently:

Jonisha Griffin
1-888-362-7805 x (no extension # listed)
jgriffin@nationsafedrivers.com

Traditionally speaking, NSD had been a good club to work with (in my personal opinion, mainly because of Patrick Nahoum, and His willingness to get "things fixed promptly" for the service providers), but I've noticed a downward trend over the past year of so, where those issues take Longer and Loooooooonger to get resolved, if they ever do get fixed. 

Hopefully you'll get paid properly and not have continual billing issues! I've seen that NSD hasn't been paying according to contract terms, even when clearly pointed out to them in writing of the payment terms and rates. To me, it seems, as if NSD is taking the approach the other larger clubs had taken, which was to short pay invoices and then not address the short pays, in an effort to cut their costs on the calls, which would allow them to try to recoupe $$$ and remain comparable to their contracts with their clients (insurance, auto makers, etc). I believe it;s sad when clubs will cut their costs by short paying the service providers, so the club can keep the $$$ 

In MY experience with them, they USED to be a good club to work WITH, but nowadays that are all sorts of BILLING problems, where they short pay invoices, EVEN for CONTRACTED rates! 

So we put them on credit card ONLY to avoid ANY further payment problems... We still have one invoice that is now a couple months old that they have REPEATEDLY FAILED to pay the short paid balance that is outstanding due!

I've seen their club quality of service from the vendor reps drop off over the past couple of years, where they used to be very east to contact and get problems resolved and they used to have a willingness to "keep the providers happy", but it appears that just is NOT the case anymore! Likely because they are competing more with the other larger clubs to get their share of the contracts, so they (NSD) has decided to start playing the "short-pay game" like the other clubs do...where they short-pay your invoice and hope you won't go through all the trouble they give you to get the $$$ that you're due, thus they shave $$$ off of your bill and that's more $$$ in their pockets... It's sad that NSD has went down hill to this point. Like I said, they USED to be a good club to work with...

I recall having received that email too... Hopefully whatever "dispatch center" they're outsourcing their dispatching too will get better with cooperating with providers and getting the correct info AND understanding what/why we tell them to add any special equipment needed for a call...

Other than the dispatchers, I'm sad to see that they seem to continue to have a somewhat "high turnover rate" for the state rep positions (at least they seem to for our state)...

EKYtow55  said:

I just wondered how everybody else is doing business with Road America, never had a big volume with them but nothing in the last few months and noticed not a lot of activity on here either, but I guess with the overall drop in all calls that ratio would work out to nothing!

Dodgetowguy134  said:

Back when they had the Good Sam RV contract, they were a very high volume club, but after they lost the rebid on that contract they sent to a very low volume....BUT, last I knew they still had the contract to service HOG (Harley Owners Group), so when more bikes get out on the road, then the motorcycle tow call volume should go up...(if they still have the HOG contract that is, last I knew that still had it)

EKYtow55  said:

They have a lot of Commercial Fleet Accounts like PH&H, Wheels, A.R.I., EasyCare, and several others but no calls, I was out on a call the other day and my regional manager called for help on a RV involved in the recent Toronados that hit in our surrounding counties, but I didn't have real good signal on my cell and lost connection with him!

Dodgetowguy134  said:

Yeah, we get the wheels and PHH calls too, but the volume just isnt there anymore with RAMC like it used to be....

Weboslh said:

I am doing absolutely great with Road America. Rates are terrific, calls are easy, and their reps are top of the line.
Best Regards,
P.S. just can't say enough about them.....ha............ha........................ha!

Blue Stripe said:

We went from a primary position to a secondary position with them because a local competitor took the bait for a lower rate schedule due to the "high volume of State Farm calls".... Whatever. Every call usually ends up becoming a billing nightmare, so no big loss really.

EKYtow55  said:

Its split up with State Farm, some parts of the country is with Road America and other parts with Agero, I think its on a trail basis to see which works the best for them!

ESC  said:

The same has happened here.  Local guy started from his house.... running for half the price we are.  We only seem to get the problem calls recently.  We used to get alot of good work from them.  Not in the past few months.

Sorry, Forgot to add that in PA it is Agero handling the State Farm calls

SnH Recovery said:

We done the renew contract at State Farm time and we came out ahead and got better volume 10-25 a week But still same ole  MC BS cut pay in end and have to fight for money 

Topic from 2015:

Has anyone been getting any volume, let along any calls from Road America? Seems that they dried up on calls...

doingitall  said:

I get a couple a week, though a lot less than 2014. Volume does appear to have gone away.

EKYtow55  said:

We went through a dry spell no calls for over a month, but now they call about ever day with a State Farm customer needing service, I think that's the only account that would produce any volume.

Vernon75 said:

I seem to get 2 or 3 a week. it's always been that way with them so nothing has changed.

Weboslh said:

Maybe, just maybe, cheating providers in anyway possible has finally came home to roost. Just sayin".

Dodgetowuy134  said:

We haven't heard from them in probably almost a year
 

EKYtow55  said:

DodgeTowGuy134 I would call your regional manager, I believe you are in the same region as we are and does State Farm use Road America there or Agero?

Dodgetowguy134  said:

In our area state farm is through RAMC, but usually the customer calls us direct and pays us then gets reimbursed by their agent if they have roadside coverage

middeltatow said:

I've done 4 calls this year to date for them. Every now and then i get a State Farm call from them which i dont understand because here they use Agero.