Stubborn66

I also do work for Honk, and I even had their APP for a while.  When I was on the APP and a job popped up, the rates were ridicules. I had gone into their system and set my rates and my radius.  When the work came through on the APP, it was nowhere near the rates I had set.  I deleted the APP from my phone, now they call me now and then.  I quote the job at my rates, sometimes I get it sometimes I don't.

I will say, Honk is the fastest paying company out of all of them.  Maybe, if you're in a large city, and running trucks all day, the APP may make sense.  Based on the rates I saw when using the APP, I don't see how.

I still think there is something fishy and self-serving about that survey

After reading that, it didn't make sense to me what the purpose of that survey was.

One paragraph says, "More than 1 in 5 (22%) report having to turn down work, and the additional volume is driving almost half (46%) to consider buying new trucks and hiring additional employees."

Then, reading on, it says " The survey found that 46% of tow providers are currently hiring, and the same percentage are intending to purchase additional tow trucks in 2022 because of the higher demand for their services."

I went to Honk's website and looked under "press" and found the original new release that was sent to "prnewswire.com".   

Here is the last paragraph to that press release that was not in Mr. Jonston's "post"

About HONK Technologies
HONK, a flexible on-demand mobility platform, helps top insurers, fleets, automotive OEMs, and retailers deliver modern, digital roadside customer experiences and meet scalable same-day vehicle transport demands. HONK's digital-first, modular approach is designed to optimize roadside assistance programs, auto claims processing, accident scene management, fleet maintenance management, vehicle logistics and transport, so businesses can increase efficiencies through advanced digital tools, customizable integrations, and HONK's high-performing service provider network to build brand-defining retention and loyalty engines.

Now, it makes a little more sense, it was Honk promoting itself.  Honk is big on pushing their app that tracks your truck and blows a horn through your cell phone when a job becomes available in your area.  The problem, as I see it, is the rate is so low you can't make money on it.

I still would like to know if they surveyed any towing company, or only those within their network? 

I would bet most companies are looking for employees to replace those lost during the last year and a half, not because their companies have grown.  Again, companies need to replace equipment, not necessarily because of growth, and any company wants to prioritize their jobs based on location. 

A customer of mine stopped in today, he happens to be a state cop.  I mentioned to him that I read that we could report drivers who don't slow down and move over.  He told me that the caveat to that is that you have to have a description of the vehicle as well as the license plate number and be willing to go to court.

He also works a stretch of I80 here in PA and knows what we go through all too well.

We all hear about getting the message out about the SDMO laws and the fact that many drivers don't even know it is a law.

I had a thought the other day after watching traffic fly by me.  What is in the PA drivers license study manual about SDMO?  Here is what I found:

MOVE OVER LAW:

The Move Over law, requires motorists to move into a lane that is not adjacent to an emergency response area and or disabled vehicle. An emergency response area is an area on or near a road where services are being provided by police, sheriffs, coroners, medical examiners, firefighters, fire police, fire marshals, rescue personnel, emergency medical service personnel, towing and recovery personnel, hazardous material response team members and/or highway construction and maintenance personnel. A disabled vehicle is a vehicle in a traffic lane or on the side of a traffic lane that is clearly marked with at least two signal lamps, road flares, caution signs and/or any other traffic control device. If drivers cannot move over because of traffic or other conditions, they must reduce their speed to at least 20 miles per hour below the posted speed limit. In cases where law enforcement may not be present, the law allows road workers and emergency responders to report violations by motorists. Law enforcement may issue citations based on these reports. Failure to move over or slow down can result in a summary offense that carries a fine of up to $500 for a first offense, $1,000 for a second offense and $2,000 for a third and subsequent offense. In addition, fines will be doubled for traffic violations occurring in work zone areas. Any person convicted of a violation of this law will have 2 points assessed to their driving record. If the violation of this law leads to the serious bodily injury or to death of another person, a 90-day license suspension will be imposed and a fine of up to $1,000 could result. If the violation of this law leads to the serious bodily injury of an emergency responder or a person in or near a disabled vehicle, a 6-month license suspension will be imposed and a fine of up to $5,000 could result. If the violation of this law leads to the death of an emergency responder or a person in or near a disabled vehicle, a 1-year suspension will be imposed and a fine of up to $10,000 could result.

I was surprised that there was this much in the manual, and I did not know that I could report violators.

The other thought I had was, is there a question on the test regarding SDMO? 

IMHO I think there should be, and I also think that it should be a mandatory failure if that question is missed.  Not that I am out to fail a bunch of kids trying to get their license, but to drive home the importance.  If it were a mandatory failure, within the first few months every kid on social media would be talking about it, every parent whose kid failed because they missed that question would be talking about it.  End result, the point gets driven home.

Our state associations could help us out and lobby for stuff like this.

Always good to be busy!!

storm stayed east of us for the most part, but we got a few.  We had -4 Sunday morning, that's getting cold

If Agero is starting to do this kind of thing, IMHO it is a good thing for us, they may have finally pissed off enough service providers that they need to go out of network to the point where it is hurting their bottom line.  Maybe they will get to a point they will be fair to service providers.  One can only hope.  And if we can get tow operators to stop working for peanuts, maybe we can get back to sustainable rates.  Unfortunately, IMHO, that is our biggest problem, too many operators who work for too little and think they are doing good.....for a while.  Then the next guys tries it.... and so on and so on.  The clubs feed on those operators.

I have to agree with MTtow, Agero would not risk millions of dollars in lawsuits with the insurance companies, or risk losing their business, to do something like this without their knowledge.

Stay Safe

Finally got our first snowfall, today was a good day, but a long one that started yesterday afternoon  LOL

Still Here

Nice Truck, is that the new MPL40 with the stiff legs?

You can't go wrong with a winch bumper in our area, they come in handy.  I am impressed with electric one we put on the front of our service truck.  When I get time, I am going to mount one behind the push bumper on the wrecker.  Can't really push anything but trucks anymore 

I did one last year on a Saturday, then got called back Sunday to the same exact spot to get that driver out when he tried to deliver the same package

I can tell you that I have not collected money from any Agero / Swoop customers to date

15 minutes ago, thtdon said:

The worst part about that $1300 claim is the damage claims person at Agero refused to let me notify my insurance company about the incident. 

That, and the fact that the claim was likely inflated, and the customer will pocket the money.

Fortunately, I have enough other work to keep me busy.  I bought that lock out kit over a year ago and it still sits in the corner.   My cousin used it once to unlock his girlfriend's car........no claim for me and I don't want to know how he got paid😁

Let's just hope they give him that sentence

CCG, thanks for the tip.  I have thought about doing lock outs, I get a dozen calls a week sometimes.  I actually bought a kit and was going to start practicing on cars as they came through the shop.  Then, I read about the original posters experience and stay away. 

I don't know what a lock out pays, but I can't imagine it is worth the risk of a 1300.00 claim

Interesting. 

I still cant see how Agero could start charging the insurance companies customer, when they have to go out of network to provide service, without the insurance companies knowledge and approval.  Would seem to me that would be a breach of their contract with the insurance company.

I do a half a dozen calls a week for Agero and Swoop, I am not contracted so they pay my rate.  I will try to discretely inquire

that's a tough one

On 9/27/2021 at 10:06 AM, thtdon said:

I fully expected that I would end up replacing that glossy filler piece.  But I did not expect a $1300 bill for it.

exactly why I won't do lock outs, the reward is not worth the risk,,

Generally, a customer does not know Agero, or Swoop, all they know is the name of their insurance company.  The Agero (club) dispatchers are trained to interact with the customer as a representative of the various insurance companies.  

IF this is a new program, my thought would be that it is being initiated by USAA and implemented by Agero  Don't forget, Agero is going back and billing USAA for our services.  There is a contract between USAA and Agero that says Agero will handle the LOGISTICS of roadside service. 

In that contract, there may be specific language that say that if Agero has to go outside of network they bill USAA at a different rate.  Agero is not stupid, they know they will need to go out of network at times.  USAA is likely trying to save a buck when this happens.

Don't forget, those contracts are what all the "clubs" are fighting each other for at the corporate level

 I too am credit card up front with Agero and Swoop.  In my opinion, dropping the contracts but still performing the work at your rates is the best way to combat the clubs.  I also make sure to inform the upset customer that I just received the call, and I am not the reason they have waited so long.  I have actually been able to turn a couple of these into new shop customers.

nice work

I hear ya but I am the new kid on the rotation.  As I understand it, if you miss three calls for them, they take you off the list.  The good ones far outweigh the bad ones so I will play along for now.

I looked in the back of this yesterday and there are some tools in there under the debris and the toolbox across the bed is locked so I am thinking maybe they will come around    time will tell

Like everyone else I guess, I would love to still have some of the cars I had back then.  Rember changing a starter on some of those cars, take the motor mounts out, lift the motor up a bit, remove the header......good times

LOL, Ya, we stuffed a windsor down in a Pinto back in the day.  My dad drove it once,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,then took the tag off it on me.  LOL, it was a death trap.

Got a police call Sunday, late morning.  When I arrived, the owner's mother and another guy had this loaded onto a tow dolly.  Apparently, the wreck happened overnight on Saturday.  They said they had been there since daybreak cleaning up and getting this loaded onto the dolly when the state police arrived.  They had this RF laying on the dolly with 1" ratchet straps holding it in place.  Needless to say, the officer would not let them move it.

Apparently, there were other issues as well, the officer wanted it in secure storage and not to let anyone near it until he got in touch with me, and he was off for the next two days.  Now it sits in a bay in the back of the shop.  Damn part is I will likely have to deal with no insurance to boot.

I get it, trying to find addresses in the dark in rural areas can be a difficult job for these delivery drivers but how do you end up 250 feet down in a field up against an electric fence?  At what point does your brain say,  " this can't be the way?"

As you can imagine a very unhappy homeowner.  Driver kept his cell phone on playing what sounded like a tv program in spanish.

I unspooled the first winch line and it came off the drum and I fell on my ass and did a reverse summersault, all was good, I nailed the landing.  I had every chain and strap off the truck except for the 1/2 chains to reach him. 

We too run calls for them at our rates.  They pay promptly, their dispatchers are hard to understand at times.

The phone app they have does not work for us, we want all calls to go through our dispatch, we do not give out driver cell phone numbers to anyone.

Nice car

I had a 68 with a worked 289 back in the day.  Jacked up in the back with wide back tires, at about 100mph if felt like it wanted to take off airborne there was so much air going under the car LOL.  Back then, we were taking cars that didnt really handle all that well and jacking them up and making them handle even worse!!