someotherplace

Here, any kind of kickbacks, or payments to anyone involved in the property - 100% illegal. Can't provide any kind of compensation, gifts, anything to the property owner or management that can be construed as in exchange for towing from the property. If they want to nitpick you to death and really enforce the rules, you can't even provide them with parking permit stickers, warning stickers, or even put up your signs on their property! You can provide the signage for free (since the signs are technically your property), but if you install it, you must charge them labor! There's some over-the-top examples of regulations gone crazy, but you and I know it's because of behind-the-scenes deals where all kinds of shady stuff has gone on in order to get contracts signed. Some get upset about spotters and believe they're not an ethical way of doing business, but I disagree. The spotter doesn't make the parking violation any less legitimate. They also help ensure you know for a fact that someone parked and left the property because you have an eye witness. Trying to do all the spotting yourself as an operator often is not feasible because you would either park in or next to the lot in plain sight and this would scare most (not all, speaking from experience) violators away, causing you to waste your time, as well as missing anybody that parks while you're gone dealing with the violator you just loaded. I have zero issue with spotters especially if they are paid employees of the company I work for - to me that is the most legitimate type of spotting. I would prefer not to hand out money to an outside person because it is much harder in that scenario to depend on them to provide reliable information; their values are not yours, and if they provide bad info it's still your @ss on the line. Richard

I had some positive comments for one of their posts but could not respond, is that limited to patrons only? I guess I understand...but...then again I don't? Thanks, Richard

Can't stand listening to the condescending, smarmy tone of the reporter in the video. PPI will always be a controversial topic and while I absolutely agree there are companies doing shady things, there are many more doing this work properly. Wondering why nobody brings up this angle with the reporters: the people getting towed, are they not in violation? Are they not on someone else's PRIVATE PROPERTY (key words here) without permission? I would say it's that property owner's right to do whatever is legally available to him to keep his parking lot open for HIS customers. Until that restaurant starts paying for use of his lot or those people quit parking there, neither of which is likely to happen. Let someone come park in the reporter's driveway and block access to his parking, because it's convenient for them to go next door where there's no parking available or it costs money to park, etc. and let's see how fast he's calling for a tow-away. It's always evil business until you need it. I do frequently tell other people in the business, your actions today will affect regulations tomorrow, so think before you act. Some of us are in this for the long haul, not a few quick bucks. Richard

What's the story on the no-starts? They look like they've already gone through PDI, and if you're towing them then they must have left the dealer already. FCA selling new vehicles with junk batteries? Richard

Thank you Michael! Merry Christmas to you and yours, as well! Richard

Besides all the other issues, this one caught my attention right away. A lot that size and they can't throw a forklift and Eagle Claw attachment on it? Ridiculous. Richard

Let's just say that approaching the government entity that regulates the towing rate is a non-starter. I'll absolutely agree with you though; we see more and more electric brake vehicles, and AWD vehicles. Hook-and-book is becoming a thing of the past! There is a way around the parking brake, just need to understand it better to be aware of how to effect it and if there's a liability angle. Richard

Regulated non-consent rates prevent us from charging any extra. Regardless, the vehicle must be towed. Richard

How are you guys dealing with electric parking brakes that are set, when you don't have the key? I've been having to dolly them and it's a pain. I've heard of salvage haulers that have retracted the brakes using a jumper wire but I'm unsure of exactly how they're doing so, and more importantly what consequences this might have for a non-crash vehicle that will be driven once it is picked up. Obviously if it's a manual trans in neutral that's an obvious issue but for keeping the conversation simple let's assume I'm talking about an automatic trans in park, so there's no worry about roll-away if the brake is released. Richard

Just because she has a "strong opinion" doesn't mean she's correct, or even intelligent. Richard

Funny as hell but joking aside, it might have saved them from a big ticket and costly environmental cleanup, depending on area. Maybe that dispatcher's previous region was California, Richard

Fair enough. Definitely not trying to break any balls here. More than a few of my pics are pre-strap Richard

Don't like being the guy nagging anyone about straps, and maybe you put them on before you left the scene...but that car needs straps. Especially considering a lot of these AWD vehicles that are rear-biased, many have front wheels that roll quite freely. One little stab of the brakes and it's in the back of your truck. I'm also a little surprised you don't have more lift out of the dollies. That looks like speed bump-scrubbing height? I've found that a lot of these newer "luxury" cars (haven't towed a modern Maserati yet though) have a lot of things underneath that can get damaged easily. It's obvious that they're all designed without any thought towards ever being towed, or that it's expected they will always be towed on a rollback. As an example I had a Tesla (RWD model) that was backed into a corner so I got ready to get it out of the space with go-jaks, only to find that there were plastic fins on the underbody that interfered with go-jak placement. Had I raised it with them I would have surely damaged the car. Not fun.. Richard

It sure is hard to beat 'em. This new generation truck is no replacement for them anyway; it's just the new Topkick/Kodiak. Can't go all the places a 3500HD can go. Richard

is that DOT-approved gaffer's tape on his box corner boo-boo : ) I can't see the marker light... Richard