The End Is Near

[thtdon]

I have a master plan.  I started in this business in July of 1972.  My father bought the first tow truck in that month.  It was a brand new 1972 Ford F-350 wrecker, which cost $5900.  I worked for him with the shop name on the doors for 10 years.  Right after I got married, in 1982, he transferred the towing rights to me because I wanted to do police towing.  And he wasn't interested in that.  And Tower Hill Towing was born.  So I am beginning my 50th year working on the road.  My 50th winter.  And Tower Hill Towing will be 40 years old in 2022.  My wife has been pressuring me to retire.  Although I am not in favor of that, I would like to slow down a bit.  But after getting sick last December, when my type 2 diabetes went off the rails, I feel a lot better these days.  And I'd like to keep working.  But I need to get rid of Agero.  There are more cons than pros dealing with them.  I keep thinking that I have hit bottom with them.  But yet we keep digging deeper.  I don't understand how they stay in business.  If their clients (car manufacturers, insurance companies, etc.) had any idea how badly they treat their client's customers, by letting them sit on the side of the road for hours, while they search for someone to help them, they would flush them down the toilet in a heartbeat. 

 

Monday morning, I got an Agero call to tow a car from I-495 in Lawrence, to a residential address in Lawrence.  Basically a minimum mileage tow.  I couldn't find the car on the highway.  So I called the member.  The member didn't know where she was.  There was a state trooper present.  So she put him on the phone.  He told me that she was on the side of I-495 southbound in Westford- 18 miles away from Lawrence.  And WAY out of my area.  The trooper pleaded with me to come and get her because if I didn't, he would have to have a state wrecker tow it.  He wasn't about to start the waiting process for Agero all over again.  So I agreed to go.  I picked up the car, the member already had a ride waiting, and I brought the car to a shop in Lawrence.  I called the vendor hotline to give them the correct mileages.  I tried three times Monday, and three times Tuesday.  Rotting on hold on the vendor hotline for 45+ minutes at a time really SUCKS.  Finally tonight, the third time today, I got someone to answer. The dispatcher said that he would have to get the changes approved.  I rotted on hold for another 34 minutes, only to be told that they won't approve the extra mileage.  So they win again.  And the moral of the story is, I will never compromise with them again.  If the same call was to come in tomorrow, and it ended up in Westford, or any other far away town, the answer will be NO.

 

Next topic.  In another thread, I told you that back in August, I had damaged a Porsche trying to unlock it.  Even though I covered all surfaces that I would come in contact with duct tape, the tape wore through, and I put a slight scratch on the black plastic filler piece between the front and back door.  I expected to have to replace that piece, although the scratch was so slight that it wasn't worth bothering with.  I expected to pay a couple hundred bucks to replace that filler piece.  That turned into a $1300 damage claim.  Agero took it upon themselves to take that $1300 out of my check, without asking or telling me, rather than let me notify the insurance company.  If it was a couple of hundred bucks, I would have preferred to pay out of my pocket.  But $1300?  That's a bit much to swallow.  I honestly think that they didn't want an insurance company to scrutinize a $1300 damage claim for lockout damage.  That would have sent red flags popping up.  And there would have been a full investigation from the insurance company.  specially if I was contesting the claim, which I do.  And I had a big fight with the damage claims person on the phone.  When I contested his right to debit my check, he told me that when I signed my contract, I agreed that Agero could debit my check for any reason at any time.  I don't agree with that.  I think that's bullshit.  One thing that I have always contested is if you read the paperwork that they send you when you have a damage claim, they always say that they want the claim to be settled within 48 hours.  When you turn the matter over to your insurance company, it takes a few days for the claim to get assigned to an adjuster, and the adjuster to inspect the vehicle.  Agero does not want that.  But that's too bad.  It is what it is.  So why do they require a million dollar policy, if they won't let me utilize it?  They clearly screwed me here.  I always hoped that I could wind down my association with them in my twilight years, and just do road service.  But that seems unlikely now.

 

And finally, we all get a lot of calls that we cannot do.  Calls that are miles, and even states away from our contracted areas.  But I have never had so many requests to do calls that are out of my area, as I get now.  Far more than calls that I can do.  I stopped answering the phone during the night because the vast majority of these calls are in New Hampshire and Maine.  And I keep getting awakened for nothing.  Can you imagine traveling 50 miles to Kittery, Maine from Lawrence to do an out of gas call?  Is there anybody else besides me that doesn't trust them to pay us properly?  I only did a couple of calls for them today.  But I fielded almost 2 dozen phone calls from them that were way out of my area.  That company is broken.  I hope that they wake up and fix it before it is too late.

 

It will suck when I retire.  What will I complain about? LOL!

[dperone]

I've been reading your adventures and misfortunes with Agero since the mid 2000's and for the life of me cannot figure out why it took you this long to reach the breaking point, if you are in fact there. They started dicking us around soon after the switch from CCMC to Agero and we pretty much immediately stopped taking their PO's. We still did their calls, but with a credit card up front and a firm understanding they we don't refund for GOA's. They rarely call us now but when they do they pay dearly for the pleasure. For your own mental health put them on cc up front and stop being at their mercy.

[ESC]

3 hours ago, dperone said:

I've been reading your adventures and misfortunes with Agero since the mid 2000's and for the life of me cannot figure out why it took you this long to reach the breaking point, if you are in fact there. They started dicking us around soon after the switch from CCMC to Agero and we pretty much immediately stopped taking their PO's. We still did their calls, but with a credit card up front and a firm understanding they we don't refund for GOA's. They rarely call us now but when they do they pay dearly for the pleasure. For your own mental health put them on cc up front and stop being at their mercy.

 

I was thinking the exact same thing here.... I have always enjoyed reading thtdon, as I had gone through much of the same over the years.  My dad started here in 1989, and I am now 38 years old.  I have done all the clubs and dealt with all of their nightmares.  We were primary for Agero at one point and it worked well untill they had someone cheaper come along.  It worked out well for us, as I realized what happened and we cut things way back and no longer do clubs other than NSD here and there as it makes sense for us.   The final straw for Agero with us was when they tried to force us all to sign the new contract a few years ago....after reading the fine print, there is no way I would ever sign it.  There was alot more liability and all placed on us, and not a penny more from Agero.  They have been cut off and credit card only.  We charge a $375 minimum to service Agero now, all paid up from by card with no GOAs at all.  I have been quite successful at getting money back out of agero after they shorted us all those years.  Now, I am money ahead from them.  We also save a ton of stress and wear and tear too.  The best business move we ever made was to get rid of AAA and Agero.  Our trucks dont see the mileage they used to and we are better able to serve out good customers nearby and most importantly we stay profitable.

[mooresbp]

I have blocked all calls from Agero, and I sleep much better! They are always shorting POs and would only get one or two calls in my area out of 50 fone calls!  It is just not worth the hassle!

[dperone]

I guess I should stop saying their name, they're like Beetlejuice. They called last night for a 15 mile tow and kept asking for an ETA. I told them their ETA depends entirely on how fast they can find a credit card for me to run. As soon as I told them I wasn't taking their junk P.O. number she hung up on me. Oh well, maybe next time lol.

[ESC]

I guess I should stop saying their name, they're like Beetlejuice. They called last night for a 15 mile tow and kept asking for an ETA. I told them their ETA depends entirely on how fast they can find a credit card for me to run. As soon as I told them I wasn't taking their junk P.O. number she hung up on me. Oh well, maybe next time lol.

I have their numbers all blocked so they can’t bother me at night when the phones are forwarded to my cell. Way too many wasted phone calls from them.


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[dperone]

19 minutes ago, ESC said:

I have their numbers all blocked so they can’t bother me at night when the phones are forwarded to my cell. Way too many wasted phone calls from them.


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Funny, I have all their numbers blocked on my cell too. It amazes me that they still find providers to do calls for them, but then I look at some of the companies running around and remember that as long as there's a whore running around for pennies Agero will never go away.

[thtdon]

In an addendum to the top of this thread, I always say that I get a lot of needless calls that are way out of my area.  I had a lot yesterday.  So today, I decided to write down every call that they gave me, and whether I handled the call or not.  From approximately 7:30am to 7:30pm, I fielded 37 calls from them.  Of the 37 calls, there were 3 calls that I received that were in my contracted service area.  And I handled them.  Plus there was another call in my service area that I gave an ETA for that they felt was too long.  They declined to give me that call.  At that time, I was handling 2 calls from another motor club.  Of the 37 calls, to the north, there was one in Eliot, ME., one in Exeter, NH, one in Durham, NH, one in Wilton, NH, several in Milford, NH, and other misc calls within a 50 mile radius.  To the south, there was a call in Milton, MA, which is just south of Boston. Another in Brookline, MA, just west of Boston.  Basically, the calls that i received were within a 50 mile radius of Lawrence, with about 1/3 of that area in the Atlantic Ocean. 

 

I have complained about the needless calls before.  And I was always told to just refuse the call, and tell the dispatcher that the call was out of my area.  But during the night, every needless call wakes me up for nothing.  They don't have a problem with that.  But I do.

 

I think that I will continue this call log to tomorrow.  And tomorrow I'm getting my booster shot for Covid.

[DodgeTowGuy134]

Logging all calls that you receive is a good idea. 

 

We log all incoming calls and that gives me the data to review to see who's call for what services and where; it allows me to see trends, such as which motor club needs help in a specific area during a timeframe. 

 

I encourage you to keep logging your calls and then look over them and evaluate what trends you see!

[Moose]

AGERO? The end came a couple years ago for use. We really take any of theirs now and even then we document. document and add enough images to show the condition of the vehicle prior to the tow and after. Same when we do Copart, only they require it now.

[thtdon]

I logged all Agero calls for a week.  I accomplished what I wanted to accomplish.  Meanwhile tonight, I received a call that is the furthest away from my base in Massachusetts, ever.  I forget the name of the town.  But it was in Michigan.  The call was dispatched to me as being in Andover, MA.  The name of the street was Nob Hill Circle.  There is a Nob Hill Circle off of Lowell Street in Andover, MA.  There is a house on that street that I service frequently.  The woman called me to ask about the call.  Imagine my surprise when she told me that she was in Michigan.  Imagine her surprise too!  She has been sitting broken down all day, unable to get service.  Don't tell me that the company isn't broken. 

[ESC]

I logged all Agero calls for a week.  I accomplished what I wanted to accomplish.  Meanwhile tonight, I received a call that is the furthest away from my base in Massachusetts, ever.  I forget the name of the town.  But it was in Michigan.  The call was dispatched to me as being in Andover, MA.  The name of the street was Nob Hill Circle.  There is a Nob Hill Circle off of Lowell Street in Andover, MA.  There is a house on that street that I service frequently.  The woman called me to ask about the call.  Imagine my surprise when she told me that she was in Michigan.  Imagine her surprise too!  She has been sitting broken down all day, unable to get service.  Don't tell me that the company isn't broken. 

I find it funny when that happens. I was once called by Agero for a lockout in Florida. We are in Pennsylvania. After hanging up I wondered what would have happened if I gave them an hour eta and accepted the call. Then found a local guy in Florida to do the job for me for a couple bucks. That enroute mileage sure would have added up quick. But I’m sure they would t have paid it. Sure would have been a fun way to get one over on em though.


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