Honk picture requirement

[Stubborn66]

Got a call from Honk today for a lock box tow.  I gave them a price, then the lady asks me if I am aware of their picture policy.  I say no, I am not.

She then tells me that to submit a bill and get paid, I have to take pictures of the car AND the vin #.  I tell her, no problem, but there will be a $50.00 picture capture fee.  She agrees to the fee,  then tells me that the pictures have to be taken on location AND uploaded to their portal.  We have never given HONK our cell phone numbers, they email us the job details and we submit online for the payment.  Now, she tells me that if we do not upload pictures on location, via cell phone we cannot get paid.

I told her we would not do that and are not interested in working for them.

 

Anyone else here of this??  

 

[rreschran]

G-uh Morning Mr. Stubborn ... Out here, there's policy of some law enforcement agencies where photos are required and stored on a dedicated computer. BUT, that's part of the original contract and NO extra dollars are offered by the agency. I've heard of that in other industries including my line of work. But, an agreement over the phone by an unknown person, offering no visual policy, or rule change, in-writing, or an added contract addendum ... something sounds fishy. Could it be that the club might be testing the waters? Club policies change all the time and sometimes towers have to roll with it. Before jumping to conclusions, I respectfully suggest a friendly call-back to your rep or area supervisor (if you have one) and request the requirement in writing.  If you get it in writing, $50 for a few extra minutes of work is easy money. Ultimately, if you're collecting an additional $50 bucks on top of regular charges, that's time well-spent. Not to be flippant, sometimes, to get along you go along. With all of the competition around, I'd do what I could to keep those dollars coming in. Besides, what's one more task if you're company's getting paid. Why not keep that money in your account coming in?           R. 

[JEFFFERSON HUIHUI]

12 hours ago, Stubborn66 said:

Got a call from Honk today for a lock box tow.  I gave them a price, then the lady asks me if I am aware of their picture policy.  I say no, I am not.

She then tells me that to submit a bill and get paid, I have to take pictures of the car AND the vin #.  I tell her, no problem, but there will be a $50.00 picture capture fee.  She agrees to the fee,  then tells me that the pictures have to be taken on location AND uploaded to their portal.  We have never given HONK our cell phone numbers, they email us the job details and we submit online for the payment.  Now, she tells me that if we do not upload pictures on location, via cell phone we cannot get paid.

I told her we would not do that and are not interested in working for them.

 

Anyone else here of this??  

 

WOW. Thats crazy but thank you for this helpful information ..

[Stubborn66]

1 hour ago, rreschran said:

G-uh Morning Mr. Stubborn ... Out here, there's policy of some law enforcement agencies where photos are required and stored on a dedicated computer. BUT, that's part of the original contract and NO extra dollars are offered by the agency. I've heard of that in other industries including my line of work. But, an agreement over the phone by an unknown person, offering no visual policy, or rule change, in-writing, or an added contract addendum ... something sounds fishy. Could it be that the club might be testing the waters? Club policies change all the time and sometimes towers have to roll with it. Before jumping to conclusions, I respectfully suggest a friendly call-back to your rep or area supervisor (if you have one) and request the requirement in writing.  If you get it in writing, $50 for a few extra minutes of work is easy money. Ultimately, if you're collecting an additional $50 bucks on top of regular charges, that's time well-spent. Not to be flippant, sometimes, to get along you go along. With all of the competition around, I'd do what I could to keep those dollars coming in. Besides, what's one more task if you're company's getting paid. Why not keep that money in your account coming in?           R

 

Good Morning,

My issue is not in taking the pictures or submitting them.  My issue is that they want it done on location and done via cell phone.  That means a couple of things.  First, the driver would need their app on his phone.  Secondly, it would take time to upload the pictures.  Even if it is me on the call, which on many occasions it is, I don't want our guys messing around on cell phones while in the trucks, that is a clerical function.  

We do take a lot of pictures on most calls, especially if there is any damage, those pictures are then loaded into our computer at the office where we keep them.  My wife, ( AKA boss) is the one who handles all of this, she has saved our azz on more than one occasion.  She is also the person who submits the bills to be paid, she could easily upload a picture of the completed job when she submits for payment.

Honk wants everyone's cell phone number, then they track the location of the driver's phone.  Our guys, there are three of us who run the trucks, would then get messages about jobs, whether or not they are in a tow vehicle.  We are primarily a repair shop.  We do not want that, any tow call must come through our office, that is where our record keeping starts.  I know we can just turn down a call, but that app is absolutely annoying when it goes off and it overrides anything you may be doing on that phone at the time. 

We are also supposed to be able to set our rates in that app, but when a job comes through, it spells out what they will pay if we accept the job.  That price has never been anywhere near the rates I had set with them.  Honk also issues out robo calls to let you know a job is available, but again, if you go to the app, the price does not reflect the rates I had submitted.  I have seen other posts where companies like their app, but it does not work for us.  We now only take a call from them if there is a person on the other end of the line.  Their dispatchers are very hard to understand, and I have actually heard chickens cackling in the background, yes chickens. 

 

I see absolutely no need for these pictures to be uploaded on location other than they want proof of completion.  They generally call us a few hours after they assign the job to ask us if it is complete.  The have sent me out on a job at 8pm and called back at 2am just to see if the job is complete.  If my wife uploads a picture when submitting for payment, that would give them the proof they are after, correct?

 

Further, on the occasions where there is prior damage, it is nearly impossible to get a live person on the phone to update a dispatch, there is also no way to do it on the app that I am aware of.  The only thing positive for us is that Honk is the fastest in paying their bills.

 

Technology is great, but we are getting to a point where we are being asked, required, to do things just because they can be done.  All of this adds up in time, and time costs money. 

 

Another thing we are running into is insurance companies asking us to photograph wrecks in our yard and submit them.  This saves them from sending out an adjuster.  We do that for them, we charge them for our time to do so.  Why would I do it for free for a motorclub?  It is one thing to take photos to protect my company but a totally different thing to be required to do so.

 

 

I am not one to cut my nose off to spite my face, but there comes a time where you just have to draw the line.  I will work for them again, but I will not submit to them having my cell phone numbers and wasting time on the road for something that should happen at the office.  The choice is actually theirs.

 

Respectfully

 

Tracy

 

[MTtow]

I ask them if they are aware of my policy. Everything has a price and the price is paid upfront. AAA tried some similar crap years ago wanting to hold their new policy over head to get paid. No thanks I found solutions to these games.

[yoBdaBenO]

Have not taken a HONK call all month. Don't Care No More...

[brian991219]

On 2/10/2022 at 2:09 PM, Stubborn66 said:

 

Good Morning,

My issue is not in taking the pictures or submitting them.  My issue is that they want it done on location and done via cell phone.  That means a couple of things.  First, the driver would need their app on his phone.  Secondly, it would take time to upload the pictures.  Even if it is me on the call, which on many occasions it is, I don't want our guys messing around on cell phones while in the trucks, that is a clerical function.  

We do take a lot of pictures on most calls, especially if there is any damage, those pictures are then loaded into our computer at the office where we keep them.  My wife, ( AKA boss) is the one who handles all of this, she has saved our azz on more than one occasion.  She is also the person who submits the bills to be paid, she could easily upload a picture of the completed job when she submits for payment.

Honk wants everyone's cell phone number, then they track the location of the driver's phone.  Our guys, there are three of us who run the trucks, would then get messages about jobs, whether or not they are in a tow vehicle.  We are primarily a repair shop.  We do not want that, any tow call must come through our office, that is where our record keeping starts.  I know we can just turn down a call, but that app is absolutely annoying when it goes off and it overrides anything you may be doing on that phone at the time. 

We are also supposed to be able to set our rates in that app, but when a job comes through, it spells out what they will pay if we accept the job.  That price has never been anywhere near the rates I had set with them.  Honk also issues out robo calls to let you know a job is available, but again, if you go to the app, the price does not reflect the rates I had submitted.  I have seen other posts where companies like their app, but it does not work for us.  We now only take a call from them if there is a person on the other end of the line.  Their dispatchers are very hard to understand, and I have actually heard chickens cackling in the background, yes chickens. 

 

I see absolutely no need for these pictures to be uploaded on location other than they want proof of completion.  They generally call us a few hours after they assign the job to ask us if it is complete.  The have sent me out on a job at 8pm and called back at 2am just to see if the job is complete.  If my wife uploads a picture when submitting for payment, that would give them the proof they are after, correct?

 

Further, on the occasions where there is prior damage, it is nearly impossible to get a live person on the phone to update a dispatch, there is also no way to do it on the app that I am aware of.  The only thing positive for us is that Honk is the fastest in paying their bills.

 

Technology is great, but we are getting to a point where we are being asked, required, to do things just because they can be done.  All of this adds up in time, and time costs money. 

 

Another thing we are running into is insurance companies asking us to photograph wrecks in our yard and submit them.  This saves them from sending out an adjuster.  We do that for them, we charge them for our time to do so.  Why would I do it for free for a motorclub?  It is one thing to take photos to protect my company but a totally different thing to be required to do so.

 

 

I am not one to cut my nose off to spite my face, but there comes a time where you just have to draw the line.  I will work for them again, but I will not submit to them having my cell phone numbers and wasting time on the road for something that should happen at the office.  The choice is actually theirs.

 

Respectfully

 

Tracy

 

The reason they want it done thru their app and on location is to verify the pictures are truly representing the before and after condition of the vehicle at the location of service. This is becoming very common in the auto transport world, where back in my day we used paper condition reports which were sketchy at best. Now it is all digital apps with gps location and time stamps or you are paying the damage claim without recourse per most carrier agreements. Depending on who the Honk lockbox tow was for, and I suspect it was a transport tow for a major car dealer chain or similar company, it may be a requirement of their customer for them to get paid or be released from transport damage claims that the condition be documented in real time using an app.

 

I see this becoming more common daily as technology advances, and quite honestly pictures uploaded later mean nothing and do very little to protect you against false claims. Time and gps stamped images uploaded in real time are much harder for to file a false damage claim against at a later time. When doing an unattended tow the best possible data to protect you the tower is always in your best interest even if it seems inconvenient at the time or is a new process for you. The fact Honk agreed to pay a $50 documentation fee for these pictures shows how important they are to that specific client and for the two or three extra minutes $50 was a sweet offer.

[rreschran]

Great forensic explaination Brian. Your accurate words leads to a simple reality to suggest towers don't like change. So, where some towers can't comply with simple change or addition to policy, it only lends to competitors taking available work. It's OK to quit Honk, but keep in-mind, towers can balk at change and not take pictures for Honk or any others, but a hard fact is, there's always some other company that WILL jump through their hoops.  At the end of the day, is it too difficult a process? But' is it any more intrusive than having to do it for a law enforcement contract? I'm sure Brian will agree that sucking up a couple extra minutes to take pictures helps to keep the bills paid and companies afloat in this dog eat dog industry.      R.

[TOWMAN27]

Brian & Randall

 

I would guess most towers agree with you regarding picture taking.  I am one of them.  The problem is not picture taking.  I am disappointed that you chalk it up to towers being averse to change.  The app companies touted more jobs closer to you, no more phone calls, better information, and easy billing.  From my experience, they have failed to deliver.  Here are the frustrations I have and have heard from others.  

1.  Loss of control over dispatch.  The apps want to dispatch directly to drivers and don't always have a way to redirect the call to another driver.  Drivers have different experience levels and abilities.  I may not want a certain driver to deal with a $200,000 Mercedes stuck in park.

2.  Our signed rate agreements are pretty useless with "take it now prices"

3.  The use of GPS was supposed to give us calls closer to our drivers.  Most of the calls we are offered are further away than pre GPS.  

4.  Lack of correct information regarding the breakdown.  If the breakdown is on a highway, very often the location is spotted to a different roadway.  Most times the call does not specify the nature of the breakdown, number of passengers, etc.

5.  If you decline a call for being out of area, the call comes back numerous times or the club calls constantly.  Even when a driver is signed out and off duty, the app will still push calls through to the driver.

6.  Drivers are paid to provide services and take care of customers.  Now they have to decide what calls to accept, if they have the skills or experience needed to complete a particular service, and they have to call customers to get correct information.(All dispatcher functions) On top of this they are responsible for company profitability when they have to decide if they should accept the "take it now" price. (Management function)

 

We aren't averse to change for the good, but the changes happening are making our lives more difficult.  In addition, drivers are expected to service increasingly complex and expensive vehicles with very little information on correct procedures available, thus increasing the chance of causing damage.  Oh I almost forgot, always for less and less money!

[rreschran]

Thanks Towman27 for your comments. I find them well-written, well though-out and well-presented as to the problems you foresee in having to deal with HONK. The manner you presented your angst towards their administrative requirements is professional and easily understood. Everything you mentioned is valid and seems to be common practice among other motor clubs and their apps.  Personally, I appreciate and respect your approach versus ignorant comments made by the industry’s tow police.

 

You express a disappointment that I chalk it up to towers being averse to change? As a long-time job coach, I’m seeing tower’s complaining more and more about what’s being required of them where they're quick to move-on. Perhaps I’m old school to suggest following change is a requirement of conducting business. All of your comments are well-taken and I hear your frustration as well as the frustration of towers.

 

As far as today’s auto clubs making things more difficult, the new norm of business suggests doing more and getting less. I see it as the reality (and future direction) of the tow and recovery industry. I understand the concept, but, as in any form of tow truck business, it’s your choice in how much of their difficult process are you willing to take? If there are too many policies or rules, by all means, do your best to streamline your company’s operations while making a choice to serve or look for other work that compliments your company. Like Dad always told us kids, “If yer’ not happy in yer’ relationships, dump em’ and get onto better days!”

 

I hope someone from HONK is following these comments as they go far beyond the issue of towers taking photos. If HONK has hopes to develop a list of satisfied service providers, comments like all of these posts should be worth their weight. So, I guess a decision is looming as to whether or not towers should accept the terms or move-on to those greener pastures?           R.

[MTtow]

Just because you do not contract with an auto club or any third party service provider does not mean that you have lost them as a customer. You simply are not bound by their terms or agreements to get paid. If they need you they will call. If they can’t find anyone else they will pay your rate. I find it funny that the auto clubs and third party service providers will not budge on their rules, make it difficult to contract with them, and make it difficult to collect the correct amount invoiced, but all that goes out the window when they can’t find anyone else. 
I don’t believe for one second that the GPS thing is to send you calls for work closer to your truck. It is to decrease the billable miles. 
I have no problem with taking pictures. It is a good idea to document your work via pictures (good)or video (better).  However what other industry includes pictures of their work for free? I can’t imagine going back to the third party system (auto clubs). You are at a disadvantage to collect.

[TowZone]

@rreschran at this point I am unsure what is going on with HONK. They seem to have taken a break in the interaction since the LIVES ended in 2021. That or I pushed a little too hard for a Sponsorship which is not a requirement for particiption, it would have brough the Forum out of the SubForums since many members seem to be using the HONK app. I'll send this topic to @Y'von Ch'nel St. Cyr & @DennisHONK

 

Thanks @TOWMAN27 for this statement which I find most accurate.

 

"I may not want a certain driver to deal with a $200,000 Mercedes stuck in park."

 

Never understood why a company sent rookie drivers out on calls that a seasoned professional should have been on. I was always of the thought Rookies did the average motor club calls before being released on higher dollar vehicles or commercial accounts. When that isn't the process, you can not wonder why costly damages occured. The School of Hard Knocks should be a thing of the past. I was not taught early on as I went through that School and learn that to Practice In Private before going out in Public is the BEST POLICY for SUCCESS.

[brian991219]

10 hours ago, TOWMAN27 said:

Brian & Randall

 

I would guess most towers agree with you regarding picture taking.  I am one of them.  The problem is not picture taking.  I am disappointed that you chalk it up to towers being averse to change.  The app companies touted more jobs closer to you, no more phone calls, better information, and easy billing.  From my experience, they have failed to deliver.  Here are the frustrations I have and have heard from others.  

1.  Loss of control over dispatch.  The apps want to dispatch directly to drivers and don't always have a way to redirect the call to another driver.  Drivers have different experience levels and abilities.  I may not want a certain driver to deal with a $200,000 Mercedes stuck in park.

2.  Our signed rate agreements are pretty useless with "take it now prices"

3.  The use of GPS was supposed to give us calls closer to our drivers.  Most of the calls we are offered are further away than pre GPS.  

4.  Lack of correct information regarding the breakdown.  If the breakdown is on a highway, very often the location is spotted to a different roadway.  Most times the call does not specify the nature of the breakdown, number of passengers, etc.

5.  If you decline a call for being out of area, the call comes back numerous times or the club calls constantly.  Even when a driver is signed out and off duty, the app will still push calls through to the driver.

6.  Drivers are paid to provide services and take care of customers.  Now they have to decide what calls to accept, if they have the skills or experience needed to complete a particular service, and they have to call customers to get correct information.(All dispatcher functions) On top of this they are responsible for company profitability when they have to decide if they should accept the "take it now" price. (Management function)

 

We aren't averse to change for the good, but the changes happening are making our lives more difficult.  In addition, drivers are expected to service increasingly complex and expensive vehicles with very little information on correct procedures available, thus increasing the chance of causing damage.  Oh I almost forgot, always for less and less money!

Well said and I am agreeable to everything in your post. Thanks for sharing your well written thoughts. Perhaps I came off as believing the root of this issue was only the picture taking or unwillingness to change, if I did that was not my intention. I only intended to address that part of the earlier response.

 

Business is forever evolving and it is very disappointing when a new function that is suposed to improve things just further muddies the waters. I expierenced everything your write about and more with my auto transport company begining in 2016 as the major auto auctions began to require using their digital apps and there was a wave of consolidation among vehicle suppliers, auction houses and other remarketters. At one point we had to have more than a dozen different, incompatible, apps to simply pickup and deliver a truckload (7-9) vehicles daily!

 

Fast forward to today and the issue has grown exponentially.  Sadly I don't see it improving, especially among the road clubs and other transportation intermediaries. I also work in the auto transport and general freight worlds and they have been wrestling with this longer than we have, with no end in sight.

 

Randy is right-the new expectation is even more for less and there are plenty of companies willing to do just that which is why I always recommend finding your speciality niche and offering exceptional service for that niche. You can't be everything for everyone.

Edited February 14, 2022 by brian991219
Typos

[TOWMAN27]

Brian - good advice.

We went from doing it all - even won an Ace Award at one point - to rarely working for clubs and just focusing on a couple segments of our local market.  We have less trucks, less employees, and less headaches.  It's not all roses, but better than running the wheels off for little reward.

[DennisHONK]

Hi All,

Looks like a lot of activity here in the past few days, apologies for not being able to respond sooner, but I want to address a few different concerns here.

First & foremost, photo requirements:
Many of our services now fall into what we call "logistics tows", and the majority of those services are unattended tows on both ends; no customer at pickup and no one to log in the vehicle at drop-off. In order to maintain accuracy and efficiency, we ask that photos be uploaded from the drop location so that we not only have the photo on file, but also the geolocation data. This helps us locate supposedly "lost" vehicles for clients and customers while reducing the back and forth phone calls between customer, client, our contact center, and your office and team. It may seem like "more work" up front to upload the photos to the portal, but I can guarantee anyone who has ever dealt with a motor club looking for a customer's car at a dealership or other repair shop days after it's been delivered would rather uploaded 2-3 photos compared with spending precious time on the phone going back and forth dozens of times. 

The fact of the matter is this; HONK doesn't have "traditional" motor club membership, and <10% of our job volume is what you would consider to be a "cash call", or retail customer work. The majority of our services come from insurance, fleet, & logistics companies, most of whom want some sort of digital record-keeping. That includes location data and mapping, much like Uber/Postmates/Amazon, and they want photo documentation of the vehicle before, during, and after the service. We're doing our best to develop software to make this as simple as possible for the tower, but make no mistake, this is the future of customer service in our industry. 

 

There are a few other concerns about our model in general, and I want to address those as well: 
There was a time when "direct to driver" was the only option for dispatching drivers on the app, but we learned that different businesses have different ways of operating. This model works best for small, owner-operator outfits, but it doesn't for larger companies with multiple drivers and dispatchers making decisions. So we built a dispatcher feature. Your drivers are still required to have the app on their phone (so the system can see their location and try to locate the closest driver!) but you can configure your account to where ONLY your dispatcher gets the job offer, and they will be able to tell us which driver is available to go to that service. Drivers won't know about the job until the dispatcher has accepted and sent the job to them.

In most of the country, providers still have the ability to keep their own rates on file (many saturated metro areas have had this ability removed), however we still use "Take It Now" pricing for our initial job offers. These rates are designed with efficiency in mind. Take this job that's only a few minutes away from your driver, complete the job, and move on. Providers in these areas have the ability to either "Take It Now" - take the job for the offered rates, or "Submit Availability" - tell us you're available for the service, but only at your rates on file. It's that simple! 

Just a quick reminder as well: Unlike traditional "clubs", HONK doesn't do contracts. The old way of doing things, where XYZ Motorclub says "this is your service area, you're responsible for every breakdown that happens here" doesn't work anymore. We have no interest in dispatching work that you're not available for. That's why we use location-based services to try and find the closest available provider to the call. Additionally, the system uses data, like how often providers show up on-time or close to on-time, and customer satisfaction to promote and prioritize good providers. 

Like it or not, app technology is the future of every customer service industry. Restaurants, repair shops, movers, delivery services, taxis, they're all being pushed into using apps and tech to communicate with customers and keep them updated on projects, deliveries, and timelines. And it's not the businesses or the tech companies driving this change anymore, it's the consumer. This is the experience people have come to expect from service industries in the modern world. 
 

@TowZone For the record, we're back live on Facebook next Wednesday 2/23 at 8:30 EST/7:30 CST! It's been a busy off-season for all of us back at the office. We've all been working hard to try and make the best experience possible for our towers, and acting on all the great feedback we get from our providers at tow shows, on our live shows, here on TowForce, and other internet forums. 

I'm always around to answer questions about how we work and how to make it work for your particular company. I'm just a message away for anyone any time.

Edited February 15, 2022 by DennisHONK

[Stubborn66]

Hi All,

I took a much-needed break for a few days.  I have read through all of the posts, and it appears that HONK has changed the requirement regarding taking pictures and submitting them at the time of drop off.  That was the question I had posed in the original post.

I also made a call to a friend of mine who is much more adept to the technology, and he tells me that the time stamp and geographic location is on a digital photo, and it will remain on that photo regardless of where it is uploaded from and when.  When it is uploaded a second record will be created with the IP Address and computer/ phone that sent it.

 

towman27 gave a good description of Honk and is similar to what we had seen with Honk and its app.  Dennis seems to be saying the app has changed, but I still see no need to be messing with pictures on the road when the timestamp will follow the picture. 

Currently, it is very simple for us, we give my wife our cell phones when we get back in, she uploads the pictures, files them in our system for future reference, and she could easily submit them when she submits for payment. 

 

I don't want to mess around with pictures any more than I have to, and I don't want to pay my guys to do so either.  I would rather pay my guys for working on something and they don't want to mess with the pictures either.  Also, when we run into damages, we take a lot of pictures and call in to the club immediately to have the dispatcher update the dispatch.  Guess who we can never got back on the phone???     

 

Regarding the comment from Mr. Resch to towman27:

Personally, I appreciate and respect your approach versus ignorant comments made by the industry’s tow police. 

 

Mr. Resch, if your comment was directed at me, let me assure you I was in no way disrespectful to the lady on the phone when I spoke to her, I asked questions, got the answers and simply declined to do the job.  The post I made here was a brief description of the conversation and a Question for the group.  As for tow police, I do not tell anyone how to run their business.  

 

Not to be flippant, sometimes, to get along you go along. With all of the competition around, I'd do what I could to keep those dollars coming in. Besides, what's one more task if you're company's getting paid. Why not keep that money in your account coming in?

 

My father built this building and the business back in the late 60's our family name is on the doors of our trucks.  We have faced competition for years; we have never once found ourselves in a position where we needed to "get along to go along".  We have survived this long by doing quality work at reasonable prices and being fair with our customers.  About 60-70 percent of our business revenue comes from our repair shop.  We face change in that on a daily basis, especially from our business accounts, and we bend over backwards to serve them.  I have never had a customer come to me and tell me that he wanted something as a requirement that was not discussed up front.  I have also never had a customer tell me that they wanted something that did not make sense to both of us. 

 

It's OK to quit Honk, but keep in-mind, towers can balk at change and not take pictures for Honk or any others, but a hard fact is, there's always some other company that WILL jump through their hoops.  At the end of the day, is it too difficult a process?

 

You are correct, there will always be another new towing company, just starting out, that will undercut the rates to gain revenue. 

 

Personally, I don't want to race those companies to the bottom.  I also put an experienced mechanic out in the trucks, we may be a bit more expensive, but my guys are not just who I could get to fill the seat.

 

Also, in the same vein, there will always be new motor clubs out there slashing the rates to compete against other motor clubs.  How do they do that???????  How many clubs over the years have changed names, gotten bought out or simply gone out of business?  AAA is traditionally one of the lowest paying clubs out there, but yet they survive, HOW?

 

You ask, is it a too difficult a process?  Well, the answer is no, not really, but what are you going to do when you miss one of the photos or a photo is not clear enough, and they deny payment???  How much time will be spent on the phone, and/or email trying to get paid???  Who pays for that time??

 

Brian, I sometimes go haul a few for a friend of mine out of the local auctions when he can't get everything home.  When I do, I watch the yards when the guys start loading the car carriers. It is amazing what I see.  It also why my friend pays me more to go get them than to have them delivered. 

 

Why do we as an industry accept that unprofessionalism?  We accept it largely because these are not easy jobs, they do not pay well because of bad contracts, and many companies use the first warm body they can find.  It is also a driving force behind the clubs, and others, to place more and more requirements on us.

[Stubborn66]

10 hours ago, DennisHONK said:

First & foremost, photo requirements:
Many of our services now fall into what we call "logistics tows", and the majority of those services are unattended tows on both ends; no customer at pickup and no one to log in the vehicle at drop-off. In order to maintain accuracy and efficiency, we ask that photos be uploaded from the drop location so that we not only have the photo on file, but also the geolocation data. This helps us locate supposedly "lost" vehicles for clients and customers while reducing the back and forth phone calls between customer, client, our contact center, and your office and team. It may seem like "more work" up front to upload the photos to the portal, but I can guarantee anyone who has ever dealt with a motor club looking for a customer's car at a dealership or other repair shop days after it's been delivered would rather uploaded 2-3 photos compared with spending precious time on the phone going back and forth dozens of times.

 

Dennis,

I have actually run into a lost vehicle at a dealership when I had dropped the wrecked car directly across from the dealer's body shop overhead doors.  They claimed it was not there when the adjuster arrived.  When they called, I told them to look out their overhead doors, the reply was "oh".  We can't fix lazy with any amount of technology.

 

I am not opposed to the pictures; we use them as protection for our company anyway. Nor am I opposed to technology, which seems to be what others have taken from my original post.  We actually do our fair share of electrical work in the shop, many times on vehicles that have been elsewhere first.  We are also one of the few shops in our area that can program BCM's.  We are a small shop with two full time and a part time mechanic.

 

But, as you will see in my previous post, I would prefer the uploading to be done in our office, not me or my guys on the road.  We can say it only takes a couple of minutes all we want, but the reality is it would take ~15minutes to log onto your site, go through the steps to get the pictures uploaded.  My phone tends to lock up if I try to send more than one or two pictures at a time. Then, as I mentioned in my previous post, what if a picture wont upload or the clarity is not good enough, especially the vin#.  Do I spend more time onsite trying to rectify the problem?  Do I try to get a person on the phone to help?  This all starts to add up very quickly with guys I am paying a good salary to for their knowledge of cars, not their ability to learn every auto clubs' procedures.

The timestamp and GPS location embedded on the photo does not change based on where it is uploaded from, or do you know something I don't?

 

Just as an FYI, I posted the original post to see if anyone else on here had run into this yet.  I was not 100% sure I understood the dispatcher correctly.

 

I appreciate you taking the time to respond in these forums, but I would rather have a phone discussion with you about this issue and the issue of enroute miles that we have corresponded about in another post on this forum.  In my past experience, trying to get a person on the phone from HONK was too time consuming.

 

 

Thanks

 

Tracy