What is your Best Tip Story

[TowZone]

Replies from 2007 to 2011:

Reliable Towing Said:

What is the best tip I've received... a plate of homemade cookies right out of the oven, when it's 13 degrees outside

 

unknown member said:

50 bucks. It was a @120 mile tow.
I can buy cookies!

 

twinbulls said:

Lady gave me a 1995 Buick Park ave.. with 44k miles.MINT,loaded,just smelled like smoke,
I gave it to my son..his second car...still driving it...

Back to real world.. $100 for a 5 hour tow,, car had to be there in 5 hrs...

 

mwalsh said:

I had a retired police chief one 100 degree summer day, it was a ccmc call I worked on it for well over an hour to fix it, he gave me a $70 tip, as he went to pull away he lost a tire on the trailer...not my doing, I fixed that problem and he gave me another $100, I then made him take back the $70. I couldnt take that much from a retiree when I knew I was already making good money on the call

Id gladly take a plate of hot cookies on a cold day over the money though!

 

Robert Milsaps said:

It was several years ago. I picked up 3 college kids on I 75. Towed their car to Gatlinburg Tn. They were AAA + members and it was a AAA call. It was about 4:00 am when I arrived in Gatlinburg with passengers and vehicle at one of the passengers residence. It was a 90 mile tow, and father was thanking me and holding cash asking how much his bill was. I told him it was AAA+ and under the 100 mile coverage and he did not owe any additional charges. He said yes he did and it was worth a lot to get those kids and car home and handed me all the money in his hand. I just put it in my shirt pocket, thanked him and headed home. When I checked my pocket, there were 3 hundred dollar bills, it was the best tip I have ever received.

 

Westlake Towing said:

A 50.00 dollar tip, couple from out of town ran over something in the road late at night and ruined a tire. I knew that I didn't have that size in stock and spare was flat, so loaded the car up on the carrier and on the way to the shop stopped at the local Wal-Mart and a manager open the closed auto center and got the tire needed, I had the customer purchase the tire, took the car back to the shop and mounted the new tire repaired the spare and sent them on the way, charged for the time to get the tire, the labor, and the tow, pricey bill once totaled up. They were happy with the service, paid the bill left me with a generous tip and continued their trip.

 

nbacdon said:

i got a 10lb lobster for a tow just a few miles down the road. Good dinner that night

Donny Swenbeck - Bills Auto Clinic - Salem MA

 

unknown member said:

Sounds weird but 2 years ago I picked up a lady on I-485 in charlotte,nc I towed her to her house and when I was leaving she stopped me and handed me some cash and said the words I never heard before helping someone she said "thank you" . I was shocked been doing this now 4 1/2 years and not once did someone say thank you to me I handed her the money and told her no one has ever said those words to me and I thanked her call me crazy but those words mean a lot when its raining and its 20 degrees outside. Than 2 weeks later a card and yup you guessed it she sent me a card with the money she tried to give me. Till this day I still have that card and she will request me to come tow her car for her. I have had money, food, even toys got a car once for a tip but till this day I remember the first person who said Thank you to me.

 

john fenshaw said:

i got a 500.00 tip after recovering a loaded dump that they were able to drive away. he told me because i went the extra mile to not do any damage to his mini wheeler it was well worth it to him.

also i got a 300.00 tip for towing and fixxing a motor home on a holiday weekend plus an artical in a hot rod magizine saying what a good service he recieved down south and because of a tower he was able to make his family reunion.

but i think the best tips are repeat business!!!

 

Stevo said:

An older woman gave me an 320 pc Snap On set.
She didnt say why just that she didnt want it. It wasnt new but clean. It was only a 10 mile tow home.

 

unknown member said:

In the late 70's while I was still chasing my Wife-to-be She often rode shotgun with me. We picked up a Gentleman with a Mercedes who we ended up taking into Los Angeles.

I usually made it a practice of dropping Her off on the way out of town. I explained to the Gentleman what I was going to do but He insisted it wasn't a bother to Him and we had quite a nice conversation on the way during which time we discussed our pending nuptuals. He asked if we'd made our plans stating that he could marry us. Turned out He was a very high level Federal Judge.

I was following His directions where we eventually ended up in Beverly Hills at His residence. He said I could drop his car on the street in front but I said i'd be glad to back it up into his drive so it'd be safer.
After I un-hooked He paid me and added a $50.00 Bill to the charge and then said wait...

He came out of the House carrying a Magnum of Champagne. He also gave us his business card, confirming what he'd said about the marriage offer. He also was nice enough to send a congratulatory letter to the Boss.

 

Towaholic said:

I got a $100 tip for hauling a $2million dollar ferrari and all the buisness from the shop i brought it too. The owner owned many high end cars and i have been towing for this shop for 5 years. Its 25 miles from our base.

A driver accidently gave me $100 over what i charged him to pull out his T/T which i didnt notice till the morning. so i called him and offered to send it to him. he said just for calling and noticing the mistake to keep it as a tip.

last night i pulled out a good customers conversion van that she had slid in between a mail box and a tree. because of the conversion with the ground effects i could not get directly to the frame to pull it side ways. in the process of winching it side ways i snaped off the lower valance. After i said i would take care of it in the morning she gave me a $20 tip. THAT made me feel better.

 

unknown member said:

in the late 90's I stoped for a disable after dark. mid to late 30's mother and young kid offered my help. so she used my cell to phone her husband to deside were to go. so she had me tow it to there home 15 miles away gave them a good price.a week later show me a letter he recieve in the mail, it was her thanking me and letting my boss know how helpful I was. that was just the first now I'm pretty good at get compliments.

 

unknown member said:

Heard a police call on scanner about 10:30 pm one night, A 36 ft motor home about to roll over embankment into a pond, was not our call but near our rotation area and I was nearby and had some free time so I went over in my pickup to check it out & watch.

 

When I arrived the other operator was having difficulty and almost lost RV a couple of times so I offered my assistance @ no charge of course, he was a young guy and not very experienced, did I mention it was New years eve? poor young fellow was only one working at his company that night and he couldn't call for any help or advice, no one else would answer, so he was happy for the assistance, after 3 hrs we got RV recovered and with no Damage.

 

Owner walked up and asked what he owed I assumed he meant to the other Tower so I told the younger fella to take care of the bill & we could talk some more after, but when the owner asked what he owed me I said no charge and with a big grin. Said it was fun and I couldn't think of a better way to ring in the New Year! He gave me a funny look and handed me a tip and I said as I always do "you don't have to do that" his reply was "I know that but I want to" he had handed me a stack of bills probably all $1 bills, when I got back to my pickup to drive home I looked at it, $620.00!!!

 

I still feel kind of bad but I guess If his RV had rolled into the pond he would have lost more. By the way the other companies bill was only $475.00 And that young fellow well he is older now and manages that company guess who he calls when they need an extra truck or 2!

 

LouDogz74 said:

One night a few weeks ago after a 14 hour day, I had finished my last call and was on my way back to base to park the truck. I was in the city upper east side around 120st and 3 ave. I see a nissan sentra with jersey plates and an older man trying to change his tire in the middle of 3rd ave . I parked my truck behind him providing him cover from traffic and asked if i can be of service, he asked if i can loosen the bolts for him. took all of 3 mins and the spare was on and he was on his way. He asked how much do i owe you sunny? i told him no charge, I was off the clock and just wanted to go home myself. He hands me a handful of money and drives away. I get in the truck and notice that the man just gave me 100 bucks.......good thing i stopped i thought to myself.

Lou - Skyline Towing - Mahopac, NY

 

ncoast said:

Biggest tip $50 best was about 8-10 jars of home canned jellies, pickles and veggies. After a winch and tow on her granddaughters car.

 

DMcCullough said:

Best tip I ever got was a 125 lb anvil for changing a tractor tire still have it in my shop... I get baked goods all the time...I love them. 200.00 tip from a city slicker at 2 am for getting him a used alt. was my best cash tip.

 

RPERRY said:

Best Tip I Ever Recieved Was $50.00 Cash From A Guy Broke Down From Ohio Towed Him To Local Parts Store Helped Change The Alternator And He Continued On His Way!But The Best Tip Of All Is A Plain And Simple Thank You Especially from The Elderly !

 

unknown member said:

Received $100 and a warm plate of dinner after towing a doctor's wife in her broken beamer to San Diego.

 

Gigarange said:

Got $100 from a CAA customer because he was impressed with how careful I was with his Porsche, I had even admitted to him that I'd never towed a 911 before (the reason I had to re-set the ramps like 4 times)

 

Kyresqtow said:

Ok as this is PG..... the best I can do is the guy that bet me double that I could not back his pickup and trailer up his driveway.. while still on the back of the wrecker........ Put it all where he wanted it... and he even gave me the $250 in tip when I told him it really wasn't necessary... he told me thanks that because of me he wouldn't have to work as hard unloading his stuff out of the trailer.... runner up it the repair customer that bring in the bottles of wine every Christmas.... or the little old ladies that send baked goods..... not to mention my "wall of shame" all the letters and cards from travelers I have helped through the years thanking me and the rest of the crew.... Thanks is usually enough.... not heard enough that is for sure

 

Tow9 said:

i attempted to dispatch my mgr from my 2nd location to load a mercedes with a flat tire and haul it 20 miles to the customers home town tire repair shop . my mgr advised me that he couldnt possibly do this motor club call because he had another call to do , so i agreed to run the 20 miles to do the call . used ramps to load the car and delivered it . owner was very impressed that we came right away , and handed us 115.00 for being careful ! can you imagine my mgr expecting me to split it with him because it was in his territory ? hahaha lol lol lol !!!

 

oldtrucks said:

Besides money my favourite tips have been 1) homemade fudge. 2) 3 dozen fresh free range eggs. 3) a call to the office from a lady involved in an MVA Thanking me for putting her groceries in the shop fridge......

 

jimnichols said:

received a pair of tickets to a cardinal game in a card addressed to my employer with only a description of me, customer couldnt remember my name but still took the time to make sure the tickets made it.

received a letter from the missouri botanical garden stating how professional i was for job where a box truck had struck their gate.

these stick out in my mind because someone took the time to say thank you, i think those mean more than the cash tips over the years.

 

I B X said:

Money: $300 To move an MRI machine 2 truck lengths, lift gate on their truck wouldn't work. Actual bill was less than half the tip.

 

unknown member said:

1 All the advise that has been passed on to me from fellow operators.
2 I met Johnny Cash and the Crockadile man from down under. Both on Tows
3 A get out of jail free card from the Lut. of the highway patrol. He has been retired for 12 years and it still works.
4 Advise when I need from a Supreame court judge when ever I need it. She was a aaa cal years ago.
5 $150. from a aaa call in the mid 90's Gold member and the call was 99 miles and a lock out.
6 A swiss army knife from a preacher and 2 hrs of advise on life. I didn't know he was a preacher until he gave me his card and the knife as
I was about to get in the truck to go home. I use both daily.
7 The person that started this post to make me take the time to remember my tips thru the years. Thank you

 

tows4u said:

It was many years ago when i thought i could still read people and got a $50 tip but the check that i dont normally take on a long tow bounced ! Lol ! Ended up working with the guy a little and he covered the check a couple weeks later. Oops forget to mention the check was for overmiles only but tip was cash !

 

Annettemcd said:

Like others have said, the cards and letters are the nicest. Once we got an iguana, but that was more partial payment than a tip.

Recently we got a big bag of potatoes from an organic farm, some of best tasting potatoes that we have ever eaten and A.P. is Irish and a connoisseur of potatoes. We have gotten produce before. A neighbor and repeat customer grows exotic potatoes and occasionally gives us very strange potatoes as tips. Books and photographs have been received. We often get stuff from Marines, more in reaction to the flags, bell, and the Marine statue out in front of our shop.

 

Charlie Rittenhouse said:

1 liter bottle of grey goose. it was brought by husband of woman i saved from flood waters along with her new volvo.

 

TOwBoY88 said:

Last winter pulled a guy out of ditch about 6 miles outside of town. I think I told him $100 - he gave me $480. He also shoved several hundred (never heard exact) in the glove compartment of the guy that called me. This guy was from Chi-town (out-of-towner and lost) and kept telling me "that's what they would of got up there".

 

CStanley said:

I went on a long distance tow with my husband one time hauling a detective and her nephew home. She was extremely grateful to us for taking such good care of them. They were both just tired and ready to get home after purchasing a vehicle and having it break down shortly after. A couple of weeks after the run we received a package with a Thank you note in the mail. She sent us a $50 gift card to a restaurant we had talked about, t-shirts and even a dog toy for our English Bulldog puppy that had rode with us. This was in addition to a cash tip that she had given the night of the tow and FOP cards that she had given each of us in our name for if we should happen to get pulled over (although I never did get to use mine). I couldn't believe all that she had done, just for something that was normal for us. I ended up sending her a Thank You card back for the care package that was sent. It's nice just to get recognition for what you do but for someone to go so far out of their way makes you feel like all the horrible days are worthwhile.

 

Davids650 said:

Best tip I ever got wasnt money, but from an older lady in her late 80's....who after talking about our hometown for a few mins, she taught history at the local Jr college in the 70's while my grandpa was the dean, she then invited me inside for lunch, and wouldnt take no for an answer....i sat at her kitchen table talking about the weather and life while she made me a simple peanut butter & jelly sandwich.....Everytime im close to her house i always stop by...and get the same PP&J....i dont always have time to eat it, but when i do its a great conversation....she is 91 years old now, doesnt drive, but still has tags and full insurance on her car...

best cash tip was 200 dollars on a 150 mile tow.

 

goodmichael said:

I have received money, a LOT of money, which I have long spent,  baked goods (home made and awesome) which were deeplt appreciated and consumed, sports tickets, which I was sometimes able to attend, but the best tip I ever received was the heartfelt thanks from a family who I returned a gold wedding band to after a horrendous crash. I noticed the ring in my grain scoop as I was cleaning the scene, and was able to return it to the proper owner. As I look back on that date the smile brought to the man's wife was worth more than a Rolex Submariner Blue face.
Mike

 

 

[TowZone]