HONK switching things up and they are getting worse

[yoBdaBenO]

Another Week without a call from HONK......... Has anyone else dropped off?

[ESC]

On 2/1/2020 at 12:27 PM, yoBdaBenO said:

Another Week without a call from HONK......... Has anyone else dropped off?

I deleted the app a while back, and haven't heard from them since.  After they pulled the BS with changing the rates... Im not interested in bailing them out when their cheap guy screws up.   I put them in the list with the other clubs now... I quote $375 with a credit card to start a truck for them.   Its amazing how often Agero bites when their cheap guy screws up.

[GRUMPS The Towman]

Got a call from their automated thingy just this morning. A winch out 11 miles away. No info as to how far off the road it was, how stuck it was or anything other than it was a dodge minivan. Not really knowing what I would be getting into, I entered a starting rate of $250.00...I figured I could get some more information from a real person at some point during this phone call. It said I would  get a call back from a representative to finalize the call.... The first thing the rep said was " I am authorized to pay you $57 for this service."  I asked if he had more details as to what was going on with his client. He then stated he could not give any more info to me unless I accepted the call at that rate....I quickly declined his "gracious" offer. 

[yoBdaBenO]

It's like I have already deleted the App. No Calls, it just dried up. Makes you wonder what happened. One day they were here in this forum. we immediately began receiving more calls and then they weren't and we weren't getting calls. Is this common with everyone?

[ESC]

On 2/8/2020 at 1:33 AM, yoBdaBenO said:

It's like I have already deleted the App. No Calls, it just dried up. Makes you wonder what happened. One day they were here in this forum. we immediately began receiving more calls and then they weren't and we weren't getting calls. Is this common with everyone?

Personally, I would take that as a blessing in disguise.  But, if you truly want their work... Id contact their tech support and have them check.... I know in the past I have had alot of system glitches ... maybe its some sort of error.

 

[GRUMPS The Towman]

They come and go for me. One week they will call me 15 times and the next 1-2 weeks nothing. I am NOT contracted with them so I dont know if that has anything to do with it. 95% of the time I turn down their work anyway. I cant and wont work for free. I have paying customers that need service. I couldnt agree more with ESC.. It is a blessing in disguise.. Maybe they finally shuttered and we all wont have to waste time declining their calls anymore. 

[DennisHONK]

Hey guys. I am definitely still here! I've been a member of these boards since (i think) 2002. I'm not going anywhere!

Most of you have noticed by now that you're no longer receiving phone calls from HONK. That's because we've moved away from phone dispatch in all but about 10-15% of our total job volume across the country. That means that the majority of our calls are going to service providers who are using the HONK Partner app. That allows our customers to track their service providers while in route, eliminating the need for annoying "check in" calls, and is proven to increase overall customer satisfaction. 

 

I did want to call out a few inconsistencies I've seen in this thread. Firstly, the majority of HONK's customers and clients are NOT "people too lazy to search for a local tower". Yes, we do have a B2C (Business to consumer) app which allows the average person to request a tow service, but as most of you on these forums already know, the "cash call" customer is a dying breed in the industry. Most people have at least some roadside coverage from their insurance company, cell phone, credit card, heck, sometimes even through an employer. Those companies, insurance carriers, fleet services, etc., don't want to deal with day-to-day towing and roadside operations, maintaining phone numbers, rates, and everything associated with the industry, so they hire companies like HONK, and many others that have been around for a while, to "White-Label" their roadside assistance programs. This market is only growing, and this model of business isn't going anywhere.

I absolutely understand, both personally and professionally, the fear and animosity directed at "motor clubs". I hated dealing with them when I was on the provider side of the industry. HONK's Take It Now dispatch system was confusing to me too when it first rolled out. And I know we're nowhere near the "perfect world" scenario where people are moving from job to job quickly and efficiently, and all ETA's are less than 15 minutes, but we're working towards that goal every single day. We're consistently lowering ATAs across the country, with our average ATA landing somewhere around 20 minutes across the nation.

What HONK does that no other player in this venue does is allow you to decide what calls you want and what calls you don't! Don't want job offers when you're eating dinner? Log out of the app. Want to spend your Sunday watching football and not running calls? Feel free to decline any job offers. Running 300 miles with a special customer delivery and want to make a few extra bucks? Log into the app and run some service calls along the way!

I know HONK isn't for everybody. Our volume is frankly inconsistent in some areas of the country compared to others. If you've consistently got 10+ jobs holding on your queue, and you're running your trucks all over town for big accounts and priority police calls, then maybe you're not the right type of provider for HONK. But if you've got downtime between calls, if you run long hauls and frequently come back empty, or just generally want to make money when your operators and equipment are sitting, then give it a shot. 

[Old Tow]

I personally like to work with Honk, but the provider app is hard for me to use. If possible,, could you please make it so we can show more vehicles available at the same time? As it is, we may have a light duty, med duty, 4x4, winch vehicle and service truck available all at the same time.

[yoBdaBenO]

Thanks Dennis, we should all value a representative with any club/app or other company willing to put themselves out there on a message board.

 

Of course TowForce is like no other social media for our industry! Perhaps HONK can turn things around in 2020, Looks Like Swoop and Urgent.ly may be on the way out. Hoping to make a Tow Show this year and meet the reps in person. Will HONK be in Vegas or Texas this year. Maybe Tennessee, might take that long to get time off. Heck I don't even get in here but once a week. I'll try to do better....

[ESC]

17 hours ago, yoBdaBenO said:

Thanks Dennis, we should all value a representative with any club/app or other company willing to put themselves out there on a message board.

It is impressive to see a rep on the board these days.   Ill give them that one!   Someone to help move things forward and make it better for everyone is a huge plus.... and there is no other place better than right here at Towforce.   But until they go back to the rates I had set up, I don't see being able to work for them.  I have no interest in a club giving me a pay cut.

[GRUMPS The Towman]

I do certainly give Dennis a lot of credit for being here and thank you for filling us in on whats going on with honk. It is nothing personal of course with what we state about this or any club. In a perfect world, clubs would pay great, providers would have 15 min eta's and world hunger would be solved. I hope that one day honk will go back to allowing us to set our rates and for guys like me who dont use the app, streamline the phone process and payments. If and when that happens, sign me up. untill then I simply cannot afford to provide service to honk.