Since we are talking about the motor clubs and dispatch systems, let me point out a few things I’ve discovered as I deal with many service providers. I have contacted no less than 25 service providers, and most of them are fighting the same problems:
- Pricing – This industry is very competitive as motor clubs fight to survive. As they fight for their share of the market, they must lower their tow fee as low as possible to win business. As I look at some of the pricing, I can see why they have trouble getting tow companies to take calls. I talked to a tow company last week, and he told me that he was the 32nd company the service provider called to get someone to run the call. I was asked by several providers not to put their names on the tow for fear that the tow company would not take the call if they knew who it was. We can make the call look like a TowTrax call and not display the service provider.
- Remote Areas – One motor club asked me if I could cover their remote areas. I asked them what they considered a remote area; they told me Milwaukee. That surprised me since Milwaukee is a large city. When TowTrax looked at 50-mile radius in Milwaukee, we found 72 tow companies. We registered over 30 in the Milwaukee area, so if any service provider needs help in that area, let us know.
- Change – The service providers have been operating for years doing what they do today. They are 20 years behind in technology, and they know they must change but there is a fear factor. When I first developed TowTrax, one of my partners told me there is no way you will get these service providers to change the way they do business because the change would be too hard compared to what they do today. It’s interesting that the service provider wants to change, but no one wants to be first. They can’t afford to disrupt the poor service they offer today.
- Poor ETA’s – Some service providers admitted that their ETA’s were over an hour on average. A girl in the office was telling me she waited over two hours when she broke down and called her service provider. She was in the Dallas area which makes it worse.
- Their Tow Network – The service providers go to tow shows and try and register tow companies to service their calls. There are over 70,000 tow companies nationwide, but it’s the same 15,000 tow companies that go to all the shows. These are usually large tow companies that use the tow shows to see what is new in the industry. These companies don’t use many service providers for their main line of business. They do police rotation, body shops, and other sources as their main source of business. As a result, the motor clubs struggle with their towing network.
- Multiple Contracts – When service providers sign contracts with tow companies, they may offer one company a price for light or medium duty with a per-mile fee after 5 miles. Then they go to a second provider and offer that tow company different prices for the same area. The service provider ends up managing multiple contracts with multiple tow companies. Then, when they get in a remote area, the service provider will call anyone to take the call. Even if there is no contract between the service provider and the tow company.
- Fees and Credit Cards – When a service provider can’t find a tow company to run a call, they are forced to pay double the fee to get a company to run the call. When the tow company takes the call, they ask for a credit card to make sure they get paid.
- No Resources – I talk to several providers that want to use TowTrax but have no technical staff available to work with us. They will continue to lose money and provide a poor service until they make time to upgrade their technology.
The new problem for many service providers is the new companies that are entering the industry. They have plenty of money and tech staffs that can that can develop whatever is needed to support their business. They advertise on their websites that they are here to put the old service providers out of business. When you have money and resources at your disposal, you can do whatever is needed to win the business.
I know for a fact that several major customers that are currently with a service provider have gone to them for some changes, but the service provider ignores them for reasons I don’t understand. It will not be long that new technology will start to take customers away from some service providers.
A message to the service provider: you can’t continue to do busines
s the way you do today. A lot of companies have developed something that connects with the consumer. Remember you can’t service a call without the tow truck. At some point in time, you will have to improve your technology if you want to compete in the business. TowTrax makes it simple and provides a service like no other. The change in your business is made easy with TowTrax.
