Municipal Contracts are a part of our business, let's face it.  Here in Portland we have a Towing Coordinator whose name is Marian Gaylord, and Marian has been running the show here for at least 20 years.  She has completely revamped the system, including ushering in a new Municipal Contract for City Towers that many think is the bane of their existence.  Hopefully they realize that it keeps unprofessional, fly-by-night outfits from qualifying for a spot on the tow rotation.

I recently went to a company meeting for one of our sister companies, and the subject of Marian Gaylord came up, because one of the Tow Company Managers deals directly with her on formal complaints she issues on behalf of the Agencies or citizens.  There was some discussion about why there were so many complaints, and what to do about them.  This Manager told the GM, his boss, "I'm not trying to be condescending, but you don't have a clue."

I thought, that's pretty good for not trying.

It was funny.  That's partly why I mention it.  But I also mention it because there are probably many of you out there who are frustrated at dealing with Municipal Agencies who "don't have a clue" about the towing industry and, whether they are trying to or not, are making your business life difficult.  At a company where I managed and dealt directly with Marian, we had 3 Municipal Contracts and also had a good market share of Private Property Impounds, which were also regulated to an extent.  When I received a formal complaint from Marian, I usually followed this procedure:
1. Investigate the complaint internally to get all of the facts.
2. Send back a written response within the given timeframe (we usually had a few weeks to respond, I think), either agreeing to the terms requested (usually payment of a fine or reimbursement to the vehicle owner), or requesting a different resolution.
3. Institute or revisit an internal procedure with our staff to attempt to prevent another similar complaint.

My written responses all had a very similar format.  In fact, they were basically form letters that I changed the particulars for each time.  I'm sure Marian caught onto this early on, but she never seemed bugged by it, and I think that was partly because the standard introduction and conclusion were overly polite.  In the introduction, I always included the statement, "We have reviewed this complaint and all applicable policies and procedures with our staff."  This told her we were taking it seriously, and you know what?  It was true.  We DID always review complaints and all applicable policies and procedures with our staff.  The intro also always included this statement, "Thank you for the opportunity to resolve this in an informal manner."  This showed Marian that we were actually grateful to get the complaint.  And it was also genuine and true.  A complaint letter and maybe payment of a small fine was better than a lawsuit, or interruption or cancellation of our Contract, and it was certainly a more informal resolution.

The middle of the letter included information that I felt was pertinent to the complaint, so that was the part I had to actually write every time.  I dealt only in facts, not in emotions or speculation.  I didn't write anything that I "thought" was true and claim it was true.  If it was a "he said/she said" situation, I would write that "the driver reports that..." or "the dispatcher reports that...."  I would leave it to Marian to interpret which account was most accurate.

The conclusion was either acceptance of the terms of the complaint or a request for a different resolution.  Acceptance was, "Enclosed is a check for $xx.xx for penalty payment.  We apologize for any inconvenience caused to the vehicle owner and/or the Agency, and we are taking steps to prevent this problem from recurring."  A request was simply asking for the penalty to be waived or reduced.  Her complaint letters always left that option open, and if she still felt a penalty was warranted, there would be a follow-up final resolution letter.

If I thought that the penalty or reimbursement was at all warranted, I almost always accepted the resolution, no questions asked.  You know what I found as a result?  If I did ask for a waiver or reduction, I almost always received it, or at least a partial reduction.

Then there was the most important part of the whole procedure, making sure we didn't screw up again.  We would go over the complaint with our staff--drivers, dispatchers, whoever was affected--and we would either figure out a new procedure to prevent the problem from happening again, or we would review the old procedure already in place that should have prevented the problem from happening in the first place.  Here's the deal: you can't prevent everything bad from happening.  Supposedly you have to tell a kid something 30 times before they completely understand it.  With an adult, it's probably twice that.  Why do you think they're called Drill Sergeants?  You have to drill things into your employees.  Don't fight it.  Just accept it, and do it.

If I saw Marian in person, I always tried to make her laugh--tell a joke or comment on something that I thought was funny.  I enjoyed working with her, and if I disagreed with her decisions, I was respectful.  In fact, I was somewhat mystified by some of the negative reports I heard from other tow companies about dealing with Marian.  Now, you might call all of this "buttering up" or "greasing the wheel."  Whatever.  I thought this was the most productive way to deal with a Municipal Agency, and I think the results bore that out.

Have a safe and profitable week.

Sincerely,
Nick Kemper
www.TowPartsNow.com

One of my former drivers called me a few weeks ago to tell me he was moving, and he asked me to write a letter-of-reference for him, which I did happily.  I was his supervisor for 5 years, and he was one of these guys who always stepped up when something extra needed to be done, always working extra shifts, running on-call from home, coming in early, staying late.  If we’re lucky, we all have drivers like this.  It's easy to take these people for granted, especially once we get used to them doing this for us.  We have to remember to say Thank You once in awhile, and usually that recognition means as much, if not more, than the extra money they earn by working extra.

It reminded me of one of this driver's quirks, and if he's reading this, hopefully he can laugh along with us as I tell you about it.  One of his pet phrases was, "It's a Catch-20."  Now, most of us know that the correct phrase is "Catch-22," from the Joseph Heller novel about a WWII fighter pilot who tries to get out of the service by claiming he's crazy, but the military reasons that no sane person would want to stay in the military flying missions, so because he wants out, he's not crazy.  So he can't win either way, which is what we now call a "Catch-22."  But this driver always said "Catch-20," and it was a point of humor for those of us who worked with him.  I'm sure someone corrected him at some point, but he kept saying "Catch-20."

At some point during my management time I heard that if you want to change or establish a habit, you have to do some new behavior for 21 days.  I don't know if it's true, but it made sense to me, and I was having trouble helping my drivers establish new habits, or changing old ones, so I decided to try the 21-day program.  The way it worked was this: say your drivers were having trouble remembering to lock and secure impounded vehicles in the storage lot.  I would go out every morning and check all the vehicles.  If anything was unlocked or unsecured, I would make a note of which driver towed it in, ask around to make sure that no one else opened it up to move it after it was towed in, and then I would give the driver an assignment.  For the next 21 work days, he or she would be responsible for checking ALL of the vehicles in the storage lot at some point during their shift, and if they found anything unlocked or unsecured, they would lock and secure the vehicle, and report it to me.

This way, I had other people checking the vehicles besides me, and reporting the problems, and most important, locking and securing the vehicles.  If the driver failed to do this successfully during their 21-day sentence, the sequence would RE-START.  If I found a vehicle unlocked or unsecured, and someone was in the middle of their 21-day sentence, and I could determine that the vehicle was in the lot for their entire previous shift, then the driver who towed the car in would start a 21-day sentence, PLUS the driver who was in the middle of their sentence would get to start over.

This became almost comical (for me), as I had multiple drivers out checking cars at all times of the day and night, and some of them went on and on for weeks on end, because they couldn't put together 21 work days in a row.  The look on a driver's face when I told him his 21 days was starting over, as he suddenly remembered what he forgot to do the day before, was p-r-i-c-e-l-e-s-s.

You could do it for other things to, like pre-trip inspections, for instance.  If they didn't do their pre-trip inspection one day, then they would be assigned to pre-trip at least one additional truck other than their own for the next 21 work days.  Then you'd have drivers checking trucks that they didn't normally check, which of course would turn up maintenance issues that the assigned drivers weren't reporting because they weren't really doing their own pre-trips thoroughly or properly.  Then they'd start on their own 21-day cycle.

It was all so much fun.  I don't know if it worked, but it was one of those things that the veteran drivers would tell the new drivers about during their training, as if they were recounting tortures in a Turkish prison, thereby striking fear in the hearts of the newbies as they started to wonder about what this nice guy who hired them was really all about if he could come up with something so cruel and relentless.  As a manager, you KNOW something has value if it can do THAT.

When I first laid out the program at an Employee Meeting, I explained how it would work, which produced many groans and threats of legal action, then I told them, "We're calling it the Catch-21 Program."  This was extremely funny to a handful of employees who knew about the Catch-20/Catch-22 discrepancy, and they had great difficulty silencing their laughter.  Mr. Catch-20, who was listening intently, because he was someone who was very meticulous about his work and didn't much like people getting away with not being meticulous, said, "That's a great idea!"

I smiled. "I knew you'd like it," I told him.

Have a safe and profitable week.

Sincerely,
Nick Kemper
www.TowPartsNow.com

http://www.facebook.com/#!/towpartsnow

At a customer's facility today, looking at a wrecked tow truck, and a gaze at the truck's interior reminded me of why I got out of managing tow truck drivers.  You would think that if you spend 8-18 hours a day in your workspace, you would want that workspace to look, feel, and smell as good as possible.  Some drivers take great pride in their assigned truck, keeping the outside and inside clean and professional-looking.  Some drivers... don't.  A good way to know how someone is going to take care of your equipment is to take a look at their personal vehicle.  Doing that sometimes made me cry.

At one point in my managing days, I resorted to monthly truck inspections.  At first, I scheduled them and told the driver when I was going to do the inspection.  This worked most of the time.  For at least one day every month, that truck was in good shape.  After several months, I made the inspections surprise inspections.  Wow, you've never heard such grumbling.  Inspection scores were figured into performance evaluations, so they were sensitive to this new concept of work performance actually having a direct effect on their compensation.  Crazy idea, I know.

 There was a good deal of competition between drivers to see who could get the highest score, or even a perfect score.  I think I only gave out one perfect score during the program, which lasted a year or so.  It was hard to sustain, doing 14 surprise inspections per month, especially in winter. 

My goal with tow truck cleanliness was not a perfect score on a surprise inspection, but just a general professional look and smell, and a tidiness, every day.  If you wouldn't want your mom to get in that truck, then that was a problem, because a lot of customers are someone's mom.  I don’t need to do the white-glove test.  I don’t need to feel Armor-All on the seat.  Those hard-to-reach spots between the bed and the cab don’t need to be polished, but every once in awhile you have to finish off an old wash mitt by reaching in there to wipe away the outer layer of grime.

 You have to appreciate the scars and marks that accumulate on a piece of equipment that’s been in circulation a long time.  I’m not talking about broken windshields or crushed fenders, but there really shouldn’t be new paint on your wheellift.  The bed and butt-plate should have a few scratches.  What you want are trucks that work, in more than one sense of the word.  And a truck like that deserves respect.  It can get dirty, muddy, whatever.  But when the day is done, it needs a little love.

 One of the tricky parts of getting your drivers to take care of their equipment is the simple dichotomy that applies to all aspects of your business.  They don’t own the truck. You do.  They don’t own the office space they’re working in, or the dollar passing through their hands from your customer to you.  If they don’t own it, they won’t care as much about it as you do.  Plain and simple.  The best thing you can do, the only thing you can do… is to put it in their interest.  What’s the definition of “put it in their interest?”  Could be a lot of things:  incentives, intimidation, freedom.  That’s your job:  to figure out what interests each one of your employees.  That’s one reason why no one said it would be easy.  And accept that your employee will not care as much as your truck, your money, your business as you do.  Why should they?

A customer called me recently, pricing out a Fork Holder.  Seems he had lost one.  He called back a short while later to tell me he found it… in the ditch.  Not sure if it fell off while he was driving, or if he was working a recovery, but he found it, after a short search.

My experience is things are lost only temporarily.  I have many stories of losing or misplacing something, only to have it return later. I don’t even worry now when I do lose something of value.  It always seems to find its way back to me.  

One year, while elk hunting, I leaned my rifle against the truck tire, and later backed up and drove away.  I had been parked at the end of an old spur road that you could barely drive on. Not more than two hours later, a family member called for me over the CB, to ask if I had my rifle.  Someone I knew had driven out this same spur road, found the rifle, recognized it, and then ran into one of my family members out on the main road.  Hunting seems to be one activity that lends itself to me losing stuff and later finding it. I’ve found lost gloves, knives, had a lost gun belt returned to me, and last year my daughter lost her tag, license, and Hunter Safety Card, and we found them the next day on a trail we’d followed that day.

Years ago, before cell phones, tow truck drivers carried message pagers, and before that, beepers.  One late night I was sent up into the Forest Park west of Portland to meet a County Sheriff, who had found a stolen vehicle. He walked me out an old blocked-off road to this car, which was complete, but there was no way to drive to the vehicle.  The Sheriff has this idea that I could winch it downhill through the forest to the main road, which was about 500  yards. I had 150 feet of cable on my truck. He made me unspool it to prove I couldn’t do it, so I free-spooled through trees in the dark until it was all the way out, which was really silly because he just left me there and told me it was my problem.  I needed to make sure the car was impounded.

After I re-wound my cable, I left the scene, figuring we’d come back the next day with cable extensions and a
chainsaw.  I was halfway back to the shop when I realized I didn’t have my (bleeping) beeper. The forests here in Western Oregon tend to be thick, with a lot of underbrush.  At least it wasn’t raining.  I drove back up there, and fortunately I had the assistance of sound. I had the dispatcher set off the beeper until I found it.  I hadn’t particularly enjoyed being out in the dark forest the first time.  This time it was even creepier, with the faint sound of beeping getting slowly louder.  After about ten minutes I found it in the dead leaves.

My family gets irritated with me at home when there is a search for a misplaced item, because I confidently join the search, repeating the mantra, “I easily and effortlessly find the (lost item).” The idea is that if you walk around saying, “I can’t find my keys,” then your subconscious makes sure you’re right. I’m not saying my technique works best. I’m just saying I almost always find whatever we’re looking for first.  And I’m not unusually perceptive.  I think that’s what really bugs them about it.

So try it, if you’re ever in a ditch looking for a Fork Holder, or something like that.

Have a safe and profitable week.
 Sincerely,
Nick Kemper


www.TowPartsNow.com

Although I worked in the impound industry for many years, I did not do a lot of repos, but enough to have some good stories.  The first repo I ever did was for a small credit agency, on an early 70's model Chevy Nova.  The credit agency rep wanted to ride along, and one of the drivers who worked with me also wanted to ride along, so we all piled into a Ford Diesel (not ideal for repos) with an Eagle Claw and headed out.

The car was parked at a motel.  Seemed strange to me that the rep knew it was at a motel.  Turns out the vehicle owner was a lady-of-the-evening, and she was working.  I didn't feel particularly nervous, but the credit agency rep apparently was, because he starting breathing rapidly and heavily, almost to the point of hyperventilation.
  The angle to the back of the car was tough, so I didn't quite get the Eagle Claws set before lifting, and it slid off.  Then I got nervous.  I dropped it twice more before getting the claws set right.  The gas tank got kind of messed up.  But we got the car, and the agency rep was happy.

Many years later, the company I was working for got a repo contract for another small credit agency.  For these cars, we had owner info, but no one to find the vehicle for us, so it was a hunt-and-tow set-up.  One of the addresses, for a Dodge mini-van, was out in a rural area, so I waited until late (around midnight) and drove out to check it out.  The address was a mobile home in a very rural area.  No lights anywhere, except for a large floodlight on the front of the mobile home.  There were cars everywhere--on the lawn, in the driveway, behind the mobile home--about 15 total, but no Dodge mini-vans.  I was about to leave, and then I saw, out in the field behind the mobile home, the outline of the rear of a mini-van.  It looked like the right vehicle, but it was well off the road, on the other side of the mobile home.  There wasn't even a driveway out to where it was.  I sat there for several minutes and thought about it.  There was no easy access to the front of the van, which was a front-wheel drive, and that made it even more risky.  Finally I decided it wasn't worth the risk, and I drove back to the shop.

One of the other drivers asked me about it, and I gave him the scoop.  He told me he was going to go try to get the mini-van.  I told him he was nuts, and I went home.  The next day I came into work, and there was the mini-van.  He had driven out to the house, turned off his lights, backed ACROSS the front lawn, into the field, slid the wheellift through the tall grass under the bumper of the van, threw his safety chains around the rear axle and into the chain slots on the crossbar, lifted it up on the chains, and drug it back across the lawn, IN PARK.  The grass was slick, so the wheels just slid without tearing up the sod.  He got it out on the road, dropped it, turned around and grabbed it from the front, and got out of there.  He told me that while he was throwing the safety chains around the rear axle, the one thought in his head was, "When is the gunshot coming?"

Another driver I worked with did a similar repo in a rural area late at night.  He had an address, and he mapped it out in his Thomas Guide (days before GPS navigation).  He drove for miles on a rural road, and then it turned into gravel.  He drove farther, and then there was a gate.  He drove farther, and then there was a mobile home, with the K-5 Chevy Blazer with oversized tires he was supposed to repo, parked within a few feet of the trailer.  He snagged it from behind with his Eagle Claw, strapped it, and took off.  He told me later, "I was in such a hurry I didn't lift the claws high enough, so when I went through a dip it exploded the ratchet when it hit the ground."  Exploded the ratchet.  It would have exploded my HEART.   Who keeps going on a rural gravel road THROUGH A GATE?!?

Probably what the vehicle owner was thinking as he slept peacefully through it all in his mobile home.


Have a safe and
profitable week,

Sincerely,
Nick Kemper
www.TowPartsNow.com 

I am Amanda, a 23 year old girl from originally from Alberta, Canada now living in Chicago, IL. I was born into the world of trucking, and have been around it my whole life. I have always been considered a "tough girl". I worked besides my father in the shop, since he did all his own repairs on his trucks. I started learning how to drive semi trucks and front end loaders when I was 10 years old. When I was 17, I got a job as a heavy duty mechanic and happily worked fixing heavy equipment for 3 years. When I turned 20, I started working in the towing industry. I quickly caught on and was towing my first vehicle in a day. I would juggle towing and dispatching. I recently moved to Chicago and am currently searching for a job in the industry again.

1. Please tell me about your organization.
Respect Tow Truck Operators was founded in 2009 by myself after I almost got hit on the side of the Queen Elizabeth Highway (Hwy 2), one of the most dangerous highway's in Alberta, doing a tire change on a vehicle. My eyes were opened up to how badly the industry needed a change. Respect Tow Truck Operators is run by myself and my best friend Meggin. We are solely out to change the towing industry. I have made it a goal in my life, and I have seen an incredible change from 5 years ago when I first was introduced to the industry!

2. Why is this cause important to you? Do you have a personal connection?
I personally came inches away from being hit and killed by a tractor trailer while doing a tire change. I also have been recently married into the industry, my husband has been a flatbed operator for numerous years.

3. Of all your work here at RTTO, what are you most proud of?
Everything! I never ever thought Respect Tow Truck Operators would get as big as it has. American Towman TV did a whole segment on myself and RTTO. I have Slow Down Move Over decals and merchandise for sale. I have a big website courtesy of TLC Media Productions. I have had the privilege of meeting so many wonderful people and tow companies.  I also would be no where without the 17,800 people who follow RTTO!

4. Thinking back on your work in the past year(s), were there any memorable moments? Perhaps a time when you got a little choked up?
Too many times to mention! I get a lot of people who thank me for the work I do and it blows me away every time. I enjoy the time I spend doing what I do for the towing industry immensely and I don't feel people need to thank me! I would have to say though the most memorable moment was being interviewed by American Towman TV. To this day I am still shocked that they wanted to do a story on myself and RTTO! I remember shaking so bad and trying to get my words together! I had so much fun doing it, and it really helped get the word out.

5. What keeps you going? What helps you get up every morning to do this work?
Towing is definitely in my blood now. I couldn't get out of the industry even if I wanted to. Just knowing that I have helped one person stay safe on the side of the highway or I have educated one person to slow down and move over for amber lights on the side of the road drives me to continue bringing awareness with Respect Tow Truck Operators. It all comes down to educating motorists on the laws out there protecting emergency vehicles. It is unbelievable how many do not know or understand the Slow Down Move Over Law.

6. If you could talk to donors and tell them why their support is important, what would you say?
I couldn't ever begin to explain how thankful I am for everyone's support! No one will ever realize how important the support I receive is in the making of RTTO. I only run it, everyone else gives me the motivation to keep it up!  I haven't ever asked for donations for Respect Tow Truck Operators, I keep everything running on my own.

7. What has changed since you first started? Is it harder, easier? How has the organization responded to that change?
There has been a lot of changes since I first started 4 years ago. All states now have some sort of Slow Down Move Over Law, we just have to work on getting all of Canada to adopt it then move on to hopefully making the law worldwide. Since march, we have gained over 4,000 members on Facebook and I find it to be somewhat harder now to do things like make sure the news is posted daily or keeping up on certain weekly activities I have started, but nothing that is too hard to handle for myself. I wouldn't have it any other way.

8. If you were able to sit down with Bill Gates and tell him why he should consider making a donation to RTTO what would you say?
Respect Tow Truck Operators is a huge part of the towing industry, and we do as much as we possibly can to protect each and every tow truck operator out there! Our next biggest step is taking RTTO into schools and educating children on the Slow Down Move Over Law and how it includes everyone. With this law, and the proper education, we can save more lives. Seeing how many tow truck operators and emergency works get injured or killed yearly because of people who refuse to slow down or move over makes me sick. I want to come home to my family just as much as everyone else in the towing industry. As of August 9th, we are at 22 tow truck operator deaths, which is unacceptable.


9. Can you tell us about a case in which RTTO made a difference?
I had a motorist message me and say how because of my page, she now knows to slow down and move over for emergency vehicles. She went on to say that when she see's flashing lights, she remembers Respect Tow Truck Operators and what it stands for.

10. Is there anything that I haven't asked you, that you would like to address?
We may be called Respect Tow Truck Operators, but we accommodate just about anyone whether it be dispatchers, other emergency workers, or just fans and motorists. We have different activities going on throughout each week such as Vintage Tow Truck of the Day, Truck of the Day, and Tow Operator of the Week. Very soon I will be starting up contests for Respect Tow Truck Operators merchandise. I also have been keeping a list of all the tow operators killed on the job since January 2012. Take a second to "like" us on Facebook www.facebook.com/respecttowtruckoperators, follow us on twitter www.twitter.com/RTTOfanfollow check out www.respecttowtruckoperators.com!