We at TowPartsNow have a Facebook page, and you should check it out because whenever we add a new item or run a special, that’s where you will hear about it first. I also have a personal Facebook page and I occasionally visit it, but [...]
I used to have dreams. I suppose I still do. One of my dreams when I was a tow truck driver and a tow truck manager was the dream of an effective and efficient fleet maintenance department. Now that I’ve been away from the daily [...]
DO secure a fenced storage lot in a part of town that doesn’t attract live ammunition. DON’T meet impounded vehicle owners in vacant lots scattered throughout town for them to ransom their cars. DO train your drivers and any personnel who will come into contact [...]
My work in a tow truck was largely confined to urban areas, and I had relatively few long trips in a tow truck. The longest trip I ever made was from Portland, Ore., to Spokane, Wash., and back to pick up a repossesed truck. I [...]
Unsolicited advice is one of my pet peeves, so to speak. I try not to give it, and I don’t really listen to it when I receive it. Which is probably unfortunate because in every mountain of dirt there are likely a few nuggets. When [...]
Stopped by my old place of employment yesterday and reminisced with some former coworkers about the good old days. I was reminded about some of the employees I hired or supervised who committed acts of treachery and deceit, and I lamented my softness — that [...]
The prima donna story probably is worth telling. I really didn’t mind it too much at the time. It kind of became a badge of honor, and it probably fit, in a strange way. Within the core group of drivers running impounds at Retriever Towing [...]
I drove for Retriever Towing in Portland, Ore., for 11 years, and my time there is the source of many of my stories. Retriever is the top impound company in Portland, and I occasionally help them with marketing. One thing we did recently was promote [...]
This past baseball season, my eight-year-old broke his nose during fly ball practice. He caught one with his face, and it didn’t work out so well for him. It was gruesome, my friends. We took him to the ER. They cleaned him up, and he [...]
Developing a good habit is an efficient way of simplifying your life. If you can get your employees to develop the proper routines for their work — drivers checking in, doing pre-trip truck inspections, organizing their equipment, dispatchers answering the phone with the proper greeting, [...]
