Warning: This is a rant to vent my frustration with retarded people I deal with. Some background info: I'm a Tow Truck driver in Sioux Falls, SD. (I am from MN originally) The company I work for is small, but we work pretty well to accommodate people daily. We also happen to have some small contracts with private businesses to remove unwanted vehicles from their property. One contract happens to gain a lot of activity during the weekend evenings as its a Apartment complex behind a busy local bar. Bar goers sometimes park in the Apartments lot because its so close (and usually pretty empty). There are 3 signs that clearly state: Parking Permit Required, Violators will be TOWED. One sign happens to be 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide with huge BOLD print, yet people still park there, even right in front of the giant sign. Now, I'm on commission pay after 5pm and on weekends so I only get paid when I actually do some "work". Part of my job at night is to patrol this lot and clear out vehicles that don't belong and I get roughly $20 a vehicle I successfully remove. Unless someone clearly comes out BEFORE I touch their vehicle, they by all means have a right to move the vehicle without charge. If they happen to come upon me in the process of removal (after any part of my tow truck touches their car, I.E. winch cable, wheel lift, ext.) then its a simple $100 on the spot to unhook and let them be on their merry little way. If we however remove the vehicle, its subject to storage fees as we secure the vehicle on our property (shop) until the following business day. I do have a heart, I understand when some out of towners don't see the signs or when there is something of real importance in the vehicle that they can't actually live without (I.E. Medication) I will gladly stop down at the shop and allow you to pay the fees and take your vehicle, but its on MY time, not yours and if I have another customer in need of service (Lockout, jump start, tire changes, ext.) I'm gonna help them first, because that's how I make a paycheck. I already have your car, being rude, yelling, screaming, cursing, and threatening me is definitely not a way to make me want to help you out because your stupid enough to ignore the signs that you possibly didn't see, especially if you admit to reading the signs and going ahead with it anyways. I had 2 ladies from out of town (separate vehicles) this evening actually do such a thing, admitting to reading the signs but ignoring them, they then proceed to call me and complain, whine, b*tch me out for doing my job, as well as DEMAND that I stop what I'm doing (helping a customer with a lockout) and tow their cars BACK to them. Umm...NO! We have a policy to not release vehicles outside of our regular business hours (granted we make exceptions w/good reason) which happens to be M-F 8am-5pm and Sat-Sun 12pm-1pm. One lady did make me laugh when she then proceeded to state how we SHOULD run OUR company. Apparently she's gonna file a complaint to someone (I have no idea whom aside from the BBB possibly???) because I wouldn't make an exception to policy in her case. Love people like this. Like I stated earlier though, I have a heart and if I have the ability to help someone out, I'll gladly do so. Since starting this job, and removing vehicles from this place (employed for 3 months now) I have actually made many exceptions to policy on multiple occasions, but its all on your attitude towards me. You have a wedding to be in at 7am and its 2 hours away, okay, no problem, I'll be down to give you your car in XX minutes but I'll only be there for a short time. Sorry for doing my job, glad your not rude about it. But also like I stated before, attitude is everything: "Mother F'R, Gimme my $H*T back right now" isn't gonna make me want to give you anything but a chill pill... Sorry for the long rant, thanks for reading, comment if you'd like but please do so tastefully. Have a nice day!
Does your company tow AWD vehicles exclusively with a roll back or dolly so that no wheels touch the ground? Just wondering.
Pillboy, yes our company deals with AWD/4WD vehicles in the CORRECT fashion! We have 2 flatbeds and 1 wrecker (with dollys) in our company fleet for the majority of our calls. Aside from my thorough enjoyment of all things Subaru, we always check the driveline of a vehicle prior to towing it. Unfortunately there are companies that are retarded enough to NOT educate their drivers in the appropriate methods of towing. Average joe with a tow strap might think he knows what to do (I.E. place vehicle in neutral) but even that should only be used in the shortest distance possible; IE rolling it onto the flatbed! Assasain: YES! And they provide hours of entertainment and learning experiences for those that actually know what the heck they are doing! lol
Depends on how your trailer is set up. The one we have doesn't have a winch and is only used for running vehicles with fully inflated tires. Everything else we use a rollback/flatbed truck for typically.
