delwhjr wrote:
I decided to see if I could find out how tow companies prioritize their calls. I called a friend who is a principal owner of a towing service and asked him to elaborate. He told me they take calls on the following priority:
Public Safety - Emergency/Dangerous
Individuals - danger
Individuals - non-danger
Public Safety - non emergency
Insurance Companies
Private Tow (Business Tow away zones)
Roadside Assistance Companies
He said their agreement with public safety is they have to come if called. Their agreement with all others is on an agreed time/distance/time of day for the tow. He also said they have the right to decline a request from all but the public safety calls. He said his agreement is the same for all of the assistance companies and he doesn't have a preference for which. Although he did say the insurance company calls are the best paying.
This was for his company but he did say it was pretty much the same for others.
That's very interesting. And what it seems to break down to after the Police calls is economic in descending order of how much it will pay.
And if this is accurate then really as a customer we should be informed BEFORE we buy the road service that any given tow company has the right to decline the service call and thus leave us or in this case the OP stranded. But I fear GSE and all the other Road Service companies corporate ears are closed to this.
I strongly suggest you follow this link to Consumer Affairs to see why GSE want these complaints to come to this site/forum. It makes interesting reading.
ConsumerAffairs-GSE Road ServiceI think it's time for a bit more openness and clarity on the part of all of these companies about how this service is really structured. Would it not be better for them to admit this upfront and just promise to pay for the Police or private call to the tow company?
That would certainly satisfy me on this issue and make me a happier customer for sure.
