TowingBossPro Blog — Impound & Storage

Texting Impound Customers About Pickup

The owner of an impounded car has three questions: where is it, how do I get it back, and how much. Answer those once, clearly and in writing, and your phone gets quieter, your release window gets calmer and fewer people drive across town without the documents they need.

Release Day: Collecting Payment Before the Keys Go Out covered the release window itself. This article is about everything you tell the customer before they get there.

Why Text Instead of Just Answering the Phone

Phone calls are the most expensive way to give out the same information over and over. The person answering is usually also dispatching, taking payments or helping someone at the window. Every "where is my car" call pulls them off something else.

A text does not get lost the way a phone conversation does. The customer can reread it in the car on the way over, forward it to whoever is driving them and show it at the window. "Your text said bring the registration" is a better conversation than "nobody told me."

What to Put in a Pickup Message

Keep it short and plain. A good pickup text covers:

• That the vehicle is at your lot, with the year, make, model and color so they know it is theirs.
• The lot address and the hours you release vehicles.
• What they need to bring, according to your policy and local rules.
• How they can pay, including paying online before they arrive.
• A number to text back with questions.

Avoid putting a dollar total in an automated message unless you are certain it is current, because storage days keep adding up. Point them to the invoice instead, which always shows the current total.

Write the message so it works on its own. Someone reading it on a cracked phone screen at a bus stop should be able to get to your lot, during your hours, with the right documents, without calling you. If they still have to call to understand it, rewrite it.

Automated Texts and Emails

TowingBossPro sends automated texts and emails, so the standard messages go out without anyone typing them. Set up the wording once, check it for accuracy and tone, and let the system do the repetitive part. Customers who prefer email get the same information there.

Some areas have rules about notifying owners of towed vehicles, sometimes by specific methods and within set times. A text from your system is a courtesy and a convenience; it may not satisfy any legal notice requirement where you operate. Check your local law and handle required notices the way it says.

Review the automated messages every few months. Hours change, addresses change, policies change. An automated text that is out of date does more harm than no text at all, because the owner trusted it and showed up at the wrong time with the wrong paperwork. Assign one person to own the wording.

Tone Matters More Than You Think

People whose cars were towed are already annoyed. A message that sounds like a ransom note makes it worse. A message that sounds like a business telling them how to get their car back calmly helps. "Your 2017 Honda Civic is at our lot at 1200 Industrial Rd. We release vehicles Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m." reads very differently from "VEHICLE IMPOUNDED. FEES APPLY."

Firm and clear is fine. Hostile is not useful.

Read your messages out loud before you turn them on. If anything sounds like a threat or a lecture, cut it. You will still collect the same amount. You will just spend less time listening to people repeat their anger to your staff.

Let Them Pay Before They Come

The customer app lets customers see their invoices and pay online. Mention it in the pickup message. An owner who has already paid shows up ready to verify identity, sign and drive away. That shortens your release window and removes the most stressful part of the visit for both sides.

Keep the Thread on the Record

When messages go through the software instead of someone's personal phone, they stay with the customer. If there is a dispute later about what the customer was told and when, you have it. If a different person handles the release, they can see what was already said.

Good communication will not make anyone happy about being towed, but it makes them a lot easier to deal with. See how texting fits into storage on the Impound & Storage Software page. Next: two-way texting with vehicle owners.