TowingBossPro Blog — Roadside Assistance

One-Tap On-the-Way and Arrival Texts for Roadside Drivers

A driver on a roadside call has their hands full: navigating to an exit they half know, watching mirrors, thinking about what they are going to find. Asking them to stop and type a message to the customer is not realistic. That is why the customer updates in the driver app are one tap each, and why getting drivers to use them is worth a little effort.

Two Taps, Two Messages

The Live Driver Map: Why Stranded Customers Stop Calling Back covered what the customer sees on the live map. This is what the driver does to make it happen. In the TowingBossPro driver app, the driver sends an on-the-way text with one tap when they head toward the call, and an arrival text with one tap when they get there.

That is the whole job. No typing, no looking up the customer's number, no copying a link.

Timing matters. The on-the-way tap should happen when the driver actually starts toward the customer, not when they accept the call while finishing another job. If the text goes out too early, the customer starts watching the road thirty minutes before the truck is anywhere near them. Teach drivers to tap when the wheels start moving toward that call.

Why Drivers Should Not Use Their Own Phones

Before apps like this, drivers called or texted customers from their personal phones. That creates three problems. The driver's number is now out there, and some customers will call it at two in the morning six months later. The conversation is not saved anywhere the office can see. And when the driver leaves the company, the history leaves with them.

Texts sent from the driver app go out from the company system. The driver's number stays private, and the record stays with the call.

Building the Habit

The most common early problem is drivers forgetting to tap. A few ways to make it stick:

• Tell drivers why it matters to them: fewer customers calling the office means fewer calls from the office to the driver.
• Make the on-the-way tap part of starting the call, every time, before the truck moves.
• Make the arrival tap part of parking, before the driver steps out.
• In the first couple of weeks, have the dispatcher spot-check calls that went out without an on-the-way text and mention it.

After a week or two, it becomes muscle memory.

Make the payoff visible to the drivers. When a customer replies to the on-the-way text with a thank-you, or a complaint never happens because the customer knew what was going on, mention it. Drivers who see that the taps make their day easier keep doing them.

Start and Complete Tell the Office the Same Story

The driver app also has start and complete on each call. Those taps tell the office where every call stands without anyone picking up a phone. Combined with the on-the-way and arrival texts, the dispatcher can see which calls are being worked and which drivers are about to free up, which feeds straight into the next assignment decision.

Complete is also what tells the office the call is ready to invoice. A driver who forgets to complete a call is a driver whose call does not get billed on time.

What About Customers Who Do Not Want Texts?

Some do not. Commercial accounts in particular may not want a text every time one of their vehicles gets a jump. Customers can choose their alerts in the customer app, so the people who want updates get them and the ones who do not are left alone. The driver still taps, and the system handles who hears about it.

Make sure the number on the call can receive texts in the first place. A landline or an office number means the on-the-way text goes nowhere. At intake, confirm a mobile number for whoever is actually standing by the vehicle, which may not be the person who called.

Small Habit, Big Difference

It is easy to dismiss one-tap texts as a nice extra. On a roadside call, though, they do real work. They cut down callbacks, they make an arriving truck feel safe instead of suspicious at night, and they mark the call's progress for the office.

The next article covers the other direction: two-way texting for getting the real location and photos from the customer. To see the driver app alongside dispatch and payment, visit the roadside assistance software overview.