TowingBossPro Blog — Roadside Assistance

Using the Waiting List and Live Map to Run Roadside Calls

A whiteboard works fine with three roadside calls. At nine, it is a mess of crossed-out addresses and arrows, and somebody is going to get forgotten. The waiting list exists so nothing gets lost between "we took the call" and "a driver is on it", and the map exists so the dispatcher can see the shape of the night at a glance.

Here is how to actually use it on a busy shift.

What the Waiting List Is

Once you have run through the questions in Roadside Call Intake: The Questions to Ask Before a Truck Rolls, the call needs somewhere to wait for a driver. In TowingBossPro that is the Waiting List: every incoming call that has not been assigned yet, plotted on a live map.

The difference between a list and a map is the difference between reading addresses and seeing geography. A list tells you there are four calls. A map tells you three of them are within a mile of each other on the east side and one is out on the county road by itself.

Reading the Map Like a Dispatcher

Look for clusters first. Three calls in the same part of town can often go to one driver in sequence. A lockout and a jump start a few blocks apart are a natural pair, because neither takes long.

Look for outliers next. The call twenty miles out is the one that will wreck somebody's route if you hand it to the wrong person. Decide early who takes it, and set the customer's expectations honestly.

Then look at the categories. A winch-out ties up a truck far longer than a lockout. A tire change on a highway shoulder needs the driver who is comfortable working there. The map tells you where. The call details tell you what.

Circle or Select, Then Assign

When you know who is going where, you can circle a group of calls on the map or select them, and assign them to a driver and truck in one step. Assigned calls leave the waiting list and land on the dispatch board under that truck, and in the driver app in route order.

This is the part that saves real time. Assigning one call at a time, clicking through screens, is how dispatchers fall behind on a cold morning. Grouping calls and assigning them together keeps the desk ahead of the phone.

Keep the List Honest

The waiting list only works if everything that should be on it is on it. That means every call goes into the software before it goes to a driver, even when the driver is standing right there in the yard. The moment a call gets handed off by text message or shouted across the lot, it disappears from the picture.

It also means clearing calls that cancel. A customer whose neighbor gave them a jump should come off the list right away, or a driver may make a trip for nothing. Put a note on why it canceled so the record still tells the story.

Duplicates are the other trap. A worried customer calls twice, or a family member calls on their behalf, and suddenly the same dead battery shows up as two calls on the map. Before saving a new call, check whether the customer or the location is already waiting. Customers and repeat locations make that check quick, and it keeps two drivers from racing to the same car.

When to Hold a Call and When to Send It

Not every call should be assigned the second it lands. Sometimes the right move is to hold a lockout for six minutes because the driver finishing a jump nearby will be free, rather than sending somebody from across town. The map makes those calls visible, and a held call is still sitting there on the waiting list, not forgotten in someone's head.

The rule of thumb: hold a call only when you can see the driver who will take it, and tell the customer what to expect. A held call with no plan is just a slow call.

Watch the age of every call on the list, too. A call that has been waiting longer than the time you promised the customer needs attention, even if it is not convenient for any driver. Either assign it, or send a quick two-way text with an honest new estimate. The map tells you where calls are; the clock tells you who is getting forgotten.

The Waiting List on a Surge Night

The first hard freeze of the year, a holiday weekend, a storm at rush hour: those are the nights the waiting list earns its keep. Calls stack up faster than drivers clear them. The map shows you where the pressure is, so you can move a driver to the hot area, or decide which calls get pushed out and tell those customers honestly.

The same tool also pays off when roadside calls are mixed in with tows. Next we cover how to choose which driver goes, but if you want the full picture of intake, dispatch and payment in one place, start at the TowingBossPro roadside assistance software page.