TowingBossPro Blog — Accounts & Customers

Customer Texts That Calm a Stranded Driver: On-the-Way and Arrival Alerts

Ask any dispatcher what the most common call of the day is, and many will say: "where is my truck?" A stranded customer has nothing to do but wait and worry, and every minute without news feels like ten. Each of those calls ties up your dispatcher when they could be booking the next job.

Vehicle Details on Every Call: Year, Make, Model, Plate and VIN for Tow Customers covered getting the vehicle right. This article is about getting the customer through the wait.

Why Texts Beat Phone Calls

A text can be read on the side of the road without having to hear over traffic. It sits on the phone so the customer can look at it again. It does not require your dispatcher to pick up the phone. And it can go to the right person every time: the stranded driver, the shop contact, the fleet manager.

In TowingBossPro, the driver app sends on-the-way and arrival texts. The driver taps once when they leave and once when they arrive; the customer gets the message without anyone in the office lifting a finger.

The On-the-Way Text

The on-the-way text tells the customer that a real truck is actually heading to them. That alone stops most "is anyone coming?" calls. It is also the moment to remind them of anything that helps the driver: stay safely off the road, have keys ready, be near the vehicle.

Keep the message short. Customers read it standing on a shoulder with traffic going by. Your company name, that the truck is on the way and one useful instruction is plenty. Long messages get skimmed and the important part gets missed.

Pair it with the customer app's live map of the driver on the way, and the customer can watch the truck approach instead of guessing.

The Arrival Text

The arrival text matters more than it seems. On a highway, in a large parking lot or at night, the customer may not see the truck pull up. The arrival text tells them to look for it. For account drop-offs — a body shop, a dealer — the arrival text tells the contact the vehicle is there.

At night, the arrival text is also a safety tool. A customer waiting alone in a dark lot can stay in a locked car until the text arrives, then look for the truck, rather than standing outside wondering whether the vehicle that just pulled in is yours.

Arrival texts also give you a time record. If a customer later says the driver was late, the record shows when they actually got there.

Who Should Get the Texts

On a retail call, the texts go to the stranded driver. On account work it can be more complicated. A fleet call might need to reach the fleet driver on scene. A dealer call for a service customer might go to the vehicle owner. A body shop drop-off might go to the shop contact.

Put the right phone number on each call. Customers can also choose which alerts they receive, so an account contact who does not want a text for every movement can turn some off.

• Retail call: the stranded driver's mobile
• Fleet call: the fleet driver on scene
• Dealer service call: the vehicle owner, with the dealer contact as needed
• Body shop drop-off: the shop contact who receives vehicles

Replies Come Back to the Call

Customers reply to texts. "I moved to the gas station." "The car is in the back of the lot." "Can you bring it to my house instead?" With two-way texting, replies land in TowingBossPro next to the call, where the dispatcher can see them and pass them to the driver.

It also protects your drivers. They do not need to give customers their personal number, and customers do not end up texting a driver at midnight weeks after the job.

That keeps the conversation off personal phones and on the record, which matters when a question comes up later.

Texts Are Part of the Service

Customers rarely remember the details of a tow, but they remember how it felt. A text saying the truck is on the way, a map they can watch and a text when it arrives turn a stressful wait into a manageable one. That feeling is what gets you a good review, a repeat call or a referral.

Measure the difference. Count the where-is-my-truck calls your dispatchers take in a typical week before you start sending texts, then count again a month later. Most companies find the number drops noticeably, and dispatchers get that time back for the calls that bring in money.

On-the-way and arrival texts are a key part of towing account management software because they keep every customer, retail or account, informed without extra work. Next, we look at what happens when customers text back: two-way texting.