TowingBossPro Blog — Tow Dispatch

Two-Way Texting in Tow Dispatch: Locations, Photos and Updates Without Phone Tag

Phone calls are the most expensive minutes in a tow office. While the dispatcher is on the line with one customer explaining that the truck is still about forty minutes out, two new calls are going to voicemail. Some of those callers will hang up and call the next tow company on the list.

A lot of what gets said on those calls does not need a voice at all. It needs a quick question and a quick answer, which is what two-way texting is for.

Where Texting Beats the Phone

The automatic texts in Automatic Texts for Tow Customers: On-the-Way, Arrival and Live Driver Map cover the moments every call has in common: on the way and arrival. Two-way texting covers the rest. In TowingBossPro the dispatcher can text a customer from their record, and the customer's reply lands on that same record where anyone in the office can see it.

Texting wins any time the information is short, can be written down and does not need a back-and-forth conversation in real time. Locations, drop-off addresses, gate codes, photos, wait-time updates and payment links all fit that description.

Getting a Better Location

The most valuable text in towing is a better location. A caller who says "I'm on the highway near the outlet mall" can be asked to text the nearest exit, mile marker or a screenshot of where they are on their map app. That turns a fuzzy pin on the Waiting List into an exact one.

Update the pickup address on the call once you have the better location. The driver app updates with it, so the driver navigates to the right spot with one tap instead of calling the customer from the road.

A photo from the customer can do even more. A picture of the car sitting in a ditch tells the dispatcher whether this is a quick winch-out or a real recovery. A picture of a parking garage entrance tells the driver whether clearance is going to be a problem before the truck arrives.

Confirming the Drop-Off and the Details

When a customer does not know where the car is going yet, a text keeps the call moving. "Text us the shop name when you hear back from your insurance" lets the driver head to pickup while the customer figures it out. When the reply comes, add it as the drop-off on the call.

The same goes for vehicle details. A customer can text a photo of the registration with the plate and VIN, which is faster and more accurate than reading the VIN over the phone.

Honest Updates When Things Run Late

A short text saying "Sorry, the truck got held at an accident scene, now about 30 more minutes" does more for a customer than nothing at all. It costs the dispatcher fifteen seconds. It saves a phone call, and often saves the job from going to a competitor.

Make it a habit: if a call is going to be later than you said, text first. Customers forgive delays far more easily than silence.

Set a simple standard for these updates: say what happened, give a new window, and say sorry once. Customers do not need an essay. They need to know someone is still working on their call.

Commercial Accounts by Text

Body shops, dealers, property managers and other commercial accounts often prefer text to calls. They are busy too. A text that says the unit is picked up, plus a photo from the driver app, keeps them informed without a call. Because every text lands on the record, the office can see the whole history of what was said if a question comes up later.

Keep one number for the business so accounts are not texting drivers' personal phones. That keeps the conversation in the system.

Keeping It Professional

Texts from the business should read like the business. Keep them short, clear and polite. Avoid slang and long paragraphs. Do not argue by text. If a conversation turns into a dispute, pick up the phone. Two-way texting is a tool for saving time, not a replacement for a hard conversation.

Also remember that every reply is part of the customer record. Write as though the owner, the customer and anyone else might read it later, because they might. The next guide looks at the driver's side of dispatch: what the driver app shows on every call.

For how two-way texting fits with automatic texts and the dispatch board, see the tow dispatch software overview.