No luck, okay well I guess it's time to call a towing Company. Pull out your smart phone and search Tow Truck. Blamo, pages and pages of 'Towing Companies' appear in the search but which one do you chose? How much will it cost? How long do I have to wait?
As we work through our advice pages in the next few weeks we'll be able to answer some of these questions for you.
Firstly, since most of us like to glance at a website before calling someone, have a look. Key features you'll look for are photos, text and contact information. More specifically, if it is a reputable towing company they will have photos of tow trucks WITH THEIR LOGO on them. There are lots of 'stock' photos on the internet that can make a towing company look like they operate the newest equipment. Though newest isn't the most important it is important that they do have trucks that represent their services.
While skimming through the text look for key features about the services they provide, specifics to where they offer these services, and most importantly, Methods of Payment they accept. (We'll cover this in an other chapter).
A BIG indication that the company is 'legitimate' is that they have some affiliation with an Auto Club or other large company in the automotive industry. In Alberta, AMA seems to be the dominate Auto Club. If the towing company you are drawn to carries the AMA logo on their truck or their website this means they have been 'vetted' by AMA. This is a quick easy way of ensuring the towing company meets or exceeds the requirements of AMA, we'll cover these in another chapter.
Social Media is another key to showing the reputation or involvement in the community. Calling a 'single truck company' isn't a bad thing, but if you know nothing about them it can pose some risk.
Next Week, Give them a call, what do you say!?