Access to Emergency and Trauma Care Is Critical to the Survivability of Crashes

Good customer service is the life blood of a business. Good customer service is about bringing customers back and about sending them away happy. In the towing business, a towing driver who gives good service to the customer will make the difference. The driver's attitude, appearance, and demeanor will affect customer attitudes.

What skills are needed?

– Friendliness: a feeling of liking for another person and enjoyment of their company

– Helpfulness: a person providing helpful assistance

– Effective use of body language: it is the way to establish a good response in people and to situations that we have learned through good communication practices. It is manifested through our behavior. Our body language is reflected by our mental attitude.

– Good product knowledge: a towed operator understands the technical skills of a safe towing job with well prepared equipment for any situation

– Listening skills: a towed operator listens to a customer's needs and makes a decision based on the best knowledge and safety that is required.

– Courtesy: it is the best response to a customer at all times. Courtesy is treating a customer with respect and consideration.

– Fairness: a tower treats a customer with fairness and equality.

How to handle the customer dissatisfaction?

A valuable tower operator understands what a customer needs and responds to those needs. Doing the job right the first time will prevent further errors, and more time costs to correct the sloppy work. However, customer complaints are unavoidable in some situations. This suggestion helps to alleviate customer dissatisfaction by using the following steps:

• review the principle causes and reasons for customer complaints within the towing situation

• recognizing and overcome objections

• communication to understand and meet the needs of a customer while maintaining a safe towing situation

• building customer confidence

• understand a customers' behavior when a complaint arises – the cycle of anger

• a tower recognizes that attitude can cause a customer to be angry, and that attitude could influence and communicate a sense of trust

• positive mind set is the winning key

• effective communication skills with listening, assertive techniques, and a voice with empathy and understanding will reduce tensions

There are several areas of concern which may or will cause a tower to face safety issues. At the beginning of this section, we would want you to follow the must do list faithfully.

Here is the must do list for all towers:

▹ Treat a customer with respect and courtesy at all times.

▹ Stay in a safety zone, such as not standing in between the tow truck and the vehicle to be towed and oncoming traffic.

▹ Maintain good body mechanics to avoid a back injury.

▹ Do not ever allow your client to get under the vehicle.

▹ Try not to work under the lifted truck. If you must do so, block and chock the wheels, front and back.

▹ The steering wheel must be in a locked position

▹ Always include at least two forms of restraint such as primary, secondary, etc. for the vehicle being towed

▹ Do not use cable clamps

▹ Do not smoke during the act of towing to avoid fuel combustion

▹ Do not leave your keys in the ignition. Keep your keys with you at all times

▹ Inspect your equipment daily and after each tow

Mind your personal safety first. Here is a partial list of personal safety issues that may have an impact on an operator in the towing business, which consist of hygiene and diet, alcohol and elicit drug abuse, blood born pathogen and extreme weather condition.

Personal hygiene and diet: personal hygiene is the basic concept of cleaning, grooming and caring for our bodies. While it is an important part of our daily life at home, personal hygiene is critical for worker health and safety in the workplace. Workers who pay attention to personal hygiene can prevent the spread of germs and disease, reduce their exposures to chemicals and contaminants, and avoid developing skin allergies, skin conditions, and chemical sensitivities. A good night's sleep and a healthy balanced diet will help you to feel right. Be sure to eat correctly, and not rely on coffee or other caffeinated drinks. If a driver is tired or exhausted, reaction times will be slowed and judgment will be impaired. All drugs, including alcohol, factor into driver safety issues with consequences such as, slowed reaction times, impaired vision, and aggressive behavior, risk taking, lost concentration and understanding, impaired coordination, and reflexes. Maintaining your fitness for the job will require stretching, bending, lifting, and climbing. Do not strain, twist or over reach. Try to avoid difficult and awkward positions as much as possible. To avoid fall, use the steps and handles getting in and out of the truck. Overall, a well balanced physical and mental person will help to reduce the risks for accidents in the towing business.

Staying alert and fit to drive are a must. Driving a vehicle for long hours is tiring. Here are some suggestions:

▹ get enough sleep

▹ maintain a healthy diet

▹ schedule your trip safely

▹ avoid medication that could cause drowsiness.

▹ no alcohol within four hours of, or while driving

▹ remember that drug use impairs a number of mental faculties;

▹ reflexes

▹ vision is less attentive to surroundings

▹ attention

▹ behavior

▹ coordination and concentration