It’s Never Just About the Vehicle
This past weekend reminded me just how much we sometimes have the ability to make someone’s bad day a little better.
Saturday, I received a call from a previous customer who was panicked and stranded in San Tan Valley in 115-degree heat. Her car had stopped running in the parking lot of a pet store, and she had three large dogs and two cats with her. She was surrounded by people, yet no one had stepped up to help with even the simplest thing—getting water for her animals.
I didn’t have to think twice. I grabbed a gallon of water on my way out the door, jumped in my SUV, and headed toward her. It took me about 35 minutes to get there. I loaded her and all five of her animals into my vehicle and got everyone home safely while my partner followed behind in the tow truck with her car. Because it was her only vehicle, we took it directly to a service center she trusted so it would already be there when they opened Monday morning.
Was every bit of that technically required to tow her car? No. But she was scared, it was dangerously hot, she had five animals depending on her, and she had no easy way to get everyone home. She needed more than a tow truck. She needed someone to care.
That, to me, is the human side of towing. And it is what towing should be.
Most people think a towing call is about the vehicle—a flat tire, a dead battery, a lockout, an accident, a truck stuck in the sand, or a side-by-side buried in a wash. But after years in this industry, I have learned that there is always more happening around that vehicle.
There is a person behind the call. Sometimes there are children. Sometimes there are elderly passengers. Sometimes there are pets. Sometimes there is someone stranded alone, scared, overheated, hurt, embarrassed, or simply unsure what to do next.
As a woman in towing, that is one of the first things I notice. I see the vehicle, but I also look at the whole situation around it. Are they safe? Do they have water? Are they too close to traffic? Are there kids, pets, or passengers who need help? Do they have a ride? Do they understand what happens next?
Those details matter.
A Roadside Emergency Is Personal
To a tow company, a call may sound simple at first. Someone says their car will not start, they have a flat tire, they are stuck, or they need a tow. But to the person making that call, the situation can feel overwhelming.
A dead battery may mean someone is late to work or sitting in a hot parking lot with children. A flat tire may leave someone standing only a few feet from highway traffic. An accident can leave a driver shaken and confused about what happens next. An off-road recovery may involve someone who cannot even give us an exact address because there simply isn’t one.
Those situations require more than knowing how to operate a tow truck. They require someone who can stay calm, listen, understand what is really happening, and respond accordingly.
I do not see someone as just another tow on the schedule. I see a person having a bad day who needs someone capable, honest, prepared, and willing to help them through it.
What Women Bring to Towing
I have never believed women need to do this job exactly like men to belong in this industry. We can be strong and capable without changing who we are.
Towing absolutely requires physical ability, training, knowledge, good equipment, and experience. There are situations where you have to work hard, get dirty, solve problems quickly, and make decisions under pressure. But there is another side of this work that matters just as much.
Women often bring a strong sense of awareness, patience, communication, and attention to detail. We notice when someone is scared even if they are trying not to show it. We listen closely. We think about what the customer may need after the vehicle leaves. We understand that stress can make it difficult for someone to explain what happened or even know what questions they should be asking.
That does not make us less capable of doing the hard work. Compassion does not make us weak. Patience does not make us less professional. Taking a few extra minutes to care about the person standing beside the vehicle does not make us less tough.
Sometimes that is exactly what makes us good at what we do.
Communication Starts With the First Phone Call
For me, communication and transparency start before the tow truck ever moves.
When someone calls Shad Randall’s Towing & Recovery, I am listening for more than the year, make, and model of the vehicle. I need to understand the entire situation. Where are you? Are you somewhere safe? Are you on the highway or off-road? Is anyone hurt? Are there children, animals, or elderly passengers with you? Can the vehicle roll, steer, or brake? Is it stuck, damaged, lowered, locked, or sitting somewhere difficult to access? Once the vehicle is loaded, do you have a safe way to get where you need to go?
Those answers help us determine the right truck, equipment, and response for the call.
A flat tire in a driveway is very different from a flat tire on the shoulder of a busy highway. A dead battery in a garage is different from one in an Arizona parking lot in August. A vehicle sitting on pavement is very different from a truck buried axle-deep in desert sand.
I would much rather someone tell me exactly what happened, even if they think it sounds embarrassing, than arrive without something we need. There is no judgment. The more accurate the information is from the beginning, the better prepared we can be when we arrive.
I Will Not Leave Someone Without a Plan
When I arrive on a call, my focus is not only on getting the vehicle handled. I also need to know what is happening with the person standing next to it.
If I am towing away someone’s only transportation, I am not comfortable simply driving off while they are left standing on the side of the road or highway wondering what to do. Sometimes family is coming. Sometimes there is a rideshare on the way. Sometimes law enforcement has already helped make arrangements. Whatever the situation is, I want to know there is a safe plan.
The same is true after an accident. People are often overwhelmed and dealing with law enforcement, insurance, a damaged vehicle, medical concerns, work, children, and everything else all at once. They may not know what questions to ask or what happens after we tow the vehicle.
Where is the vehicle going? Who needs to be contacted next? Will insurance contact the tow company? Can they get their belongings? What does the body shop, repair facility, dealership, or storage yard need from them?
That is where experience and clear communication can make an already difficult situation a little easier.
Some of the most important details are the things people forget when they are stressed.
Before a vehicle leaves, I try to make sure customers have what they may need from it—their purse, house keys, garage door opener, medication, work bag, school backpack, phone charger, or anything else they may need before they see the vehicle again.
Those things may seem small while we are standing beside a disabled or damaged vehicle, but they do not feel small when someone realizes hours later that something important was left behind.
Animals matter too. Saturday was a perfect example. Those dogs and cats were not just along for the ride. They were part of her family, and they were sitting in dangerous heat. We had the ability to help, so we did.
Sometimes this job simply means looking at what needs to happen and figuring out a way to make it happen.
Communication does not end when the vehicle is unloaded.
If someone was involved in an accident and their vehicle is in our storage yard, I believe in keeping communication open. If we have not heard from their insurance company, I want the customer to know. I do not want someone sitting at home assuming everything is being handled when no one has actually contacted us.
That is how delays happen. It is how important information gets missed, and it is how customers can suddenly find themselves dealing with a situation they did not realize was developing.
If there is a reason I am concerned about whether someone made it home safely after a tow, I check on them. If an accident customer believes insurance is handling things and I have not heard from the insurance company, I follow up.
It does not take much to make a phone call or send a message, but that communication can make a big difference. To me, transparency is part of taking care of people. Customers deserve to know what is happening with their vehicle, what we need from them, and what comes next.
The Part of Towing I Never Want to Lose
Tow trucks matter. Training matters. Winch lines, snatch blocks, J-hooks, chains, dollies, recovery equipment, and knowing how to use all of it safely matter.
But none of those things mean very much if we forget who we are using them for.
There is a person waiting for us. Maybe it is a mom trying to keep her kids calm, a driver standing beside a wrecked car, someone embarrassed because they got stuck, or a worker who has had a long day and just wants to get home.
Or maybe it is a woman standing in a parking lot with three dogs and two cats, trying to figure out how she is going to get everyone out of 115-degree heat.
That is the part of this business I never want to become numb to.
I am proud to be a woman in towing because I know there is room in this industry for strength and compassion at the same time. We can operate the equipment, handle difficult recoveries, make hard decisions, and still care deeply about the person standing beside us while we do it.
Behind every tow, every recovery, every accident, and every roadside call is a human being having a day they probably did not plan for.
How we treat them in that moment matters. And it always will to me.
Shad Randall’s Towing & Recovery
Shad Randall’s Towing & Recovery provides light-duty and medium-duty towing, roadside assistance, accident recovery, off-road recovery, winch-out services, vehicle and equipment transport, and RV and 5th Wheel transport throughout Florence, Coolidge, Casa Grande, Gold Canyon, Apache Junction, San Tan Valley, and surrounding communities throughout Arizona.
📞 480-250-9327
🌐 www.randallstowingandrecovery.com
