Tow Manager

tow Manager Dealing With Angry Motorists

Violent Customer Ahead

By Randall C. Resch

If you’re active on industry forums, violence against towers is one topic that’s been in the industry’s forefront for a longtime. Although current events suggest a new norm of social aggression, there’s evidence that tow company personnel may have culpability during tow related incidents gone awry. In some cases, vehicle owner’s become immediately violent only Operations Editor Randall C. Resch is a retired California to initiate attacks against tow personnel. police officer and veteran tow And, once the police intervened, it was business owner, manager, consultant and trainer. He later determined that actions by tow writes for TowIndustryWeek. company personnel may have added to the com and American Towman, is a member of the Internaescalation. tional Towing & Recovery Fact: Violence is a daily occurrence that Hall of Fame and recipient happens without notice. Drugs, alcohol, of the Dave Jones Leadership Award. Email Randy at rre- family issues, divorce, loss of job, politics, schran@gmail.com. or a host of other factors may push someone beyond the proverbial edge. Combine that with life’s realities caused by Coronavirus; the communities we serve are literally ticking time-bombs. In, Maryland, October 2019, a customer, irate over his car being impounded, went to the tow yard to get his vehicle back. A violent altercation ensued where a tow company’s employee was choked to death over a money dispute. Three weeks later, a Texas operator, gave a ride to a customer where an alleged argument Author’s Note: ensued and became uncontrollably violent.

This narrative is not an In a (suggested) safety move, the tower attempt to practice mental health, but intended as a basis of training photographed the combative individual and in-return was shot dead by him. Could only for tow company that simple act of taking ones photo have personnel dealing with pushed an already psychotic personality angered customers and vehicle owners. over his edge?

THE UNEXPECTED HAPPENS

As an industry professional, how much, “crap”, do you take when faced with aggressive personalities or potentially violent customers? Should you engage in-return, leave your customer to their own accord, or, do you respond in a level headed, non-violent manner? It’s said that the, “fight or flight syndrome”, is someone’s sympathetic nervous system at work, but, sometimes there just ain’t time to evaluate how your system’s gonna’ respond; especially when you’re staring down a psycho with a gun.

I think you’d agree that we towers tend to be aggressive, “Type-A personalities”. We’re men and women of action, not trained negotiators. However, the nature of the industry immerses us in dangerous and potentially deadly scenarios. How you react to those, “immediate and in-yer’face”, contacts could be the difference in being injured or killed, or, to the opposite, improved to deflate a level of escalation.

The industry doesn’t have, nor does it promote, psychology courses for tow professionals, noting, I’m not a mental health professional. I believe towers should be trained in some basis of how-to calmly handle and respond to upset customers and motorists. If you’ve got a short fuse, it might be challenging for you to avoid a violent interaction. This narrative isn’t about the dynamics of ANTIFA, or, “inciter mentalities”, but tow related situations known to go sideways. ◀

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

While it’s never possible to know a person’s situation, what their threshold for violence is, or, detect when they’re about to snap, here are several, easy to practice, techniques towers can follow in-keeping a potentially violent interaction from happening.

These points demand that tower’s remain calm and (hopefully) in-control, first, of their own emotions, and then (calmly) react to the agitated behavior. While not listed in order, consider these techniques as they relate to the situation at-hand: • Keep-Out of One’s Personal Space: People, including me, don’t like to be crowded. The words, “personal space”, typically refer to a physical distance between two people in social, family, or work environments. There are few tow-like circumstances in-which it’s necessary to stand too close to someone unless there’s a true emergency. People get creeped-out when another occupies their personal bubble. For our industry, personal space includes assisting someone into a tow truck’s cab by grasping one’s elbow; could that simple touch be unwanted and perceived as an assault? Towers are reminded to avoid another’s personal space. • Escape Routes: Like working dangerous highway environments; have an escape route when dealing with elevated tempers. Part of escape planning suggests not being backed into a corner, but if an attack happens, there’s nothing wrong with retreating unless you’re forced to defend yourself. Body Language: When someone goes into fight-mode, they typically display actions or behaviors suggesting battle is forthcoming. An individual with darting eyes and flexing fists is a solid indicator that their mind is over-loading and they’re grasping as to what their next step might be. Hands and Eyes: Another sign to an unannounced fight, the individual whose arms and hands are passively relaxed and down at their sides doesn’t openly suggest a fight is coming. But, when hand’s twitch, fists flex and eyes dart, a fight is looming where an immediate physical attack gets launched. Remain Calm: Perhaps the hardest behavior for towers to learn is an ability to remain calm when faced with aggressive personalities. In most situations, an agitated customer or owner isn’t upset or angered at you personally, but for the activity they’re forced to deal with. Don’t take what they say personally. Remain calm. I’ve heard some tower’s say, “I lower my voice and kill them with kindness.” I think that’s a great approach to downplaying the behaviors of an aggressive personality. Don’t Go Equally Aggressive: Because it takes, “two ta’ tango”, a response of, “stair stepping”, occurs when parties attempt to out-thinking, out-insult, or out-shout the other. When altercations get increasingly louder (as the exchange goes back and forth) I personally don’t engage in verbal judo with someone by urging them to fight. Don’t Threaten or Tease: The most negative of all responses is to openly agitate an individual by teasing, taunting, poking snide comments, or making threats. Fact: “When poking junkyard dogs with a stick … they’ll bite back.” Treat with Respect: Even if someone is a screaming, inyour-face jerk, the moment you respond to them without anger or emotion, there’s a chance you could break through their tough exterior. While I may not like or agree with how they’re treating me, I’ll try to determine their root problem at the same time attempt to deflat their anger. If you’re a Type-A personality, this response will be the hardest for you.

WHAT’D YOU SAY?

There’s an old Chinese proverb claiming, “A loose tongue may cause a lot of trouble.” In some cases, interactions between two people is just that; saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. Much of being in-control is keeping words of aggression at bay. In one, 2019, operator shooting, an intoxicated vehicle owner climbed onto a flatbed carrier’s deck possibly to retrieve personal items.

While we know that customers shouldn’t be allowed on a carrier’s deck (at any time) an aggressive tower interaction could initiate violence, i.e., a tower’s verbal response could be the difference between compliance versus violence. For example, a tower that says, “Dude, what the F#+&^ck are ya’ doin’ … git offa’ there”, is far more confrontational than, “Sir, come on down and we’ll get your belongings when the car’s unloaded.”

While one response is ◀

overly aggressive, the other is nonthreatening and easier to accept. When incidents like these present themselves, emotion sometime gets in the way and what you really wanted to say isn’t necessarily what comes out.

For the customer, especially intoxicated ones, an aggressive demand could be one that sets the customer into violent rage. It’s important to remember that a customer (who climbs onto the deck) doesn’t likely know about industry rules nor do they care. They have their own intentions that are important to them in the moment.

LIFE-SAVING RESPONSE

The industry is full of stories where tow operators were killed during active repossessions and private property impounds. Last year, a tower was in-process of an active PPI (still on property) in a strip mall. A cellphone recording showed a clearly angered owner wielding a ball-peen hammer, then smashing the tow truck’s window. The video is an example of the tow operator not responding to the owner’s request, yet, perhaps was violating the state’s vehicle code law regarding vehicle release. Could that, “escalation of violence”, have been immediately reduced by the tower simply releasing the vehicle before temper’s turned violent? On the other hand, what if the tow operator was carrying a sidearm when the window was smashed? Could that scenario have turned into a preventable shooting? When vehicles are in-process of repo or impound, a motorist’s right to free movement is denied. Although the process of either may be 100-percent legal and justified, the vehicle’s owner doesn’t see or care about legality; they perceive you taking their vehicle against their will.

Most states have laws protecting tow operators and vehicle owners as it regards towed vehicles from residences and private properties. FACT: Towers are in-business for profit. When an operator is confronted by an openly aggressive owner demanding their vehicle, the concept of, “calm heads prevail”, can’t ring any more true than that moment.

As the tower facing an aggressive owner or customer, what safety actions do you take? If a group were to surround you or your truck, what precautions do you initiate to keep that situation from going high-order? We’ve heard the, “Just shoot em’ in the face”, mentality, but, a loaded gun does no good if it’s under the wrecker’s seat while one’s being stuffed in your face.

HEED THE MESSAGE

So, you’re on-scene, your customer starts getting heated, what do you do? What techniques do you employ to try and lessen an aggressive personality? With luck, delicate customer interactions are relatively easy to manage if you understand its significance.

This narrative focuses on de-escalation of violent confrontations and subsequent arguments. In all reality, there are no danger-signs to readily alert you that an attack is near. Are there better ways to descalation?

The “Flight or Fight” syndrome is about choice. Going toe-to-toe in today’s overly-sensitive, yet violent society, isn’t the best action to take when other less-violent ways can reach amicable and peaceful solutions? Don’t become an industry statistic. There’s a subtle “David and Goliath” message here and I’m hoping you’ll find it. I’m not so macho that I don’t realize that a person of smaller, physical stature (to me) is cowardly capable of applying only four-pounds of finger-pull necessary to shoot me dead.

There’s a simple reality that things are likely to get a whole lot worse before they get better. Are we looking at the new norm? Perhaps. Accordingly, each of you will have tough decisions when aggression finds you.