Rebirth of the Rated Tower by Steve Calitri
J
ust looking at some of the news we couldn’t fit into this issue, it’s no wonder that the authorities and the public harbor a general lack of trust for the towing trade. In Ventura, California, eight towers have been indicted by the city’s Criminal Grand Jury on charges of predatory towing along with extortion, carjacking, assault with a deadly weapon and the unlawful taking of vehicles. While shenanigans related to private lot towing are regularly reported in the news, Ventura’s harsh response should run up a flag for all towing professionals, the bad apples and the good guys. Down under, half way around the world, it’s no better. News reports are detailing that tow truck drivers have been bashed at gunpoint in an apparent turf war in Brisbane, Australia over lucrative towing contracts. Well, veteran towers know they don’t have to travel that far to find violence among towers fighting to make a living. In this industry and in the public’s eye, towers not only have to earn their respect, they have to battle for their right to charge a profitable rate for the services they provide. It’s so with every sector of the towing business. What has been clear over the years is that professionalism and its manifestations have been the driving force behind this industry’s ability to shape its own course, whether it concerns dealing with a town, the police, the state legislature, the state DOT or any national entity. Towers and towing organizations that wear the badge of professionalism get the respect they deserve and the people in authority willing to work with them. The truly professional tow boss realizes it’s not all that simple to stand apart
from the rest, when the rest are all tooting their own horns and operating with cutthroat business practices in what is very much still a cowboy industry. That’s why, when in 1998, American Towman and the National Towing Alliance created a third party, the American Towman Standards Authority, to rate tow businesses on their business practices, that the most professional tow bosses saw a game changer in the making. Indeed, those companies that got rated by ATSA that first year, over a hundred of them, saw an immediate benefit. Some reported they were able to lower their insurance premiums because of their rating. Others told of how their rating through ATSA won them commercial accounts and city contracts. Many told us how the rating program helped them to attain new standards of operating procedures, that previously had only been an occasional notion. Seeing the professional standards in black and white before them, helped them to set goals to take their towing operation to another level of professionalism. Back in 1998, the American Towman Standards Authority and its rating program were well received. It was us who dropped the ball through a change of leadership. Since that time, the program sat on the shelf and towers who had been rated regularly asked about reviving it. The ATSA rating program is a winner because it’s a blueprint for all towers to use in their efforts to run a successful towing business. It’s a winner because it helps professional towing businesses by lending them a credible, third party’s voice to toot their horns for them. It’s why we’re bringing the program back. The industry needs it.
***************************************************** Publisher Dennie Ortiz-Sorrenti Editor-In-Chief Steve Calitri Operations Editors Terry Abejuela Randall Resch Chassis Editor David Kolman Safety Editor Bill Simmons Contributing Editors Frank Sanchez Jim “Buck” Sorrenti Editorial Board Tommy Anderson, Dallas, Texas Roy Carlson; St. Paul, Minn. Gary Coe; Portland, Ore. Frank Child; Cody, Wyo. Belinda Harris; Greensboro, N.C. Amado Llorens; Hialeah, Fla. Ron Mislan; Warren, N.J. Chuck Swider; Chicopee, Mass. ********************************************************** Art Director/Production Manager Ann Marie Nitti Graphic Manager William Burwell Advertising Sales Manager Dennie Ortiz-Sorrenti Senior Account Executive Ellen Rosengart VP of Accounts Norma Calitri VP of Communications Neila Kennedy Internet Developer Henri Calitri ***************************************************** American Towman Network, Inc. President Steven Calitri ***************************************************** Headquarters 7 West Street, Warwick NY 10990 800-732-3869 or 845-986-4546 Fax: 845-986-5181 ***************************************************** E-mail: Publisher: dsorrenti@towman.com Editor-In-Chief: scalitri@towman.com AT’S Digital Edition: itowman.com Weekly Industry News: towman.com Copyright ©2010 American Towman Magazine is published 12 times a year by American Towman Network, Inc. U.S. Subscription: $50–1 yr; $75–2 yrs • US $65 and $105 • International Editorial Policy: the act of mailing or delivering a letter or article to American Towman Magazine, shall constitute permission to publish that letter or article or any portion thereof. American Towman Magazine reserves the right to edit any and all material submitted.
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