With the ever changing technology in today’s world many things are more convenient to do from your mobile phone. Uber-like mobile apps can service customers quickly, because they have an abundance of drivers; the towing industry has a limited amount of providers which can lead to long wait times.
When your car is broken down on the side of the road and you need assistance, you want one-to-one, human interaction with someone who can assure you that help is on the way. Would you feel comfortable at 2 AM, waiting and wondering if the app used to request help is actually working? Most people want the reassurance of a live voice on the other end when they are in a tense and uneasy situation. Calling a roadside assistance customer service representative is the closest thing to a 911 call when your customer is stranded on the side of the road.
Mobile apps for roadside assistance have popped up in the marketplace, and many are not associated with traditional distribution channels, service provider organizations, or call center networks which may lead to poor service and customer dissatisfaction. Certain roadside assistance mobile apps may be on the periphery of the value chain leading to substantial customer service failures.
Without consistent dispatch volume, new roadside assistance mobile apps may have a limited network. Consumers are matched with “available” providers on a one-off basis. In this type of environment, some of these mobile apps might work well in big cities, but not in small and rural towns. These start up mobile apps don’t have priority with tow providers and can have a customer waiting for long periods of time on the side of the road. Not having economies of scale will also make services more expensive for your customer.
Motor club or embedded dispatch benefits rates are low, because they’ve been pre-negotiated based on volume and history. The service provider knows that the customer is entitled to service with no outlay of payment. What will the customer get when the mobile-app tow truck arrives? The customer will be at his mercy paying higher rates and settling payment out-of-pocket.
A roadside provider network with high volume will have priority and much lower rates for your customers and dealers. Our Network completed ten million dispatches last year. The positive experience of a member or contract holder trumps any small benefit gained by using a mobile roadside assistance app. In an hour of need, a kind voice beats a page loading indicator every time. If customer satisfaction and lower rates for your customers are what your business wants, then roadside assistance apps aren’t a good replacement for an experienced roadside provider.