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The Tow Files: Halloweenies

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  • The Tow Files: Halloweenies

    Crabburger To-Go

    Finally, a new complaint at the closed-down burger place. I was getting tired of the "There were no signs!!!!" people.

    This one was a particularly grouchy old lady who called looking for her car, and spent the first five minutes of the phonecall arguing with us over the fact that we couldn't be sure we had her car.

    See, even though she has a red Honda Accord...

    *organ chord*

    And she admits to parking it at the ol' burger joint...

    *organ chord*

    And it's not there anymore...

    *organ chord*

    And, we have a red Honda Accord, the only red one we have at the moment, that came from that exact same lot during the time frame she admits to being somewhere else.....

    *LOUD ORGAN CHORD!!!*


    Well, just how did we know that car was HER car and not another one entirely?

    "How do you KNOW that's mine?!" she asked, several times, before we just had to concede that we don't know, we're just 99.99999% certain in light of the available evidence that it's hers. Call it a hunch.

    Really lady, people have been sent to the gas chamber on more-shaky evidence than this....

    Tell you what, you think we're wrong? That we don't know our butts from a hole in the ground? Why don't you come down here and see if your key will start it? If it doesn't, THEN you can have a beef with us, as it is, you seem to be Jonesin' so hard for an argument that you drew a line in the sand at the very first point where we could have a divergence of fact on this matter. Namely, if we even had the car.......

    Turns out that was just the opening act, when she came in in person the Set List had moved on from "no signs" and "are you sure it's my car" to the real chart-topper, "Your Signs are Confusing!"

    Yep, she tried to argue that she had in fact SEEN the signs after all, but, was unsure what they really meant, because they aren't clear enough! So it was totally unfair/unethical/unbelievable/unobtanium to tow her!

    Now, I'll let you be the judge here, but reproduced below, verbatim, is what those "confusing" signs say:

    PRIVATE PARKING
    Unauthorized vehicles will be towed
    at owners expense
    24 hours a day
    7 days a week
    Friendly Neighborhood Towing
    XXX-XXXX

    Got that?

    We asked her, in vain, to explain to us just what was confusing and/or wrong about the wording on the sign, but she wouldn't elaborate. Whatever the mistake was, I guess she felt It should be self-evident to anyone who doesn't have lard-for-brains. She never did say exactly what was wrong, only declaring loudly that she taught literature classes, and those signs were WORDED WRONG!

    Somehow.........

    Oh, wait, I know!

    It was the lack of citations wasn't it?



    How Do I Starts Car?

    Guy comes around to get his car out of the impound. He proceedes to get in, jiggle with the ignition a bit, and then get back out.

    Guy- Hey! My car won't start!

    Me -Battery dead?

    Guy -NO! I turn my key and nothing happens, it won't move in the ignition!

    Me -You're just up against the safety lock on the steering wheel, turn the key while pulling down on the wheel with your other hand it and it will start

    (Common problem that I'm sure you've all had happen to you once in your life, a frightening number of people can't figure out what to do when this happens and call us out to tow them to the dealer, where their lack of problem-solving skills gets you the privilege of paying for a billable-hour's worth of ASE technician time or burning one of your three free roadside services for the year.)

    Well, he proceeded to ADJUST THE TILT OF THE STEERING WHEEL up and down, (not at all what I told him to do ) and then tries to start it again. Surprising perhaps nobody except himself, it fails to improve the situation.

    Guy- It's still not starting! You must've done something to it!

    Me - No I didn't, Sir

    Guy - It worked earlier today!

    Me - Well, I don't know what to tell you Sir, you just have to turn it harder and eventually the ignition will *pop* itself unstuck

    Guy - You broke it when you started it!

    Me - Uh, I didn't start that car and didn't touch the inside of it at all, that would be illegal if I did. We can't enter illegally towed cars, we have no reason to anyway.

    Guy - Then how'd you get it over here?

    Me - Huh?

    Guy - If you weren't in it, then how did you back it out of the space it was in?!

    Me - Uh, I didn't, I just took it as-is.

    He kinda scowled a mighty frown at me, perhaps he thought I was telling a bad joke? I don't think he really go the "tow" part of being towed.

    Fortunately for me, his next manhandling of the ignition and wheel must've worked because the car happily started right up and he puttered off to meet other people and drain their will to live instead.




    Twitch vs. Occupational Advice


    So, Twitch was back on the job this weekend, and ended up being told by one of his victims who caught him about to abscond with her VW that he needed to find a different job. Her reasoning being that only ignorant illiterate hicks drive tow trucks and unless Twitch wants everyone to think he's some dumb, ignorant illiterate hick, he better find a "real career" to apply himself to.

    Twitch happily told her not to worry, that towing people for illegal parking wasn't his full-time job, his "real" job was a state-licensed financial repossession agent.

    "What's that mean?" the lady asked disdainfully

    "It means I hope you're current with your payments on this car, or you'll be seein' me again" Twitch said

    She didn't like that, not that he particularly cared.



    Notable Notes

    Another car with a note in it, this one said:

    "DO NOT PULL THIS CAR!"

    Uh.... okay..... fine........ how about's we tow it instead?

    What? WHAT?! I LISTENED TO THE NOTE for once! You had no reason to be angry with me!



    Another car, another note:

    "Hey! Happy Halloween Mr. Tow Truck guy! I don't have a permit for here, but please please PLEASE don't tow me! I had a few too many to drink with my friends and don't want to have to drive drunk! Driving drunk is a very bad idea! So we're playing it safe! We're doing the responsible thing! We'll be back to move it in the morning, in the meantime, have a great evening!"

    Darn, that kid don't know when to shut up! He must've been vaccinated as a baby with a record needle. That wasn't a note, that was a doctoral thesis.... took longer to read the darn thing that it did to load up the car....
    - They say nothing good happens at 2AM, they're right, I happen at 2AM.

  • #2
    Doesn't anyone realize that the "please don't tow me!" notes mean nothing?

    If anything, it's more like, look, a car with a note on it!

    I mean, there's always a chance it can be a girl with a stalker, but in your case, it's almost always someone thinking it keeps them from being towed.
    You really need to see a neurologist. - Wagegoth

    Comment


    • #3
      I kind-of feel bad for that kid. Drunk Driving is bad. BUT....

      He parked there at the start of the evening, I suspect he should not have parked there then.

      Also, hurray, more Twitch.
      I might be crazy, but I'm not Insane.

      What? You don't play with flamethrowers on the weekends? You are strange.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re the "how do I starts car" guy, I've had this happen to me a couple of times. In one case, I was near home, so I parked my car, walked home, contacted my dad to find out what was wrong, walked back over and somehow managed to start the car without breaking it.
        The best professors are mad scientists! -Zoom

        Now queen of USSR-Land...

        Comment


        • #5
          To a VERY limited extent I can see the point-of-view of the guy who had been drinking and wanted to play it safe, here in NZ they have been plugging the hell out of "If you drink and don't drive, you're a bloody legend" ads, but they neglect to mention how to avoid towing companies in such situations, often you're in a lose-lose-lose situation - depending on how far you are from your home you end up having to fork out around $60 for a taxi, or you leave your car behind and risk it getting towed (again $60+), or you take your car, putting your own/other peoples lives at risk and/or getting yourself pulled over by police officers for DWI violations (again $60+ as well as potentially losing your license, or worse, your LIFE.)

          Personally I like the whole dial-a-driver thing that popped up out of the woodwork a while back - you phone up the company, they drop off a driver who will drive you/the car home from point A, with the other car following so that they can pick up the driver at point B.

          Then again I rarely drink, so I don't have to worry about those kinds of problems >_>
          Last edited by Kagato; 11-04-2013, 12:24 PM.
          Violets are blue,
          Roses are red,
          I bequeath to thee...
          A boot to the head >_>

          Comment


          • #6
            "You just gotta have the right touch. Nobody can start this car but me."
            To right the countless wrongs of our days... We shine this light of true redemption, that this place may become as paradise...Oh, what a wonderful world such would be...

            Comment


            • #7
              Quoth Kagato View Post
              Personally I like the whole dial-a-driver thing that popped up out of the woodwork a while back - you phone up the company, they drop off a driver who will drive you/the car home from point A, with the other car following so that they can pick up the driver at point B.
              Your dial a driver system has been in effect in our province for quite a few years during the Holiday season. I've used it and it works well, as long as there are enough volunteers to make it work. The fun part of it, it started as a school project in 1984 and has sprouted a lot of other groups all over the place.
              Last edited by Dave1982; 11-04-2013, 05:54 PM. Reason: there was no need to quote the ENTIRE post. We JUST read it!
              It's not the years in you life that count, it's the life in your years! - Quote from the office coffee cup.

              Comment


              • #8
                RE: Drunk Guy

                Last year AAA was advertising a service on New Years Eve in this area where you could call them and they'd send out a tow truck that would get you and your car home. For free. I think that's an awesome idea. I didn't use it, but I'm comfortable leaving my car in the parking lot of the one bar I go to and retrieving it the next morning. New Year's in the one time I'll take a cab home (instead of getting a ride from a sober friend), because I live so far away from the bar that a cab fee would be horrible. AAA does the free cab thing every New Year's as well. I hope they offer the tow/cab thing again this year.
                At the conclusion of an Irish wedding, the priest said "Everybody please hug the person who has made your life worth living. The bartender was nearly crushed to death.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Around the holidays, my town has a couple local law firms that will cover the cost of cabs for drunk people to get home. It's a decently successful program. Enough that they keep doing it year after year.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Quoth Argabarga View Post


                    Twitch vs. Occupational Advice


                    Twitch happily told her not to worry, that towing people for illegal parking wasn't his full-time job, his "real" job was a state-licensed financial repossession agent.

                    "What's that mean?" the lady asked disdainfully

                    "It means I hope you're current with your payments on this car, or you'll be seein' me again" Twitch said
                    Oh, that line is just classic! Exactly the kind of person to get towed!

                    And exactly the kind of person who gets her car repoed.
                    They say that God only gives us what we can handle. Apparently, God thinks I'm a bad ass.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      For a long time the Chicago Transit Authority, would offer free or one-cent rides on NYE.
                      I'm trying to see things from your point of view, but I can't get my head that far up my keister!

                      Who is John Galt?
                      -Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        I love Twitch!!

                        The burger-lot lady: Talk about unclear on the concept. If the red car you had WASN'T hers, her missing car wasn't even your problem.

                        Re: drinking & driving ... one of the taxi companies here runs a program for New Year's Eve where, if you've had too much to drink, you can get a free ride home. Pretty cool.
                        When you start at zero, everything's progress.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          But Grumpy Old Lady did get a citation ... just not the kind she wanted.

                          Pity you couldn't say, "Yeah, lady, I guess we don't have your car after all. I wish you luck in finding who does." *click*

                          And then start a pool on how long before she calls back, now insisting that you DO SO have her car ...

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Quoth Mr Hero View Post
                            "You just gotta have the right touch. Nobody can start this car but me."
                            That sounds like my car. About a week ago, I was down at my mother's, and she insisted on moving cars around. Mine was out last. She jumped in my car to move it onto the street...and "the damn thing won't start." I just drove it down the street, and it's been sitting less than 10 minutes. When I left, she fired right up Mom wasn't amused when I got in, and the car didn't give me any problems
                            Aerodynamics are for people who can't build engines. --Enzo Ferrari

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Quoth protege View Post
                              That sounds like my car. About a week ago, I was down at my mother's, and she insisted on moving cars around. Mine was out last. She jumped in my car to move it onto the street...and "the damn thing won't start." I just drove it down the street, and it's been sitting less than 10 minutes. When I left, she fired right up Mom wasn't amused when I got in, and the car didn't give me any problems
                              I will always remember my first car, er truck, a 1978 Dodge D200 Pickup. My Mom was always hounding me to get it replaced with something more reliable/less rusty/more befitting a clean-cut young man. Of course I ignored said advice, it was my first car, ergo, I loved it like a favorite horse, and nothing would separate us. (and that 2 inch gap between the bottom of the door and cab that persisted even with the door shut? That was just part of the CHARM of it)

                              The jokes stopped on bitter February morning in 1995 when it was 10 degrees out.

                              My truck, carburetor and all, started right up.

                              Her spiffy brand-new Eddie Bauer Ford Explorer, didn't.
                              - They say nothing good happens at 2AM, they're right, I happen at 2AM.

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