Towing: The Relationship Killer

Being a tow operator can create havoc on many parts of your life. Today I want to talk about the toll this industry takes on our relationships. After talking to many operators from many parts of the country, it amazes me how many of us have lost someone we cared about because of the job.

Over years companies have figured out mathematically the effect on a truck we have with each call. The wear and tear that equipment goes through, but has anyone ever thought of the wear and tear each call puts on our relationships???

This industry is not for the faint of heart. You need to be mentally strong and physically prepared to endure the long days you will encounter, but the loved one by your side must be equally as strong.
How many times has that phone rang at 2am, you crawl out of bed fire up the truck and head out to help that stranded motorist?


To us its business as usual, but to that loved one we left in bed its another sleepless night.
How many times has diner gone cold on the table because your "last call" turned into a 3 hour round trip tow?

How many times has "date night" turned into a ride along cause that phone won't stop ringing?

The answer is: too many times to count. We as true operators are a rare breed there is no doubt. But what is more rare is to find a partner that will stand by our side and support us through this crazy thing we call our passion.

If you find one of those rare people in the world you make sure you spoil them every chance you get and not let them get away. Although this is a passion we must prepare for life after the hook. And he or she will be there when the day is done.

To all my brothers and sister of towing I leave you with the wise words of a friend.

Lie, cheat and steal!
Lie with the ones you love at night,
Cheat death and injury.
And steal time away from this industry before it consumes you.

To all the better halves of my tow brothers and sisters I leave you some advice as well.
"Be home in 5 minutes" truly means. I want to be with you as soon as this damn phone stops ringing.



Sincerely
Shawn Michaud
WM 140989

Wreckmaster (What it meant to me)

WRECKMASTER AND WHAT IT MEANT TO ME

BY: SHAWN MICHAUD

In September of this year, I got the pleasure and honor of attending a Wreckmaster 2-3 course with Jeff Martin as my instructor. Today I want to go over what Wreckmaster is and what it meant to me. Being a still a ROOKIE in this industry, about 2 ½ years, I had heard little about Wreckmaster. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine what a Eye-Opening experience it would be. The great mix of in-class as well as hands-on training that they have managed to jam into a 2-day course is phenomenal.  Seeing a range of different ages, experience level, and gender within the class was inspiring.

In-class: Although going into the weekend I had presumed that the in-class portion of the training would be long and boring with a monotone instructor trying to force feed you as much information as possible. Let me tell you, I was wrong. Mr. Martin an Experienced operator from the GTA region was a great instructor, His passion for the industry could be felt in every word. Covering everything from basic resistances to working load limits was a huge eye opener! The information was not just something you wanted to know to pass the test, but rather something you wanted to embrace to make yourself a better operator. Any operator that has been in the industry for some time can tell you they have winched many cars, and knew about how much they weighed. But did they know how much load they had on their wire? Or how much anchorability they needed? I can tell you I didn’t.

Hands-on: The hands on part of the course was something going into the weekend I was excited for, after all who doesn’t like playing in the yard? Some of the new techniques Wreckmaster teaches you are well thought out and field tested, from the single lane recovery with a stiff leg, to proper tie down methods. The only problem is as we all know 10 different operators have 10 different ways of doing things. This was a bit of a problem when it came to a group effort of rigging a casualty. All and all the hands-on part of the training did not disappoint.

Overall Wreckmaster is not a text book course, it is a brotherhood of operators and instructors who want to better themselves as well as better the industry. The joking and laughing that was had by all demonstrated that even though we are competition, we are all here for the same reason. I truly encourage any operator no matter age or experience to take at least one wreckmaster course and tell me im wrong……

Cya in the Ditch!

“Lie, Cheat and Steal. Lie with the ones you love at night, Cheat death and injury, And steal time away from this industry every now and then before it consumes you.” – Jeff Martin

SENIORITY Vs. EXPERIENCE

SENIORITY Vs. EXPERIENCE

BY SHAWN MICHAUD

In the towing industry there are two factors that help gain an operator respect, they are SENIORITY and EXPERIENCE. Key word here is HELP, as there are so many more factors that we will get into at a later date.  As I have experienced recently these two factors are sometimes confused.

 EXPERIENCE is an invaluable asset for any operator, this is earned year after year of head scratching situations, that may begin with our hands being held to start and slowly becoming confident enough to tackle them on our own. Although EXPERIENCE is a valued asset in an operator, it is not the only way to earn RESPECT from your peers.

SENIORITY is in my opinion a sign of loyalty. This is earned through years of grinding, day in day out for your employer. Taking the bad days with the good days and putting the faith in the company that has done the same in return for you. SENIORITY is something that is often overlooked by our peers, operators today tend to think “you’re only as good as your next call”. Although yes it is important to maintain your level of quality on every call, time served within the company cannot be simply disregarded.

Every operator from coast to coast has varying levels of EXPERIENCE and SENIORITY, and we as a BROTHERHOOD must recognize this and give respect where it is due. Remember we are all here for the same reason.

 “Rig it, Roll it, Winch it, Tow it” – Nathaniel Wilson

THE TRUE PASSION OF TOWING

THE TRUE PASSION OF TOWING

BY: SHAWN MICHAUD

What does it mean to be a tow truck operator? To most it is a job, a steady paycheck, a way to keep food on the table. Then for the rare few it is something so much more. It’s a passion, it’s a lifestyle. I am now an almost 3 year veteran to this amazing industry and have come to realize so much. Although most people may see us as nothing more than a dirty, sweaty, sometimes smelly man or woman, that comes out when they need a tire changed or forgot to stop at the last service station for fuel. We as an industry have come to show them that we are so much more than that. We are the rare breed that will pick up the phone no matter the time or weather conditions to head out and risk our lives walking a thin line to help a complete stranger in need, for very little reward. We do not do it for the thank you’s or the god bless’s. We do it to help a fellow human being when they have nowhere else to turn. That is what it means to be a true operator. When the risk is high and the reward is low we will still put it all on the line to help our fellow man no matter the circumstances.

Any of my TOW BROTHERS reading this can relate. How many times have you gotten up in the middle of the night in the rain or snow, fired up your truck and headed out to help a stranded motorist? Leaving behind your family, your warm bed, even your sanity. To wander out on that highway, praying and hoping that the next car to pass you will give you the courtesy, and respect to move over and slow down.  Can you honestly say that you did it for the money? If you answered no, Congratulations you are a TRUE OPERATOR and we in the brotherhood salute you.

There is no doubt in my mind that even true operators have moments of weakness. Moments where they question their decision  to keep on trucking, moments where the temptation of a nice Monday-Friday job would keep food on the table and leave us much more stress-free. To those of you feelings this way I ask you to remember these words “I chose this life”. You chose to help people in their time of need, you chose to risk it all to make someone’s day. You chose to be a TRUE OPERATOR!  

INTRODUCTION

Hello Everyone,

My name is Shawn and I am a Light Duty Tow Truck Operator from Ontario. Let me start of by saying thank you for taking the time to read my blog. My intentions with the blog are simple. I would like to open the public's eyes as to what it means to be a Tow Truck Operator. I am a very vocal person with many opinions however have very little experience when it comes to writing (or typing in this case) any blogs or articles, So please bare with me if I use the odd run on sentence or improper spelling of words. This blog is not meant to be an English lesson. If you are willing to take the time to read and follow along I will take you on a wild ride through the life of a operator.

Before we begin I must inform you all that any views or opinions expressed in this blog are in no way directly or indirectly a reflection of the views or opinions of the company for whom I am employed by.

That being said I hope you enjoy the time spent on this page and cannot wait to hear some feedback.

Thank you

Shawn Michaud

BROTHERHOOD FROM COAST TO COAST

“Brotherhood from Coast to Coast”

By: Shawn Michaud

Towing is an industry like no other I have ever seen. The risks are high the rewards can be low yet every day we put it all on the line literally speaking. So then why is it unlike every other high risk industry that we are so torn apart as a brotherhood? Being relatively new in the industry I assumed these problems were only local. In April I decided to take a holiday to the wonderful Vancouver, British Columbia. While on this vacation I decided to visit a local towing company. Maple Ridge Towing along with Larry Styba were more than hospitable. This visit to the west coast helped me realize two things, 1) There is hope for the brotherhood of towing, and 2) The problems we encounter our not limited to my small town of Cornwall, Ontario. Let me explain. While in Maple Ridge I was offered the opportunity for a full ride along as well as tour of their facility for the day, I met a lot of great people who have a true passion for the industry just like me. Being a “noname” operator from 5000km away and be offered a open door policy to visit such a great towing company shows that no matter how distant we are apart there is still many operators that recognize and embrace the “brotherhood” as we know it. That being said the visit also opened my eyes to other key problems in our industry that I had observed in my home town. Operators who will take every opportunity to one-up or steal calls from another company, operators who bring down our level of professionalism that we have strived so hard to achieve by having a complete disregard for public safety in some of the ways they operate their equipment. These are problems that face the industry as a whole and if are left unaddressed will simply continue to grow in magnitude. We are all here for the same purpose and day in day out we face the same risks, together we can and WILL change the reputation that comes along with towing, This will be achieved not by shunning our fellow operators but simply by educating them. This is something that can be done by every single one of us “brothers”. So remember next time you see a fellow operator out on the roads, Smile, wave and remember we are all brothers from coast to coast.