The last couple of years the big thing on TV has been reality TV shows just about every industry and topic has been covered or had a show on the subject. One industry that has become quite popular has been towing and repossession related shows. I'll apologize to all my people that work in the entertainment industry that come up with these shows, but I think we can all agree that all these shows are anything but real.
The towing and repossession are 2 very different industries that are sometimes combined in some of these shows. We use the same equipment but that's about the only similarity between the 2. Some companies do offer both services but they are handled as two separate divisions of the same company.
Lets look at the repo shows first, most of these shows air mostly confrontations on every one of their episodes. As a licenced repossessor in the state of California I can tell you 99.9% of all the things they claim are reenactments of true events would have me in a courtroom getting sued. All repo agents have to be licenced by the Dept. of consumer affairs, and abide by a strict business and professional code. Not everyone that wants to be a repossessor will qualify. Prior to becoming one, you have to go through a extensive background check which includes running your name, social and all 10 fingerprints through the Dept. of justice, FBI and local law enforcement.
On more than one occasion I've had people interrupt me in the middle of a repo and ask me "where are the cameras??" In my opinion its made this line of work more dangerous because the debtor might think of us as the guys on TV that will do whatever it takes to take the collateral. When I first started in this business i was told "the best repo is when they don't even know you were there".
There's a show out there that's produced by Jeniffer Lopez that follows the day to day activities of a tow company. I don't know what experience J-Lo has in the towing business but I'm sure its very little or none at all. This show shows tow truck drivers towing illegally parked vehicles and almost on every episode there is a confrontation or some kind of drama. Never will you see a professional tow truck operator pick up a vehicle owner and put them in a dumpster or getting into a physical confrontation over a $100 tow. Reality TV is really giving customers the wrong idea of our industry. What it's doing is bringing us backwards and making us look like a bunch of ignorant idiots that think we're above the law.
The majority of towing companies in this country are owner operator companies from the smallest company to the company with a fleet of 100 trucks chances are you'll find the owner in a tow truck. As owners we have a very high level of pride in what we do and that's reflected in the appearance of our equipment and our employees. For most of us this industry isn't just a career or a business its a lifestyle and we're here to serve you, the motoring public.
Check out TheFilmChild.com for more great blogs.
No comments:
Post a Comment