Five texts every tow dispatcher should have saved, word for word
The exact texts for the ETA, the price confirmation, the driver on the way, the drop-off review ask and the missed call, ready to paste into any dispatch phone.
A stranded driver calls three tow companies. The first one says "about an hour" and hangs up. The second one texts a price, an ETA and the driver's name within two minutes. Guess which one the caller cancels on.
Most of what separates a busy retail tow company from a slow one is not trucks or rates. It is what happens on the phone in the first five minutes and on the curb in the last five. Below are five texts, written out word for word, that cover both. Save them as quick replies on every dispatch phone and every driver's phone tonight.
1. The price and ETA confirmation
Send this right after the call, before the truck rolls. It locks in the job and kills the "shopping around while I wait" habit.
Hi [name], this is [dispatcher] with [company]. Confirming your tow from [pickup location] to [destination]. Your price is $[amount], payable by card or cash at drop-off. Your driver is about [minutes] minutes out. Reply here or call [your number] if anything changes.
Two rules. Put the price in writing, every time. Price disputes at drop-off are where a lot of one-star reviews in this trade start, and a text with the number on it ends the argument before it starts. And give an honest ETA. If you say 30 and show up in 55, the customer remembers the 55.
Pricing structure for that number, from hook fee to per-mile, is in the pricing guide.
2. The driver on the way
Send when the driver actually leaves. Customers on a shoulder at night want proof someone is coming.
[Driver name] is on the way in a [white flatbed / truck description]. ETA [time]. If you are on a highway, stay in your vehicle with your seatbelt on unless it is unsafe. [Driver name] will call when close.
The safety line is not filler. It shows you know what you are doing and it gives a scared driver something to do. Customers mention that kind of thing in reviews.
3. The missed call text-back
This one should go out automatically, within a minute of any missed call. In an emergency trade, the caller does not leave a voicemail. They call the next name on the list.
Sorry we missed you, this is [company]. If you need a tow or roadside help right now, reply with your location and what happened and we will call you right back. Or call again at [your number], we pick up 24/7.
Only send "24/7" if it is true. Across 23,074 towing listings, 50.7% list themselves as open 24 hours on Google, so that phrase is common. What separates companies is whether a human answers at 2 a.m. The missed calls guide covers answering services and what a missed call costs, and the calculator runs the numbers on your own call volume.
4. The drop-off review ask
This goes out from the driver's phone at the drop, while the customer is still standing there. Retail calls only. Never send it to an impound, repo or police rotation customer.
Thanks for trusting us today, [name]. If we took good care of you, a quick Google review helps a small company like ours more than anything. Here is the direct link: [review link]. Takes about 30 seconds.
The driver says it out loud first: "If we got you taken care of, a Google review is the biggest help. I just texted you the link." The text removes the friction. The spoken line makes the ask real.
Why this matters right now: the median towing company has 31 reviews, and 20.5% sit below a 4.0 rating, a spread that impound and rotation calls make worse. A steady stream of retail reviews is how you outnumber those. The full method, including how to handle impound one-stars, is in the reviews guide.
5. The next-day follow-up
Send the morning after a retail tow, especially an accident or breakdown that went to a shop.
Morning [name], [company] here. Just checking that your car made it in OK at [shop] and you are sorted. If you ever need us again, save this number. We also do [lockouts / jump starts / long-distance transport].
This text does three things. It catches a problem before it becomes a bad review. It gets your number saved in the customer's phone, which is the cheapest repeat-business tool there is. And it tells them about the services they did not know you offered.
If the customer did not leave a review after text four, this is the one place you can repeat the link once. Once. Never twice.
How to set these up tonight
On an iPhone, go to Settings, General, Keyboard, Text Replacement, and save each message with a short trigger like "ttprice" or "ttreview". On Android, most keyboards have a similar shortcut or clipboard feature. Most dispatch and CRM tools also have saved templates. Use whatever your team will actually use at 3 a.m.
Put your review link in text four before you save it. Get it from your Google Business Profile under "Ask for reviews". Test every text by sending it to yourself first, and read it on a phone screen. If it wraps past one screen, cut it.
The pattern behind all five
Every one of these texts does the same job: it removes uncertainty for someone who is stressed. Price, time, who is coming, what to do, how to reach you. Companies that communicate like that get chosen more, argued with less, and reviewed more often.
If you want the missed-call text-back and review texts set up and running automatically, every service is available as a free 14-day trial, no card. Text or call (385) 249-3225.
Steven has spent the last several years running growth campaigns for local service businesses, towing companies among them, and builds the benchmark datasets on this site from public Google listings. About the editor