Introducing a new feature where we ask RoadSync customers to share their stories about working with us. This blog features James Grinolds of Safe Assist Road Service who has 20+ years of freight experience, including over 10 years in the repair industry.
Safe Assist Road Service is a full service professional mobile repair company, offering a wide variety of truck & trailer mechanical repair services. James and his wife Andrea founded Safe Assist Road Services in 2010. They are part of the PTP Stop Service Network with locations in Colorado and Texas. Through mobile truck repair or shop services, they manage your maintenance to keep your equipment running smoothly. James has been a RoadSync customer for over 18 months.
How did you learn about RoadSync?
I was just scrolling through Facebook and I saw RoadSync. I watched your video and I was like, well, that’s it. In my past roles, we’ve spent 12 years coming up with our own cumbersome system on trying to secure credit card transactions, trying to prevent those charge backs and also have a professional look. You guys wrapped it all into one. I mean, it blew my mind away when I saw it. It was so simple.
How has your business changed since using RoadSync?
I think it’s a combination of things. For one, we’ve saved time processing payments. That’s been a huge improvement, especially on the fleet checks. You know, you don’t have to sit there and punch in every number. In the middle of the night, you gotta do it two or three times because you’re half asleep.
The speed increase is huge, but I think it’s also the image and the message that we send to a new customer. I know we’ve only had one charge back with you guys. We won the first round and then unfortunately lost the second part of it. But, you know, that’s going to happen with the volume we do. That’s pretty amazing to me, that we’ve only had one. And the reason I say that is the format that the work order authorization goes over.
We tell our mobile customers, “Hey, you’re going to get a text. It’s just our service agreement that spells out everything clearly in there. Just respond back.” We know right then if we got a legit customer on the line, because they get this professional format that tells them how they’re going to be charged. And they have to make the decision to commit right there. It saves us time by eliminating those guys that just want us to drive out on the side of the road and tell them what’s wrong with their truck, and then they don’t have any money.
If the guy’s gonna rip you off, I don’t think he’s gonna take any kind of step. To sign what looks like a very professional, legal document with things that he probably does not understand in the background….it’s a good weed out tool. Sometimes we just don’t hear back from them and they cancel service. They tell us they’re going to try to find somebody else and they won’t sign it. That’s beautiful. That’s perfect. Because all we’re going to do is lose money on the side of the road.
How has fleet check processing changed with RoadSync?
We process probably 30 or 40 fleet checks a month. Each one could take 10, 20 minutes. I mean, did you press the wrong number? I’m scared to death of them because I always punch the wrong numbers and I have to do it two or three times.
How have you used the time that you would have spent processing fleet checks?
We just move on to the next customer. You know, where you really see the difference – a service truck that’s not moving is a service truck that doesn’t make money.
You send the link to the customer, who pays from that link, it processes that check. Everybody gets to the green little check box and that service truck is back on the road and on to the next. You’ve saved 30 minutes.
I mean, bottom line productivity, right? You can actually put a price tag on it. Our technician costs are between $85 – $100/hour. If you did three calls in a day, that was an hour and a half non-billable time. And in my world, that means technicians are not paid for an hour and a half of time.
I instantly knew that we would make up our cost for RoadSync in the first 15 minutes.
Why should other tow and repair shop owners should check out RoadSync?
It tastes the risk out of road service. Completely takes the risk out of it.
I mean, in the old days there’s a lot of risks. Getting paid was the hardest part of road service. And nowadays I don’t really think about it. Somebody calls in, we just send them the RoadSync link and we move forward. My risk has gone down considerably, working with people that I don’t know.
