• Canadian Tire Auto Club: Quality & Service...when you need it most
• The important flow of information
• Who are our service providers? Introducing Gadi Cohen...
• Common questions
• Other useful tips
• A memorable day

The Canadian Tire Auto Club has a unique relationship with its service-providers (commonly known as tow truck drivers). Through the partnerships we have forged, we are able to access more than 100,000 tow trucks throughout Canada and the United States. We are ready to provide service when you need it most.

Motorists don't always have a positive attitude toward tow trucks and their drivers, but a lot of that arises from misconceptions about the industry. We want you to be more comfortable with how the industry works, and learn what makes a great towing experience for both our tow truck drivers and you, our member. That's why we're dedicating this issue of Escapades to service-providers. If the need for a tow truck should arise, you'll have a better understanding of what is involved in getting help to you quickly, which is our main priority.

Our service network is made up of independent operators working in partnership with the Canadian Tire Auto Club and, as our customer's needs grow, so will our towing network. To ensure that you get the very best service when you need it, we have established a code of ethics, and require that our service-providers meet high minimum standards.

Fax Dispatch

In 1990, Canadian Tire Auto Club added the ACD Max computerized telephone system, an automatic call-distribution system, that greatly enhanced the Auto Club's ability to manage heavy demand for roadside assistance service-providers, especially during peak periods.

Upon receipt of your call, our professional dispatch staff immediately contact the nearest independent emergency road service contractor located throughout Canada and the United States, thus enhancing response time

This system was later refined to include fax dispatch. This means we can be in immediate and constant contact with our service-providers. Dispatches can be faxed directly from our customer service representative's computer screen to the service-provider nearest to the customer, resulting in faster service and happier auto club members.

The benefit of the fax dispatch service is that there is less risk of error because dispatch details are not being rewritten by several people. No other club has this service across Canada and the United States.

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Some customers think we ask too many questions at a time when they want speedy service. After all, you need to get to an important meeting, or home to get ready for your daughter's birthday party, or perhaps you're at the airport after a couple of days away and just want to get home to see your loved ones. But the information we ask is crucial to dispatch a vehicle that can best help you with your problem.
Did you know, for example, that there are more than one million vehicles that use Highway 401 in the Metro Toronto area on a daily basis? (Making it the second busiest highway in North America)? Or that West Edmonton Mall is the world's largest shopping and entertainment facility (with over 800 stores and 110 restaurants)? Or that at most airports, you are not allowed to stop or park a vehicle, so it's important for you to meet the service - provider quickly since he or she cannot stop in order to go looking for you.

In some instances, the best service provider is not a tow truck at all, but a light-service vehicle (a small car or truck) that can deliver gasoline or boost a run-down battery, or whose driver can help you change a flat tire or get your keys out of the car. Nearly half of all service calls we receive do not result in a vehicle's being towed. And in some cases, such as some underground parking garages, there is not enough clearance for a tow truck. So, information is critical in making sure the correct service vehicle is dispatched and reaches the customer as quickly as possible. The next time you find yourself in need of service, be prepared to provide the following information. It will help us find you more quickly and get you on your way.

On the highway... In what direction were you travelling? In the collectors or express lanes? In what lane are you broken down? What was the last exit you passed? Is there a mileage marker nearby?

At the airport... What terminal? What airline? Are you at arrivals or departures? Are you at short-term or long-term parking? Parking garage or an oft-site lot? What level, post colour and number? What is the clearance? Can we meet you at a specific location?

At a Mall, Hospital, Casino, Zoo, University or College ... What is the exact entrance or exact meeting place? Are you in a parking garage? What is the clearance? What is the exact problem (dead battery, flat tire, no gas, etc.)?

In all cases, it is also important to get a number at which you can be reached (a call-back number) if possible, the proper spelling of streets and or landmarks (Dixie and Eglinton can sound a lot like Dixon and lslington over a static-filled cell phone), the full address of the location at which the vehicle is broken down, and the full address of the location to where the vehicle is being towed.

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 Name: Gadi Cohen

 Co. Name: Co-Up Towing Ltd.

 Founded: 1980

 Located: Toronto, Ont.

 Employees: 28

 Fleet: 16 trucks ( 1 medium duty, 2 flat beds-used for moving tractor trailers and transport trucks, 9 one-tons, 4 light service trucks-used for battery boosts, fuel delivery, changing a flat tire, and lockouts.)

 How did you get started?: In 1979, I bought a used truck and my business began as a one-man operation.
I was known as the service-provider that would tow or service anyone anywhere in the Metro Toronto area.

 Personal Activities: I love surfing the net and spending time with my family.

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A towing apparatus that picks the disabled vehicle up by its wheels without making any contact with the body it allows the vehicle to travel on its own suspension while in tow.

Car carrier/flat bed equipment is a platform that hydraulically tilts and lowers from the truck allowing the vehicle to be loaded and unloaded on the bed of the truck This allows the vehicle to be transported with all wheels off the ground and can be useful in situations involving: transmission problems, flat tires (two or more, or no spare), low ground clearance (sports-car ground effects), suspension damage (ball joint, tie rod), brake problems (brakes dragging), all-wheel drive or full-time four-wheel drive vehicles, vehicles locked in gear or without access to drive wheels (i.e. front wheel drive, or nosed into a garage) or a vehicle on the highway

A pair of portable axles with small wheels that are assembled at roadside and placed under the front or rear wheels of the disabled vehicle, allowing it to be towed with all 4 wheels off the ground. Dolly wheels allow the vehicle to travel on its own suspension while in tow. Dollies could also be used to elevate the vehicle, such as sports cars with ground effects that are low to the ground, in order to prevent the lower body add-ons from dragging while the vehicle is in tow. Dolly wheels can be used for situations involving:
transmission problems, flat tires, low ground clearance, some damaged suspensions, brake problems, all-wheel drive or full-time four-wheel drive vehicles, vehicles locked in gear or with no access to drive wheels or a vehicle on the highway

For the member's and the service-provider's protection. We want to ensure a member's vehicle reaches the correct destination undamaged. With both the service provider and the member in attendance at the time of the tow, there is an opportunity to inspect the vehicle and assess the situation.

A customer's vehicle will be extricated/winched from mud, snow etc , provided it is stuck in an area immediately adjacent to a regularly traveled road and can be safely reached with standard automobile servicing equipment.

For the members protection as some loss or damage may occur after the vehicle is delivered to the repair facility and prior to the customer’s picking it up Also during regular business hours, the customer could notify the repair facility personally of the service problem.

Our service providers will only replace a tire if it is in safe operating condition (i.e. if not bald or with signs of tread separation). Safety is always our primary concern.

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Most people do not realize that being a tow operator can be a very dangerous job. Several Tow Operators along with Police Officers and citizens broken down on the highway die every year by passing motorists. It is in this writer's opinion that Highways are Slaughterways. I will not go into the astounding statistics on accidents, injuries, and deaths caused each year by drivers of motor vehicles. I just want everyone to be aware of their surroundings when behind the wheel. Not just for other cars or trucks, but people as well.

 The following is intended only to give a little advice from this tow company to help get you home safe and sound, whether or not your vehicle poops out on you.

• Take a quick glance around your vehicle. Are there any objects near the tires?
• Make sure all controls, mirrors, and seats are set comfortably for you.
• Look at your instrument panel. Do you have gas?
• WEAR YOUR SEATBELT !!

• Keep aware of your surroundings ie. traffic conditions, weather, signal lights etc.
• Keep clear of suspected drunk drivers. If someone appears intoxicated and driving recklessly, a call on your cell phone to 911 can prevent another statistic.

• Lock your doors while in your vehicle. This may not stop all carjackers, but every little bit helps.
• Use your signal ! No. It's not just a place to hang smelly trees.
• Pay attention. Many accidents are caused by people not paying attention to the roadway.

• If you break down on the roadway, do your best to pull to the right shoulder or as far to the right as possible. There is not much worse than becoming that sitting duck smack dab in the middle of rush hour traffic.
• Turn on your hazard signal in all cases of break down.
• It is always a good idea to carry warning triangles and / or road flares. Please don't light road flares at accidents in case of fuel leaks. Let the police handle that responsibility.
• If you can not get your vehicle started, contact a tow company to get you off the road as soon as possible.
• If you are blocking traffic, notify the local police agency or the Highway Patrol of your situation. ( Use cell phones or Call Boxes where available for faster service )
• Leaving your vehicle for an extended period of time is not always wise. If you leave, and your vehicle is not in a safe location, the police may have your vehicle towed.
• If you are stranded on the highway....Be Cautious....it is not safe. Some people advise to stay in your vehicle with your safety belt on. It may be better to stand outside of your vehicle, behind and as far off the roadway as possible. If you stand in front of or directly next to your vehicle, a passing motorist may hit you or your vehicle. If that passing motorist hits your vehicle, and you are next to or in front of it, WHERE DO YOU THINK YOUR VEHICLE IS GOING TO GO? Point made. However, the California Highway Patrol recommends that you stay in your vehicle with the doors locked.
• No matter what advice you take, please always be aware of what is coming.
• Always look first before getting out of your vehicle.
• If you are changing your tire, make sure you are as far off the roadway as possible, and keep an eye out for passing motorists.
• I cannot stress how important it is to KEEP AWARE OF ONCOMING TRAFFIC !!

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The call came at rush hour. A member's car had stalled at one of the busiest intersections in downtown Toronto... on one of the coldest days of the year.

It was -21 C and Maura McCarthy had her eight-month-old son, Riley Doering, in the car with her. Riley had recently had surgery and needed his pain medication - which was 105 kms away at their home near Waterloo, Ontario. Maura was far from home, low on cash, stuck in a tow-away zone, and frantic.

The Club answered Maura's call on one of the busiest days in the Club's history. With most of the country buried in freezing temperatures and blizzard conditions, the 65 regular service and dispatch staff were joined by the Club's supervisors and managers, who rolled up their sleeves and pitched in. Together, they answered nearly 10,000 calls for assistance from members that day. Normally they handle between 3,000 and 5,000.

But on January 7, everyone was in trouble. Including Maura McCarthy.

Within minutes of her call, Maura and her son were being sheltered in the warm cab of a tow truck from Bill and Sons Towing, a Canadian Tire Auto Club service contractor. While the driver worked to get Maura's car out of the tow-away zone, Club dispatchers were trying to find a way for Maura to get home. They alerted Operations Manager Memo Moreno, who waived the regular towing distance restrictions and told them to find an off-duty tower who could get Maura and Riley back home.

"Lots of people pulled together that day to make things happen," said Moreno. "But this one stands out because these were people who were off-duty, who should have been home with their families, who took the time and made the effort to help."

Elliott Chewins was the pivotal person in this group: he was the off-duty tow truck driver who took Maura, Riley and the car home.

"All they really wanted was to be in their own home," he said. "I can understand that. And we got them where they wanted to be."

Trained as a firefighter and currently studying engineering when he isn't driving a tow truck for Toronto's Co-Up Towing Services Ltd., Chewins says people often see tow truck drivers as vultures. "But we're not. We do what we can to help out. That's the nice thing about working for an auto club. The people are usually pretty nice."

Memo Moreno says Canadian Tire Auto Club staff treat every call as important, but admits that when a child is involved, they go into overdrive. "I think that call was handled so quickly that it wasn't even logged."

Thanks to the team effort of the Club and its contractors, Maura and Riley got home safely that night. In a thank-you letter, accompanied by a box of chocolates, she said: "Because of you, I felt safe and secure."

About Elliott Chewins and the others involved in helping her, she told Escapades:

"They really did go the extra mile to make things happen for us - actually, they went a lot of extra miles. They have customers for life in us"

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Last Updated : Thursday, April 06, 2000. © 2000 Co-Up Towing Services Ltd. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy.