July 2, 2024 • 56 mins
Ever wondered whether tow truck professionals should be called "drivers" or "operators"? Join us as we pull apart this heated debate and navigate the choppy waters of new laws in Ontario. We've also got some candid thoughts on U.S. politics—how is it that a country with millions of people struggles to find quality presidential candidates? Plus, stay tuned for our upcoming 4th of July trivia segment that's sure to add some spark to your holiday weekend.
Creating a thriving company culture isn't just about monthly paychecks. We reveal our secrets to employee appreciation through quarterly team events and weekly lunches. From family-oriented activities to a unique legacy program with tiered rewards for long-term commitment, we discuss the essential balance between work-life integration and cost management. Admittedly, we've got room for improvement, but sharing these insights might just help you elevate your own approach to employee appreciation.
Towing isn't just a job; it's a career with its own set of hurdles and rewards. We dig into the challenges of recruitment and retention in the industry, emphasizing the need for clear career progression and competitive financial incentives. With new government-mandated training requirements in Ontario, we compare the roles of crane operators and rotator operators, diving deep into the skill requirements and barriers to entry. We cap off the episode by thanking our loyal listeners and highlighting your invaluable contributions—ending on a light-hearted note with a playful gold star for all your support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Really hate because when we talk about this, we got
to keep calling them driversbecause operators a whole
different thing under Tazia andI fought for years to not call
them drivers, Only for thegovernment to step in and go you
a driver.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Hey everyone.
I'm Brad from Calgary.
This is Sean from Cambridge.
Ontario.
I'm Terry from Cornwall Ontario.
Hey this is Larry from.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Pit Metals, british Columbia, and you're listening
to the Towing Life Podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Welcome to the Towing Life Podcast, where the ditches
are deep, the trucks are loaded, but the drivers are not.
I am your host, Towing man G,and, as usual, I'm joined by my
co-host, friend and formerco-worker, a man with very
strong opinions, Mr Plain Guy.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
What is going on?
G.
What is going on?
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Well, we talked for about four, five minutes before
we actually started the show,and I already have a headache
from that conversation.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Oh, it's going to be.
It's interesting times comingin the towing industry.
We've we've discussed it before.
We're going to try and keep itbrief and entertaining.
Um, when it comes to the to seea side of things, uh, which we
were once again going to reviewwith July 1st, yesterday at the
time of airing of this episode.
So Ontario's new laws havetaken a full effect.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Happy.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Canada.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
Day.
Happy 4th of July to all youAmericans out there.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
That's coming up later on this week.
Ooh, that is it.
I think for next week we shoulddo.
We'll take a week to puttogether a little 4th of July
trivia.
Maybe we can make a little funout of it if you put together a
couple questions, I put togethera couple questions, I put
together a couple questions andwe see who is who is well
educated on the ways of thesouth.
Um, you guys were lucky enoughto have your first debate down
there.
(01:52):
I did watch clips of it.
Uh, lord, help you is is allI'm gonna say.
I'm not gonna watch the first 40minutes of it okay, I'm not
gonna get political on the sideof it.
Um, I know they're doing italmost to get people interested
in what's going on in theelection, because it is very
early.
However, what is the populationof the US?
(02:12):
Do we know this?
Gee, I'm going to look it up.
Okay, the population of the US.
Usa population is 333.3 millionas of 2022.
Okay, so it's a little dated.
So, 333 million people?
Now, I'm not one to judge,because Canada is no, you know
(02:34):
perfect world right now.
No, but out of that many people, this is the best.
Two that you came up with, liketwo that you came up with like
this is the best.
Two people out of 333 million.
Lord, help you.
And again, I feel like ahypocrite saying that because
(02:55):
it's anyone listening can easilygo hey, plain guy, look at
canada.
That's what you guys came upwith fair the general population
.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
That's what you guys came up with.
Fair the general populationdoesn't pick who runs for
president, it's the people whowant that person to be president
.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
It's still the fact that 333 million people and that
is, and it's come down to thesetwo yeah, 80 and, and 81 and 80
year olds, or 79 year old and81 year old like this, is the
yeah.
So good luck to you.
Um, you can return that youknow that job to me when our
(03:31):
election comes around, because Iassure you it won't be much
better.
Um, however, yes, um, so,without getting into the us
politics too much, um, you canhave your say on who you're
voting for on the next federalelection.
You can visit us atwwwtowinglifeca.
You can email us directly atthetowinglife at gmailcom, or
(03:52):
you can find us on Facebook atthe Towing Life podcast.
If you're watching over on theYouTube side, they've probably
turned off commenting because wementioned anything political,
but if they haven't, you canhead down below leave a comment.
Don't forget, while you'rethere, to hit the like, hit the
subscribe, hit the follow, hitall the buttons that you can hit
.
Uh, if you really don't likewhat we're saying or you uh you
(04:12):
don't agree with uh Tomangie'sMAGA mentality, you can hit that
thumbs down twice.
Uh, it'll really let YouTubeknow what you think of, uh, what
you think of his.
Uh, I don't want to say ways.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
I just realized I've had the windows open in my house
like a lot over the last coupleof weeks because it's been fire
, fairly decent and the wind has, like made my calendar fold in
on itself.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
I don't know how your calendar is failing.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Yeah, it wasn't quality controlled.
I don't know how your calendaris failing Apparently it wasn't
quality controlled Um, but yeah,so.
so, yeah, I know I do want toget into a bit.
Uh, we're going to get into acouple of things.
Uh, first I want to talk aboutI am.
I am sore, I am tired, my armsare like jelly today.
Um, but it was all for a goodcause within the company.
So, uh, we set out a goal atthe beginning of the year it
(05:05):
might've been last year, butsomewhere around the beginning
of the year that we wanted tostart focusing more on what do
you call it Like employeehappiness, right?
Um, at the end of the day, thedollar is the ultimate thing.
Pay me to do my work.
Um, the extras are the extras.
The extras are the extras, butwe had set out a goal that we
were going to every quarter, soevery four months sorry, that
(05:27):
would be three months.
Every three months we weregoing to do a staff oriented
event.
This has been on top of ourpolicy where we have gone to
every week doing staff lunches.
So every week on Thursdayswe've been ordering pizzas,
(05:50):
we've been doing some likePopeye's chicken, some whatever
we've been doing Like we've beenordering lunches every Thursday
for the staff that's workingthat day.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
Yeah, um, on the company as well for the guy who
never works on a single Thursday.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
No, the way our rotation works.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
I never have that problem?
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Um, I never had that problem.
But then we also want to dofour staff events a year, so we
did one three months ago.
Um, where we did it was calledthe archery combat.
It was a french name but it'seasier to say in english, so it
was pretty much uh, dodgeballwith bow and arrows, oh, with
the like big, like beanbags onthe end of them.
We played that down in uh, downin montreal, where we did that,
(06:24):
and there was maybe I don'tknow eight, nine of us that went
down.
Um, that was physicallyexhausting.
That is the day I realized howout of shape I am.
Like when you do that thinglike dodgeball, where you run to
the middle to grab the ball.
I'm like behind the airbagthing going nope, someone's
gonna send one my way and missand I'll pick it up then.
Because after doing that about,like you know, we've played
(06:45):
about 10 or 12 different games.
Oh, wow, by the end of it youare like my legs are
non-existent, my arms are evenworn out.
My wife had all kinds ofbruises on her.
Um, so that was good, right, wegot about, you know, a good
chunk of our staff um wasn't asmany as we would have liked.
So today came around and we'vebeen planning it for a bit and
(07:06):
we were doing go-karting right.
So we called a track nearby andwe we set up the go-karting and
we had 14 of us, which is agood number, good, good majority
of our staff.
And the rule is that we havewith the guys is, if you're
working that weekend, there's achance you may not be able to
come right, like you might nothit every one of them, but we
will make it that it.
(07:27):
You know, I'm not going to makeit that it's the same guy
working every week every time wedo this.
So a couple of the guys I gotcoverage for us.
They could make it.
Um, a couple people just didn'twant to come.
That's fine, that's their, youknow their choice.
It's not a mandatory mandatoryfun day yeah, my wife came down,
um she is was dead last.
(07:48):
I, uh, I am.
I'm sad to report that we havetwo very different driving
styles.
Uh, one of them involvesleaning heavily on the right
pedal and one of them involvesjust driving miss daisy around
you really like the skinny pedal, I see yeah, exactly.
Yeah, I was.
I was very hard on the pedal,um, so, no, but it was great.
(08:11):
You know what those kind ofteam building experiences
they're.
They're, you know they come ata cost for the company, but in a
day and time now where, hey,financially, a lot of people are
strapped to right, that thatchance for them to get out and
do stuff of enjoyment becausethey're so focused on just
covering the bare necessities,right, little things like this
(08:32):
is a good way to, kind of you,build your team morale, right.
We had lots of laughs and, andyou know, lots of anger and I, I
did, um, I did take out my, uh,one of my admin people in the
office, like unintentionally,but pretty good, um, I had one
of my heavy operators absolutelywreck me into an outside wall.
(08:53):
That I, I thought I went bymyself.
I didn't even know he touchedme.
It wasn't until after the racethat he informed me that no, no,
I, I wasn't getting lapped byyou, so I absolutely cut the
wheels into you and it was, itwas, it was around high speed,
like one of the fastest corners,and I went pretty good into it,
um, but, uh, you know it buildsgood morale.
(09:13):
You have some fun.
It gets you to see these peopleoutside of work a little bit too
right really helps build thatculture within the company, and
I think that kind of stuff goesso much farther than than a
company would think yeah right,like you look at and you
probably go, okay, well, everythree months we're going to
spend about a thousand bucks onthese kind of events.
So four thousand dollars a year,it's a good chunk of change.
(09:34):
But at the same time, what isthe cost of training new
operators, what is the cost ofconstant turnover, what is the
cost that we're going to getinto that a little bit with the
changes coming to see in ontario, but what is the cost?
Like, this industry takes sucha toll on these people's lives
that I think, for you know, andagain, depends on the size of
(09:54):
your company, right, we'refortunate enough that we are
able to.
You know people that haveworked for us previously, who
have not, you know, who are ongood terms because I have plenty
of people that aren't that theyare willing to.
You know we've kept a goodrelationship that they're
willing to come cover right, sothat I can have my staff down,
right, if you're a company ofthree, four guys, you know
(10:16):
having, uh, one or two spares togo.
Hey, we're doing this event.
Would you be willing to comecover a shift?
And, and for us it was likefour hours yeah right, it was
four or five hours.
It covered from, I think, 10 amuntil 3 pm, but they could have
done it till 2 pm, like we wereback in plenty of time, but we
gave the guys time to go getlunch and everything else and
and get back ready for it.
So I I really think you know,and I'd love to say this is my
(10:40):
idea it was, it was the farthestthing from.
As you know me, I am not the umis care as much about personal
as I should.
Yep, I'm very much at an arm'slength um.
So it was our owner that cameup and said, hey, I want to do
this, I want to build a culture,I want to build something, a
family within this company.
And yes, we do it through theexperiences that we go through
(11:02):
and the trauma that we gothrough and all of those things,
but let's do it in a way thatwe can really have some fun with
it.
And, yeah, I think it's been agreat, great addition to our
day-to-day thing and somethingto look forward to every three
months.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
I think you're seeing a lot more of that in a lot of
different industries whereyou've got to build a culture
around your certain sort ofbusiness.
And I've always been in themindset of I'll get close to the
coworkers but upper managementI keep like my personal life,
(11:37):
work life completely separate.
I've never once added any of myprevious bosses on facebook.
I don't talk to them, I don'thave their personal number.
Outside of work I keep it very.
I show up, I do my job, go home.
But I do like this idea ofdoing something every quarterly.
(11:58):
But what if you did?
Okay, so, because a lot ofthese guys have families and
it's great to do the experiencetogether as a collective whole.
But then let's say, okay, Iwent and I did that go-karting
with you, and then I got to comehome and tell my 8-year-old
that I went go-karting that day.
Now he's going to want to gogo-karting.
(12:19):
Well, if we're all strapped forcash now it's on me to take him
back out go-karting.
What if you did something whereyou do every quarter?
Like every quarter, you puttogether a couple of small
packages and say here's fourtickets go to a Jays game.
Or here's four tickets go dothis activity with your family
(12:41):
or something like that to showyour appreciation in that regard
, instead of like especially ifyou are a company to where you
can't get that coverage to alltake all your staff out.
I think that would be a betterway to go, because then you can
just pick one individual, or twoindividuals each quarter to go
away and do something, obviouslywith a bit of their input, of
(13:05):
what they want to do yeah, Ilike that idea.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
I think that's a great idea.
I think it's it would have tobe like said you'd have to pick
employees and then you knowyou'd have to do things, because
I mean, if I'm talking 14 staffplus their kids plus or
whatever, for events, I mean,your cost is, you know, starting
to get excessive.
Now here's the trick I have foranyone that goes go-karting and
has an eight-year-old at homedon't tell them.
Just don't tell them.
(13:28):
Right, where are you?
Daddy was at a work meeting,right, like you have to tell me
you went go-karting.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
Have that conversation with your wife or
your other partner afterwardsokay, but what happens when they
follow the company's facebookpage and they post a big team
driver thing on their Facebook?
Speaker 1 (13:46):
Yeah, daddy, daddy was, daddy wasn't there that was
a different meeting.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
Daddy wasn't there, then you're just boldly lying to
your cat A hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
I fully believe in lying to children.
Um.
I don't think I owe themanything, um, unless I, you know
, I pay you um, I, um, I.
I don't require to answer yourquestions.
Yes, playing guy does encourageand condone lying to children,
(14:17):
um, but no, no, I.
I like the idea you're comingwith I.
I think that's something youcould.
A company could definitely lookat again, given especially if
it's a smaller company.
Maybe if it's a smaller company100.
Now we have, you know, and it'ssomething that could a company
could definitely look at again,given their size, especially if
it's a smaller company, maybe ifit's a smaller company 100%.
Now we have, you know, and it'ssomething that we tried, it's
not really taken off.
We had tried doing kind of whatI call the legacy program and
this would happen every year andthere was tiers to the legacy
(14:37):
program One year, three year,five year, 10 year, 15 year and,
based on the completion of thattime, there was a set gift with
a set dollar amount that theemployee would receive at the
end of the year, right, so, likea a.
One year was like a nice, uh,like spring jacket logo, spring
jacket, like just something,something you wouldn't wear to
work.
(14:57):
Yeah.
Right, uh, three years was a.
I don't remember what we hadkind of come up with, maybe a
spa package or a hotel stay,something like that right now,
where you could use the.
You know, even if you don't usethe, even if you use the full
amount and then have to coversome yourself for maybe your
family and whatnot, um, you know, 15 years was like a beautiful
(15:20):
watch because, let's be honest,15 years of a staff and as an
employee that you have in thisday and age is especially in the
towing industry, is no smallfeat.
Yeah, um.
So stuff like that to showappreciation.
I think you can showappreciation every day and I
think I'm the first person thatis guilty of not always showing
appreciation in the right ways.
Um, but, but no, it's.
(15:42):
It's come to a time where, likeI said, the towing industry is
very tough as it is.
We're seeing a hard timegetting good qualified
applicants and then we're seeingan even harder time on keeping
good qualified applicants,especially when you get into the
license requirements, and Ijust mean driving right, like a
(16:06):
dump truck driver, right, that'swhat I compare a lot of
salaries to.
You.
Look at what a dump truckdriver will make for the amount
of easy work that they'll do.
Right, and I'm not here to shiton dump truck drivers and say
they're doggers, but I mean youput a DZ license to use in that
kind of industry, you'll have ahigher hourly wage and a lot
more stability.
(16:26):
Now on the towing side, you willhave the ability to make more
money based on commission andbin and the extras that come
with it, but it also comes witha lot more hours.
So how can we start to promotethe industry and encourage
people away from those otherjobs into our jobs and it can be
things financial likefinancially you have to be at
(16:48):
least in the ballpark.
Right, you have to be in theballpark.
You cannot be.
I don't care if you're doingpizza parties every week.
You cannot be significantlylower salary at the end of the
year for the same amount of timeworked.
If you are, it's never going towork.
Speaker 3 (17:05):
No, and I think that's one of the hard things to
do in mostly the trackingindustry as a whole, us included
is a lot of people want to beable to start somewhere and see
a path forward of okay, I cangrow in this company.
If I can grow in this company,the company and I can grow
together.
Right.
(17:26):
And that's how you get long-termemployees, of course.
But if I come in let's say Icome into this industry as a g
class driver I get my licenseokay.
How can I move up from here?
Well, I can go get my dz.
All right, cool, I go and getmy dz.
All right.
Where can I move up from here?
Well, I can go get my az andstart doing heavy recovery, and
that's pretty much the ceiling.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
But most of your guys yeah, but it's the ceiling.
Okay, the AZ is your ceiling,but the AZ in the trucking
industry too, that's yourceiling If you're in the driving
industry Well, that's what I'msaying the trucking industry as
a whole.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
Right, right, once you are a driver, that's pretty
much up.
Yeah, sure, you could become adispatcher, but that's probably
going to come with a pay cut.
There might be an opening for amanager role, um, and still be a
driver like a driver like alead, like a lead row, yeah,
lead hand but that's not goingto be for everyone that that
(18:21):
position might get filled andprobably will hopefully stay
occupied for at least 10 yearsfor a manager, you would hope.
I would hope it's going to behard to just as someone coming
in seeing that as an actualopportunity to grow within the
company.
So I think, especially in thetrucking industry, even more so
(18:42):
in the towing industry, let'sface it a lot of it's physically
demanding work, especially onthe big wrecks, can be, hours
upon hours.
You're outside in the weather,you're working outside, you're
dealing with upset people and ifthe money's not there, you can
go and maybe get a job for acouple dollars less an hour or
(19:02):
maybe even the same dollars perhour and just drive just drive,
deal with the other bullshitexactly, it's not.
It's going to be easier on yourbody because they probably still
have air ride seats.
I'm sure they do.
But uh, yeah, you're notgetting out jumping up and down
in ditches, you're not pullingout winch cables, you're not
doing anything.
(19:23):
You're not doing offloads.
Right, some trucking jobs.
You might have to unload a dryvan or a box truck every once in
a while, but a lot of timesthey got stuff like that for
that.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
So but if anyone, if anyone, is looking for that
going like you know I don't wantto do this then you shouldn't
be in the towing industry.
To start, right, like we doknow that it takes a special
breed.
There is, you know, the seatfillers that we get, and there
is candidates that we see comeand go that, no, they belong
driving a cube truck, driving adump truck driving or whatever.
(19:57):
Like they're they.
That is where they are going toend up and you know it right,
they will never be one that aregoing to operate your bigger
trucks.
Like like, we're lucky in thesense because we do a lot of
light duty, we do a lot of heavyduty, we do a lot of weird
stuff.
So, when we talk aboutprogression of the employee and
and growth potential within theemployee, right, when you first
(20:17):
start off, you are just doingbasic toes.
That's all you do.
Sorry, no, basic toes, that'sall you're doing.
That's all you're doing.
Basic toes.
Service calls.
As you start to progress andthey, you know, you start to
earn trust and abilities andwhatnot.
(20:38):
You will move on to little moretricky things and then you'll
move on to more and more andthen you have those go-to guys
that you trust, that you know.
I mean you can send out to acall solo without issue and you
know that they'll figure it outright, like that.
There's a natural progressionwith it.
Then from there we look at, welook at our operators and we can
normally see early enoughwithin a year or two.
(20:58):
I say early enough.
It's a long career for some inthe industry, but within the
first year or two you'll startto see potential for them and in
our case we have a heavy fleetdivision as well.
So you will start to seepotential for them into the
heavy side of towing.
Sometimes you need to wait fora position to open up, sometimes
(21:20):
you need to wait for them to beof age that the insurance will
consider it.
Um, and some of them you justgot to wait for their skills to
develop to a point that you feelthey are there.
And then you got to try and notgive them that that teaser too
early on because you don't wantto, you know, get the ultimatum
set or, you know, have them alittle high on their horse
(21:40):
possibly, but you you know, thenthey can grow into heavy.
Okay, so now you're getting theheavy towing.
All right, where's your firststep in heavy towing?
Well, the first guy out thedoor is always the guy that's
just doing the towing Right.
The rotator guys tend to be alittle bit, you know, on standby
more.
If we need them for toes, ofcourse they're available, but at
(22:06):
the same time I want to keepthem on the road doing the
regular towing right.
The other guys are in the shop.
They're private stuff.
They're cleaning trucks,organizing trucks.
Again, you gotta, you gottabase this on each individual
operator skill sets and whatthey're good at.
Like, I have guys that aregreat at looking busy, 100 or
not being found yeah that is myand and.
Productivity in the shop happens, but very, you know, nowhere
(22:29):
near the level of some of theother operators.
Yeah, right, and and and.
I was that same guy back when Iam the first guy to admit it I
sucked at pushing a broom, Isucked at doing that little
tidying up stuff.
I wanted to tell or I wanted tosit there.
Yeah, there was no happy inbetween, so you know, but you
(22:50):
have to do those things.
I mean, if you're getting paidhourly by a company, there's,
there's requirements and thingsthat need to be done.
But who do you think is thefirst guy out whenever a tote
call comes in?
it's that guy, because I want toget that guy doing what he's
good at, because he ain't goodat passing a broom, he good at
hiding.
Speaker 3 (23:06):
I think that's something too, Like we've said
before that sometimes it'salmost better to hire new than
to hire someone with a bunch ofexperience but has all these bad
habits, and I think with one ofthose in that regard.
We were both commissionoperators for a very long time
right we got paid when we werein the truck rolling down the
(23:30):
road.
So to come back to the shop andsit around and start pushing a
broom it's easy to get in thatmindset.
Well, I'm not getting paid forthis.
Unless the company hasspecifically stated and has in
place that they're going to payyou hourly for doing bullshit in
the shop, then that's fine.
Then you know you're gettingcompensated for what you're
doing.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
I'm not just saying pushing a broom, I'm saying
whatever task it is at the shopno 100 now our guys are are
definitely structureddifferently, but then you see
the progression in the heavyside he goes hey, if I put in my
time and and that's the biggestproblem I think that I'm seeing
with a lot of new operators isthat they don't understand Like
they want to go okay, I want togo from light duty operator to
(24:10):
rotator extraordinaire in threeyears.
It doesn't happen.
No, it doesn't happen.
You do not go from light dutytow operator to management in
three years.
No.
Right, unless you are someabsolute phenomenon.
Like you know, there's alwaysthe exception to the rules.
Right, it always happens.
But for the most part you needto put in time.
(24:33):
You need to put in not justtime like it's, not just like a,
you know, a irrelevant numberthat a company sets out for for
no reason, that you have to bein this long before you do this.
A lot of it is justified andyou have to have an
understanding.
You know, let's say, rotators,how do I know if one of my
drivers is not ready to go toheavy?
I ask them what their wirerope's rated for on their light
(24:56):
duties.
If they can't give me thatanswer, you're not even at the
first step.
Right.
If you can't tell me what yourchains are rated for on your
truck, you're not at the firststep.
If you can't tell me what thatslings rated for whether that be
vertical, you know then you'renot ready for that next step,
(25:17):
right, so it's so important, butthey don't realize that, they
just go.
Oh well, everything I've doneI've been able to do, okay, but
everything you've done has beenguesswork yeah right.
Like you know, you and I talkedback when, right when you
started earlier career.
Well, it looks heavy, so I'llput a snatch block on it.
That's guesswork.
Yeah, there is no rhyme orreason or other than just
(25:39):
visually looking at it.
You cannot tell me what thenumbers were and why you needed
it.
It was guesswork.
But a lot of new hires nowadays, nowadays, want that Like they
want to go.
Oh, I went three months and didall kinds of toes.
I'm ready to do this and it'slike no, you're not, like
(25:59):
there's so much humbling thatneeds to happen.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
Well, a lot of different ways.
The towing industry has alwaysbeen seen as the wild west right
for the longest time,especially the light duty.
You can make it through 20, 30years without knowing what your
wire rope is rated for, whatthat sling is rated for,
figuring out what your weakestlink is I don't know if you can
(26:25):
go 20, 30 years.
You will probably die on doingsomething stupid before then but
I'm saying in the light dutystuff it's a lot easier to be um
incompetent in that regard I'min.
It's just as it's just stupideasy just to get in the truck
and hook a line onto somethingand start pulling right,
(26:47):
especially with how cheaply carsare built.
You hook up your j-hook to thatlittle uh horseshoe at the back
of a honda civic on the sparetire holder underneath the trunk
right, and you're like, oh well, that will break before any of
my equipment does, becausethat's the weakest link and it's
easy just to have thatmentality and train of thought
(27:10):
when doing the light stuff.
But then once you get intooperating a hundred thousand
pound truck and lifting thingsup and over guard rails, over
other obstacles, you got toreally stand back and realize
the scale of what you're doing.
Because if you want to become acrane operator, you have to go
(27:31):
to school, for that you've gotto do an apprenticeship, for
that you got to do a wholelaundry list of things to become
a crane operator well, aren'trotators just basically cranes
with a different name and aslightly different skill set?
Speaker 1 (27:46):
Ooh, I'm not getting into that debate.
Speaker 3 (27:49):
I'm not getting into that debate either.
You know why they're not, I'llembrace it.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
Do you know why rotators are not cranes?
Speaker 3 (27:57):
Because you don't need a license to operate a
rotator.
Nope, what do cranes do?
They pick things up and setthings down.
What do rotators do?
What do cranes do?
They pick things up and setthings down.
What do rotators do?
Speaker 1 (28:07):
rotate no, they pick things up and put things down,
but they can also drag, they canalso pull across.
That's the main differencebetween a crane.
A crane can only pick up andlift down and put that.
That is the main, one of themain differences.
But anyways, continue on withit.
I probably made you lose yourthought.
I apologize yeah.
Speaker 3 (28:24):
Um.
So from the layman person outthere they say well, that thing
picks things up and puts thingsdown, so does the crane.
So that's pretty much a craneright.
And if you look at the skillrequirements and what you need
to be an actual crane operatorcompared to what you need to be
a rotator operator in the towingindustry, you can start
realizing why the specificcompanies have these high limits
(28:49):
or barriers to entry.
I guess you could say, to makesure your skill set is up to
task.
Because if you screw somethingup and you misjudge, uh, working
load limits in a light duty,you're risking yourself and
maybe a bystander.
But if you screw up in an 80ton rotator with a
(29:12):
semi-suspended, you're riskingthe lives of multiple people
multiple people and oodlesamount of more money and
equipment, right, sure?
plus that'll make the news.
If you fuck something up in aone-ton truck, you might not
make the news.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
You might get lucky.
Speaker 3 (29:25):
If a rotator flips over and kills two people,
you're making the newsnationwide.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
No, 100%, and the towing industry is its own enemy
in the sense that it has putpeople behind the wheel of
trucks and equipment.
They should have never beenbehind the wheel of 100% and
behind the wheel is one thing,behind the control is another.
The wheel up 100 and behind thewheel is one thing, behind the
controls another right and.
And so you know there is stepsthat are you know, let's be
honest being taken to helprectify that.
(29:54):
And that's where we get intoour next point that we want to
talk about, the wonderful to see, a thing everybody hates unless
you're in the province ofontario.
And if you're in the provinceof Ontario, you still hate it
even more because you areabsolutely living it.
So the government has gottengood at making announcements
(30:15):
when it comes to regulationchange.
So July 1st in Canada I wonderif it's the same in the States
but July 1st and January 1st arewhen big changes come into
effect.
Now we have been well aware ofchanges that are coming into
effect in Ontario for a while.
This isn't new information thatnobody knew.
People knew it was coming.
(30:36):
What was crazy is I recentlychecked.
So, as of July 1st, we knewthat tow operator licenses were
going to be required, and weknew that to operator licenses
were going to be required, andwe knew that to apply for a tow
operator's license there wouldbe a mandatory training.
Those were the two things thatwe knew.
We knew what the tow licensewas going to cost Yep.
Speaker 2 (30:59):
And we knew how to get one because we've been
applying for them ahead of time.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
All my staff has their tow licenses.
There was no cost.
That was made very clear.
Here's the cost.
If you apply before this date,before the July 1st, when it
fully comes into effect, thereis no cost.
You will have to pay that costwhen the renewal comes up in
three years.
But what we didn't know is themandatory training, and up until
as late as Thursday I believeit was Thursday or Wednesday
(31:22):
that I checked and I know peoplethat checked on Thursday, the
government and this is before along weekend, don't forget.
July 1st falls on a holidayMonday, so Friday at like 6
o'clock at night theannouncement comes out for the
mandatory training.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
So June 28th at 8 o'clock.
Yes, two full days.
You had notice that are over aweekend.
Zero business days.
Speaker 1 (31:45):
Zero full days you had noticed that are over a
weekend Zero business days.
Zero business days over aholiday-long weekend 100%.
So the post comes out and I'vegot some information here.
Wreckmaster puts out a postvisit towtruckdrivertrainingca
to start your training or visitOntario, blah, blah, blah, blah,
blah.
Learn more about the newrequirements.
(32:07):
So, as of friday, they announceokay, we have the training set
up.
Wreckmaster is the onlycertified company currently to
do this.
Now I imagine there isn't a planto have more um, but so far and
I mean, you know you, recmaster, if you're trying to make
sure there isn't more, let's behonest, right, um, you don't
(32:29):
need competition in the industryand if you can avoid it, you
can avoid it.
Um, but this is, like I said,friday of a long weekend and the
cost comes up, and even thecost.
The cost was hard to find, thecost was not head over to that
website and the cost is postedright there.
No, no, no, no.
You got to create an account.
Okay, I'm going to createaccount because I want to see
(32:50):
this, but then to create account.
This is freaking.
Friday night, you're not in theoffice, you don't have access
to everything.
I'm out on my phone.
You need my driver's licensenumber, you need a photo of my
dl, you need like a lot ofinformation to create an account
here.
This isn't just.
You know what I mean.
Sign up for an email newsletter, so the uh.
Luckily, there was a couplepeople through some groups on on
(33:11):
social media and you can youcan always appreciate how people
come together on social mediawhen it comes to things they
don't like.
Um, there was somebody who haddone like a video of all the
screens and stuff and and showedthe price and and I want to
make this abundantly clearbefore we start because I'm
worried it's going to come offthis way I do not blame the
company providing the trainingfor the cost in which they apply
(33:32):
.
They have obviously done ananalysis and the money required
to set this up and do and toimplement this and to manage
this program.
And, at the end of the day,they are not a nonprofit, they
are not a government fundedcompany.
They need to make a profit,just like we do.
Okay, because I'm worried thatI'm going to say some dumb
things over the next littlewhile and it's going to come out
(33:53):
that I am angry at rec master.
I love rec master.
Right, I feel that they have.
They have done their analysisand I am trusting that they have
done their homework and thatthey're being as reasonable as
possible with this.
They came out with a cost of849 dollars, or uh, sorry, my,
my sheet is actually wrong hereon your screen.
It's I.
It is 849, not 845.
(34:14):
I'm going to go back and changethat okay so even that my whole
math total might not might be acouple bucks off.
I apologize, um, but it's 845dollars.
So 49 49.
The process on how this worksnow is wild and this is going to
have major changes on theindustry.
(34:34):
Okay, so new hire that comes inafter july 1st.
Here's the policy.
Here's the procedure.
In order to apply for aprovincial license right, which
is $195, valid for three years,a tow operator, tow driver I
hate that we have to call themdrivers a tow truck driver is
(34:57):
required to first complete thegovernment required training.
So, step one any new hire hasto complete the government
required training Throughcurrently.
Any new hire has to completethe government required training
through.
Currently Rec Master is theonly place you can receive it
From there.
Once they complete thattraining, then they are required
to spend out $195 for aprovincial license that is good
(35:21):
for three years.
Now the thing that's importantabout this right is we've looked
.
What happens if I don't?
What happens if I get a newemployee?
I don't want to put that moneyout right away because I want to
see if this employee is goingto make it.
I think that is a very validconcern under to see
requirements vehicle impoundedif no, or suspended certificate
(35:45):
14.1.
A police officer or inspectormay important comment may detain
a tow truck if the policeofficer or inspector is
satisfied that a person wasdriving a tow truck on a highway
at a time when A the person didnot hold a valid tow driver
certificate or, b the towoperator of the tow truck tow
operator being the company didnot hold a valid tow driver
(36:05):
certificate or be the towoperator of the tow truck, tow
operator being the company didnot hold a valid tow certificate
.
Same a tow truck detained undersubsection one shall, at the
cost and risk of the towoperator.
So again, now we went from Mayto shell be removed to a vehicle
(36:26):
storage yard facility, isdirected by a police officer or
inspector and be impounded forseven days from the time it was
detained.
You can find this, all thisinformation, on the Ontarioca
laws website.
So you hire a new employee andyou go I'm going to hold off on,
I don't, I don't, I don't, Idon't want to put this money out
(36:47):
.
Right front, that employee cannot drive a tow truck until you
have satisfied theserequirements, which means you
can not get a true evaluation ofthis, this person as a driver
even.
So, think about that.
You can't like I meantechnically a road test.
(37:08):
Uh, it's a little tricky.
And the argument has been whatdo you define as a tow truck?
Can I bring them out in a flat?
You know, and there's alwaysgoing to be these gray bullshit
that we're trying to figure out,but they cannot drive a tow
truck until they receive theprovincial license.
They cannot receive theprovincial license until they
receive the government requiredtraining.
So who pays for this?
(37:29):
And I want to ask you, g, in acase like that, we're in an
industry where we are alreadystruggling to get good
candidates.
Now, all this money, should allthis money be put out on the
employee?
Do you see a balance with it?
Like what would your views belooking at that?
We're talking over a thousanddollars before you can even
drive a tow truck in ontario asof July 1st 2024.
Speaker 3 (37:53):
So as an employee, like as a person looking for
employment, I've had it multipletimes.
When I am applying to a new job, I expect okay, I probably
won't get paid for the firstthree weeks if I get the job, or
up to a month right.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
Not get paid.
Speaker 3 (38:11):
Right, because of how pay schedules normally work.
You normally start and youdon't the pay oh, because
there's a delay.
Speaker 1 (38:17):
Yeah, your time is still being paid, it's just
exactly so you don't get yourfirst paycheck, normally for the
first month that you work two,three weeks possibly.
Speaker 3 (38:25):
Yeah, so going into a new job with that you're
already okay.
Well, whatever money I have inthe bank, I gotta make that last
another month because a lot ofpeople, let's be honest, don't
have a good amount of savings,especially if they're switching
jobs, of course it can have agood effect on your savings.
Yes, exactly so I come into thistowing industry.
(38:48):
I was like I want to give thisa shot.
Okay, well, before I can evenget hired at this company, you
want me to go out and spend athousand, over a thousand
dollars before you even hire me?
Speaker 1 (39:01):
before I even hire you and still have your three
months probation, that I could.
Can you, let's say from thatside I could, can you before
your your time's even up?
Exactly, I'm gonna go tell youto go fuck yourself no,
realistically, you gotta reallywant in the towing industry for
that to be worth it and how,like this is my biggest issue.
Speaker 3 (39:22):
So let's just take um when you go and get a d license
, you get a temporary d licenseafter you do your road test and
you gotta do additional traininguntil you get a full d license.
Right, you can do both coursesat the same time if you do some
things.
But if you challenge the test,you get a temporary license.
Then you got to go do moretraining.
We really should have somethinglike that in the towing
(39:45):
industry, where you apply forthe towing, the provincial
required license, you pay that,you pay your 200.
It's a lower barrier, barrierto entry, and that's good for
six months.
After that, six months, let'ssay.
Let's just say you get one uhrenewal on that, so you get a
full year before you have to goand do the required testing okay
(40:05):
, I like your idea.
Speaker 1 (40:06):
I think your time frame is a little off, but I
like the idea.
Speaker 3 (40:08):
Yeah, right so because, as a company, in that
regard, if I got to hire someonenew, it's costing me not just.
I could send them and do thistraining, which is $849 at
RecMaster, and I could pay toget them their license, which I
really think it's your license,that you are a holder of.
(40:30):
You should probably pay that Imight subsidize some of it.
Right, you are a holder of.
You should probably pay that Imight subsidize some of it,
right?
Um, but then if I send them todo this training, does that mean
I don't need to train themanymore?
Speaker 1 (40:41):
well, probably not no , you're still gonna have to,
you're still gonna have to doonboarding.
Speaker 3 (40:46):
It's not.
I'm sure it's probably aweekend course, rec masters
putting on like a two, maybethree day course.
Speaker 1 (40:51):
Whatever the case, I've got to look because it's
not an in-person 90 of it.
Oh, it's not in person.
Speaker 3 (40:57):
No, no, no, no, no no oh yeah nay, nay, yeah, oh,
yeah, um that changes things.
That changes a lot of things.
So what?
What stops me from paying forthis course and just having it
on a hard drive and redoing it?
(41:18):
Just, I have, to guess, paythat money again to get the
actual certificate I guessthere's very similar.
Speaker 1 (41:26):
Um, no, there is a like a accreditation process
that has to be done.
Um, it doesn't say it just hasan evaluation.
You can trust an evaluationstand.
Our evaluation stand out as thehallmark of credibility and
professionalism, as they areproctored and approved by all
requisite regulatory bodies.
We prioritize.
We prioritize the integrity ofour assessment process, ensuring
(41:48):
that each evaluation isconducted under strict
supervision inherent to industrystandards, by aligning our
practices with guidelines setforth by the regulatory
authorities.
It's a lot of just bullshit thatdoesn't go anywhere yeah,
because you just set thestandards yeah, yeah, you were
part of setting these standardsum but I don't have an account
yet to actually go in and seewhat it consists of the whole
(42:10):
thing is just weird right now,like Like I have a really bad
feeling about this.
Speaker 3 (42:17):
Um a, I'm not in the industry anymore, so I feel like
I probably won't get back intothe industry, at least as a tow
truck driver, just because ofall this bullshit.
And, to be fair, it's itdoesn't seem like that high of a
barrier to entry for me becauseI have experience.
But at the same time, I've gotexperience I've done the job for
(42:39):
seven, eight years, howeverlong it was.
Why am I going to start doingall this bullshit now just
because the government tells methat I need it and I've done the
job prior, right?
So in that regard, it's like Idon't know.
There's so much new regulation,especially since I got out of
the industry.
I would get back in.
I'd feel completely new againbecause there's so much new
(43:01):
things that I gotta actually sitdown and learn now.
To be frank, I know a fair bitof it just because of the show
and everything that we've talkedabout, but from, let's say,
someone else got out of theindustry last year and towing is
that job where it's somethingthat a lot of people always fall
back on, because no matterwhere you go, there's always
(43:21):
towing companies looking fordrivers.
So let's say I want to move toAlberta and I want to open a
business in Alberta.
I get out there and I can'topen the business right now
because that market's just notthere.
What I thought it was, well, Ican probably tow in the meantime
, it's a good thing to there,and oh, I can't open the
business right now because thatmarket's just not there.
What I thought it was?
Well, I can probably tow in themeantime, right, it's a good
thing to fall back on.
And something like this if thatperson was in alberta, coming
(43:43):
to ontario, it's not as simple.
Speaker 1 (43:45):
Just oh, go get a job at a towing company, right so I
do have a bit of the syllabusand a bit of the structure.
I have managed to find itthrough their website Ontario
Tow Truck Driver TrainingStandard Best for tow truck
drivers that operate in Ontario.
Online course length eighthours.
In-yard training six hours.
(44:06):
Oh, so there is some in-yard,okay there has to be, but I
don't know what it is.
I believe it's with somebodyelse.
That's what I don't fullyunderstand, because they're not
sending in a trainer down justfor six hours.
Yeah, um, so the trainingcourse?
They.
Upon completing the trainingcourse, individuals are required
to pass certification exam.
The exam tests candidatesknowledge of the towing
(44:28):
procedure.
Uh, I did get their syllabus.
And when we go down to uh, Idid get their syllabus.
And when we go down througheverything and I can go through
quickly just what the sectionsare I won't go into each
individual subsection Courseparticipants are required to
complete the training in thefollowing order the online
course, section 1 to 8, passingeach section quiz with an 80 or
higher to progress to the nextsection.
(44:48):
Section 9, in-yard training.
Active participation inhands-on and practical skills
assessment.
Final multiple choiceevaluation A hundred question
multiple choice evaluation.
A grade of 80% or higher isneeded to pass.
Upon completion of the finalevaluation, students will be
notified of their grade, as wellas any incorrect answers.
(45:11):
As well as any incorrectanswers.
Hmm, it is easier to get theright or responsibility to drive
a truck in the province ofOntario or a car than it is to
operate a tow truck.
And don't get me wrong Again, Ithink a lot of this is required
.
I just feel like the governmenthas absolutely pooched this
(45:35):
thing so hard.
Yeah, that is going to be adamn near impossible to come
back from.
So the course outline issection one introduction to tow
industry vehicles, tow truckdriving terms and licensing
requirements and compilecompatibility of light duty
towing vehicle.
Section two safe workingenvironments.
Health safety it includeshazards and cleanup, biohazards,
(45:57):
work-related trauma andself-care.
Maybe not the worst.
Three transportation legislation, regulations and policies.
So requirements of C of CBO areyour GBCR, your G V, w, r, tow
capacities, load securements,lightings requirements and the
towing and storage Safety andEnforcement Act.
Four on-scene protocols the towoperators' role and emergency
(46:23):
response teams and temporarycondition requirements.
Five on-scene safety measuresand management Coordinate with
emergency services and dispatchplanning ahead to anticipate
problems and safe practices.
Six towing win winching,extrication techniques,
securement, uh calculatingtowing loads, towing vehicle
(46:43):
equipment, safe hook techniques,car carrier loading, loading
techniques for motorcycles andtrikes, hostile terrain and
resistant factors this is allthe in-person or online.
Between the two.
Speaker 3 (46:56):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (46:57):
Between the two.
Oh no, sorry, this is all theonline.
Okay.
Roadside services, non-towingservices, professionalism,
customer service anddocumentation.
They have a typo on theirwebsite Safe driving practices,
cooperative and safe towoperation, equipment capacities
and maintenance.
Safely removing hazardousmaterial and debris debris
keeping up with the trends.
Section nine in yard training,six hours at the location of
(47:21):
your choice.
So very interesting at thelocation of your choice, so
something.
Speaker 3 (47:29):
I wonder if I could get a job and go and train
people for six hours at randomlocations I think you could now.
Speaker 1 (47:35):
Anyone hiring you to train people for six hours at
random locations, I think youcould Now anyone hiring you to
train people is a scary thoughton its own, and if they call me
for a reference, I'm not likelyto be the best person to put
down.
Speaker 3 (48:00):
Other licensing fields, especially for licenses
you can get if you are a validlicense holder for X amount of
years, you can get a signingauthority.
Speaker 1 (48:03):
Yeah, like a train the trainer, which I think is
what the plan will ultimately behere.
Speaker 3 (48:06):
But, again.
Speaker 1 (48:06):
Then it goes unregulated again.
Speaker 3 (48:08):
Yeah Right, it goes way unregulated because, okay,
I've been been let's say I'vedone this for five years and I
go and get my signing authorityand I buy this course and I sit
them down in a classroom infront of this video.
Now each company will havetheir own designated trainer to
keep costs down.
Because you'll say, okay, well,we'll provide the new employee
(48:32):
free training, right, but wewon't pay you during this
in-class bullshit.
So you got eight hours ofcomputer and you got six hours
in the field, so two-daytraining.
You don't get paid for that,but it's free training and
you'll get a license.
You still have to pay the $200for your license, or however
that works right.
And then you have no governingbody because there is no third
(48:56):
party test, just like anything,really well, there's got to be a
third party somewhere throughthis that's why I don't fully
understand how it how it works,so I'm in, though continue yeah,
this is.
It's a mess.
And of course we we knewsomething like this was coming,
but the time frame that theygave us.
(49:18):
So let's say you, someonecalled in on friday and said,
hey, I would like a job.
You say, okay, come in for aninterview on monday or tuesday
and, uh, we'll start getting yousorted.
Well, now you can't, becauseyou can't even put them in a
truck tuesday.
Now you gotta.
I wonder what the availabilityis like for this.
Like, how far out is this train?
Speaker 1 (49:37):
That's my question and that is why, like, I think
one of the big things and it'ssomething definitely we'll have
to touch back on because, likeyou know, we're going to need to
go through it and and, and youknow, get registered.
Speaker 3 (49:48):
Okay, so in that $845 , they say at a location of your
choice.
What happens when someone up inManitoulin Island says, okay,
well, I need someone to come andtrain this guy in Manitoulin
Island?
Is there going to be an addedfee for distance, because
Ontario is a big province?
If everyone's located down inToronto or Niagara, ottawa.
Speaker 1 (50:12):
Ottawa, yeah, all your big cities, yeah.
Speaker 3 (50:14):
Right, niagara, ottawa, what you're on?
Yeah, all your, all your bigcities.
Yeah right, that guy might haveto drive 24 hours north just to
get to a northern towingcompany to do six hour training.
Speaker 1 (50:23):
Like that doesn't well, and that's where, like I
said, it's still kind of in theair.
They're still missing somethingon this.
I know there is because, likeyou, you can't you're right, you
cannot send this one-offcompany um, you know what I mean
like send them out there forone, one person, to get trained
no it just doesn't make sense.
Speaker 3 (50:50):
No, doesn't make financial.
Speaker 1 (50:54):
I don't know what's what's going to come of it.
Um, it is still a lot up in theair.
Obviously they've added thecost and that's you know, and
it's a big cost.
You throw that in the licensingcost, the uh, you know, and
then the two weeks to train themin house, yeah in house, um it,
(51:15):
it can really like, and thenthey don't last more than two
weeks.
Speaker 3 (51:21):
Yeah, you know, I mean like it's definitely a risk
that really in-house trainingshould be doubled because you
got to pay an operator to trainyeah, well, the operator
training them, though at thesame time is is getting is
getting some calls done normally, yeah, but he's going to be a
lot slower, you know.
Speaker 1 (51:41):
What is very interesting is when you do visit
the website, so I haveregistered for those that are
interested.
While we're having thisconversation, you see Ontario
Tow Truck Driver and TrainingStandard, and then you see
Quebec, Nova Scotia, NewBrunswick, Manitoba all coming
soon.
Oh.
So I think we could see thatthis is the standard that is
(52:01):
going, and we kind of knew thattoo.
This is the standard that isgoing to be put across the
province.
Speaker 3 (52:06):
Across the country.
Speaker 1 (52:07):
Or across the country , sorry.
So so you guys in the States.
Speaker 3 (52:12):
When Colorado starts doing some janky shit with uh
licensing and bullshit, payattention to that, even if you
don't live in that state,because you never know when the
federal body might say hey,that's a good idea, what they're
doing there in colorado, let'smandate that federally I just
really want to see I'm trying toget a little bit more
information on the in yardtraining and how that works.
(52:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (52:38):
Select your yard, your yard training location.
Upload in yard certificate.
So select your yard training.
Okay, so maybe there is a waythat you can have like a train
the trainer program.
Yeah.
Um, it doesn't fully, it doesn'tfully try stay or say sorry,
well, I just can't speak.
(52:58):
Um, so, anyways, well, we willsee, it's mandatory now.
There ain't no coming back fromit.
So we did have a quick, youknow, government training 845,
provincial required license 195,valid for three years, and
that's something that I thinkthe employee is going to have to
pay.
I think at least the toastcertificate the employee is
going to have to pay becausethat is theirs.
(53:18):
If they leave your company togo to another company, that
certificate carries with them,right?
So it does make sense in that,in that way, the training I
think it's going to have to besomething that's going to be on
an agreement of some sort.
Speaker 3 (53:32):
You know, I don't know what that agreement you
might start seeing contracts,say, okay, you gotta sign this
contract and be here for Xamount of years to pay off this
drink A year.
Speaker 1 (53:43):
A year, and we will absorb the cost of this.
Anything less than a yearyou're required to pay out of
your final paycheck.
Yeah.
Which, again, is just going toput more stress and possibly you
, you know push people away morefrom wanting to get into our
industry and you will end uphaving guys who might realize a
month in that this isn't forthem.
Speaker 3 (54:03):
But they're going to do the absolute bare minimum and
stick out that year to try toget fired so they don't have to
pay that money out of theirpocket, right?
Speaker 1 (54:13):
but I like your.
I like the idea that you shouldalmost apply for, like a towing
learner's permit.
Yep.
That is valid for maybe onlylike three months.
Yep.
And you pay that it's a fractionof the other fee, or fucking
leave it the same fee, I don'teven care.
I think it's reasonable for 195within that three months, and
maybe renewable once, like yousaid.
Like you said, or extendableones.
You are required to completethat training Right, and then if
(54:35):
you do not complete thattraining at the end of it, your
license is then suspended.
You no longer have a towoperator certificate Once your
training is complete.
You can then apply at any pointwithin that first three months
for a full three year permit.
Once your training is complete.
I think that is a veryreasonable approach and I think
that is something that wouldprobably have brought it got
(54:56):
brought up if the governmentactually sat down with its
stakeholders, Like I said it did, that weren't the insurance
company and weren't you knowwhat I mean the, the MTO and
everything, and I actually satwith towers and said, hey look,
this is what we're thinking ofdoing.
Right, you came up with thatidea on the spot.
Yeah.
Imagine if they actually tookthe into account the towing
(55:17):
industry and listen to peopleand go, hey, maybe this will
make more sense, maybe this issomething we can work on, maybe
all that kind of stuff.
So if you are a tower in theprovince of ontario, we do wish
you luck as we continue onthrough these wonderful new
times that are facing us yeah um, have your say on it.
What do you think of the desia?
If you're an american state andyou want to see what your
future could hold I know youguys are facing all your own
(55:37):
problems down there you'reseeing.
You're seeing the future rightnow.
You are seeing.
Don't think that this is goingto be exclusive to canada.
You know north america tends tobring in a lot of very similar
policies and procedures.
This could be next up.
So I know certain statesactually do require a towing
license, but it is a verydifferent practice to get.
It is through like almost likea driver's license, a written
(55:58):
test you have to go for um, andI'm willing to bet it doesn't
cost 845 plus the 200 for thelicense.
So, on behalf of myself and mywonderful co-host, mr toman g,
we do thank you.
Don't forget towing life atgmailcom, towinglifeca.
Towinglife podcast on Facebookor leave your comment down below
on YouTube.
(56:18):
We thank you for joining us forepisode 142, and we can't wait
to see you again next week.
Take care.
Toodles you actually came upwith a really good idea.
(56:41):
You should have been on thepanel discussion.
They should have taken what yousaid and thought about it.
Yeah, they should have, and Ihave that recording so that you
can have that for me to say Igot a gold star I got gold star
from daddy playing guy fuck thetowing industry.
It's all over the place.
Really hate because when we talk about this, we got
to keep calling them driversbecause operators a whole
different thing under Tazia andI fought for years to not call
them drivers, Only for thegovernment to step in and go you
a driver.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Hey everyone.
I'm Brad from Calgary.
This is Sean from Cambridge.
Ontario.
I'm Terry from Cornwall Ontario.
Hey this is Larry from.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Pit Metals, british Columbia, and you're listening
to the Towing Life Podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Welcome to the Towing Life Podcast, where the ditches
are deep, the trucks are loaded, but the drivers are not.
I am your host, Towing man G,and, as usual, I'm joined by my
co-host, friend and formerco-worker, a man with very
strong opinions, Mr Plain Guy.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
What is going on?
G.
What is going on?
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Well, we talked for about four, five minutes before
we actually started the show,and I already have a headache
from that conversation.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Oh, it's going to be.
It's interesting times comingin the towing industry.
We've we've discussed it before.
We're going to try and keep itbrief and entertaining.
Um, when it comes to the to seea side of things, uh, which we
were once again going to reviewwith July 1st, yesterday at the
time of airing of this episode.
So Ontario's new laws havetaken a full effect.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Happy.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Canada.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
Day.
Happy 4th of July to all youAmericans out there.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
That's coming up later on this week.
Ooh, that is it.
I think for next week we shoulddo.
We'll take a week to puttogether a little 4th of July
trivia.
Maybe we can make a little funout of it if you put together a
couple questions, I put togethera couple questions, I put
together a couple questions andwe see who is who is well
educated on the ways of thesouth.
Um, you guys were lucky enoughto have your first debate down
there.
(01:52):
I did watch clips of it.
Uh, lord, help you is is allI'm gonna say.
I'm not gonna watch the first 40minutes of it okay, I'm not
gonna get political on the sideof it.
Um, I know they're doing italmost to get people interested
in what's going on in theelection, because it is very
early.
However, what is the populationof the US?
(02:12):
Do we know this?
Gee, I'm going to look it up.
Okay, the population of the US.
Usa population is 333.3 millionas of 2022.
Okay, so it's a little dated.
So, 333 million people?
Now, I'm not one to judge,because Canada is no, you know
(02:34):
perfect world right now.
No, but out of that many people, this is the best.
Two that you came up with, liketwo that you came up with like
this is the best.
Two people out of 333 million.
Lord, help you.
And again, I feel like ahypocrite saying that because
(02:55):
it's anyone listening can easilygo hey, plain guy, look at
canada.
That's what you guys came upwith fair the general population
.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
That's what you guys came up with.
Fair the general populationdoesn't pick who runs for
president, it's the people whowant that person to be president
.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
It's still the fact that 333 million people and that
is, and it's come down to thesetwo yeah, 80 and, and 81 and 80
year olds, or 79 year old and81 year old like this, is the
yeah.
So good luck to you.
Um, you can return that youknow that job to me when our
(03:31):
election comes around, because Iassure you it won't be much
better.
Um, however, yes, um, so,without getting into the us
politics too much, um, you canhave your say on who you're
voting for on the next federalelection.
You can visit us atwwwtowinglifeca.
You can email us directly atthetowinglife at gmailcom, or
(03:52):
you can find us on Facebook atthe Towing Life podcast.
If you're watching over on theYouTube side, they've probably
turned off commenting because wementioned anything political,
but if they haven't, you canhead down below leave a comment.
Don't forget, while you'rethere, to hit the like, hit the
subscribe, hit the follow, hitall the buttons that you can hit
.
Uh, if you really don't likewhat we're saying or you uh you
(04:12):
don't agree with uh Tomangie'sMAGA mentality, you can hit that
thumbs down twice.
Uh, it'll really let YouTubeknow what you think of, uh, what
you think of his.
Uh, I don't want to say ways.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
I just realized I've had the windows open in my house
like a lot over the last coupleof weeks because it's been fire
, fairly decent and the wind has, like made my calendar fold in
on itself.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
I don't know how your calendar is failing.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Yeah, it wasn't quality controlled.
I don't know how your calendaris failing Apparently it wasn't
quality controlled Um, but yeah,so.
so, yeah, I know I do want toget into a bit.
Uh, we're going to get into acouple of things.
Uh, first I want to talk aboutI am.
I am sore, I am tired, my armsare like jelly today.
Um, but it was all for a goodcause within the company.
So, uh, we set out a goal atthe beginning of the year it
(05:05):
might've been last year, butsomewhere around the beginning
of the year that we wanted tostart focusing more on what do
you call it Like employeehappiness, right?
Um, at the end of the day, thedollar is the ultimate thing.
Pay me to do my work.
Um, the extras are the extras.
The extras are the extras, butwe had set out a goal that we
were going to every quarter, soevery four months sorry, that
(05:27):
would be three months.
Every three months we weregoing to do a staff oriented
event.
This has been on top of ourpolicy where we have gone to
every week doing staff lunches.
So every week on Thursdayswe've been ordering pizzas,
(05:50):
we've been doing some likePopeye's chicken, some whatever
we've been doing Like we've beenordering lunches every Thursday
for the staff that's workingthat day.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
Yeah, um, on the company as well for the guy who
never works on a single Thursday.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
No, the way our rotation works.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
I never have that problem?
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Um, I never had that problem.
But then we also want to dofour staff events a year, so we
did one three months ago.
Um, where we did it was calledthe archery combat.
It was a french name but it'seasier to say in english, so it
was pretty much uh, dodgeballwith bow and arrows, oh, with
the like big, like beanbags onthe end of them.
We played that down in uh, downin montreal, where we did that,
(06:24):
and there was maybe I don'tknow eight, nine of us that went
down.
Um, that was physicallyexhausting.
That is the day I realized howout of shape I am.
Like when you do that thinglike dodgeball, where you run to
the middle to grab the ball.
I'm like behind the airbagthing going nope, someone's
gonna send one my way and missand I'll pick it up then.
Because after doing that about,like you know, we've played
(06:45):
about 10 or 12 different games.
Oh, wow, by the end of it youare like my legs are
non-existent, my arms are evenworn out.
My wife had all kinds ofbruises on her.
Um, so that was good, right, wegot about, you know, a good
chunk of our staff um wasn't asmany as we would have liked.
So today came around and we'vebeen planning it for a bit and
(07:06):
we were doing go-karting right.
So we called a track nearby andwe we set up the go-karting and
we had 14 of us, which is agood number, good, good majority
of our staff.
And the rule is that we havewith the guys is, if you're
working that weekend, there's achance you may not be able to
come right, like you might nothit every one of them, but we
will make it that it.
(07:27):
You know, I'm not going to makeit that it's the same guy
working every week every time wedo this.
So a couple of the guys I gotcoverage for us.
They could make it.
Um, a couple people just didn'twant to come.
That's fine, that's their, youknow their choice.
It's not a mandatory mandatoryfun day yeah, my wife came down,
um she is was dead last.
(07:48):
I, uh, I am.
I'm sad to report that we havetwo very different driving
styles.
Uh, one of them involvesleaning heavily on the right
pedal and one of them involvesjust driving miss daisy around
you really like the skinny pedal, I see yeah, exactly.
Yeah, I was.
I was very hard on the pedal,um, so, no, but it was great.
(08:11):
You know what those kind ofteam building experiences
they're.
They're, you know they come ata cost for the company, but in a
day and time now where, hey,financially, a lot of people are
strapped to right, that thatchance for them to get out and
do stuff of enjoyment becausethey're so focused on just
covering the bare necessities,right, little things like this
(08:32):
is a good way to, kind of you,build your team morale, right.
We had lots of laughs and, andyou know, lots of anger and I, I
did, um, I did take out my, uh,one of my admin people in the
office, like unintentionally,but pretty good, um, I had one
of my heavy operators absolutelywreck me into an outside wall.
(08:53):
That I, I thought I went bymyself.
I didn't even know he touchedme.
It wasn't until after the racethat he informed me that no, no,
I, I wasn't getting lapped byyou, so I absolutely cut the
wheels into you and it was, itwas, it was around high speed,
like one of the fastest corners,and I went pretty good into it,
um, but, uh, you know it buildsgood morale.
(09:13):
You have some fun.
It gets you to see these peopleoutside of work a little bit too
right really helps build thatculture within the company, and
I think that kind of stuff goesso much farther than than a
company would think yeah right,like you look at and you
probably go, okay, well, everythree months we're going to
spend about a thousand bucks onthese kind of events.
So four thousand dollars a year,it's a good chunk of change.
(09:34):
But at the same time, what isthe cost of training new
operators, what is the cost ofconstant turnover, what is the
cost that we're going to getinto that a little bit with the
changes coming to see in ontario, but what is the cost?
Like, this industry takes sucha toll on these people's lives
that I think, for you know, andagain, depends on the size of
(09:54):
your company, right, we'refortunate enough that we are
able to.
You know people that haveworked for us previously, who
have not, you know, who are ongood terms because I have plenty
of people that aren't that theyare willing to.
You know we've kept a goodrelationship that they're
willing to come cover right, sothat I can have my staff down,
right, if you're a company ofthree, four guys, you know
(10:16):
having, uh, one or two spares togo.
Hey, we're doing this event.
Would you be willing to comecover a shift?
And, and for us it was likefour hours yeah right, it was
four or five hours.
It covered from, I think, 10 amuntil 3 pm, but they could have
done it till 2 pm, like we wereback in plenty of time, but we
gave the guys time to go getlunch and everything else and
and get back ready for it.
So I I really think you know,and I'd love to say this is my
(10:40):
idea it was, it was the farthestthing from.
As you know me, I am not the umis care as much about personal
as I should.
Yep, I'm very much at an arm'slength um.
So it was our owner that cameup and said, hey, I want to do
this, I want to build a culture,I want to build something, a
family within this company.
And yes, we do it through theexperiences that we go through
(11:02):
and the trauma that we gothrough and all of those things,
but let's do it in a way thatwe can really have some fun with
it.
And, yeah, I think it's been agreat, great addition to our
day-to-day thing and somethingto look forward to every three
months.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
I think you're seeing a lot more of that in a lot of
different industries whereyou've got to build a culture
around your certain sort ofbusiness.
And I've always been in themindset of I'll get close to the
coworkers but upper managementI keep like my personal life,
(11:37):
work life completely separate.
I've never once added any of myprevious bosses on facebook.
I don't talk to them, I don'thave their personal number.
Outside of work I keep it very.
I show up, I do my job, go home.
But I do like this idea ofdoing something every quarterly.
(11:58):
But what if you did?
Okay, so, because a lot ofthese guys have families and
it's great to do the experiencetogether as a collective whole.
But then let's say, okay, Iwent and I did that go-karting
with you, and then I got to comehome and tell my 8-year-old
that I went go-karting that day.
Now he's going to want to gogo-karting.
(12:19):
Well, if we're all strapped forcash now it's on me to take him
back out go-karting.
What if you did something whereyou do every quarter?
Like every quarter, you puttogether a couple of small
packages and say here's fourtickets go to a Jays game.
Or here's four tickets go dothis activity with your family
(12:41):
or something like that to showyour appreciation in that regard
, instead of like especially ifyou are a company to where you
can't get that coverage to alltake all your staff out.
I think that would be a betterway to go, because then you can
just pick one individual, or twoindividuals each quarter to go
away and do something, obviouslywith a bit of their input, of
(13:05):
what they want to do yeah, Ilike that idea.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
I think that's a great idea.
I think it's it would have tobe like said you'd have to pick
employees and then you knowyou'd have to do things, because
I mean, if I'm talking 14 staffplus their kids plus or
whatever, for events, I mean,your cost is, you know, starting
to get excessive.
Now here's the trick I have foranyone that goes go-karting and
has an eight-year-old at homedon't tell them.
Just don't tell them.
(13:28):
Right, where are you?
Daddy was at a work meeting,right, like you have to tell me
you went go-karting.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
Have that conversation with your wife or
your other partner afterwardsokay, but what happens when they
follow the company's facebookpage and they post a big team
driver thing on their Facebook?
Speaker 1 (13:46):
Yeah, daddy, daddy was, daddy wasn't there that was
a different meeting.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
Daddy wasn't there, then you're just boldly lying to
your cat A hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
I fully believe in lying to children.
Um.
I don't think I owe themanything, um, unless I, you know
, I pay you um, I, um, I.
I don't require to answer yourquestions.
Yes, playing guy does encourageand condone lying to children,
(14:17):
um, but no, no, I.
I like the idea you're comingwith I.
I think that's something youcould.
A company could definitely lookat again, given especially if
it's a smaller company.
Maybe if it's a smaller company100.
Now we have, you know, and it'ssomething that could a company
could definitely look at again,given their size, especially if
it's a smaller company, maybe ifit's a smaller company 100%.
Now we have, you know, and it'ssomething that we tried, it's
not really taken off.
We had tried doing kind of whatI call the legacy program and
this would happen every year andthere was tiers to the legacy
(14:37):
program One year, three year,five year, 10 year, 15 year and,
based on the completion of thattime, there was a set gift with
a set dollar amount that theemployee would receive at the
end of the year, right, so, likea a.
One year was like a nice, uh,like spring jacket logo, spring
jacket, like just something,something you wouldn't wear to
work.
(14:57):
Yeah.
Right, uh, three years was a.
I don't remember what we hadkind of come up with, maybe a
spa package or a hotel stay,something like that right now,
where you could use the.
You know, even if you don't usethe, even if you use the full
amount and then have to coversome yourself for maybe your
family and whatnot, um, you know, 15 years was like a beautiful
(15:20):
watch because, let's be honest,15 years of a staff and as an
employee that you have in thisday and age is especially in the
towing industry, is no smallfeat.
Yeah, um.
So stuff like that to showappreciation.
I think you can showappreciation every day and I
think I'm the first person thatis guilty of not always showing
appreciation in the right ways.
Um, but, but no, it's.
(15:42):
It's come to a time where, likeI said, the towing industry is
very tough as it is.
We're seeing a hard timegetting good qualified
applicants and then we're seeingan even harder time on keeping
good qualified applicants,especially when you get into the
license requirements, and Ijust mean driving right, like a
(16:06):
dump truck driver, right, that'swhat I compare a lot of
salaries to.
You.
Look at what a dump truckdriver will make for the amount
of easy work that they'll do.
Right, and I'm not here to shiton dump truck drivers and say
they're doggers, but I mean youput a DZ license to use in that
kind of industry, you'll have ahigher hourly wage and a lot
more stability.
(16:26):
Now on the towing side, you willhave the ability to make more
money based on commission andbin and the extras that come
with it, but it also comes witha lot more hours.
So how can we start to promotethe industry and encourage
people away from those otherjobs into our jobs and it can be
things financial likefinancially you have to be at
(16:48):
least in the ballpark.
Right, you have to be in theballpark.
You cannot be.
I don't care if you're doingpizza parties every week.
You cannot be significantlylower salary at the end of the
year for the same amount of timeworked.
If you are, it's never going towork.
Speaker 3 (17:05):
No, and I think that's one of the hard things to
do in mostly the trackingindustry as a whole, us included
is a lot of people want to beable to start somewhere and see
a path forward of okay, I cangrow in this company.
If I can grow in this company,the company and I can grow
together.
Right.
(17:26):
And that's how you get long-termemployees, of course.
But if I come in let's say Icome into this industry as a g
class driver I get my licenseokay.
How can I move up from here?
Well, I can go get my dz.
All right, cool, I go and getmy dz.
All right.
Where can I move up from here?
Well, I can go get my az andstart doing heavy recovery, and
that's pretty much the ceiling.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
But most of your guys yeah, but it's the ceiling.
Okay, the AZ is your ceiling,but the AZ in the trucking
industry too, that's yourceiling If you're in the driving
industry Well, that's what I'msaying the trucking industry as
a whole.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
Right, right, once you are a driver, that's pretty
much up.
Yeah, sure, you could become adispatcher, but that's probably
going to come with a pay cut.
There might be an opening for amanager role, um, and still be a
driver like a driver like alead, like a lead row, yeah,
lead hand but that's not goingto be for everyone that that
(18:21):
position might get filled andprobably will hopefully stay
occupied for at least 10 yearsfor a manager, you would hope.
I would hope it's going to behard to just as someone coming
in seeing that as an actualopportunity to grow within the
company.
So I think, especially in thetrucking industry, even more so
(18:42):
in the towing industry, let'sface it a lot of it's physically
demanding work, especially onthe big wrecks, can be, hours
upon hours.
You're outside in the weather,you're working outside, you're
dealing with upset people and ifthe money's not there, you can
go and maybe get a job for acouple dollars less an hour or
(19:02):
maybe even the same dollars perhour and just drive just drive,
deal with the other bullshitexactly, it's not.
It's going to be easier on yourbody because they probably still
have air ride seats.
I'm sure they do.
But uh, yeah, you're notgetting out jumping up and down
in ditches, you're not pullingout winch cables, you're not
doing anything.
(19:23):
You're not doing offloads.
Right, some trucking jobs.
You might have to unload a dryvan or a box truck every once in
a while, but a lot of timesthey got stuff like that for
that.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
So but if anyone, if anyone, is looking for that
going like you know I don't wantto do this then you shouldn't
be in the towing industry.
To start, right, like we doknow that it takes a special
breed.
There is, you know, the seatfillers that we get, and there
is candidates that we see comeand go that, no, they belong
driving a cube truck, driving adump truck driving or whatever.
(19:57):
Like they're they.
That is where they are going toend up and you know it right,
they will never be one that aregoing to operate your bigger
trucks.
Like like, we're lucky in thesense because we do a lot of
light duty, we do a lot of heavyduty, we do a lot of weird
stuff.
So, when we talk aboutprogression of the employee and
and growth potential within theemployee, right, when you first
(20:17):
start off, you are just doingbasic toes.
That's all you do.
Sorry, no, basic toes, that'sall you're doing.
That's all you're doing.
Basic toes.
Service calls.
As you start to progress andthey, you know, you start to
earn trust and abilities andwhatnot.
(20:38):
You will move on to little moretricky things and then you'll
move on to more and more andthen you have those go-to guys
that you trust, that you know.
I mean you can send out to acall solo without issue and you
know that they'll figure it outright, like that.
There's a natural progressionwith it.
Then from there we look at, welook at our operators and we can
normally see early enoughwithin a year or two.
(20:58):
I say early enough.
It's a long career for some inthe industry, but within the
first year or two you'll startto see potential for them and in
our case we have a heavy fleetdivision as well.
So you will start to seepotential for them into the
heavy side of towing.
Sometimes you need to wait fora position to open up, sometimes
(21:20):
you need to wait for them to beof age that the insurance will
consider it.
Um, and some of them you justgot to wait for their skills to
develop to a point that you feelthey are there.
And then you got to try and notgive them that that teaser too
early on because you don't wantto, you know, get the ultimatum
set or, you know, have them alittle high on their horse
(21:40):
possibly, but you you know, thenthey can grow into heavy.
Okay, so now you're getting theheavy towing.
All right, where's your firststep in heavy towing?
Well, the first guy out thedoor is always the guy that's
just doing the towing Right.
The rotator guys tend to be alittle bit, you know, on standby
more.
If we need them for toes, ofcourse they're available, but at
(22:06):
the same time I want to keepthem on the road doing the
regular towing right.
The other guys are in the shop.
They're private stuff.
They're cleaning trucks,organizing trucks.
Again, you gotta, you gottabase this on each individual
operator skill sets and whatthey're good at.
Like, I have guys that aregreat at looking busy, 100 or
not being found yeah that is myand and.
Productivity in the shop happens, but very, you know, nowhere
(22:29):
near the level of some of theother operators.
Yeah, right, and and and.
I was that same guy back when Iam the first guy to admit it I
sucked at pushing a broom, Isucked at doing that little
tidying up stuff.
I wanted to tell or I wanted tosit there.
Yeah, there was no happy inbetween, so you know, but you
(22:50):
have to do those things.
I mean, if you're getting paidhourly by a company, there's,
there's requirements and thingsthat need to be done.
But who do you think is thefirst guy out whenever a tote
call comes in?
it's that guy, because I want toget that guy doing what he's
good at, because he ain't goodat passing a broom, he good at
hiding.
Speaker 3 (23:06):
I think that's something too, Like we've said
before that sometimes it'salmost better to hire new than
to hire someone with a bunch ofexperience but has all these bad
habits, and I think with one ofthose in that regard.
We were both commissionoperators for a very long time
right we got paid when we werein the truck rolling down the
(23:30):
road.
So to come back to the shop andsit around and start pushing a
broom it's easy to get in thatmindset.
Well, I'm not getting paid forthis.
Unless the company hasspecifically stated and has in
place that they're going to payyou hourly for doing bullshit in
the shop, then that's fine.
Then you know you're gettingcompensated for what you're
doing.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
I'm not just saying pushing a broom, I'm saying
whatever task it is at the shopno 100 now our guys are are
definitely structureddifferently, but then you see
the progression in the heavyside he goes hey, if I put in my
time and and that's the biggestproblem I think that I'm seeing
with a lot of new operators isthat they don't understand Like
they want to go okay, I want togo from light duty operator to
(24:10):
rotator extraordinaire in threeyears.
It doesn't happen.
No, it doesn't happen.
You do not go from light dutytow operator to management in
three years.
No.
Right, unless you are someabsolute phenomenon.
Like you know, there's alwaysthe exception to the rules.
Right, it always happens.
But for the most part you needto put in time.
(24:33):
You need to put in not justtime like it's, not just like a,
you know, a irrelevant numberthat a company sets out for for
no reason, that you have to bein this long before you do this.
A lot of it is justified andyou have to have an
understanding.
You know, let's say, rotators,how do I know if one of my
drivers is not ready to go toheavy?
I ask them what their wirerope's rated for on their light
(24:56):
duties.
If they can't give me thatanswer, you're not even at the
first step.
Right.
If you can't tell me what yourchains are rated for on your
truck, you're not at the firststep.
If you can't tell me what thatslings rated for whether that be
vertical, you know then you'renot ready for that next step,
(25:17):
right, so it's so important, butthey don't realize that, they
just go.
Oh well, everything I've doneI've been able to do, okay, but
everything you've done has beenguesswork yeah right.
Like you know, you and I talkedback when, right when you
started earlier career.
Well, it looks heavy, so I'llput a snatch block on it.
That's guesswork.
Yeah, there is no rhyme orreason or other than just
(25:39):
visually looking at it.
You cannot tell me what thenumbers were and why you needed
it.
It was guesswork.
But a lot of new hires nowadays, nowadays, want that Like they
want to go.
Oh, I went three months and didall kinds of toes.
I'm ready to do this and it'slike no, you're not, like
(25:59):
there's so much humbling thatneeds to happen.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
Well, a lot of different ways.
The towing industry has alwaysbeen seen as the wild west right
for the longest time,especially the light duty.
You can make it through 20, 30years without knowing what your
wire rope is rated for, whatthat sling is rated for,
figuring out what your weakestlink is I don't know if you can
(26:25):
go 20, 30 years.
You will probably die on doingsomething stupid before then but
I'm saying in the light dutystuff it's a lot easier to be um
incompetent in that regard I'min.
It's just as it's just stupideasy just to get in the truck
and hook a line onto somethingand start pulling right,
(26:47):
especially with how cheaply carsare built.
You hook up your j-hook to thatlittle uh horseshoe at the back
of a honda civic on the sparetire holder underneath the trunk
right, and you're like, oh well, that will break before any of
my equipment does, becausethat's the weakest link and it's
easy just to have thatmentality and train of thought
(27:10):
when doing the light stuff.
But then once you get intooperating a hundred thousand
pound truck and lifting thingsup and over guard rails, over
other obstacles, you got toreally stand back and realize
the scale of what you're doing.
Because if you want to become acrane operator, you have to go
(27:31):
to school, for that you've gotto do an apprenticeship, for
that you got to do a wholelaundry list of things to become
a crane operator well, aren'trotators just basically cranes
with a different name and aslightly different skill set?
Speaker 1 (27:46):
Ooh, I'm not getting into that debate.
Speaker 3 (27:49):
I'm not getting into that debate either.
You know why they're not, I'llembrace it.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
Do you know why rotators are not cranes?
Speaker 3 (27:57):
Because you don't need a license to operate a
rotator.
Nope, what do cranes do?
They pick things up and setthings down.
What do rotators do?
What do cranes do?
They pick things up and setthings down.
What do rotators do?
Speaker 1 (28:07):
rotate no, they pick things up and put things down,
but they can also drag, they canalso pull across.
That's the main differencebetween a crane.
A crane can only pick up andlift down and put that.
That is the main, one of themain differences.
But anyways, continue on withit.
I probably made you lose yourthought.
I apologize yeah.
Speaker 3 (28:24):
Um.
So from the layman person outthere they say well, that thing
picks things up and puts thingsdown, so does the crane.
So that's pretty much a craneright.
And if you look at the skillrequirements and what you need
to be an actual crane operatorcompared to what you need to be
a rotator operator in the towingindustry, you can start
realizing why the specificcompanies have these high limits
(28:49):
or barriers to entry.
I guess you could say, to makesure your skill set is up to
task.
Because if you screw somethingup and you misjudge, uh, working
load limits in a light duty,you're risking yourself and
maybe a bystander.
But if you screw up in an 80ton rotator with a
(29:12):
semi-suspended, you're riskingthe lives of multiple people
multiple people and oodlesamount of more money and
equipment, right, sure?
plus that'll make the news.
If you fuck something up in aone-ton truck, you might not
make the news.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
You might get lucky.
Speaker 3 (29:25):
If a rotator flips over and kills two people,
you're making the newsnationwide.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
No, 100%, and the towing industry is its own enemy
in the sense that it has putpeople behind the wheel of
trucks and equipment.
They should have never beenbehind the wheel of 100% and
behind the wheel is one thing,behind the control is another.
The wheel up 100 and behind thewheel is one thing, behind the
controls another right and.
And so you know there is stepsthat are you know, let's be
honest being taken to helprectify that.
(29:54):
And that's where we get intoour next point that we want to
talk about, the wonderful to see, a thing everybody hates unless
you're in the province ofontario.
And if you're in the provinceof Ontario, you still hate it
even more because you areabsolutely living it.
So the government has gottengood at making announcements
(30:15):
when it comes to regulationchange.
So July 1st in Canada I wonderif it's the same in the States
but July 1st and January 1st arewhen big changes come into
effect.
Now we have been well aware ofchanges that are coming into
effect in Ontario for a while.
This isn't new information thatnobody knew.
People knew it was coming.
(30:36):
What was crazy is I recentlychecked.
So, as of July 1st, we knewthat tow operator licenses were
going to be required, and weknew that to operator licenses
were going to be required, andwe knew that to apply for a tow
operator's license there wouldbe a mandatory training.
Those were the two things thatwe knew.
We knew what the tow licensewas going to cost Yep.
Speaker 2 (30:59):
And we knew how to get one because we've been
applying for them ahead of time.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
All my staff has their tow licenses.
There was no cost.
That was made very clear.
Here's the cost.
If you apply before this date,before the July 1st, when it
fully comes into effect, thereis no cost.
You will have to pay that costwhen the renewal comes up in
three years.
But what we didn't know is themandatory training, and up until
as late as Thursday I believeit was Thursday or Wednesday
(31:22):
that I checked and I know peoplethat checked on Thursday, the
government and this is before along weekend, don't forget.
July 1st falls on a holidayMonday, so Friday at like 6
o'clock at night theannouncement comes out for the
mandatory training.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
So June 28th at 8 o'clock.
Yes, two full days.
You had notice that are over aweekend.
Zero business days.
Speaker 1 (31:45):
Zero full days you had noticed that are over a
weekend Zero business days.
Zero business days over aholiday-long weekend 100%.
So the post comes out and I'vegot some information here.
Wreckmaster puts out a postvisit towtruckdrivertrainingca
to start your training or visitOntario, blah, blah, blah, blah,
blah.
Learn more about the newrequirements.
(32:07):
So, as of friday, they announceokay, we have the training set
up.
Wreckmaster is the onlycertified company currently to
do this.
Now I imagine there isn't a planto have more um, but so far and
I mean, you know you, recmaster, if you're trying to make
sure there isn't more, let's behonest, right, um, you don't
(32:29):
need competition in the industryand if you can avoid it, you
can avoid it.
Um, but this is, like I said,friday of a long weekend and the
cost comes up, and even thecost.
The cost was hard to find, thecost was not head over to that
website and the cost is postedright there.
No, no, no, no.
You got to create an account.
Okay, I'm going to createaccount because I want to see
(32:50):
this, but then to create account.
This is freaking.
Friday night, you're not in theoffice, you don't have access
to everything.
I'm out on my phone.
You need my driver's licensenumber, you need a photo of my
dl, you need like a lot ofinformation to create an account
here.
This isn't just.
You know what I mean.
Sign up for an email newsletter, so the uh.
Luckily, there was a couplepeople through some groups on on
(33:11):
social media and you can youcan always appreciate how people
come together on social mediawhen it comes to things they
don't like.
Um, there was somebody who haddone like a video of all the
screens and stuff and and showedthe price and and I want to
make this abundantly clearbefore we start because I'm
worried it's going to come offthis way I do not blame the
company providing the trainingfor the cost in which they apply
(33:32):
.
They have obviously done ananalysis and the money required
to set this up and do and toimplement this and to manage
this program.
And, at the end of the day,they are not a nonprofit, they
are not a government fundedcompany.
They need to make a profit,just like we do.
Okay, because I'm worried thatI'm going to say some dumb
things over the next littlewhile and it's going to come out
(33:53):
that I am angry at rec master.
I love rec master.
Right, I feel that they have.
They have done their analysisand I am trusting that they have
done their homework and thatthey're being as reasonable as
possible with this.
They came out with a cost of849 dollars, or uh, sorry, my,
my sheet is actually wrong hereon your screen.
It's I.
It is 849, not 845.
(34:14):
I'm going to go back and changethat okay so even that my whole
math total might not might be acouple bucks off.
I apologize, um, but it's 845dollars.
So 49 49.
The process on how this worksnow is wild and this is going to
have major changes on theindustry.
(34:34):
Okay, so new hire that comes inafter july 1st.
Here's the policy.
Here's the procedure.
In order to apply for aprovincial license right, which
is $195, valid for three years,a tow operator, tow driver I
hate that we have to call themdrivers a tow truck driver is
(34:57):
required to first complete thegovernment required training.
So, step one any new hire hasto complete the government
required training Throughcurrently.
Any new hire has to completethe government required training
through.
Currently Rec Master is theonly place you can receive it
From there.
Once they complete thattraining, then they are required
to spend out $195 for aprovincial license that is good
(35:21):
for three years.
Now the thing that's importantabout this right is we've looked
.
What happens if I don't?
What happens if I get a newemployee?
I don't want to put that moneyout right away because I want to
see if this employee is goingto make it.
I think that is a very validconcern under to see
requirements vehicle impoundedif no, or suspended certificate
(35:45):
14.1.
A police officer or inspectormay important comment may detain
a tow truck if the policeofficer or inspector is
satisfied that a person wasdriving a tow truck on a highway
at a time when A the person didnot hold a valid tow driver
certificate or, b the towoperator of the tow truck tow
operator being the company didnot hold a valid tow driver
(36:05):
certificate or be the towoperator of the tow truck, tow
operator being the company didnot hold a valid tow certificate
.
Same a tow truck detained undersubsection one shall, at the
cost and risk of the towoperator.
So again, now we went from Mayto shell be removed to a vehicle
(36:26):
storage yard facility, isdirected by a police officer or
inspector and be impounded forseven days from the time it was
detained.
You can find this, all thisinformation, on the Ontarioca
laws website.
So you hire a new employee andyou go I'm going to hold off on,
I don't, I don't, I don't, Idon't want to put this money out
(36:47):
.
Right front, that employee cannot drive a tow truck until you
have satisfied theserequirements, which means you
can not get a true evaluation ofthis, this person as a driver
even.
So, think about that.
You can't like I meantechnically a road test.
(37:08):
Uh, it's a little tricky.
And the argument has been whatdo you define as a tow truck?
Can I bring them out in a flat?
You know, and there's alwaysgoing to be these gray bullshit
that we're trying to figure out,but they cannot drive a tow
truck until they receive theprovincial license.
They cannot receive theprovincial license until they
receive the government requiredtraining.
So who pays for this?
(37:29):
And I want to ask you, g, in acase like that, we're in an
industry where we are alreadystruggling to get good
candidates.
Now, all this money, should allthis money be put out on the
employee?
Do you see a balance with it?
Like what would your views belooking at that?
We're talking over a thousanddollars before you can even
drive a tow truck in ontario asof July 1st 2024.
Speaker 3 (37:53):
So as an employee, like as a person looking for
employment, I've had it multipletimes.
When I am applying to a new job, I expect okay, I probably
won't get paid for the firstthree weeks if I get the job, or
up to a month right.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
Not get paid.
Speaker 3 (38:11):
Right, because of how pay schedules normally work.
You normally start and youdon't the pay oh, because
there's a delay.
Speaker 1 (38:17):
Yeah, your time is still being paid, it's just
exactly so you don't get yourfirst paycheck, normally for the
first month that you work two,three weeks possibly.
Speaker 3 (38:25):
Yeah, so going into a new job with that you're
already okay.
Well, whatever money I have inthe bank, I gotta make that last
another month because a lot ofpeople, let's be honest, don't
have a good amount of savings,especially if they're switching
jobs, of course it can have agood effect on your savings.
Yes, exactly so I come into thistowing industry.
(38:48):
I was like I want to give thisa shot.
Okay, well, before I can evenget hired at this company, you
want me to go out and spend athousand, over a thousand
dollars before you even hire me?
Speaker 1 (39:01):
before I even hire you and still have your three
months probation, that I could.
Can you, let's say from thatside I could, can you before
your your time's even up?
Exactly, I'm gonna go tell youto go fuck yourself no,
realistically, you gotta reallywant in the towing industry for
that to be worth it and how,like this is my biggest issue.
Speaker 3 (39:22):
So let's just take um when you go and get a d license
, you get a temporary d licenseafter you do your road test and
you gotta do additional traininguntil you get a full d license.
Right, you can do both coursesat the same time if you do some
things.
But if you challenge the test,you get a temporary license.
Then you got to go do moretraining.
We really should have somethinglike that in the towing
(39:45):
industry, where you apply forthe towing, the provincial
required license, you pay that,you pay your 200.
It's a lower barrier, barrierto entry, and that's good for
six months.
After that, six months, let'ssay.
Let's just say you get one uhrenewal on that, so you get a
full year before you have to goand do the required testing okay
(40:05):
, I like your idea.
Speaker 1 (40:06):
I think your time frame is a little off, but I
like the idea.
Speaker 3 (40:08):
Yeah, right so because, as a company, in that
regard, if I got to hire someonenew, it's costing me not just.
I could send them and do thistraining, which is $849 at
RecMaster, and I could pay toget them their license, which I
really think it's your license,that you are a holder of.
(40:30):
You should probably pay that Imight subsidize some of it.
Right, you are a holder of.
You should probably pay that Imight subsidize some of it,
right?
Um, but then if I send them todo this training, does that mean
I don't need to train themanymore?
Speaker 1 (40:41):
well, probably not no , you're still gonna have to,
you're still gonna have to doonboarding.
Speaker 3 (40:46):
It's not.
I'm sure it's probably aweekend course, rec masters
putting on like a two, maybethree day course.
Speaker 1 (40:51):
Whatever the case, I've got to look because it's
not an in-person 90 of it.
Oh, it's not in person.
Speaker 3 (40:57):
No, no, no, no, no no oh yeah nay, nay, yeah, oh,
yeah, um that changes things.
That changes a lot of things.
So what?
What stops me from paying forthis course and just having it
on a hard drive and redoing it?
(41:18):
Just, I have, to guess, paythat money again to get the
actual certificate I guessthere's very similar.
Speaker 1 (41:26):
Um, no, there is a like a accreditation process
that has to be done.
Um, it doesn't say it just hasan evaluation.
You can trust an evaluationstand.
Our evaluation stand out as thehallmark of credibility and
professionalism, as they areproctored and approved by all
requisite regulatory bodies.
We prioritize.
We prioritize the integrity ofour assessment process, ensuring
(41:48):
that each evaluation isconducted under strict
supervision inherent to industrystandards, by aligning our
practices with guidelines setforth by the regulatory
authorities.
It's a lot of just bullshit thatdoesn't go anywhere yeah,
because you just set thestandards yeah, yeah, you were
part of setting these standardsum but I don't have an account
yet to actually go in and seewhat it consists of the whole
(42:10):
thing is just weird right now,like Like I have a really bad
feeling about this.
Speaker 3 (42:17):
Um a, I'm not in the industry anymore, so I feel like
I probably won't get back intothe industry, at least as a tow
truck driver, just because ofall this bullshit.
And, to be fair, it's itdoesn't seem like that high of a
barrier to entry for me becauseI have experience.
But at the same time, I've gotexperience I've done the job for
(42:39):
seven, eight years, howeverlong it was.
Why am I going to start doingall this bullshit now just
because the government tells methat I need it and I've done the
job prior, right?
So in that regard, it's like Idon't know.
There's so much new regulation,especially since I got out of
the industry.
I would get back in.
I'd feel completely new againbecause there's so much new
(43:01):
things that I gotta actually sitdown and learn now.
To be frank, I know a fair bitof it just because of the show
and everything that we've talkedabout, but from, let's say,
someone else got out of theindustry last year and towing is
that job where it's somethingthat a lot of people always fall
back on, because no matterwhere you go, there's always
(43:21):
towing companies looking fordrivers.
So let's say I want to move toAlberta and I want to open a
business in Alberta.
I get out there and I can'topen the business right now
because that market's just notthere.
What I thought it was, well, Ican probably tow in the meantime
, it's a good thing to there,and oh, I can't open the
business right now because thatmarket's just not there.
What I thought it was?
Well, I can probably tow in themeantime, right, it's a good
thing to fall back on.
And something like this if thatperson was in alberta, coming
(43:43):
to ontario, it's not as simple.
Speaker 1 (43:45):
Just oh, go get a job at a towing company, right so I
do have a bit of the syllabusand a bit of the structure.
I have managed to find itthrough their website Ontario
Tow Truck Driver TrainingStandard Best for tow truck
drivers that operate in Ontario.
Online course length eighthours.
In-yard training six hours.
(44:06):
Oh, so there is some in-yard,okay there has to be, but I
don't know what it is.
I believe it's with somebodyelse.
That's what I don't fullyunderstand, because they're not
sending in a trainer down justfor six hours.
Yeah, um, so the trainingcourse?
They.
Upon completing the trainingcourse, individuals are required
to pass certification exam.
The exam tests candidatesknowledge of the towing
(44:28):
procedure.
Uh, I did get their syllabus.
And when we go down to uh, Idid get their syllabus.
And when we go down througheverything and I can go through
quickly just what the sectionsare I won't go into each
individual subsection Courseparticipants are required to
complete the training in thefollowing order the online
course, section 1 to 8, passingeach section quiz with an 80 or
higher to progress to the nextsection.
(44:48):
Section 9, in-yard training.
Active participation inhands-on and practical skills
assessment.
Final multiple choiceevaluation A hundred question
multiple choice evaluation.
A grade of 80% or higher isneeded to pass.
Upon completion of the finalevaluation, students will be
notified of their grade, as wellas any incorrect answers.
(45:11):
As well as any incorrectanswers.
Hmm, it is easier to get theright or responsibility to drive
a truck in the province ofOntario or a car than it is to
operate a tow truck.
And don't get me wrong Again, Ithink a lot of this is required
.
I just feel like the governmenthas absolutely pooched this
(45:35):
thing so hard.
Yeah, that is going to be adamn near impossible to come
back from.
So the course outline issection one introduction to tow
industry vehicles, tow truckdriving terms and licensing
requirements and compilecompatibility of light duty
towing vehicle.
Section two safe workingenvironments.
Health safety it includeshazards and cleanup, biohazards,
(45:57):
work-related trauma andself-care.
Maybe not the worst.
Three transportation legislation, regulations and policies.
So requirements of C of CBO areyour GBCR, your G V, w, r, tow
capacities, load securements,lightings requirements and the
towing and storage Safety andEnforcement Act.
Four on-scene protocols the towoperators' role and emergency
(46:23):
response teams and temporarycondition requirements.
Five on-scene safety measuresand management Coordinate with
emergency services and dispatchplanning ahead to anticipate
problems and safe practices.
Six towing win winching,extrication techniques,
securement, uh calculatingtowing loads, towing vehicle
(46:43):
equipment, safe hook techniques,car carrier loading, loading
techniques for motorcycles andtrikes, hostile terrain and
resistant factors this is allthe in-person or online.
Between the two.
Speaker 3 (46:56):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (46:57):
Between the two.
Oh no, sorry, this is all theonline.
Okay.
Roadside services, non-towingservices, professionalism,
customer service anddocumentation.
They have a typo on theirwebsite Safe driving practices,
cooperative and safe towoperation, equipment capacities
and maintenance.
Safely removing hazardousmaterial and debris debris
keeping up with the trends.
Section nine in yard training,six hours at the location of
(47:21):
your choice.
So very interesting at thelocation of your choice, so
something.
Speaker 3 (47:29):
I wonder if I could get a job and go and train
people for six hours at randomlocations I think you could now.
Speaker 1 (47:35):
Anyone hiring you to train people for six hours at
random locations, I think youcould Now anyone hiring you to
train people is a scary thoughton its own, and if they call me
for a reference, I'm not likelyto be the best person to put
down.
Speaker 3 (48:00):
Other licensing fields, especially for licenses
you can get if you are a validlicense holder for X amount of
years, you can get a signingauthority.
Speaker 1 (48:03):
Yeah, like a train the trainer, which I think is
what the plan will ultimately behere.
Speaker 3 (48:06):
But, again.
Speaker 1 (48:06):
Then it goes unregulated again.
Speaker 3 (48:08):
Yeah Right, it goes way unregulated because, okay,
I've been been let's say I'vedone this for five years and I
go and get my signing authorityand I buy this course and I sit
them down in a classroom infront of this video.
Now each company will havetheir own designated trainer to
keep costs down.
Because you'll say, okay, well,we'll provide the new employee
(48:32):
free training, right, but wewon't pay you during this
in-class bullshit.
So you got eight hours ofcomputer and you got six hours
in the field, so two-daytraining.
You don't get paid for that,but it's free training and
you'll get a license.
You still have to pay the $200for your license, or however
that works right.
And then you have no governingbody because there is no third
(48:56):
party test, just like anything,really well, there's got to be a
third party somewhere throughthis that's why I don't fully
understand how it how it works,so I'm in, though continue yeah,
this is.
It's a mess.
And of course we we knewsomething like this was coming,
but the time frame that theygave us.
(49:18):
So let's say you, someonecalled in on friday and said,
hey, I would like a job.
You say, okay, come in for aninterview on monday or tuesday
and, uh, we'll start getting yousorted.
Well, now you can't, becauseyou can't even put them in a
truck tuesday.
Now you gotta.
I wonder what the availabilityis like for this.
Like, how far out is this train?
Speaker 1 (49:37):
That's my question and that is why, like, I think
one of the big things and it'ssomething definitely we'll have
to touch back on because, likeyou know, we're going to need to
go through it and and, and youknow, get registered.
Speaker 3 (49:48):
Okay, so in that $845 , they say at a location of your
choice.
What happens when someone up inManitoulin Island says, okay,
well, I need someone to come andtrain this guy in Manitoulin
Island?
Is there going to be an addedfee for distance, because
Ontario is a big province?
If everyone's located down inToronto or Niagara, ottawa.
Speaker 1 (50:12):
Ottawa, yeah, all your big cities, yeah.
Speaker 3 (50:14):
Right, niagara, ottawa, what you're on?
Yeah, all your, all your bigcities.
Yeah right, that guy might haveto drive 24 hours north just to
get to a northern towingcompany to do six hour training.
Speaker 1 (50:23):
Like that doesn't well, and that's where, like I
said, it's still kind of in theair.
They're still missing somethingon this.
I know there is because, likeyou, you can't you're right, you
cannot send this one-offcompany um, you know what I mean
like send them out there forone, one person, to get trained
no it just doesn't make sense.
Speaker 3 (50:50):
No, doesn't make financial.
Speaker 1 (50:54):
I don't know what's what's going to come of it.
Um, it is still a lot up in theair.
Obviously they've added thecost and that's you know, and
it's a big cost.
You throw that in the licensingcost, the uh, you know, and
then the two weeks to train themin house, yeah in house, um it,
(51:15):
it can really like, and thenthey don't last more than two
weeks.
Speaker 3 (51:21):
Yeah, you know, I mean like it's definitely a risk
that really in-house trainingshould be doubled because you
got to pay an operator to trainyeah, well, the operator
training them, though at thesame time is is getting is
getting some calls done normally, yeah, but he's going to be a
lot slower, you know.
Speaker 1 (51:41):
What is very interesting is when you do visit
the website, so I haveregistered for those that are
interested.
While we're having thisconversation, you see Ontario
Tow Truck Driver and TrainingStandard, and then you see
Quebec, Nova Scotia, NewBrunswick, Manitoba all coming
soon.
Oh.
So I think we could see thatthis is the standard that is
(52:01):
going, and we kind of knew thattoo.
This is the standard that isgoing to be put across the
province.
Speaker 3 (52:06):
Across the country.
Speaker 1 (52:07):
Or across the country , sorry.
So so you guys in the States.
Speaker 3 (52:12):
When Colorado starts doing some janky shit with uh
licensing and bullshit, payattention to that, even if you
don't live in that state,because you never know when the
federal body might say hey,that's a good idea, what they're
doing there in colorado, let'smandate that federally I just
really want to see I'm trying toget a little bit more
information on the in yardtraining and how that works.
(52:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (52:38):
Select your yard, your yard training location.
Upload in yard certificate.
So select your yard training.
Okay, so maybe there is a waythat you can have like a train
the trainer program.
Yeah.
Um, it doesn't fully, it doesn'tfully try stay or say sorry,
well, I just can't speak.
(52:58):
Um, so, anyways, well, we willsee, it's mandatory now.
There ain't no coming back fromit.
So we did have a quick, youknow, government training 845,
provincial required license 195,valid for three years, and
that's something that I thinkthe employee is going to have to
pay.
I think at least the toastcertificate the employee is
going to have to pay becausethat is theirs.
(53:18):
If they leave your company togo to another company, that
certificate carries with them,right?
So it does make sense in that,in that way, the training I
think it's going to have to besomething that's going to be on
an agreement of some sort.
Speaker 3 (53:32):
You know, I don't know what that agreement you
might start seeing contracts,say, okay, you gotta sign this
contract and be here for Xamount of years to pay off this
drink A year.
Speaker 1 (53:43):
A year, and we will absorb the cost of this.
Anything less than a yearyou're required to pay out of
your final paycheck.
Yeah.
Which, again, is just going toput more stress and possibly you
, you know push people away morefrom wanting to get into our
industry and you will end uphaving guys who might realize a
month in that this isn't forthem.
Speaker 3 (54:03):
But they're going to do the absolute bare minimum and
stick out that year to try toget fired so they don't have to
pay that money out of theirpocket, right?
Speaker 1 (54:13):
but I like your.
I like the idea that you shouldalmost apply for, like a towing
learner's permit.
Yep.
That is valid for maybe onlylike three months.
Yep.
And you pay that it's a fractionof the other fee, or fucking
leave it the same fee, I don'teven care.
I think it's reasonable for 195within that three months, and
maybe renewable once, like yousaid.
Like you said, or extendableones.
You are required to completethat training Right, and then if
(54:35):
you do not complete thattraining at the end of it, your
license is then suspended.
You no longer have a towoperator certificate Once your
training is complete.
You can then apply at any pointwithin that first three months
for a full three year permit.
Once your training is complete.
I think that is a veryreasonable approach and I think
that is something that wouldprobably have brought it got
(54:56):
brought up if the governmentactually sat down with its
stakeholders, Like I said it did, that weren't the insurance
company and weren't you knowwhat I mean the, the MTO and
everything, and I actually satwith towers and said, hey look,
this is what we're thinking ofdoing.
Right, you came up with thatidea on the spot.
Yeah.
Imagine if they actually tookthe into account the towing
(55:17):
industry and listen to peopleand go, hey, maybe this will
make more sense, maybe this issomething we can work on, maybe
all that kind of stuff.
So if you are a tower in theprovince of ontario, we do wish
you luck as we continue onthrough these wonderful new
times that are facing us yeah um, have your say on it.
What do you think of the desia?
If you're an american state andyou want to see what your
future could hold I know youguys are facing all your own
(55:37):
problems down there you'reseeing.
You're seeing the future rightnow.
You are seeing.
Don't think that this is goingto be exclusive to canada.
You know north america tends tobring in a lot of very similar
policies and procedures.
This could be next up.
So I know certain statesactually do require a towing
license, but it is a verydifferent practice to get.
It is through like almost likea driver's license, a written
(55:58):
test you have to go for um, andI'm willing to bet it doesn't
cost 845 plus the 200 for thelicense.
So, on behalf of myself and mywonderful co-host, mr toman g,
we do thank you.
Don't forget towing life atgmailcom, towinglifeca.
Towinglife podcast on Facebookor leave your comment down below
on YouTube.
(56:18):
We thank you for joining us forepisode 142, and we can't wait
to see you again next week.
Take care.
Toodles you actually came upwith a really good idea.
(56:41):
You should have been on thepanel discussion.
They should have taken what yousaid and thought about it.
Yeah, they should have, and Ihave that recording so that you
can have that for me to say Igot a gold star I got gold star
from daddy playing guy fuck thetowing industry.
It's all over the place.
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