TowingBossPro Blog — Roadside Assistance

Lockout Calls: Verifying, Dispatching and Billing Car Lockouts

Lockouts look like the easiest call on the board. No heavy lifting, no hookup, usually in a parking lot. But they carry a risk no other roadside call does: you are opening a vehicle for someone, and you need to be confident they have the right to be in it. Run them carelessly and you can end up in a bad spot.

Here is how to run lockouts so they stay quick and stay clean.

Intake for a Lockout

Jump Start Calls: Running Them Fast and Making Them Pay covered the jump start, where the questions are about the battery. For a lockout, the questions are about the keys and the people.

Where are the keys? In the ignition, on the seat, in the trunk? A key locked in the trunk of a car with no trunk release inside is a different job. Is the vehicle running? Is there anyone inside: a child, a pet, a person who cannot get out? Any urgent situation like that should go to emergency services first, then note it on the call and treat it as top priority. Rules differ by area, so set your own policy for those calls with your local requirements in mind.

Ask what kind of key the vehicle uses. Keyless fobs, push-button starts and older metal keys each change what the driver brings and how the job goes. Ask whether the car has an alarm, and whether any doors or the trunk are unlocked. The more the driver knows before arriving, the shorter the time spent at the door.

Confirm the Vehicle Before You Open It

Every lockout should have the full vehicle details on the call: year, make, model, color and plate. That is not just to find the car. It is the first check that the person calling is describing a vehicle they know.

On scene, many companies ask to see an ID and something that ties the person to the vehicle, like the registration once the car is open or the address on the ID matching what is on file. What you require is your call, and it may be shaped by local rules. Whatever the policy is, write it down, train every driver on it and note on the call what was checked. Consistency is what protects you.

Photos Protect the Driver

Lockouts are the call most likely to produce a complaint about a scratch or a bent weatherstrip that was already there. The driver app lets the driver take vehicle photos that are saved with the call. Two or three photos before starting, focused on the door and window being worked on, cost seconds and settle arguments.

The same goes for after. A quick photo of the finished door, closed and undamaged, rounds out the record.

Fast Dispatch for Short Calls

Lockouts are short, which makes them ideal fillers between longer calls. On the waiting list map, a lockout two blocks from a driver who is finishing a jump start is an easy assignment. Select it, assign it to that driver and truck in one step, and it slots into the driver app in route order.

Because customers locked out of their car often have their phone but not much else, the text updates matter. The on-the-way text and the live map in the customer app let them wait inside the store instead of pacing the lot.

Watch for patterns on the map, too. Some locations produce lockouts again and again: a gym parking lot, a busy gas station, an apartment complex. Save them as repeat locations with notes about where to park and where customers tend to wait, and the next lockout there takes even less time.

Getting Paid When the Wallet Is Locked in the Car

Here is a lockout quirk: the customer's wallet is often in the car. That is fine. Once the door is open, they have their card. Send the invoice and let them pay online from their phone before the driver leaves, or charge a card on file for returning customers.

If you run lockouts for apartment complexes, dealerships or other businesses that call you regularly, set them up as commercial accounts so their calls and invoices sit under the account. Payment follow-ups chase any invoices that sit too long.

Know When to Pass

Some lockouts are not worth the risk. If the story does not add up, if the person cannot describe the car, or if your policy checks fail, it is fine to decline and note why on the call. Losing one small ticket is better than opening a car for the wrong person.

The next article covers tire changes, the roadside call most likely to happen on a dangerous shoulder. For how lockouts fit into the whole roadside workflow, see the roadside assistance software overview.