Missed-call text-back for towing companies: reaching stranded drivers while you're on a tow

Updated October 10, 2026

In a small towing company the person who answers the phone is often the person driving the truck. While they're hooking up a car on a shoulder or driving with a load, calls go unanswered, and a stranded driver rarely waits for a voicemail callback. A missed-call text-back sends them a text from your own number within seconds and asks for what you'll need to call them back.

The calls towing companies get

• Breakdowns: a car that won't start or won't move.
• Accident tows, where the caller may be shaken and on a busy road.
• Lockouts, jump starts and flat tires, if you run light-duty roadside service.
• Scheduled transports: a non-runner to a shop, a car bought out of town, a project car.
• Junk car pick-ups and "where's my car?" calls if you do private-property towing.

When towing calls get missed

• Behind the wheel, where nobody should handle a phone.
• On a roadside hook-up, with both hands busy and traffic passing.
• One- and two-truck operators with no dispatcher.
• Nights, weekends and bad weather, when every truck is already out.

Example texts for towing

Any time: "Hi, this is Eastside Towing. Our drivers are on tows and we missed your call. If you're in danger on the road, call 911. Otherwise reply with your location and what happened, and we'll call you right back. Reply STOP to opt out."

Scheduled work: "Eastside Towing, sorry we missed you. Broken down now? Reply with your location. For a scheduled tow, reply with pick-up and drop-off addresses and a day, or book: [link]"

Private-property tows: "Eastside Towing here. If your car was towed from a private lot, reply with the plate number and where it was parked, and we'll tell you where it is and when the yard is open."

Night calls and roadside safety

Towing is a 24-hour trade, so the text is the same day and night: a 911 line, then the location. Never ask someone to get out on a busy roadside to read a sign or take a photo; a cross street, an exit or mile marker, or a map pin shared from their phone is enough. Roadside calls are called back, not booked, as fast as you can.

What to ask when they reply

• Exact location: address, cross streets, highway and direction, or a shared map pin.
• Are they safe, and are they with the vehicle?
• Year, make and model, and whether it's all-wheel drive, which usually means a flatbed.
• Does it roll and steer, and do they have the keys?
• Where it's going: a shop, their home, a dealer.

Towing software and motor clubs

Towing companies often dispatch, track impounds and invoice in towing-specific software such as Towbook, and take motor-club work through the clubs' own dispatch systems. Ringback is neither: it only texts the direct callers you missed and takes bookings for scheduled transports.

Where Ringback fits

Ringback is missed-call text-back with a booking page, not an answering service or job software. It runs on the Android phone your business line rings on (or, with an iPhone, on a Mac with the Mac helper, beta), texts each missed caller from your own number (separate business-hours and after-hours messages, STOP/START handled) and puts replies in one inbox. $17/month or $170/year, no setup fee; the 7-day free trial takes a card through PayPal and is charged when it ends unless you cancel.

Related trades: auto repair shops and locksmiths. Overview: missed-call text-back for contractors.

Questions

Ringback works on an Android phone your business line rings on, or with an iPhone plus a Mac (Mac helper, beta) or a spare Android: see missed-call text-back on iPhone.

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