– The Tow Truck Solution

By the 1990s, we had 5-6 trucks running every night. We’d hired a full-time mechanic because those used trucks always had a way of breaking down. Every night, we had a system: trucks rolled in, we fueled them, cleaned them, stocked chemicals and rags, so crews could just focus on cleaning.

And then we bought an old tow truck. Junky, rattling, barely held together — but it worked.

One day, a crew finished a job in a nearby town and their truck died. Done. Most companies would have called it a loss and rescheduled. Not us. We rolled out the tow truck, hooked their dead truck, and towed it straight to their next job.

So picture this: the customer’s restaurant sees a truck rolling up, being dragged in by a tow cable. Out hop the guys, tools in hand, ready to clean the hood like nothing’s wrong. The tow truck pulls away, they finish the job, and later they get a ride home. Next morning, we went back to pick up the broken-down truck.

Was it professional? Maybe not. Did it work? Absolutely. The guys got paid, the company made money, and the customer was satisfied. And that’s the important part: in business, you don’t always need the perfect solution — just one that keeps the wheels turning, even if they’re being dragged.