FRANKIE DeGROOT | News | CONTACT
A helpless motorist stuck in the middle of nowhere has secured a great deal from an independent towing service by leveraging his strong position as someone who can only be rescued by someone else who has a tilt tray.
The scenario unfolded as main street barber Glenn Costington’s faded Daihatsu Terios started losing electrical power shortly after leaving work on Tuesday, victim of a failing alternator and 45 shrieking Watts of Ministry of Sound 2004.
After pulling over to the side of the road, a smug Glenn knew it was time to put his bargaining skills to good use and offer Betoota’s only tilt tray driver that services the area, the opportunity to collect him and his car; and not a penny more than $50.
“I called up Darcy’s Towing because he’s the only tow truck driver in a 150km radius. So right away I knew I had him over a barrel” explained Glenn with a grin.
“I said something like “OK mate, me and my buggered car are located 35km out of town on Boundary Road with no other way of getting anywhere except your tilt tray. If you can drop whatever it is that you’re doing and be here in the next 20 minutes to immediately take me to my house and then drop my car off at the mechanic, then I am prepared to give you $50. And that is $50 cash, so if I were you, I’d get my arse into gear; pronto”.
Tow Truck Driver Darcy Barken said he was at home around 6:00pm when the exciting news came in that he had been selected for a chance to tow Glenn’s shitbox car. “I was actually in the middle of a game of Uno with my family but as soon as I heard the news I ran out to the truck. I could tell from his tone that he wasn’t mucking about; if I didn’t retrieve his car he probably would have simply stayed there indefinitely so I knew I had to act quickly before he changed his mind”.
20 minutes later the Terios was on it’s way to the mechanic where Glenn was already planning how to explain exactly how much he was prepared to pay for the replacement of the obscure alternator that has been out of production for over 15 years; as well as how long he was prepared to wait until his car was repaired. Darcy’s family’s Uno game was later concluded shortly after Darcy returned from the call-out and quickly noted the $50 cash payment on his spreadsheet so he wouldn’t forget to include it on his next tax return.
