A Towing Phone Tree Only Where You Want One
Most towing calls should just talk. For the rest — city-contract officials, accounts, “I want a person” — you build a press-a-key menu and a human transfer. That is towing IVR and call routing you control, included with the AI receptionist.
What Call Menu and Routing Is
A towing IVR that dumps everyone into “press 1 for tows, press 2 for storage” loses cash calls. Tow Deputy’s default is conversation: an AI towing receptionist that greets, intakes, and quotes. Total Call Control adds the pieces operators actually ask for: 12+ natural voices with adjustable speed, automatic Spanish, a custom press-a-key menu (“press 1 to reach a human”), FAQs and policies you teach, business-hours awareness, scheduled tows, and notes. Human transfer is not an upsell. It is how you keep the AI off calls it should not finish.
The product classifies every call as Tow Request, Roadside Assistance, or FAQ, then creates a job, escalates to a human, or ends the call (spam, wrong number, price-shopper who declines). You decide which types escalate. Impound inquiries and junk-car questions can stay on the FAQ path. City-contract officials transfer to a person. That is routing, not a mystery.
This sits on Starter at $99/mo and Growth at $199/mo. Night-time alerts and multi-language are on Starter too. There is no free plan. Both include a 14-day free trial. A human night dispatcher averages about $48,447 a year according to Salary.com. The menu is how you keep a person in the loop without staffing every ring.
How It Works
- You pick a voice and speed. You teach FAQs: lot hours, cash versus card, “we don’t take Agero on this line,” whatever you already say.
- Optional: add a short menu — press 1 for a human, press 2 for the AI dispatcher, press 3 for impound hours. Or skip the menu and let people talk.
- Business hours change behavior. After hours, night-time alerts decide who gets a wake-up. Daytime, a transfer can hit the office line.
- The AI books scheduled tows and captures situation notes when the job is not “roll now.”
- Escalations and press-1 land on the person you named. Simultaneous calls still answer so the second ring is not voicemail.
Worked Example (Sample Menu)
Example shop, two published numbers mentally: cash dispatch and a city lot. You do not need two carriers. One forward, one menu. Sample night hours 10:00 PM–6:00 AM. Sample quote card still $50 / $100 zones and $3.50/mi — the menu does not replace pricing; it decides who talks.
| Key (example) | Who it is for | What Tow Deputy does |
|---|---|---|
| Talk / no key | Cash tow or roadside | Full AI intake and quote |
| Press 1 | “I want a person” | Human transfer |
| Press 2 | City / contract official | Transfer to the named cell |
| Press 3 | Impound / storage FAQ | Taught hours and fees; no truck |
| Detected Spanish | Spanish-speaking caller | Automatic Spanish, same menu rules |
A 3:10 AM cash caller who never presses a key gets a quote. Example: 8 miles, inner zone $50 + $28 miles + $25 night = $103. If they book, the driver alert fires. A city lot supervisor who hits 2 never hears a $103 cash quote. That mismatch is how shops lose contracts. The menu is the fence.
Keep the tree short. Three keys plus “just talk” is enough. A six-level auto attendant is how you recreate the phone system people already hate. According to TheKeyBot, 85% of emergency callers will not leave a voicemail. Do not make them listen to 40 seconds of options before they can say “I’m on the interstate.”
Settings You Control
- Voices12+ natural voices, adjustable speaking speed
- Press-a-key menuIncluding transfer to a human
- FAQs and policiesHours, prices, “we don’t do that” — taught, not guessed
- Business hoursDay, night, and after-hours handled differently
- Scheduled towsBook ahead and capture situation notes
- Escalation typesWhich call classes skip the AI and ring a person
- ForwardingKeep your number; always / after hours / busy
What It Does Not Do
This is not a full PBX, hunt group, or call-center ACD. It will not bargain motor-club rates. Answering services still win when the call is negotiation. The AI escalates distressed and complex calls when you tell it to; it does not “read the room” like a veteran dispatcher. It does not replace your office manager on a city invoice dispute.
It does not push routed tickets into Towbook or Omadi. Tow Deputy works alongside those systems via SMS and dashboard handoff; you enter the job manually. Native two-way sync is on the roadmap and is not built yet. And a menu cannot fix a full voicemail box on the transfer target. If press 1 rings a phone that is off, you still missed that official. Give the transfer a live number.
Related Features
- Automatic Spanish on the same call path
- Night-time alerts after the menu and intake finish
- AI towing dispatch for the jobs the AI keeps
- Tow Deputy FAQ
- All Tow Deputy features
Call Menu FAQs
Can callers press 1 to reach a human on Tow Deputy?
Yes. You can build a custom press-a-key phone menu — including “press 1 to reach a human.” That is Total Call Control, not a locked phone tree. Most cash-call tows never need a key press; the AI just talks. The menu is there for city-contract officials, accounts, and anyone you do not want stuck on the agent.
Is a towing IVR the same as an answering service?
No. A classic IVR is a recorded tree. Tow Deputy is an AI receptionist that handles intake and quoting, with an optional menu and a real human transfer. An answering service staffs people who take a message, usually per minute. Use the menu to reach a person; use the AI to book the lockout. They are different tools on the same line.
What call types should I route to a person?
Police rotation, motor-club negotiation, irate customers, and distressed accident scenes are the ones most operators keep on a human. Impound FAQs and scheduled tows can stay on the AI if you taught the rules. You set escalation. The software will not pretend it can read a crying caller the way a night dispatcher can.
Is call routing included on the $99 Starter plan?
Yes. The custom menu, FAQ teaching, voices, business-hours behavior, and human transfer are part of Total Call Control on Starter at $99/mo and Growth at $199/mo. Night-time alerts and multi-language are on Starter too. Smart Deposits start at Growth. There is no free plan. Both include a 14-day free trial.
Do I have to change my phone number to add an auto attendant?
No. Keep your number and forward it — always, after hours, or when busy — or start on a dedicated AI number. Nothing to port. Live in under 24 hours. The menu lives on the Tow Deputy side, so you are not buying a new PBX or reprinting door magnets to test press-1.
Hear Press-1 and the Open Intake
Call the demo line and ask for a person, or start a 14-day free trial and build a three-key menu.