How Chesapeake Service Center Grew From 2 Trucks to 9 with Autura
Will Cain bought Chesapeake Service Center in January 2004. He'd worked at the shop right out of high school, the previous owner was ready to step away from towing, and Will didn't want to work for anyone else. He and a partner took it over: one wrecker, one rollback, a small clientele, and a repair operation that had been around Elkton, Maryland since 1985.
Twenty-two years later, Chesapeake runs nine tow trucks across light, medium, and heavy duty, plus three tractors and three trailers for transport. The full-service auto and truck repair side runs in parallel, with Maryland state inspection and the kind of layout where a recovered vehicle can roll off a flatbed and onto a lift without leaving the property. It's a 24/7/365 operation. Some of Will's employees work a shift in the bay and get called out for a tow after they've already been home and had dinner.
Chesapeake has been with Autura since May 2007, running Dispatch Anywhere as its only dispatch system.
The Challenge: Earlier Software That Didn't Fit a Growing Operation
Before Chesapeake landed with Autura, Will tried other dispatch software. None of it stuck.
"In our earlier years, we had some brand dispatch softwares that just didn't meet our standards of what we needed to perform for our customers," Will said.
Will also brings a perspective most owners don't. He's a Lead Instructor with WreckMaster, one of the towing industry's leading training organizations for towing and recovery. He took his first WreckMaster class in 1999 after a complicated recovery left him looking for answers, and he's been teaching for them since 2007. He runs courses from the foundational 2/3 level through 8/9R, the highest tier of recovery certification.
The Solution: Dispatch Anywhere from Autura, Since May 2007
In May 2007, Chesapeake partnered with Beacon Software, then the maker of Dispatch Anywhere. (Beacon was later acquired and became part of Autura.) Will has stayed with them through every chapter since.
"I fell in love with the simplicity of it, the operations of it, and the reporting of it," Will said. "It is our only dispatch system that we use in our facility."
When the software was missing something Chesapeake needed, the team built it.
"The original program didn't have some aspects we needed," Will said. "Through talking with their support team, they added features that work best for us. They tailored it to our likings."
Support has been the constant.
"Our support with Autura has been second to none over the years. Anytime there's a problem, it's one call, and it's usually handled rather quickly. If it's not something that can be handled quickly, I'm pointed in the right direction, and communication is kept until the problem is solved."
That fits how Will picks vendors in the first place.
"I don't like being just a number. I like being able to pick up the phone and talk to a live person who understands the dynamics of our business so we can fix the problems."
The Results: From 2 Trucks to 9, and a Customer Record That Goes Back Years
Chesapeake's fleet has grown from one wrecker and one rollback in 2004 to nine tow trucks today, plus three tractors and three trailers for transport. The customer base scaled with it. The repair shop kept running in parallel. Dispatch Anywhere has been the constant the rest of the business built on.
A few things changed in concrete ways.
Job records stay accessible. Chesapeake can pull a ticket from years back when a customer calls. "We get customers calling us years later about a job we've long forgotten about. With the least amount of information, we can pull up their record and give them what they're asking us."
Billing fits the customer. Commercial accounts get statements at the cadence they prefer, weekly or monthly, however the account wants it.
The mobile app changed visibility. Customers can see in real time where the truck is, the same way dispatchers can.
When other tow operators ask Will what software to run, he tells them the same thing.
"It's the one we use that I feel is best suited for our business. I show them the perks, the pros, and the cons. There are very few cons, but more positive things that work directly in our favor."
Conclusion
Will Cain started in a wrecker in 1995, at 16 years old. He's been teaching at WreckMaster since 2007. He's been with Autura since May of that same year. He picked his dispatch software once, and he hasn't changed it since.
Autura is helping towing and recovery businesses like Chesapeake Service Center modernize dispatch, billing, lien processing, and impound operations and keep communities moving.
