Right next to Dana Wright's investigative piece on a towing company is a rival's ad. (Photo links to video)
02-11-2010 TOWING AD RIGHT NEXT TO TOWING STORY Talk about an effective placement of an ad!! KCTV's Dana Wright did an enlightening sweeps piece (2/10) about the problems that can occur when a person calls a towing company after an accident. The veteran investigative reporter/anchor specifically focused on a young man who was involved in an accident and AllStar Towing came on the scene. AllStar later charged him a whopping $800. Thanks to Wright's story the entire charge eventually was dropped and the story contained some important information for consumers who need towing services. However, directly next to Wright's story on the KCTV Web site (see photo above) is a flashing ad for a rival towing company Santa Fe Towing. The station says Santa Fe Towing has been a regular advertiser on the KCTV5 site well before Wright's story ever appeared. Either way, if you are Santa Fe Towing you cannot get better ad placement!! (UPDATE: The ad has now mysteriously disappeared.)
TOW OPERATOR NOT AT FAULT "I want to get to my point. I was in the car business for 15 years. I have witnessed customers like the lady profiled in Ms. Wright’s story. Bottom Line - she is mad because her son wrecked the car and wants to blame everyone else except her son for the accident. "The owner of All-Star did not wreck her car – he prevented the car from receiving further damage in removing it from the accident scene in a professional manner and transporting it to the customer’s desired location. "Tow trucks cost a lot of money. It is a specialized piece of equipment. Add in the liability insurance for the truck. Plus the tow truck driver does not work for free. Depending on the time of the accident (night time or on weekends) All-Star can not just dump the car in the parking lot of A&B Body shop – who is responsible if the car is vandalized in the parking lot of A&B and A&B did not accept responsibility for the vehicle? "All-Star is in a position of being a “bailiff” and has to take measures to protect the property that the customer has entrusted them with. If All-Star has to store the vehicle until they can deliver it to A&B when A&B is open for business then the lot has to be safe & secure. Again, more liability insurance for the storage lot and the property kept within it - not to mention the property taxes paid on the lot by All-Star. "I suggest the next time this lady has a vehicle accident she should call Ms Wright and have News Chopper 5 tow her vehicle. ---Max Burk
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