Service of Process: Trying to Serve a Towing Corp. but They Are Structured to Avoid Process of Service

My question involves small claims court in the state of: California





I just want to get some opinions on this:



We are trying to serve a towing company. Naturally they have all the usual barriers in place. Managers/owner is never there. Employees are very inquisitive when you try to reach one of them and will straight stonewall if you are adamant about speaking to an owner or manager. Most requests for managers are met with "I can help you."



So what I am wondering is this.:



The SC-104 from the state of California lists the following as acceptable entities to serve for a corporation:



Agent for service listed

with Secretary of State or

any corporate officer

(president, vice-

president, secretary,

treasurer), chief executive

officer (CEO), controller,

chief financial officer, or

general manager



Is it our responsibility to verify who is who? Unfortunately the Agent for Process Of Service for that corporation is the owner who, of course, doesn't want to be served and has steps in place to avoid it. Ask for a manager and get "I can help you." Is it my job to ensure that that person is a general manager or does the company take responsibility if an employee gets overzealous in their role?



Any suggestions for how to get around the stonewalling? We just served an "I can help you" manager after numerous attempts to get in front of the owner but I'm not sure if that will take...

Service of Process: Trying to Serve a Towing Corp. but They Are Structured to Avoid Process of Service