After expiriencing a "great" AAA service I decided to contact their customer service...
I do have AAA Plus, but probably will downgrade to regular, since all I am using it for is really the discount in a motel....
but here is my message...rant begins
Hello,
I am writing you to state the events of the evening of 2/28/07.
Due to my lack of planning I have left to work in 2006 Pontiac GTO. It was scheduled to be spotty showers, well for my luck the weather turned snowy and icy, which is a problematic for me, driving low profile RWD sports car.
I decided to proceed on my commute home. Unfortunately all the electronic aid in my vehicle put my vehicle to a complete stop when I was trying to go uphill. It was a East Bound Hess Rd off South Parker Road in Parker, CO. Well Since I was blocking one of two lanes, I was intending to leave my car and pick it up when weather permits. To my horror as I was locking my car I realize that car was sliding on its own downhill (backwards). At that point I realized that I got to do something since I can’t leave the car…
Eureka! I have AAA, up to date and card on me!-How wrong was I?!
After calling 1800AAAHELP, getting connected with Oregon call center, transferred to CO giving my info I was told tow truck will be in ~120 mins…. Sure beggars can’t be choosers and with road conditions as they are it was understandable…. As I am sitting with my foot on the brake forty minutes later I get a call from Colorado Call center.
No Tow trucks available and the soonest it would be is next morning…I am still sitting on the divided highway in my car with foot on the break…
I was given an option to call another tow company and AAA would reimburse me. After calling a few companies that operator could find in the area and finding out that they are helping other customers I realized that I was stuck.
Well since special circumstances do call for drastic action I have resorted sliding sideways through 2 traffic light (one of them happened to be red) backward in opposite direction of flow of traffic.
As a the result I was able to slide down, where I could have park my car with relatively minor damage to the paint job of my car (curb scratches on the rocker panel and on the rims) .
So thank you AAA for giving me a false sense of security, and thinking that by paying my dues I would be helped, apparently 12 year paid membership was not sufficient.
Sincerely,
rant over.... just felt like sharing and realization that it is really a discount club not an automotive club....
George, read the thread below this entitled "AAA rates".
There is no way that you can get good service when the providor is paid less than their cost to do the call.
The standard method for a AAA primary to make money is to stack up a bunch of tows, and have their driver run from one to the next as fast as possble to try and get the pay for the tows to be more than the drivers' pay and overhead.
AAA customer service had no control over what happens, all they can do is offer the contract station a measly amount to take the call. It's up to the station to decide whether that amount is worth it or not.