Triple A and when did they get so very terrible?

[mrblaine]

I need to send one of my rigs to the gear shop, I have Premiere RV with AAA and have been a member for 20 years. I call in for the tow at 8:48 am yesterday. Get the info to them correctly, they tell me it will be 45 minutes. Great.

I call back in at 10 and ask where the driver is. I get told that they are running behind and it will be another hour.

I call back at 12:30 pm and this time I'm a bit grumpy. Where is my driver and when did ya'll get to be so very bad at what you are supposed to be good at? I understand she says and we apologize. Lady, I don't want an apology, I want what I paid for. What is the problem? Hold on while I check. She gets back on the line and this time she must have thought changing the units would calm me down. They are 60 minutes out she says. Ma'am, I know that 60 minutes is another hour and ya'll are really messed up. She really doesn't sound like she cares, she just wants me off the phone and is mumbling bullshit platitudes to get me to go away. She even asks if I want to cancel the tow.

NO! I don't want to cancel but here is what I do want. I want the very next time your family is broken down on the side of the road out in the middle of nowhere and they call AAA, that they get the exact same treatment that I'm getting and then maybe you'll understand but I really doubt it.

At 3:15, the truck finally shows up and the driver gives even less of a shit than she did and since I was a bit leery of them not taking the job, I had to be a tad more civil than I felt.

I did come up with a plausible explanation. I highly suspect that with fuel and inflation costs adding to what a tow runs now, AAA has not renegotiated their rates to be commensurate with today's prices and their calls are being backburnered for more lucrative business. Nothing else really explains it.

 

[WV Native]

AAA is a waste of money.

I help stranded motorists on a daily basis. It’s cheaper and easier to just call the nearest wrecker service yourself without having AAA as a middleman.

 

[lowranger]

I have the same thing.... Premiere RV with AAA. My wife has been a member with them for years. So....I figured we were covered for anything with our small 23' motorhome.
On a Sunday in September of this year, we are heading home from a trip and are about an hour from home. I blow an inside dual. I find a safe place to pull over, I know I have a good spare....no problem. I call AAA. They told me they don't change inside dual tires. I told her, so having a premier RV membership doesn't cover that? She said nope. I told her that it doesn't say that anywhere that you don't and it would have been nice to know. She said we can tow you to a tire shop. I told her it's "Sunday" no one is open. She didn't seem to care and wanted to get off the phone. I said so with AAA Premier RV service I have a flat tire on an inside dual, there is nothing you can do for me. She said..."No, sorry sir".
So why have the RV coverage?
I called another tow and they came out and changed the inside dual for $350.

 

[mrblaine]

AAA is a waste of money.

I help stranded motorists on a daily basis. It’s cheaper and easier to just call the nearest wrecker service yourself without having AAA as a middleman.

They have not historically been a waste since I have used them previous several times and they have saved my ass. You do not have the ability to transport my truck with a camper on it while towing my trailer with the Jeep on it and making sure they all arrive where they need to go. AAA has done that for me which is why I am a bit confused by this recent turn of events.

 

[mrblaine]

I have the same thing.... Premiere RV with AAA. My wife has been a member with them for years. So....I figured we were covered for anything with our small 23' motorhome.
On a Sunday in September of this year, we are heading home from a trip and are about an hour from home. I blow an inside dual. I find a safe place to pull over, I know I have a good spare....no problem. I call AAA. They told me they don't change inside dual tires. I told her, so having a premier RV membership doesn't cover that? She said nope. I told her that it doesn't say that anywhere that you don't and it would have been nice to know. She said we can tow you to a tire shop. I told her it's "Sunday" no one is open. She didn't seem to care and wanted to get off the phone. I said so with AAA Premier RV service I have a flat tire on an inside dual, there is nothing you can do for me. She said..."No, sorry sir".
So why have the RV coverage?
I called another tow and they came out and changed the inside dual for $350.

That is about like the Good Sam coverage on the camper we fell for when we first bought it. I was reading the fine print, turns out they do not cover any damage to the camper that happens while loading or unloading it. The auto coverage handles any damage that happens while it is on the truck, so what good is Good Sam? We cancelled it right after that.

 

[Chris]

AAA used to be good, I remember because I've used them quite a bit over the past decades.

I used them most recently about 3 months ago and I waited nearly 3 hours to be towed 15 miles. No one seemed like they cared whatsoever.

The only real advantage of me keeping AAA is that if I ever need a tow I won't be footing a massive bill. That's the only reason I keep them.

 

[cliffish]

My insurance company offers roadside assistance, used them for a 20+ mile tow at no charge.

 

[Dr. Internet]

When something like this happens, you might consider calling the manager or writing to HQ. Most of these companies have a CEO of COO with a (semi-) public email address. I have found that senior management often cares more than middle management about the future of their business.

I also think it depends on where you are located. Here, AAA has contracts with local tow companies to do the work. The AAA on the phone is a dispatcher. We have also had their service for over 20 years and have had nothing but good luck with them. We had a Chevy Suburban for 10 years that was literally a nail magnet. You could drive across a parking lot with one nail on the ground, it would find it and flatten a tire. We've only had one flat in the GC, off of I-95 in Florida one summer and the guy was there in less than 10 minutes. Their mapping service has been made obsolete by the internet and trip planning software, but I will keep them for towing until they mess up.

 

[mrblaine]

When something like this happens, you might consider calling the manager or writing to HQ. Most of these companies have a CEO of COO with a (semi-) public email address. I have found that senior management often cares more than middle management about the future of their business.

I also think it depends on where you are located. Here, AAA has contracts with local tow companies to do the work. The AAA on the phone is a dispatcher. We have also had their service for over 20 years and have had nothing but good luck with them. We had a Chevy Suburban for 10 years that was literally a nail magnet. You could drive across a parking lot with one nail on the ground, it would find it and flatten a tire. We've only had one flat in the GC, off of I-95 in Florida one summer and the guy was there in less than 10 minutes. Their mapping service has been made obsolete by the internet and trip planning software, but I will keep them for towing until they mess up.

I had a problem customer that didn't like my answers. He asked to speak to my manager. That didn't go well.

 

[L J]

It’s cheaper and easier to just call the nearest wrecker service yourself without having AAA as a middleman.

That works if you're five minutes out. Try that with a one hundred mile tow. The bill will be far more than the cost of a Premier membership.

 

[B00mb00m]

I had very similar experience when my truck was stolen. I was in the ghetto standing by my truck with windows left down in rain for 4 hours before a tow came! But that was a different story because they had to find someone willing to drive 200+ miles. The 200 mile tow made it worth my membership but I was super not happy being where I was for four hours.

 

[mrblaine]

I had very similar experience when my truck was stolen. I was in the ghetto standing by my truck with windows left down in rain for 4 hours before a tow came! But that was a different story because they had to find someone willing to drive 200+ miles. The 200 mile tow made it worth my membership but I was super not happy being where I was for four hours.

I'd be unhappy as well if I wasn't smart enough to roll my windows up.

 

[B00mb00m]

I'd be unhappy as well if I wasn't smart enough to roll my windows up.

Haha yes well I had previously not been in possession of the vehicle at the time that windows were rolled down, diesel ran out and batteries killed!

 

[freedom_in_4low]

Haha yes well I had previously not been in possession of the vehicle at the time that windows were rolled down, diesel ran out and batteries killed!

I've always thought it would be nice if they'd put some sort of manual crank on the bottom of the door so you could operate the windows without power (as long as you could open the door). Either a crank handle stored with the jack, or accepting a common tool. I'm certain I've owned a vehicle with just such a feature for a power sunroof but I've never seen it on door windows.

 

[Zorba]

I have not had good luck with AAA the last few years. They take 1.2 forevers to get a truck out to you. I'm thinking of dropping them after being a member for 38 years, but AAA does have that 1-800 number that works nationwide. Good Sam was a Good Deal back in the 70s and 80s, then Sue Bray got ahold of it and basically turned it into yet another money suck - Art Rouse is spinning in his grave, no doubt. I'm a lifetime member - they used to send out the rather nice "Highway Herald" every month, haven't seen one of THOSE in decades... Instead, they "merged with another club" - the Camping World whatever so-called "club". I still get promos from them wanting to sell me this or that "coverage" - I didn't know I joined an insurance company. I haven't owned an RV since Y2K, I assume members still get 10% off participating campground fees.

 

[freedom_in_4low]

I highly suspect that with fuel and inflation costs adding to what a tow runs now, AAA has not renegotiated their rates to be commensurate with today's prices and their calls are being backburnered for more lucrative business. Nothing else really explains it.

I'd wager that's exactly what it is.

I'm not a triple A member, but I do have roadside assistance on my State Farm insurance, and the one time I used it (january 2020) I waited for about an hour.

 

[mrblaine]

I'd wager that's exactly what it is.

I'm not a triple A member, but I do have roadside assistance on my State Farm insurance, and the one time I used it (january 2020) I waited for about an hour.

I know the tow company name now. Next time, I'll call them instead of AAA, if they show up in a timely manner, I'll beat them senseless with my Triple A card which should be about one tiny little whack given how useless they were yesterday.

 

[pc1p]

That works if you're five minutes out. Try that with a one hundred mile tow. The bill will be far more than the cost of a Premier membership.

If I'm not mistaken, AAA (and similar) have distance limits on how far they'll tow you anyways... or has that changed?

 

[L J]

If I'm not mistaken, AAA (and similar) have distance limits on how far they'll tow you anyways... or has that changed?

AAA Premier has a 200 mile for one tow limit per year and then 100 miles total for remaining tows for the year. Four service calls per year are free.

 

[mrblaine]

That works if you're five minutes out. Try that with a one hundred mile tow. The bill will be far more than the cost of a Premier membership.

I called the morons at Wind and Sea towing today. Hey, I'm in Quail Valley, I need a tow to Corona. How long will it take you to get here and how much will it cost? We can be there in 30 minutes, hook up is 85 bucks and then it is 10 bucks per mile. Yesterday's tow would have cost 325 bucks.