What's up with AAA?

[1957]

Went to take my trash to the dumpster, and dead battery. Yes, it's about 30 degrees. I've had AAA for years! Called them for a battery start - it took three hours! My car was, fortunately, parked in front of my condo, so I could wait inside. Waited and waited, called and called. The very nice guy who finally showed up apologized, and said this his company is the only one in our entire county still contracted to AAA! He said every other contractor has dropped them because they only pay $18.00 for a service call. We are in a very large county, home to a major University (stadium holds 78,000), and we have ONE AAA contractor here? I pay $71.00/year to AAA for four service calls and 100 mile towing. Haven't had to use AAA for a year and a half, and only waited 30 minutes then. Has anyone else had a recent experience? I'm just not very comfortable with only ONE provider in my county. We used to have plenty! TIA.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

It is the middle of a cold snap. They are probably inundated with calls. They are structured for average days of business, not days with this call level. It is not feasable to be set up to routinely handle this level.

It is just as I had a Guest at DHS on Thursday afternoon complaining about how crowded the park was and possibly we should not have been letting so many people in. I told her something to the effect that we probably had about 40,000 people in the park (about 80% of maximum capacity); if we restricted it to 35,000 people she would still be outside the park and would have to wait another two hours until she might be able to get in.

I would suggest contacting AAA directly during normal business hours, or write them a letter, and ask (a) how accurate was the information this person provided, and (b) can they do anything to alleviate the problem in the future.

 

[Tuffcookie]

I hope his information was wrong! I belong to AAA and would be unhappy to learn there was only 1 garage in the area that was under contract with them!

I would verify this thru AAA.

TC

 

[bumbershoot]

They are very busy. And I've gotten the same answer, during a "ran out of gas" service call, from a really nice provider. He strongly recommended going with the Allstate roadside service instead (I have Allstate so I asked about that...don't know the answer about other insurance services) b/c they reimburse so much more.

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Hmmmmmm, not cool. Seriously not cool. We just bought AAA for a relative for Christmas... it better not be a case of his having to wait three hours should he need assistance. Part of the reason we bought it for him is that he has a little one and that wouldn't work, waiting that long...with a little one? Nope.

I did have a long wait several years ago (Lee County, FL) while in the middle of a busy intersection (early morning on the way to work). The police waited with me, given the location of the breakdown. It took so long for the tow truck driver to get there that the policeman gave him a ticket! Something about failure to respond to a stranded motorist in a dangerous situation... not really sure.

At any rate, all that to say, yes I've waited and boy I sure hope that your experience isn't a trend!

 

[KathyTX]

I had to call AAA in December (flat tire on the side of a very busy highway.) Service was quick, they were there in less than 30 minutes.

I don't need them often, but it's nice to have them when you need them.

 

[1957]

I actually did confirm this with the AAA representative! She did state that this particular garage was the only responder in our whole county! I asked for a AAA Supervisor to call me back, and was told it would be sometime next week. I then called three local garage/towing companies, who all said the same thing: AAA dropped them after years of service! They said they would be willing to work for AAA if AAA picked them up again. They even said that Montgomery, AL (our Capitol!) only has ONE authorized AAA garage. I've had AAA since about 1979, and this just blows my mind. So, apparently, it's not that garages are dropping AAA.....it's AAA that is dropping them! Believe me - I will be calling AAA tomorrow!

 

[Amy]

I've always understood that AAA prioritizes by the situation and where you are. A dead battery in your own driveway like the OP (where you can wait in the comfort of your own home) is low priority vs someone stranded in the middle of an interstate in sub-zero weather.

But then that doesn't explain what happened to DVC~OKW~96. Glitch in the system?

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

The driver of the tow truck argued with the policeman saying he had just gotten the call (about 20 minutes prior). The policeman called AAA! The dispatcher at AAA indicated that the call had gone out quite some time (I called at 6L30 am and the dispatcher indicated that the relay call went out before 6:40 am. I don't remember the exact time).

The truck didn't arrive until nearly 8:00 am.

 

[mla1977]

I one time waited that long for a AAA call myself. I had a dead battery too. AAA told me 60 minutes. After 65 minutes, I called them. It was back and forth with them for the next 2 hours when the truck finally showed up. The guy said he had just gotten the call because they had just opened. I had difficulty even placing a complaint with AAA!

 

[Stacerita]

Ive never had to wait long at all. I think one time I waited less than 10 mins. The AAA service in my area is great.

 

[bumbershoot]

Hmmmmmm, not cool. Seriously not cool. We just bought AAA for a relative for Christmas... it better not be a case of his having to wait three hours should he need assistance. Part of the reason we bought it for him is that he has a little one and that wouldn't work, waiting that long...with a little one? Nope.

My out of gas call was just last year, so DS was 4.

We were a 10 minute walk from our condo, but it was POURING rain, it was really cold, had just turned to nighttime, we were in downtown Tacoma, and we had been put in a NO stopping zone. See...I was on my way to get gas, thought I could get up a small hill, and was wrong. My Grand Marquis got stuck on the hill right at the light, and *thank goodness* the otherwise really sketchy somewhat nasty people who hang out at that corner had a burst of kindness...suddenly about 10 guys were all pushing my car up the rise, we turned right, and they stopped and scattered once I was on a flat area.

I could NOT have left my car, unless I wanted it impounded, to freeze and be soaking, while carrying a really scared DS.

It took well over an hour for the guy to get there with the 5 gallons of gas.

And we had *just* ended our premium membership, going with the basic to cut the budget, so I got to pay for that gas, too.

DS was crying the first hour, and finally he fell asleep. It was very cold, but I wasn't going to leave the car there.


In the past (I had AAA since I was a teen, and we ended our membership a year ago, so that's a long time) they've been fast to respond for flat tires back when I had a few years of those happenings...but this was kind of the nail in the coffin. It was NOT fun waiting; and they knew I had a scared child with me, too.

 

[bumbershoot]

Was doing some housework, thinking about that out of gas day...realized I told the story wrong.

I called AAA, and they gave me a wait time that was absolutely impossible. I told them that they were being ridiculous, and she gave me some names and numbers from the phone book in my area. NOT AAA people, just people in the Yellow Pages. I called at least one of them, and the one was able to come help me. He didn't charge a huge amount of money...the gas and something for his gas, and he was kind and nice, and told me why he doesn't work with AAA anymore, but why he's happy to come out for an insurance company roadside call.

I did get his fee, but not the gas, reimbursed by AAA, b/c the AAA agent put in the notes on the call that I had a kid, etc etc, too long of a wait.


Wowie did I remember that strangely!

 

[momof1princess]

hi OP, i'm in NE alabama, and i've ALWAYS had wait times of 1.5-2.5 hours for AAA to get to me. the same company always shows up, so i'm certain they're the only providers in my county. one day about 3 years ago, my fuel pump went out about 1/10 of a mile from DD's school, and i had to call my FIL to come pick her up while i waited for AAA. they waved at me as they drove back home, and it was over 1.5 hours before i got home myself. it's the same every time. they take forever. i should check into allstate too-they're my car/home insurance company.