No AAA Roadside Service in Arab??? (Huntsville, Cullman: insurance, neighborhood, income)

[pathrunner]

This is absolutely unacceptable. I can't get someone out here to help me because I'm told that "tow trucks and lockout services lose money when they do work for AAA."

I'm locked out of my car and my friend has the other key, he is currently out of state. Don't come at me about extra keys. I paid for a service and can't get it because GET THIS - I'm told I live in the "boondocks." So I call GEICO my insurance company, they added roadside service but I can't use it until tomorrow.

What a complete cluster.

[harry chickpea]

I've used Geico roadside service a few times. It is one of the more useful parts of the policy. Dumped AAA years back when their map service degraded to table napkin size.

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

I've used Geico roadside service a few times. It is one of the more useful parts of the policy. Dumped AAA years back when their map service degraded to table napkin size.

Not to mention AAA will cancel you if you use them too much. That's understandable if it's for trivial things that you habitually do, but still ....

[dwhisent]

Hmm, I've had them for years, and they saved my bacon more than once when I was out of town and would have had no idea who to call for help with a breakdown. But if they can no longer deliver help anywhere I happen to be (and I'm originally from Arab, that's not the boonies, it's only 20 minutes from S. Hsv), I may have to reconsider. I noticed reduction in services a few weeks ago when I took my wife to get a passport photo taken at the AAA office, which used to be a free service, and got charged what I thought was quite a lot for a photo.

Anyway, there should be a locksmith around Arab that can help out, my cousin used to be one, unless they have all gone out of business... and almost any tow truck service should be able to do it... although you would have to pay for it.

[pathrunner]

This is only my 2nd call this year, year's almost up. What I learned (just got done talking to the guy that came out) is that shops don't like lockouts because they don't pay much. So they'll say (1) they never got the order and (2) they're too busy (high call volume). Both happened to me.

Excuse me, I called at 2pm. Now I have a good shop that I can request if I ever need them again. A really good shop in Cullman. Apparently nobody in Arab wants to contract with AAA. Plus, AAA had a glitch in their computer system earlier (they couldn't find my service call). So it really was an all around cluster.

I've been with AAA for years but now I have road service on my auto ins which kicks in tomorrow. Will not be renewing AAA. Oh, and I'm not being dinged for this service call either, I made sure of that with a supervisor.

@dwhisent, I called a locksmith in Arab, he wanted $45 which AAA actually said they would reimburse me. But I would have had to send the invoice SNAIL MAIL to California (near where I'm from, HA!) and then wait 7 business days for the refund. Nope. Not doing that. Just get a guy out here. Which they finally did, after two hours of "research" when they've used the shop many times before!

[writerwife]

I've had AAA for almost 40 yrs. I lived 15 of those yrs in Arab and never had a prob with them (it's been a while tho) but for most of the past 26 yrs or so I lived in Danville in Bankhead forest... REALLY in the boonies and they still serviced us there if needed. Had to usually wait 2 hrs or so, but they still showed up. I guess it's the businesses in Arab that don't want to be a part of the network but even so, they should be sending someone from Guntersville or Huntsville.

[pathrunner]

They finally sent a shop from Cullman. Very nice business. What I don't understand is that AAA, which has always been stellar for me for many years, really screwed this one up bigtime. Glitches in the computer/phone system, multiple people there using weird solutions to try and solve the problem... all they had to do was move to the next shop on their list. This shop is AAA certified! They've gotten tons of business from AAA.

At any rate, I signed up with GEICO road service. I got an email this morning with SIX different shops to contact for assistance. Clearly AAA in this area is now substandard. Very strange for such a long term esteemed company. But I guess they don't pay much so people blow them off. I'm going to do some research and see if any of these six shops are contracted with AAA. I will avoid using the ones who are, because clearly they're not trustworthy. "Didn't get the order" and "too busy" doesn't cut it with me.

The guy who serviced my issue said that he makes more than $7 per lockout so he doesn't know what that locksmith was talking about. He makes about $20-25 per lockout call. Obviously most of his money is made doing tows for government and companies but he doesn't mind helping people with lockouts. He drove from Cullman to north Arab. He could have blown it off but he didn't.

PS The young man told me where to go to get a cheaper key made than at the dealer.

[harry chickpea]

Originally Posted by pathrunner

They finally sent a shop from Cullman. Very nice business. What I don't understand is that AAA, which has always been stellar for me for many years, really screwed this one up bigtime. Glitches in the computer/phone system, multiple people there using weird solutions to try and solve the problem... all they had to do was move to the next shop on their list. This shop is AAA certified! They've gotten tons of business from AAA.

At any rate, I signed up with GEICO road service. I got an email this morning with SIX different shops to contact for assistance. Clearly AAA in this area is now substandard. Very strange for such a long term esteemed company. But I guess they don't pay much so people blow them off. I'm going to do some research and see if any of these six shops are contracted with AAA. I will avoid using the ones who are, because clearly they're not trustworthy. "Didn't get the order" and "too busy" doesn't cut it with me.

The guy who serviced my issue said that he makes more than $7 per lockout so he doesn't know what that locksmith was talking about. He makes about $20-25 per lockout call. Obviously most of his money is made doing tows for government and companies but he doesn't mind helping people with lockouts. He drove from Cullman to north Arab. He could have blown it off but he didn't.

Both of those figures are low compared to costs and normal shop rates. If you figure road time, wear and tear on the vehicle + cost of gas, the employee costs that typically run nearly twice the wages paid, that type of job is more a time filler than income stream. Shop rates are fairly standard, and most any job where the vehicle is in the shop generates a lot more income at less risk. Remember that on a lockout call, the service doesn't know all the details of why the lockout occurred - bad boyfriend? vandals? bad neighborhood? Tows may be as dangerous, but they pay a lot more. About the best reason I can think of to do lockouts is to get new customers for the shop.

[pathrunner]

Well they certainly got me! I'll let my AAA play out for the year, but not renewing.

The young man who took my call told me that he would probably only make about $15-20 on my call, now that I think about it. That's where character comes in. I got into a very long conversation with this young man since it was the end of his work day, and I can tell you his character is stellar.

[Rick In Madison]

Originally Posted by pathrunner

PS The young man told me where to go to get a cheaper key made than at the dealer.

Please do share.