AAA

Don’t ever doubt the power of social media.

If you read my blog last week – Thursday – you saw the power of social media and online working. As noted in that story, I had a tremendously bad experience with AAA. Basically, I feel like I got hosed and ignored, when waiting for a company to come change my flat tire.

As noted, too, we were all capable of changing the tire, but it was cold and, reality is, If something is paid for, I expect service when it’s needed.

The one thing that had fired me up quite a bit was that the third person – yes, I spoke with three people that day – told me he would file an electronic complaint and that somebody would be in touch with me in 48 hours.

It never happened. So when I wrote the initial post, it was more than 100 hours later. I wrote it and went to bed, with it set to publish at 6 a.m. Eastern.

Oh, yeah, I also made sure to tweet AAA at the time it published.

It didn’t take long for a response from AAA. At 7:31 a.m., I received this response via Twitter:

@softball29 We apologize for the negative experience. Could you please DM us your member# and we will have management follow-up with you.

— Community Relations (@AAACares) January 9, 2014

Who knew all I had to do was to write a bad review of something, tweet it and this would happen? So, I DMd my membership number and went along with my day.

At 11:37 a.m., I received a phone call from Nils, a manager with AAA – somebody who had been with the company for 37 years. He was in the New York office, though, and had received the message from the national office.

Something was finally going to happen.

Anyway, he said he was trying to figure out what happened in hopes of making sure it never happened again. I expressed my displeasure in the service and received apologies – to which he also acknowledged don’t count as much when somebody went through what I did. I also noted that we were more than capable of changing the tire, but it was about principles. He fully understood my concerns and told me he wanted to pay for my membership for the following year, to make up for it.

He also actually thanked me for writing the post I did because, if not, he might have never known about this.

Here’s the kicker from the initial call (and one follow up as I had to call him back with the number of one my friends, being that’s whose phone we used for the initial call):

• The first person I talked to wasn’t listed as ever talking to me (that was on a different number, so may come up with the other number).
• He was looking to see why the service station wouldn’t go.
• He also was trying to figure out why nobody called me.
• The last person I talked to didn’t file the digital complaint, as he said he would do.

I asked Nils, too, to call me back to let me know what happened. I don’t care about people’s names or anything and I hope – truthfully – if these are competent people, they don’t lose their jobs.  I know how tough it can be in that situation. That being said, one needs to realize what they are dealing with when you are handling calls like this. It isn’t a joke. Real people are out there, broken down and need help. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be calling.

If you can’t handle the job, you shouldn’t be doing it. And if one isn’t trained well enough, they shouldn’t be live on the system.

Anyhoo…

He got back to me and explained what he could piece together. The only question mark was that first call — when I got put back in the queue. He couldn’t seem to find it, so that — for some reason — is out there.

What I fully appreciate here — and why I’ll give AAA the benefit of the doubt that this was a rare thing (to be fair, until this time, I had gotten extremely good service from AAA), is how honest Nils was with me and how he quickly made sure to note this was AAA’s fault and they were taking steps to make sure it didn’t happen again. Would it help me now? No. Is it nice to know they are reacting? Yes.

Apparently, what happened, is as follows:

The person who told me he was sending somebody never actually sent somebody. In other words, when I called back an hour later to wonder where the service station was — and was told by that person that the station said they didn’t have anybody available — It’s because they never got the initial call. Therefore, with the calls they already had, they couldn’t come. So not their fault one bit.

We were sitting on the side of an Interstate and nobody was called, let alone coming. That’s downright scary. Hopefully it’s found out why this person didn’t make the call.

Finally, the final person I spoke to never sent through the complaint, or I was assured I would have received a phone call.

There was definitely a communication breakdown here. Whether the service station wasn’t called because of some technical thing, purposely or something else, it should never happen. I go back to this — think if it’s somebody who can’t change their own tire and need that help. It’s messing with real life. So if I was a bit upset or brash, it was because of the first person who put me back into the queue and because somebody didn’t understand what I meant when I said a mile past an onramp.

No matter if you get mad or not, remember I’m the paying customer. I’m already frustrated. It’s not personal. It’s not right (and I honestly don’t think I got upset until I had to explain where I was more than once when I was pretty direct with where I was in the first place), but I’ve been in customer service and realize, sometimes, you need to be able to deal with all situations and reactions.

As noted before, hopefully this was a rare thing.

And, AAA did everything is could to make it right with me. I appreciate the one-year membership. I appreciate the manager calling me back more than once to tell me what happened. I appreciate AAA admitting wrongdoing here. And I appreciate the fact that we were able to do something without anything bad happening.

Hopefully something like this doesn’t happen again because you never know what kind of things can happen to somebody when services aren’t delivered as promised.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Sometimes I wonder why people get into customer service. I also wonder, sometimes, why one pays for a service that doesn’t deliver.

Let me tell you a tale of AAA, the American Automobile Association. The company that offers benefits when you join — such as roadside assistance. The company that comes and fixes flats or tows you, if needed.

The backbone of a company like that are those who handle the phone calls. I’ve been a member of AAA for several years (my card says 2011, but I was a member before and had a break somewhere in there) and really haven’t had any issues. In fact, a couple of years ago, when in Watertown, I had a flat. They told me it could take upward of 1:30 for somebody to come. By the time I cleaned my trunk a bit and got the spare out, the guy was there.

The service was so good, I tipped the guy happily.

That brings us to this past Saturday. Three of us were heading to the Binghamton area for a wrestling show. We picked up our third member in one spot off Interstate 88. As we hit the Interstate, something seemed off. Turns out, I ran over something and got a flat.

So there we were, on the side of I-88 with temperatures in the mid 20s. One of the guys with us can fix tires without issue (his father used to own a tire shop), but that wasn’t the point. It was cold — and the service I have is paid for. So, I wanted to use it.

That was my first mistake.

I quickly call AAA and get their roadside assistance people. The first person I talked to was female (shame on me for not remembering names) and I explained what was going on. The basics — side of an interstate, need help etc.

Over and over, I was asked where I was.

“Bainbridge.”

“What city is that near?”

“Bainbridge.”

“But what city?”

“I’m in Bainbridge. It’s the town I am in.”

“Can you spell that?”

“B-A-I-N-B-R-I-D-G-E.”

“I can’t find it. Can you please hold?”

I didn’t even have time to answer, I don’t think. I was then on hold for a good 3-5 minutes.

Seriously.

Next thing I know, a male picks up — “AAA, can I help you?”

Turns out I must have been put back in the queue.

But, before I tell you how this conversation went, allow me to go to the AAA website and quote what it says about roadside assistance:

Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, emergency road service is designed to assist you when the vehicle you are either driving or riding in becomes disabled. Whether it’s a flat tire, a dead battery, an empty gas tank, or practically any other reason – as a driver or a passenger, in your own car or someone else’s – as a member, you are always covered. Even in a rental!

And this is what it shows for the flat-tire service:

A wheel with a flat tire will be replaced with the member’s inflated spare tire, at no charge. Special lug wrenches or keys needed to remove the wheel cover or wheel must be supplied by the member. If the spare is not available or in need of repair, the service station will tow the vehicle. Dual-wheel vehicles are not eligible for tire service.

OK, with that out of the way, allow me to continue. So the second person I talk to at least tries to get more info. I explain it more times than I think is needed, but if it gets somebody here, then so be it.

I had to explain what an onramp to an interstate was.

Even then, I got: “I’m sorry, sir, I am not familiar with your area.”

I gave him the exit number. I told him where we were. He finally seemed to get it and found a place. It was in a town about, oh, 10 miles away or so. I was told it would take up to an hours. So it was 3:26, they should be there no later than 4:26.

After I questioned that and asked about it, he repeated — in a stern voice — “Sir, it’s now 3:27. They will be there no later than 4:26.”

I didn’t want to explode. I accepted it. We waited.

And waited.

And waiter.

Mind you, there was somebody in the car more than capable of quickly changing this tire. But this was more about principles. A situation where you want to get what you pay for.

Something tells me, if you are reading this, you know where this is going.

Yep, 4:26 came and went. At about 4:30, I called back and got somebody else. This person seemed genuinely apologetic and concerned and said he was going to find out what was up. He put me on hold and came back a minute or so later.

Seems he called the service in question who then noted they didn’t have anybody who could go change a flat. My response?

“So, basically, nobody was coming and nobody was going to tell me?”

“Basically, yeah.”

Solid work, AAA. The company can’t blame the service company, either. There is no reason AAA shouldn’t monitor every situation. We pay for a service. Deliver.

The person then told me he could try and find somebody else. At that point, said friend was starting to jack up the car. I said fine (the guy was going to call me back), but noted if we had this changed and all, I was not going to be a happy customer.

He called back about 10 minutes later, noting he had somebody who said they could be there in about 45 minutes. At this point, the lugnuts were being tightened.

I noted that. And also noted I was extremely displeased with the service — well, lack of — that I received. I told him I’d like to know who to contact and he said he could put in the complaint for me and asked if I would like a call back, to which I said “Absolutely.”

He told me I’d hear back within 48 hours.

That was Saturday, at about 4:45 p.m. So, 48 hours would be Monday at 4:45 p.m., right?

It’s now (as I am writing this) about 9:45 p.m. Wednesday. So, like 96 hours later. I haven’t received a call or any sort of communication.

Solid, right? Customer service is right up there.

I’m seriously re-considering any membership with this company. This has nothing to do with me or this situation. But what if it had been my mother? Or one of my aunts? Or my sister-in-law when she had been pregnant? Put yourself in my shoes here. What it if it had been your mother? Your grandfather? Somebody else?

Seriously.

This goes way beyond three guys going to an event and just wanting to stay warm and use a service that was paid for. This comes down to looking at the big picture and wondering what happens if this is somebody who couldn’t do what we ended up doing. It was cold. I was on the side of an Interstate. What if somebody’s phone was dying and they got enough of a call to set up the initial service call? And nobody comes?

There’s a lot that can go wrong here.

I firmly believe I deserve more than a small apology here. I need an explanation. I need to know why this happened and how AAA will make sure it doesn’t happen. People pay for this service. Some people may have panicked in this situation. Some may have continued to wait.

This isn’t a joke. It’s serious. And something drastically bad could have happened, if the situation had been changed.

Being it’s been so long, I’m not holding my breath AAA is going to call me back. If it gets past this weekend, I may end up calling. And if that’s the fact, I’m going to be extremely annoyed and peeved.

I’m beyond disappointed. And that’s a shame. Until here, I’ve been pretty satisfied with AAA. Now? Not so much — in more ways than just a failed service call. This was a fail on a much larger stage.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!