Automobile Club of Southern California

Of course as a mom I was frustrated. I’ve been a member for over 20 years and the majority of years, my membership lay dormant, meaning, I seldom need services. Getting AAA for my young daughter was my way of keeping her safe and ensuring she gets the assistance she needs when something unexpected happens. Waiting in an empty parking lot a night for 3 hours is not a safe option. I was glad I was there with her and her friend, but it’s not something that I should have needed to do to begin with. At some point the representative must have sense my frustration and become frustrated herself because she proceeded to tell me that if I can find my own tow, I can get a reimbursement from AAA. This was completely unnecessary and absolutely unfair. I told her I was sitting in the middle of an empty parking lot at 9pm, there was no way I would be able to find a tow on my own. I have AAA for this service.

Eventually, I spoke with a supervisor (another 15 minutes hold). When the supervisor came on the phone, she said her name is Terry. She stated that she is asking dispatch to secure a tow for us as the company which was supposed to come out cannot accept the order request, so at that time, the 10:45pm ETA is off the table. She offered no other assistance or help other than apologies. I asked if it’s possible that I get a direct number to call to follow up, instead of having to be on hold for 20 minutes to get through to someone for updates? No, I have to call the call center number. I asked if she would be able to call me to give me an update? No. I felt extremely distressed by the lack of care. I called again (waited for another 20 mins) and spoke with someone at around 10pm and still no update. We asked the parking lot patrol personnel if we could leave the car there possibly overnight and they said yes; we headed home.

I became an AAA member and especially for my daughter because our safety is important. Being abandoned by your system and no one bothered to offer any kind of additional support is more than disappointing. Maybe the supervisor or someone could have suggested that it could take hours, so maybe go home and wait (since they knew I drove out to be with my child and her friend) instead of sitting around in an empty parking lot for hours. Not offering to call back to follow up and denying a request for a follow up call is really denying the least they can do in this situation.

The very basic of customer care was not provided. I wasted 3 hours last night to receive zero care and zero service; no one offering anything to make things better or make things right. I am extremely disappointment. I learn the hard lesson after 20 + years that AAA is not something you can count on. The lack of capacity and most importantly, lack of care is astounding.

On 02.10.2022 I called AAA for tow service. At 5:17 pm I received a text from AAA that tow truck is on its way and ETA is 6pm. At aprrox 6pm I called the Brentwood Club Service ( the tow vendor ) who said due to the long towing distance (36miles) there is no trucks and drivers available for me. It was also told that there is no guarantee when a driver would be available for me.

By this time I have stopped getting updates from AAA. I immediately called AAA and informed them about the tow vendor, to which AAA's response was I would have to wait till the time the tow company can provide any service. I asked AAA to send the job to another vendor but AAA refused to do so. AAA said there is no other tow vendor available for me and my job would be placed in queue. AAA said their dispatch department would call/text me when they find another tow vendor. Make no mistake I was not in any rural isolated area, I was in the city of Beverly Hills.

I saw no hope. I had to drive the car that had brake fail issues and transmission malfunctioning issues 36 miles on the Los Angeles freeway at 10/15 miles an hr. When I woke up next morning I noticed there is no call or texts from AAA. To my absolute surprise: The following morning when I called AAA the supervisor said - based on their internal notes, the tow never arrived because apparently I have advised AAA the night before to cancel my tow. AAA said based on the notes from the previous night the customer advised AAA to cancel the tow.

This is a sickening, corrupt and crooked conduct from AAA. The AAA phone operators and supervisors kept telling me to wait for the tow, and at the same time went ahead and cancelled my tow order from behind the scenes. If I didn't risk driving the car home, I would have waited the whole night in the street for their crooked conduct.

Calvin

I called ACSC to relay that information, and I asked if the request for service could be forwarded to Idyllwild Garage, another nearby authorized service provider, instead. Please note that I was “dead on the road” on a small desert highway, and that the temperature was 105°. Again, ONE HUNDRED AND FIVE DEGREES! And my only shelter was my ‘96 Toyota Tacoma mini-pickup truck, basically a small metal box, in the direct sun. (During World War II, the Japanese put prisoners of war into that same situation as a method of torture.) When I made that second call to ACSC, I was told that my request to change service providers would have to be approved by a supervisor, and that I would receive a call when that happens.

I advised the Auto Club rep of the weather conditions, also that I was towing a small, empty flatbed trailer, but I would have no problem with locking the hitch and leaving it on the side of the road if necessary. So I waited for word of the supervisor’s approval. And waited. And waited. Then I called again and was told the same thing, that my request had been forwarded to a supervisor who will have to authorize the change, and I will be informed when that happens. So I waited some more. Still nothing from Auto Club. So I called the owner of Idyllwild Garage asking if he could do anything to help me.

He said he hadn’t yet received any communication from ACSC, but that he would send a truck immediately so the driver would be standing by my side while we wait for authorization to tow my truck to get repaired. Now THAT is service, and THAT is respect for the people who pay for that service. The driver had my vehicle on his truck and ready to go before even getting the go-ahead from ACSC. We got the approval shortly thereafter. All together, from the time I made my first call to ACSC to getting towed by Idyllwild Garage, I baked in the desert sun for 3 1/2 hours. ONE HUNDRED AND FIVE DEGREES FOR THREE AND A HALF HOURS waiting for the “supervisors” (aka: superiors?) to do their job.

When my wife learned about the incident, she called ACSC to, shall I say, express her disappointment with Auto Club’s incompetence. The representative said he would request a $61 credit toward our membership renewal. I’m not impressed. In fact, I consider trying to whitewash the situation with $17 per hour for involuntarily being stranded, especially in those conditions, to be disgraceful. If anything, a formal written apology would been a more appropriate indicator of sincere remorse, or if that’s too much to ask and it’s easier to try to appease me with something not so degrading, perhaps a free year of membership would have been a more appropriate way to say, “Please forgive the poor service, and please remain a member.”

With the exception of a brief lapse of my membership about thirty years ago I have been a member of ACSC since the early 1970s, nearly a half century. I am also insured by Auto Club. I joined at the advice of my sister who was a Claims Adjuster for ACSC and my parents who were also members for several decades. The service I received from this well known organization was disgraceful.