American Automobile Association [AAA] review: refused to tow car under premium service 5

This is the only facility that has aaa service - a lot of my cust. Base uses aaa to have vehicle towed. When the driver arrives they try to reel them in there facility when the customer ask to tow at a different shop. This has happened several times this year. Thank goodness my customers will call to inform me of this situation.
Please see that this is resolved. Thank you! You may reach me at mauto1@att. Net

the Driver almost hit my car, then proceeded to tell me he couldn't fill my empty tank because he believed he was in the right to call me drunk. I am 21 and had one drink 2 hours prior to having my car break down. i was completely sober. he was HORRIBLE.

Wal Mart parking lots are huge, and if your car is hidden, or if your are inside the store or you are waiting for the driver, its tough to find some people sometimes...

MY CARD #429 002 [protected] 2, MARY L STREETT. SAT 1/27/12 APPROX 1:00PM I CALLED AAA MY CAR WOULD NOT START. I WAS IN WALMART PARKING LOT, MY HOOD WAS UP, AISLE 14 BY NURSERY AT GREENFIELD & MCKELLIPS IN MESA AZ.i TOLD LADY I WAS USING SOMEONE ELSES PHONE BECAUSE I DID NOT HAVE ONE. SHE SAID SOMEONE WOULD BE THERE IN 30 MIN. 45 MIN LATER I CALLED AGAIN AND THEY SAID THEY COULDNT FIND ME AND WOULD DISPATCH AGAIN. 30 MINUTES LATER NO ONE CAME AND I HAD TO PAY SOMEONE TO TOW ME HOME. WHEN I GOT HOME I SAW ON MY CALLER ID THAT THE IDIOT WHO COULDNT FIND ME WAS CALLING MY LAND LINE AT MY HOUSE. I AM 75 YEARS OLD AND I FEEL YOU PEOPLE SHOULD COMPENSATE ME FOR THIS DEPLORABLE SERVICE..

I am the operations manager for a towing company in Oregon and we are also a AAA service provider. I've been in the industry since 1996 and with this company since 1998.

That being said, I am ashamed to say that in the towing industry this is a common practice. The issue becomes even more muddy when the towing company also happens to have a repair shop.

But there are several issues going on here and I'll try and address each one.

First, our company only does towing. We don't have a repair facility. Second, our drivers are forbidden to accept any kind of "spiff" or monetary reward for sending customers to a shop that might suscribe to those practices. And let me tell you, there are those garages that do! "For every tow you bring in, I'll give you $20 cash!" ---for a driver with no integrity, this can be very tempting.

Not only do we report such shops to the police, AAA and the Better Business Bureau but a driver accepting such a monetary reward will be fired on the spot.

But let's go back to the various situations.

1) AAA drivers routing a AAA customer to a AAA approved repair facility. This isn't so much a problem with the drivers as the AAA call center directing their member to a AAA repair facility.

Now, I don't work for AAA (we are just a contracted towing company for them) but the way I understand it is that they (AAA) are only to suggest a AAA repair facility when the member doesn't know where they want their car towed. If the member calls and says, "I need it towed to XYZ shop" there should be no trying to talk the member into changing their mind by the AAA call taker.

And from what I've witnessed here in the Oregon / Idaho call center, they seem to honor that policy at the call taking level. Of course, there are always new employees and mistakes happen...but by and large, AAA is pretty honest about referring their AAA approved facility only when there is a question by the member on where to take their vehicle.

2) AAA drivers routing calls to their own repair facility. In a way, this goes back to receiving monetary rewards. In the years prior to working here, I worked for a towing company that had it's own garage. The owner was adamant that we should always suggest our own facility for repairs. Even though that owner is still my friend and colleague today, I was always uncomfortable with that practice and...as such...I didn't bring many cars to our shop unless the customer had come to that decision on their own. It always seemed rather "schlockey" to me.

And for the record, that owner no longer has a repair facilty and only provides towing service these days.

Still, I have no doubt that many AAA towing companies (even non-AAA companies) that have their own shop like to tell their drivers to route business in their direction. I suppose that is just considered "good business" by the owner, but it definitely rubs me the wrong way.

3) "Spiffs" and monetary rewards or kickbacks. As I already mentioned, this is a huge tempation for almost any tow driver and is frowned upon by AAA and the towing industry in general. But the reality is that it can still happen and it's hard to catch. But it's illegal in many areas and the DA loves to prosecute these offenses.

4) Finally, our company policy is very similar to AAA in that our drivers only suggest a shop IF the customer honestly has no idea where to take their vehicle. Our drivers are stongly encouraged to avoid "downgrading" a particular shop or talking negatively about the competition. If presented with the question, "Where would you take your vehicle?" It's always an awkward situation if the driver isn't overly fond of the particular facility where we are taking their car.

That is why it is my recommendation to ALL repair facilities to treat tow truck drivers with respect and courtesy. No spiffs are needed, but a place to use the restroom...wash up...a pleasant attitude when we come to deliver the vehicle...these are all important to the driver if you ever want to be on their "good list". Because if you are rude and unprofessional, I can assure you that even if you're the best mechanic, should a referral come into question, most drivers are going to be reluctant to throw out the name of your facility.

I realize this didn't help your situation, but hopefully it shed some light on what really happens behind the scenes and AAA isn't purposely steering customers away from your shop.