[Bill]

I had Good Sam for years, and had numerous experiences with them that ranged from terrible to horrible.

My first complaint is that Good Sam does not own its own service vehicles. Instead, it contracts with the local Greasy Gus garage to provide road service on an as-available basis. If Gus isn't available, maybe for hours, you wait - maybe for hours. No one calls to keep you up to speed.

Second complaint. If you need to be towed, and you tell the dispatcher that you need to be towed and why -- they don't send a tow truck. Instead, they have what they call something like a Roadside Service Vehicle. This is a privately-owned passenger vehicle, driven by the owner, which has small stash of the owner's tools in the trunk. The owner may or may not be a mechanic of any kind, but his trip is not optional - and it is expensive. On one trip, I lost a wheel bearing. I called, described the problem, and asked for flatbed truck, since the TM was obviously not going anywhere on its own. They sent out an RSV. A pleasant but completely unskilled guy spent more than an hour tapping things with a Phillps screwdriver and a monkey wrench, accomplishing nothing. He finally gave up, said I needed a flatbed (duh!), and insisted that I fork over $200 on a credit card for his trip. But by that time it was 5 PM, and Greasy Gus was closed. We had to leave the TM beside the road and spend the night in a gritty hotel. The flatbed, promised by 10AM the next day, showed up after lunch.

Third thing. The dispatchers seem unable to pass my location to the service driver. At my first road side problem, I told the dispatcher "I am on westbound I-80 in Coralviile, Iowa. I am at Exit 240, parked at the top of the westbound exit ramp." I thought this was pretty clear, but when the service vehicle showed up, two hours later, the driver told me that the dispatcher had sent him to the wrong exit, and he just happened to spot me on his way home. The same thing happened another time in Louisiana. I told the dispatcher that I was on westbound I-55, a mile west of the intersection with I-12. The dispatcher had him running up and down I-12 to find me.

These stories go on and on. In 20-plus years of TMing, I have probably called Good Sam four or five times. Not one of the experiences was good, or even adequate. Maybe now that Marcus owns Good Sam, it is better.

I finally gave up, and switched to AAA. I have made only two service calls since the switch, and each was a very good experience service-wise. Exactly what they promised, prompt arrival in a AAA-owned vehicle, driven by a knowledgeable guy. AAA does have an oddity that you need to be aware of. AAA divides the country into "Chapters". For example, I live in Maine, so I am in the Northern New England Chapter. AAA service is good anywhere, but the different chapters have somewhat different benefit details. The good news is that if you call for service in a chapter that has a smaller benefit than yours (for example, if your chapter offers free towing for 100 miles, but your breakdown happens in a chapter where they offer 50 miles), you can pay the difference on the spot, and your home chapter will send you the difference when you send them the invoice. No difference in the service, just a different allowance. And when you are broken down beside the road, and that red and white truck pulls up, you really don't care.

No, I am not affiliated with AAA in any way. But before I signed up, the AAA agent in my town in Maine sat down with me for an hour, explaining the chapter organization and the different coverage details and the reimbursement policy. I understood it, signed up, and have been happy with what I got.

Bill