Problems with Good Sam roadside service

[David and Jo-Anna]

I wasn't sure whether to start this thread, or where to put it, but a fellow MOC member encouraged me to share the bad experience I had with Good Sam roadside assistance last week for the benefit of others on the forum.

We had one of our Mission tires shread last week when we were about 10 miles west of Tucson. We called Good Sam around noontime and, after they took our info, they called back to say that they would have a truck out to us in one hour. That was prior to 12:30 pm, so we were looking for service by 1:30. At 1:45, when no one had shown, we got an automated call from GS asking whether our problem had been taken care of. After pressing many buttons and going thru several menus, I finally spoke to an operator and told them we hadn't seen anyone yet. She then called the roadside assistance outfit, Petro Lube, and came back and told me that Petro Lube had had some mixup with their driver but would have someone out to me in another hour. At that point, I expressed my unhappiness that Petro hadn't given anyone notice that they were not going to meet their original target time of 1:30 and that they were now talking about getting there after 2:45. I asked whether Good Sam could search to see if another service provider could get their earlier (I was under the assumption that, with all the snowbirds down in the Tucson area, there should be lots of outfits that could provide roadside assistance to an RVer). I was told that the GS computer system would not allow them to check on alternative service providers unless they first cancelled the call to Petro. I expressed my view that this seemed an unreasonable policy where, as here, the service provider had not only failed to meet its promised target time but had failed to notify anyone that they wouldn't be able to meet that target. Given that unreliability, I didn't see why they couldn't at least check to see who else might be available.

After goinng back and forth on this for 10 minutes or so, the operator suggested I talk to her supervisor (yes, I was getting unhappy, but I was trying to be civil). I then had another 10-15 minute talk with her supervisor, who insisted that they couldn't deviate from their policy on not checking on alternative providers unless and until the call to the initial provider was cancelled. I then asked whether they could at least call Petro and nudge them to ensure that they met their revised target time of 2:45. He told me that they normally didn't like to bug their providers but that the operator I had first talked to was now in fact talking to Petro. He put me on hold to find out what was going on and then came back on the line to tell me that the target time had now shifted from 2:45 to 3:30--that the service call to Petro had been put on hold while I was talking to the operator and her supervisor. Needless to say, I was an unhappy camper. They then agreed to give me the direct phone contact at Petro (they had previously said that all calls had to go thru them and that I couldn't talk to the service provider directly.)

When I called Petro, they said that the problem had been that Good Sam had not followed up their original servive call at noon by faxing the necessary paperwork, and that they hadn't gotten the fax until the operator called back at 2:45 while I was talking to her supervisor. I also found out that this Petro outfit was up in Casa Grande, not Tucson, putting them more than an hour away so that the "one hour" promised service time which GS gave me was never a valid estimate.

Bottom line is that Petro showed up at 4 pm, four hours after we called GS. Wonder what the response time would have been if we had been out in the boonies rather than that close to Tucson. Not sure how much fault to lay on GS and its "policy" and how much was just one or both players dropping the ball. But the experience didn't leave me a happy camper.

[Parrothead]

We have had GS for many years - like maybe 10- and have used them 5 or 6 times. Each time was handled quickly and professionally. The two blowouts we had were on the I-5 in the middle of the Central Valley in CA. Boondocks is a better description. It was in triple digits temperature wise. They were there within 1/2 hr., called to make sure we were taken care of and the one time, the man spent over an hour trying to get the steel belting unwrapped from the axle. They have changed tires in front of our house and in RV parks. We will continue to subscribe.
Happy trails....................

[adelmoll]

We have friends traveling in Florida that had trouble last week and called their road service..I believe it was Coach Net but not sure.. Anyway, it was not Good Sam. They waited almost eight hours for help.

[Ozz]

It took them 6 hours to get to me, down in the Ozarks.

[ole dude]

Sorry to hear about the poor service. It is a shame that happens , especially when you have to pay upfront for the service.

[49merc]

AAA+ great service.

[mgdg]

CAA/AAA never more than 15-30 mins on all calls. When we were in Destin we had a flat on the TV and they were there in no time. CAA/AAA RV plus $31 (Can) per year, used that up in one call. Got stuck in the mud in Ontario with the 5ver they were there in 10 mins tops. Now the Winter time up here it can get to be up to an hour+ but I expect that in the winter with all the snow, they get overwhelmed.

[sreigle]

David and Jo-Anna, I'm sorry to hear you had this problem with GS ERS, especially since I recommended them to you. It has been quite awhile, over a year, since I used their service but our experience was very positive. I have to wonder if this policy they quoted you is something new. I'll be listening to see if others have similar problems.

I hope you will get in contact with someone on the executive side of GS ERS and let them know about your experience. At the very least, they should review the performance of the contractor. If they have multiple complaints about a contractor, maybe they'll make some changes. Likewise for the policy. Their policy should be that if service is not provided within a certain period of time then they should be canceling that service and contacting another.

Casa Grande? Why on earth would they not have someone in Tucson or surrounding communities? There wasn't anything going on that would have them all busy, was there?

[hazmic]

Used GS towing Thurs after our get together here in the valley. GS was great and the Co that came was excellent and I need to call GS and let them know how great the wrecker Co was. Truck was on the recall for the CPS. They took it to a Ford dealer here in the valley and had the truck repaired by 9 am the next day. Sorry about your experience but after reading I wonder if the provider was most of the problem. They could have told you that they were OK and it was GS. We have had nothing but good experience with them and will continue to keep them and recommend them. I think there is a way that you can file a complaint and I realize this is not going to change anything now. Hopefully you can get a answer. Please keep us informed.

[Rondo]

Well I guess I'll be checking out GS for the road service.
Mickey, do you have the Emergency Road Service or the Continued Service Plan with Good Sams? Been thinking of getting both since we have no warranty coverage on the 2004 Monte. We bought it from an individual instead of a dealer! Anyone pros and cons on the continued service plan?

[Trailer Trash 2]

I dont think I can blame the whole thing on Good Sam ERS for a problem with there contract tow truck, I believe that if you get bad service from GS ERS tow trucks, Good Sam needs to know, so they can either, not renew the contact, and find another tow company that needs work, or get this company back on track. It's to bad that you have had a bad experance, we on the other hand have had excellant service from GS, but if I have a bad experance I'll probably be doing the same as you venting my displeasure with them too.

[Ozzie]

I agree with TT2...if substandard service is provided, Good Sam needs to hear about it. My experience with them has been stellar, I would not consider going anywhere else at this time. If I was to encounter a situation like you have gone through, I would hold someones feet to the fire.
I have to believe (even though you said the paperwork wasn't completed) that a company is only as good as whoever they have representing them. I am a subcontractor, and the companies I work for get a good portion of their referral business off the work I do. If I do a poor job, I won't be getting any more work to do.
I suspect this may be the case - let them know what happened. At the very least, you should be credited a portion of your membership for the inconvenience and poor performance.

[brenkco]

I agree, all of us that are or have been in business, know that sometimes things get screwed up. It happens, but it's how the company reacts when things go wrong. You are GS's customer and the buck should stop there. The problem could have been GS or the contractor or both....still you were not given good service. I hope they make it right for you. It seems that for the most part they offer good service.

We have never used it, but I bought towing and labor, UCR (usually, customary and reasonable, in other words, no cap) on my RV insurance policy plus we have AAA. My thinking is that since AAA has limitations (but great service), I will still be able to use them. Then use my RV policy to make up any difference in cost.

[stiles watson]

John Wayne had a line in a movie, "Your fault, my fault, nobody's fault, this is what is going to happen..." I don't like to deal with organizations who point fingers and pass blame. I use Coach-Net and have been completely happy with their responses to each of my four blowouts and to the disabled truck and rig requiring towing. However, I would bet there are those who have had less than stellar experience with Coach-Net.

49merck stated that AAA+ was great, but I have had very negative experiences with AAA+ and will not use them. My bottom line is that many times all these companies use the same contractors and you get the same truck out regardless of who you are with. None of us like screw ups and bad service, but it happens.

I like the company or individual that says, "We blew it, we are sorry, so what can we do to make you happier?" No excuses, just acknowledgment and efforts to correct the situation. If I don't get that, I usually change service providers.

[Native Tex]

We have had GS for several years and been fortunate enough to only have had to call them one time. I will say however that service from the provider was swift. I guess when GS call the local towing company, they were ready to make a call.

[David and Jo-Anna]

Good to hear all the positive comments about Good Sam's ERS--I hope and assume that I just had a bad luck experience. But I still have my concerns about this policy of not looking into alternative providers unless they first cancel the service call they initially made.

As suggested, I have sent an email to Good Sam ERS reporting on the problem I had and will let you know what response I get.

P.S. Stiles--I recall that line you quoted from the John Wayne movie about "your fault, my fault, nobody's fault."--that was Richard Boone speaking that line, in a movie where he played the bad guy who kidnapped a young boy (John Wayne's grandson) and was holding him for ransom. Great movie, and a great line!!!!!

[stiles watson]

You are right. Boone said it early in the movie, but John Wayne said it back to him later on, just before the gun fight broke out.

[Trailer Trash 2]

Ah Mr.Boone, I loved him in Have Gun Will Travel, another classic. but he'll never beat the Duke.

[jjackflash]

Boy,you guys sound old! LOL!

[richfaa]

Anytime we experience poor service from a provider no matter who it is, we need to bring that to the providers attention. The provider may never know they have a problem unless we tell them about it. David did exactly that. We should all follow that example.