Bad experience so far

We had a blowout on I-95 last year. THAT is one busy interstate. That said, the first question was, "Are you in a safe place". Since I was well off the road and not constituting a traffic hazard, I replied yes. Was I as safe as I would have been in a campground, no, but I felt safe nonetheless. It took RA about two hours to get to me with a new tire. While I waited, DW took a nap and I waxed the whole side of the coach. Not every stop on an Interstate is unsafe....just sayin.

Now this past week we saw a car broke down on the entrance to the Astoria Bridge. This is a narrow two lane road and the breakdown was right on a curve. Now THAT was a dangerous situation. I called 911 to report it, but didn't stop as I would have created an even bigger hazard.....Dennis

I notfrom that area so i30 means nothing to me. Not all interstates are busy, even at rush hour.
So unless the person you reach is familiar with that area they would not know how busy or dangerous the area you broke down in is.

fitznj wrote:

Breaking down in traffic on a major interstate poses some very serious safety issues which should be the first priority for GSRA.

How is the GSRA responsibility? How are they supposed to know?

IF the vehicle was in a dangerous spot, then call 911 and report it, that is clearly a police matter. GSRA is a "breakdown" service.

I was in a similar position - I broke down and parked on a left-hand corner (so somewhat hard to see me until the last moment) on a busy interstate. I assessed the situation and my first call was to 911 and make the police aware of the danger.

BTW - when did we get so self-absorbed and narcissistic that we can't wait 1 hour for a tow truck to drive 45 miles to come to our aid? IMHO- 1 or 2 hours is quite acceptable;

Still trying to figure out why GSRA is getting a bad rap in this situation. GSRA offered a solution, it was refused due because it would have take approx 1 hour for the tow truck to arrive - sorry you have to PAY UP.

Gerry

First GSRA knows you are on a busy interstate because you tell them on the phone your location " on Interstate 30 Southbound about 30 miles south of Little Rock" I'd say that is a pretty big clue...If the person on the phone is actually listening to you. So there is no guessing involved or mind reading needed on the part of GSRA.

Secondly a situation which is dangerous is not necessarily an "emergency" by police/Hwy patrol/911 standards and calling 911 in this situation at the point described by the OP would be inappropriate.

But in terms of a fast response on the part of GSRE they should take into account the situation and find the closest available/fastest response time.

Those of you that think that these decisions are being made SOLELY for the benefit of the customer without regard for economic considerations on the part of GSRE are naive. My guess is they have a hierarchy of companies based on several criteria one of which surely is cost to GSRE. I am sure the operators are trained to call the least expensive company with the proper equipment first.

Or in this case IF the company called was the closest at least in terms of availability and response time then the operators should be trained to explain this fact. Also most of these operate on a rotational basis. ie the companies in a given market area are called on a rotational basis to keep things fair to them. This may have just been the next rotation up. But in any case this should have been overridden and a closer one found if possible.

My point simply is that the OP has a legitimate gripe here not that he was perfect or that GSRA was all bad.

Breaking down in traffic on a major interstate poses some very serious safety issues which should be the first priority for GSRA.

How is the GSRA responsibility? How are they supposed to know?

IF the vehicle was in a dangerous spot, then call 911 and report it, that is clearly a police matter. GSRA is a "breakdown" service.

I was in a similar position - I broke down and parked on a left-hand corner (so somewhat hard to see me until the last moment) on a busy interstate. I assessed the situation and my first call was to 911 and make the police aware of the danger.

BTW - when did we get so self-absorbed and narcissistic that we can't wait 1 hour for a tow truck to drive 45 miles to come to our aid? IMHO- 1 or 2 hours is quite acceptable;

Still trying to figure out why GSRA is getting a bad rap in this situation. GSRA offered a solution, it was refused due because it would have take approx 1 hour for the tow truck to arrive - sorry you have to PAY UP.

Gerry

These posts never cease to amaze me....:S...Dennis

Any time I have called grs first thing they have asked if we are in a safe location.If you are the side of busy road u are not safe and should have asked for a tow right away.When you canceled the tech in my opinion the tow was on your dime.

We have Good Sam ERS and have used it a few times with good to great results. We are presently sitting in Three Forks, MT awaiting a part to repair a fan drive shaft.

Our call to GSERS went out from I-90 halfway between Butte & Bozeman, MT and the tow truck arrived in less than an hour. After looking over the problem he suggested I drive to his repair shop about 18 miles away and I managed to get there after one stop.

GSERS operator was professional and asked if we were in a safe location. We were. She did a great job getting me service, along with a followup call to make sure we made it.

Very satisfied with GSERS and wouldn't travel without it.

lanerd wrote:
10 days?? I can get a package sent from the east coast to the west coast by ground travel in less than 7 days...2 days by air. Why does it take GS so long to get things done by mail? I've noticed that sometimes it takes GS "weeks" to issue a GS member ship card. I don't understand the huge delays associated with GS.

Ron

If you want something done fast, why not do it online? If you access to post here, you can probably login, fill out the form, and be done in minutes, solves the whole problem.

4X4Dodger wrote:

darsben wrote:
You were given service but you did not like it so you chose your own company. I do not feel GSra failed and I do not think you should be reimbursed.
What is it 45 miles Conway to Little ROck.
Do you think they should just dispatch the closest no matter the cost?
You called , they found someone in network, you refused, YOU PAY

Breaking down in traffic on a major interstate poses some very serious safety issues which should be the first priority for GSRA...not which company is the cheapest. In this case THE CLOSEST and the FASTEST should have been who was called/

The OP has the issue right. GSRA should have been more sensitive to the issue of safety. He should NOT pay. If "in network" means that they are putting lives and vehicles in increased risk for longer periods of time it is definitely a GSRA failure.

If it is a "Serious Safety" concern they should be calling 911, not a tow service. I wonder how AAA, GS, CN, or any ERS would know in advance where the OP was going to break down at, and know to sign a contract with the closest place before a break down occurs? If you want the closest truck to respond no matter where the break down occurs at, no ERS can do that, impossible to know.

10 days?? I can get a package sent from the east coast to the west coast by ground travel in less than 7 days...2 days by air. Why does it take GS so long to get things done by mail? I've noticed that sometimes it takes GS "weeks" to issue a GS member ship card. I don't understand the huge delays associated with GS.

Ron