Good Sam Disappointment

Francesca Knowles wrote:

happybooker1 wrote:
The tow truck driver had dropped it off in their parking lot (had no trouble doing so!) so what they told you was a bunch of malarky -- unless their policy has changed in the last year.
...................snip.................

Luckily I had found a motel (thank you cell phones!) and the tow driver dropped us and the kitten off at the motel as he left town. He was a very nice tow driver.

The difference between this scenario and the O.P.'s is that you were with the tow every step of the way. Not the same thing at all...

If you re-read what I quoted above before my answer, you will see I answered OP's question, which was basically "have you ever been left at a closed facility?"

happybooker1 wrote:
The tow truck driver had dropped it off in their parking lot (had no trouble doing so!) so what they told you was a bunch of malarky -- unless their policy has changed in the last year.
...................snip.................

Luckily I had found a motel (thank you cell phones!) and the tow driver dropped us and the kitten off at the motel as he left town. He was a very nice tow driver.

The difference between this scenario and the O.P.'s is that you were with the tow every step of the way. Not the same thing at all...

MdKamper wrote:
Has anyone ever had a vehicle towed at 3AM (or such), did they tow you to a closed facility? Just curious as when we travel we do alot of late night / Sunday travel.

Thanks,

Member Number: 51238442

Yes me. Last summer, on a Friday night coming back from Garner SP, about 2.5 hours from home our Class C broke down. I knew from reading these boards that I could "count on" it being at LEAST 4 hours to get service. It was my son (16) me (old lady) and a little 8-week old kitten. We left the C on the side of the road and walked to a nearby gas station (about 2 blocks away). This was at about 8PM, so still light.

Called GSRA, and they advised when they'd found a large tow truck to tow us. About 12:30 tow truck showed up (he was on another call about an hour away), so 4 hours was about right. We ate supper in the gas station. Left the kitten in the C and kept going back to check on her. She was fine.

We were nearly in the middle of nowhere, but they had found a repair shop that would look at the C. We were towed about 45 minutes OPPOSITE the direction we'd been going, to a place that would open back up Monday AM. Yep, closed up tighter than a drum. We had gotten a motel room for Friday night, assuming the repair shop would be open on Saturday AM. The tow truck driver had dropped it off in their parking lot (had no trouble doing so!) so what they told you was a bunch of malarky -- unless their policy has changed in the last year.

Luckily I had found a motel (thank you cell phones!) and the tow driver dropped us and the kitten off at the motel as he left town. He was a very nice tow driver.

When the fact that the shop wouldn't be open until Monday AM became clear, I called GSRA and asked about another tow. Nope I'd have to pay for that as it was the same incident. I asked why would they take us to a place that was closed for the weekend and they said it was the only place they could find that would work on the C.

So I prevailed upon my sister & her husband to drive 3 hours to where we were and rescue us. MY WONDERFUL brother-in-law brought all his tools and portable air compressor and proceeded to find out what the problem was (Coach Battery hooked up was somehow drawing power from the car battery and draining it and the battery was dead) and fixed us up enough to limp home. What a blessing he was (and IS!).

Anyway, yes we were dropped off at a facility that was closed for the weekend with no qualms from GSRA about it. But they DID tow the C from the side of the highway to a repair facility that had been going to repair it -- so I guess they fulfilled their part of the contract. And that one tow would have been $450 -- the tow driver told me. So I definitely got my money's worth -- just to be out of harm's way and in a safe place.

Thanks for the positive report. I have used Good Sam for years with good results.

Its nice when an OP comes back with their outcome. Thanks

MdKamper wrote:
Just an update ...

I spoke to Frank with GSRA and first I must compliment him on his timely & professional response.

We spoke in regards to the incident and to his credit with out making excuses he said we failed to receive the service we should have. He will take steps to learn from our mishap and make adjustments where necessary going forward in hopes of preventing a reoccurrence for me or any other GSRA member.

He took it even a step further to ensure we were "made whole" for our out-of-pocket expenses and additional good will.

I am certainly pleased with the outcome and as I stated in my original post I just wanted to learn from the incident, not bash GSRA and I fully respect there company even more so now because of the matter in which my concerns were addressed. Thanks Frank

Thanks for the follow up

Just an update ...

I spoke to Frank with GSRA and first I must compliment him on his timely & professional response.

We spoke in regards to the incident and to his credit with out making excuses he said we failed to receive the service we should have. He will take steps to learn from our mishap and make adjustments where necessary going forward in hopes of preventing a reoccurrence for me or any other GSRA member.

He took it even a step further to ensure we were "made whole" for our out-of-pocket expenses and additional good will.

I am certainly pleased with the outcome and as I stated in my original post I just wanted to learn from the incident, not bash GSRA and I fully respect their company even more so now because of the matter in which my concerns were addressed. Thanks Frank

It is my understanding that Good Sam roadside assistance does not tow when you are in an accident/collision, just for disablements. I will look it up now to see what it says.

On edit, I just looked it up, they do tow for a collision, I was wrong and misinformed.

GSRoadsideAssistance wrote:
Thank you for the post, MdKamper. My name is Frank and I am a member of the Good Sam Roadside Assistance Headquarters Team. I would like the opportunity to speak with you concerning your questions. I have sent you a PM requesting your Good Sam Roadside Assistance contact information: telephone number and e-mail. I will contact you, and I look forward to speaking with you. Frank

Replied as requested and will post update

Francesca Knowles wrote:
I'm betting that Good Sam is unwilling to accept the liability attached to just leaving something in a parking lot. Turning it over to a live person means their responsibility for it is over. And since you couldn't be there, shop owner/employee is the next best thing. Not the same thing as you calling a tow truck and arranging delivery to a closed facility. In that case, YOU are the responsible party.

This incident does point up a rather surprising benefit of a membership in this service- coverage for the vehicle no matter who's driving it/ involved in the breakdown/accident. Triple A (what I have) coverage is strictly for named parties. They won't tow a rig AT ALL unless the covered person is there- and at both ends.

Valid point, to clarify we were willing to follow the tow truck to the body shop in another vehicle and complete the body shop's drop off form.