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budtropico's avatar
budtropico
Explorer
May 14, 2013

Left stranded night before Thanksgiving...

Within a couple months of joining roadside assistance we desperately needed it for the first time. On our way to my mother's house for Thanksgiving, we broke down about 70 miles from our home, with 60 miles to go to Mom's. It was 9PM, the night before Thanksgiving with the whole family, 2 dogs, and food for the next day. We were basically in the middle of nowhere.
We called RSA and were ultimately told they would send a tow truck and we would be towed to a Chevy dealer 11 miles away and left there. I protested, knowing the dealer would be closed the next day (Thanksgiving Thursday), and we would be left there in the parking lot until they opened Friday morning. I wanted to be towed the 70 miles home. We supposedly had 80 mile towing coverage. I demanded to speak with a manager. He said RSA towing only covered towing to the nearest repair facility. I explained that the dealer would be closed the next day, and we'd be stranded for two nights in a dealer parking lot. The manager told me "That's all we can do". Needless to say, that made a bad situation seem hopeless. I told them not to bother. By now it was cold and 11 o'clock at night. I booked my own tow home and feel RSA ruined our Thanksgiving. Under these circumstances, when I really needed to speak to a caring human being, all I got was a 'robot' that would have my cold family and dogs spend the next 2 days in a car, in a closed dealer parking lot in some small town I'd never heard of.
I cancelled my 2 year RSA membership and was given a refund and a very short apology by the phone operator. I never heard another word from anyone in management, but I still get very angry every day when I recieve ALL the Good Sam's solicitations in my inbox and mailbox...
  • 2 points...
    First- I just received Good Sam's current issue, where Marcus, (the CEO, I believe) asked for feedback on the Road Club on this forum. So I took the opportunity. Some of you people need a better hobby!

    Second- The point of this post is, I was stuck on the EVE OF A MAJOR HOLIDAY, 70 MILES FROM MY HOME, WITH FAMILY AND DOGS... Could the rules have been 'bent' to not leave me in a strange, small town for at least 36 hours at an unknown car dealer?
  • Did you offer to pay the difference between 11 miles and 70? That would only seem fair to all. I can't imagine any insurance that would let the customer decide where they will be towed. There has to be some limit and it will be in writing before you buy the policy.
  • dfm wrote:
    westernrvparkowner wrote:
    Thanks for the information, next year I won't miss Thanksgiving in May. Don't know how it slipped by me that they had moved it from November.
    Perhaps it would be worthwhile for the "Ask Marcus" forums to add another forum. We could call it "How far back in history can you bash Good Sam and Camping World" Sure would be interesting to hear how Good Sam's ERS screwed up the crank on someone's Model A.


    Based on the "tone" of most of your responses to any/all topics that you respond to, I don't think I would ever want to be a guest in your campground and need some assistance from you?
    If you intend to be bashing my parks 6 months after you stay there because we wouldn't change our policies to accomodate your needs on a holiday weekend for a problem that wasn't our fault I really don't want you to stay anyway.
    Most ERS plans tow to the nearest repair facility. That has been hashed out on these forums many times. Just because that facility is closed on Thanksgiving surely isn't a reason for Good Sam to ignore their policies and tow the thing wherever. Where would they draw the line? Would they tow a rig an extra 200 miles because the nearest service center wasn't open at 2AM but there was a 24 service center three cities away? The guy said his Thanksgiving was ruined. Sounds to me like it was ruined because his rig broke down on a holiday weekend. That wouldn't be Good Sam's fault.
  • westernrvparkowner wrote:
    Thanks for the information, next year I won't miss Thanksgiving in May. Don't know how it slipped by me that they had moved it from November.
    Perhaps it would be worthwhile for the "Ask Marcus" forums to add another forum. We could call it "How far back in history can you bash Good Sam and Camping World" Sure would be interesting to hear how Good Sam's ERS screwed up the crank on someone's Model A.


    Based on the "tone" of most of your responses to any/all topics that you respond to, I don't think I would ever want to be a guest in your campground and need some assistance from you?
  • Thanks for the information, next year I won't miss Thanksgiving in May. Don't know how it slipped by me that they had moved it from November.
    Perhaps it would be worthwhile for the "Ask Marcus" forums to add another forum. We could call it "How far back in history can you bash Good Sam and Camping World" Sure would be interesting to hear how Good Sam's ERS screwed up the crank on someone's Model A.
  • Did you find a different company that will tow you anywhere, or do they all specify to the nearest facility? Just curious whether this is an industry-wide scenario.
  • Thanks for posting this Bud. It helps others to make informed decisions.
  • Hello budtropico,

    Can you send me a PM with your contact information so I can research this further. In addition Good Sam Roadside Assistance will tow an unlimited amount of miles to the nearest qualified repair facility that can handle your repair needs.

    Wes Robinson
    Marcus' Rapid Response Team
    goodsamcs@goodsamfamily.com
  • Wes asked for feedback using this forum... I thought he might like to know how we were left out in the cold.
  • Without reading my policy at this time, I do believe the contract states that your disabled vehicle will be transported to the nearest qualified repair facility.
    This was almost 7 months ago and it's still eatin' at ya?

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