Was riding with friends in their car today and ended up stranded at the gas pumps and needed a tow. No problem, we have Good Sam. What a joke. This is the third time we've called Good Sam Roadside Assistance. It was a fight the first two times a few years ago to get service and today was no better. Good Sam doesn't have to fight to get me to pay the bill for their membership dues or Roadside Assistance and I expect the same from them when trying to use the service I have paid for. To make a long story short, we ended up giving up on Good Sam, called the car insurance which has a one time tow. It took less time to make the call to the insurance, get the tow truck who was able to do a temporary fix enabling us to drive to the repair shop ourselves than the time spent on hold waiting for a Good Sam representative to answer the phone. Insurance called us back to make sure the tow truck showed up and the tow truck driver called to make sure we made it to the shop. Apparently Good Sam Roadside service is too busy taking our payment and not adequately staffed to handle a request for service. Well, we are going to help Good Sam out. Our contract will be ending in 3 months and they will not have to worry about us bothering them again. I'm sure there is someone else who understands the value of commitment and will honor their contract without a fight.

I gave up on them and went with Coach-Net.

Farmerjon - I apologize for the long delay in answering your call today. I would like to get more detail from you about the specifics. If you would send me a private message with your member and phone number you called from I can review our call records.Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

we are quite happy with Coach Net.

RoadsideGuy...the time to get this right was when we called today. This is the same response we had over two years ago. GS wanted to make it right. Nothing has changed. You had us. We paid for a service that is riddled with problems and trying to "make it right" after the fact is simply not right. Your best chance to keep us was to keep your contract.The representative that FINALLY answered the phone after a VERY long wait didn't even know if we were covered while riding in our friend's car. We were put on hold for a VERY long time, again, while checking to see IF we were covered. That's only the beginning. We're not wasting any more of our time with your version of roadside assistance other than to let others know it's "buyer beware". Over two years later, same experience. That's no coincidence. Live up to your promises, get it right the first time, no excuses, listen to the customer.......how hard can it be?

I actually was just thinking tonight about renewing my Good Sam membership and only because of the roadside assistance.This read has me thinking maybe I need to look at other options.Thanks

Mark me down as an unhappy camper | Good Sam Community

18 Replies

darsben1
Explorer
Jul 03, 2016
cmcdar wrote:
Thank you, OP.

I will look into Coachnet before my policy is up for renewal.

Okay but make sure you check the coachnet forums for complaints about their service. OH WAIT they do not have a place for you to complain online.
Seems to me you would want to go with the place that is upfront with their problems.
IF YOU READ THE CONTRACT and are willing to wait you will be satisfied with where ever you go for roadside service. If you do not have patience then no roadside service will be good for you.
BUT READ THE CONTRACT.
cmcdar
Explorer
Jul 01, 2016
Thank you, OP.

I will look into Coachnet before my policy is up for renewal.
1968mooney
Explorer
Jul 01, 2016
You will be back soon complaining about cancellation of your policy because you do not meet the parameters of coverage. So long. :S
Farmerjon
Explorer
Jul 01, 2016
roypd wrote:
Some of their Platinum offerings cover autos that are owned, leased, rented, or borrowed. I guess you could work around the definition of "borrowed" to make it work in your favor. But clearly the underlying issue was not whether he was covered, but getting the actual service - as implied by the OP's response.

Exactly. They determined we were covered. You can hijack this thread all you want but since GS determined we were covered the fact still remains there was a problem with getting service. Same identical problems we had over 2 years ago with our own vehicles. Nothing has changed.

One may be satisfied with the hold time that takes longer than getting service from another roadside assistance, but that's doubtful. One may be satisfied with waits that sometimes include overnight stays on the side of the road, again doubtful.

Anyone scrolling through the threads on this forum will see that the GS roadside assistance is full of problems. The only vote that counts is the purchase, renewal or non-renewal of services. When there is another service that lives up to their promises, they will get the business. Loyalty is still obtained in the same manner as it has always been obtained.

I will no longer belabor this subject after I post this. I think my point has been made. You can continue to be "hung" on whatever part of my story you want, but it's my story and poor service is the bottom line. I repeat, again, for those who missed it. I was not denied service. AND I told them it was not my car.
aviator41
Explorer
Jul 01, 2016
Wow, this is the second post today I've stumbled upon while researching roadside assistance.

Hey Marcus Lemonis, sounds like your 3 P's are working so well.

people are short staffed (hence the long wait times)

process is too slow and aggravating (on hold forever trying to get things figured out)

product can't even be used!

ouch.

So - coach-net you say?

I'm off to look up their information.
darsben1
Explorer
Jul 01, 2016
How do you work around "Was riding with friends in their car today"
darsben1
Explorer
Jul 01, 2016
roypd wrote:
Some of their Platinum offerings cover autos that are owned, leased, rented, or borrowed. I guess you could work around the definition of "borrowed" to make it work in your favor. But clearly the underlying issue was not whether he was covered, but getting the actual service - as implied by the OP's response.

ow do you work around "Was riding with friends in their car today"
roypd
Explorer
Jul 01, 2016
Some of their Platinum offerings cover autos that are owned, leased, rented, or borrowed. I guess you could work around the definition of "borrowed" to make it work in your favor. But clearly the underlying issue was not whether he was covered, but getting the actual service - as implied by the OP's response.
K_Charles
Explorer
Jul 01, 2016
I don't know what the OP told good sam but it is clearly stated in the contract that no coverage is provided for a car you are riding in unless you own it. He may be trying to get coverage he should not be entitled to.
Farmerjon
Explorer
Jul 01, 2016
rockhillmanor wrote:
Was riding with friends in their car today and ended up stranded at the gas pumps and needed a tow. No problem, we have Good Sam.

didn't even know if we were covered while riding in our friend's car

Is anybody 'reading' what the OP posted?

He was NOT in his own car nor was he even driving another persons car.
He was just a 'passenger' in someone else's car!

I don't have a GS contract in front of me to read but I would find it hard to believe that ANY insurance company would consider this part of your coverage.

What on earth would make anyone think that your Good Sam ERS would cover another persons car? :S

I don't expect you to be as informed as those who work for GS, BUT you do realize that they checked to see if I was covered for such an event AND I am. That's not an issue nor should it have been for those who are not suppose to be ignorant of the contract rules. You can be forgiven for not knowing, but you are missing out on part of what you have paid for if you have needed it and did not utilize it.

We are also Platinum. Perhaps you are not.