Coach-Net Road Side Assistance -- Are you unhappy?

[TenOC]

I have read some of the complaints on Good Sam Road Side Assistance on the page on road side assistance. I understand that only unhappy customers will post to the forum thus one should remember that the happy customers may outnumber the unhappy customers.

After reading the complaints my worry is (1) the time delay in receiving help and (2) the incompetence (poor training) of the person who answers the phone.

I normally do not carry roadside assistance insurance. At $200 per year and only using it -- say once in 5 years, I can pay a $1,000 tow bill. If I brake down, why not call 911 and let the highway police call the quick response tow servic. This way I will not sit on the highway for hours waiting for a tow truck.

A number of the posting suggest Coach-Net as a replacement to Good Sam. Are any of you unhappy with service you received form Coach-Net???

[RVER]

I too have Coach Net but my Progressive policy says it has road service for my RV as well. has anyone used them and if so what did you think? I think it is purely road service and pays for the labor of the road service.

[Desert_Captain]

This discussion got me thinking about my Coach Net coverage. Since we are leaving in a few days for a long trip I logged in and verified that we are good through August. The list of benefits with just the "Basic" $79 plan is impressive. I have never needed them over the last 6+ years but have confidence that if I ever do they will be there for us.

if you spend any amount of time reading this Forum then you know there is a world of difference between Coach Net and Good Sam.

As always.... Opinions and YMMV

:C

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

TenOC wrote:
After reading the complaints my worry is (1) the time delay in receiving help and (2) the incompetence (poor training) of the person who answers the phone.

1 - Time Delay - that doesn't matter who the Roadside Assistance provider is. All of the companies use almost exactly the same towing service contactors. Yes, the person who actually arrives at your rig is a contractor. Who usually contracts with AAA, Allstate (Good Sam), Coach Net, individual insurance companies, etc. They contract with several.

The Time Delay is dependent upon several factors.

First is where you are located. If you are out on I-10 in west Texas halfway between Fort Stockton and Van Horn it is going to take two to four hours minimum to get someone to your breakdown.

If you are on I-95 in central Florida, you might see someone in 10-15 minutes.

If it is stormy with a lot of small wrecks, it might take a couple hours no matter where you are.

Another factor is which type of rig you have, and type of breakdown.

If you have a pickup, or a Class B van, almost any towing company can assist you. But I once had a problem on a Sunday morning in a location that should have had good service, and three hours later when the truck arrived, I found they did not come as soon as they received the call because they were in church.

If you have a 43 foot Class A that needs a heavy truck tow rig, or an 18 wheeler tire service, it might take a bit longer. Or it might take a bit less - depending upon location. The more rural - the less likely for heavy vehicle services to be available.

It also depends upon the type of breakdown. Since the vast majority are tire issues - the RA company is likely to send a basic tow truck to you to evaluate the needs of the vehicle.

When I had an axle weld break, they send a regular rollback tow truck. The operators quickly told the RA company that they didn't have the equipment available to put the 10,000 lb trailer on a flatbed and haul it to a service location.

2 - Competence of the person on the phone. From my experience with the axle issue - I will say without a doubt Coach Net has better qualified operators available on the phone than Good Sam.

Good Sam would not let me speak directly to the 'RV tech' who kept trying to say my axle could be fixed on site by a tow truck. Coach Net will let me speak directly to the 'RV tech' if I ask.

Lastly - the basic level Roadside Assistance plan offered by CoachNet, GoodSam, AAA and anyone else is insufficient for an RV needs. You need to purchase the top level plan. Because when you need RV specific assistance, that is going to be the best.

[jjrbus]

Time to renew my Coach-net and doing my due diligence before I send the schillings as things change.


I notice that a long time member here talked about "glaring deficiency's" in Coach-Net coverage and has not come back to point them out. I can't find them and would really like to know what they are?

[beachcomber_1]

Coach-Net superior performance all round. Fast and knowledgeable. Also checked in to make sure their response was prompt.

[Teacher_s_Pet]

11 years with Coach Net here...no problems, have performed as promised.

[olfarmer]

I am sure Coach Net is fine, I have had Good Sam towing service for years and I doubt there is much difference. I have read that they frequently use the same towing providers as neither one has their own tow trucks etc. I think a lot of it is where you have the problem! I have used Good Sam twice (both on the same trip for the same problem) and both times the operator that answered my call was very polite and helpful. They got my information and then called back to tell me when to expect the truck to get there and called again later to make sure I was getting help. The first time I was in the Badlands of South Dakota and they towed me 70 miles at night to Rapid City to a big RV dealer, they found a blown fuse for the fuel pump and test drove the RV and said it was good to go. It ran perfect for 2 more days and did the same thing 7 miles south of Kalispell, Montana. It was Saturday evening and they towed me 15 miles to a campground and came back Monday and towed me to a large Chevrolet dealer where they replaced the in tank fuel pump $$$$. They said for that tow that I would have to pay for the tow because it was a recurring problem and I said it happened again because the first shop they towed me to failed to fix the problem. The operator said that I could appeal to Good Sam ERS in writing which I did and they sent me a check for the full amount. I am very satisfied with Good Sam ERS!!! I would not be afraid of Coach Net but see no reason to change at this time! BTW, they cover any vehicle that I am driving whether I own it or not.

[The_Texan]

RVER wrote:
YES TenOC can you educate us on the glaring omissions in coverage that you feel Coach Net did not did have that Good Sam RS had those services?

I am waiting too.

[RVER]

YES TenOC can you educate us on the glaring omissions in coverage that you feel Coach Net did not did have that Good Sam RS had those services?

[TenOC]

fulltimedaniel wrote:

TenOC wrote:
I have read some of the complaints on Good Sam Road Side Assistance on the page on road side assistance. I understand that only unhappy customers will post to the forum thus one should remember that the happy customers may outnumber the unhappy customers.

After reading the complaints my worry is (1) the time delay in receiving help and (2) the incompetence (poor training) of the person who answers the phone.

I normally do not carry roadside assistance insurance. At $200 per year and only using it -- say once in 5 years, I can pay a $1,000 tow bill. If I brake down, why not call 911 and let the highway police call the quick response tow servic. This way I will not sit on the highway for hours waiting for a tow truck.

A number of the posting suggest Coach-Net as a replacement to Good Sam. Are any of you unhappy with service you received form Coach-Net???

I am curious why you chose to frame your question in the negative? Wouldnt you stand to get a better response (either way) by making the question neutral?

And while I agree mostly that those with problems tend to dominate a complaint forum which is essentially what the Ask Marcus Forums are meant for certainly not all are negative.

When I looked at coach net it had some glaring omissions in coverage as I recall. This is why I girded my loins and bit my tongue and went with GSRS.

The reason I framed the question as a negative is that most of the posting on the GSRS forum were bad mouthing GS and praising CN. I did a Google search of CN and could not find anyone that posted that they were unhappy with CN. I know that there must be bad experiences with CN and I want to hear a few to balance the bad comments on GS.

You wrote "some glaring omissions in coverage as I recall" Can you list a few?

[fulltimedaniel]

darsben1 wrote:

BB_TX wrote:

darsben1 wrote:
Try the Coach-net forum where people can voice their displeasure about roadside service and ask there.

There is a Coach-Net forum?????

OF COURSE NOT!
That is why you do not see as many complaints about coachnet. They have nowhere to vent or get problems resolved.

Keep in mind that the REAL purpose of the Ask Marcus forms is to limit unhappy customers from posting to independent review sites and other online complaint forums about the GSE services.

This very cleverly helps to keep the complaints "in House" so to speak.

Further Coach Net customers do have an outlet for Complaints...they can pick up the phone and call and ask to speak to a supervisor.

The idea that this forum is somehow a SACRIFICE of GSE for the benefit of it's customers/members in my view is just naive. If it did not serve their interests it would not exist.

[fulltimedaniel]

TenOC wrote:
I have read some of the complaints on Good Sam Road Side Assistance on the page on road side assistance. I understand that only unhappy customers will post to the forum thus one should remember that the happy customers may outnumber the unhappy customers.

After reading the complaints my worry is (1) the time delay in receiving help and (2) the incompetence (poor training) of the person who answers the phone.

I normally do not carry roadside assistance insurance. At $200 per year and only using it -- say once in 5 years, I can pay a $1,000 tow bill. If I brake down, why not call 911 and let the highway police call the quick response tow servic. This way I will not sit on the highway for hours waiting for a tow truck.

A number of the posting suggest Coach-Net as a replacement to Good Sam. Are any of you unhappy with service you received form Coach-Net???

I am curious why you chose to frame your question in the negative? Wouldnt you stand to get a better response (either way) by making the question neutral?

And while I agree mostly that those with problems tend to dominate a complaint forum which is essentially what the Ask Marcus Forums are meant for certainly not all are negative.

When I looked at coach net it had some glaring omissions in coverage as I recall. This is why I girded my loins and bit my tongue and went with GSRS.

[darsben1]

BB_TX wrote:

darsben1 wrote:
Try the Coach-net forum where people can voice their displeasure about roadside service and ask there.

There is a Coach-Net forum?????

OF COURSE NOT!
That is why you do not see as many complaints about coachnet. They have nowhere to vent or get problems resolved.

[Dutch_12078]

pasusan wrote:

Dutch_12078 wrote:

pasusan wrote:
I don't know whether I can say that I'm unhappy. But I do know that we will always carry AAA.

A few years ago we cancelled our AAA and signed up with CN. One night at 12 am I broke down in Erie, PA. It wasn't the tow vehicle, but we had the coverage for all. CN was real nice on the phone and tried to be helpful, but they couldn't find anyone who would respond for them. The tow companies never heard of Coach Net and wouldn't deal with them. They finally found someone in a small town 40 miles away. It took 3 hours for someone to actually come.

The one good thing about it was the CN guy also called the local cops since there was a lone woman broke down on the side of the road in the middle of the night. So a cop stayed with me most of the time until his supervisor told him to move on.

The moral of the story is CN isn't accepted or known everywhere - not even in the 3rd largest city in PA.

We now carry CN and AAA.

Coach-Net is a division of the National Motor Club, one of the largest independently owned ERS providers in the country. NMC has been in business since since 1956, and the RV specialized Coach-Net division since 1987. Any tow operator that hasn't heard of them is either very new to the business, or not keeping up with what goes in the industry. Coach-Net is usually ranked among the top three ERS dispatch companies for payment amount and speed of payment in the ongoing tow industry survey conducted by towPartners, the largest towing industry organization in the country.

I'll just add that when Coach-Net deals with a service provider that's not one of their contracted 40,000 roadside service providers, they pay by credit card on the spot.

That sure sounds good, but not what happened in my hours of need. I was on the phone with the CN guy many times during that breakdown and he told me how things were going and that he couldn't find anyone to respond.

And when I called CN later to see if there was something else I could have done - like call someone myself and be repaid - I was told I had to wait for CN to find someone and only if they couldn't find anyone at all, then they would let me know and I should call someone on my own.

It kinda sounds like you think I made this story up.

Nope, not thinking you made it up at all! What I am thinking is that only an irresponsible C-N call center employee would admit that a potential service provider had never heard of NMC or Coach-Net. I can believe that depending on other circumstances such as bad weather, week ends, holidays, man power shortages, etc., there may not have been a local provider available that was willing to take lower paying ERS calls over more lucrative private calls at the time. Keep in mind that service providers accept ERS calls, regardless of the company calling, as fill ins between their regular calls. It doesn't matter if it's AAA, Allstate (Good Sam), Coach-Net, or someone else, those calls never get the priority that direct calls do for similar issues.

[DaveG39]

have had coachnet since 2001. Used for tech assistance, towing, starting service. Very professional and prompt. One tow had to come from over 60 miles due to remote location. Coachnet kept me informed.