AAA Heathrow — Local services in Longwood

Current Google reviews are consistently stating what a pathetically run organization AAA is now. My aunt's car broke down and needed to be towed to a repair shop. The original eta was 4.5 hours for the tow truck to arrive. AAA said the call/case had been assigned to a local towing contractor and expected him to arrive shortly. 30 minutes later (5 hours now), the aunt called AAA back. They reiterated it was assigned to a towing company. AAA said she would send the driver a text and contact them for an eta. When AAA got back on the phone she said she was unable to contact the driver. If he didn't show up in 30 more minutes, to call back (a company that has Customer Service would have followed-up until they contacted the driver, then called my aunt with the eta). 30 more minutes later (now 5.5 hours) the aunt called AAA again. The person who answered the phone this time said "it was assigned to the towing company". This person also said they were going to send a note and try to contact the tow company and get an eta. Sounding like a broken record, after going away for 10 minutes this operator also told the aunt they were unable to contact the AAA-contracted towing company. She thankfully told us the name of the towing company. My sister looked online, got a phone number for the towing company "assigned" to the case and called them. They picked up IMMEDIATELY! AAA couldn't contact their own contractor twice for the customer, but a simple phone call worked?? (We wondered if when AAA said they were trying to contact the towing company and went away for 10 minutes, they just needed a coffee break and never tried). Gets worse! the tow truck driver said, "I DON'T HAVE A CALL/CASE FOR YOU." He said he did have two calls, but neither one was for my aunt. Were the two phone answerers at AAA lying, completely incompetent, overworked, or is the entire company an absolute dumpster fire? AAA, like everyone who can't run a company smoothly, blame staffing, covid, too many calls, and maybe climate change for their Customer Service deficiencies. We are cancelling our 15 year association with AAA as soon as we can. In my opinion: jettison AAA and just use a local towing company from now on. Coincidentally this week, callers to a local radio show for consumer advocacy have discussed the poor quality of service you get from AAA now. I will also send them a letter to outline this experience. This radio show is nationwide, has been helping consumers for 40+ years, and has hundreds of thousands of daily listeners. If AAA has any hope of not becoming extinct; they will need to hire a CEO that will create a Customer Service department, and change the horrible culture the consumer is...

THIS COMPANY DOES NOTR DESERVE A 1 STAR...THEY NEED A ZERO........

I joined AAA four years ago as a Plus Member, with membership number *. During this time, I had no issues with AAA until November 2024, when my membership was unexpectedly canceled due to non-payment. This occurred because AAA changed its payment structure from month-to-month payments, which I had been using for three years, to requiring an annual premium payment without notifying me of the change.

In November 2024, I spoke with a representative who explained the situation and apologized for the miscommunication regarding the payment change. She advised me on the portion I needed to pay to reinstate my membership. I followed her instructions, made the payment, and was assured my policy would be reinstated. However, instead of being restored to my original Plus Membership, I was downgraded and issued a new membership number, *, as if I were a new member.

When I called customer service to address this issue, the representative I spoke with was unable to provide clarity or assistance. I then requested to speak with a supervisor and was connected to someone named Blanca. Unfortunately, my experience with Blanca was extremely disappointing. She was unprofessional, rude, and demonstrated a lack of active listening skills.

Blanca placed me on hold multiple times without informing me, including a five-minute hold followed by another unannounced eight-minute hold, after which I was disconnected. When she eventually called me back, instead of resolving the issue, she argued with me and escalated my frustration and anxiety. Her tone and behavior were unprofessional and entirely unacceptable.

This experience has left me deeply dissatisfied and shocked, as it does not align with the professionalism and service I have come to expect from AAA. I have always appreciated AAA’s legacy of excellent customer service, but Blanca's conduct was far below that standard.

Given this experience, I am truly thinking about cancelling all memberships with AAA and informing all family, friends and all on every social media platform of my experience. I cannot continue to support a company that allows such behavior from its representatives.

I am submitting this complaint in the hopes that AAA addresses this issue and ensures no other member must endure a similar...

I joined AAA about a month ago because my dealer-provided roadside service expired. Good thing I did—or so I thought. Yesterday, I had a dead battery. I called AAA at 6:16 p.m. and they told me someone would be out to jump my car at 6:31. Great! Speedy service! So pleased!

Fast forward to 8:24 p.m. I was still sitting in the car. It was dark, it was cold (I'm in Wisconsin and it's winter), and after several follow-up calls to AAA, I finally figured out how to connect with a human being to ask some questions and figure out what was going on. She told me the provider they'd originally assigned had cancelled and there was no ETA for when someone else would be able to arrive. I was freezing, my phone battery was dying, and home was a [very dark] 20-minute walk. While I wanted my car jumped, I didn't want to end up waiting for god knows how long, only to find out that nobody would be coming until morning and I'd have to walk home at midnight (or later). I decided to cut my losses, cancel the call, and walk.

As I was walking home, I put in another service call via the link AAA texted me. The questionnaire asked me to pick a time for service. I chose a service window the following morning (this morning). When the start of the window came, I still didn't have any updates, so I called. The rep I spoke with told me nobody had been assigned to my call yet and not to walk back to my car until I received an update. FINALLY, I got a text...saying someone would jump my car at 2:11 p.m. This despite the fact that the service window I chose was 8-10 a.m.

The rep also acted as if I was out of my mind for believing I'd signed up for a particular service window. He assured me that's not how it works and he has never heard of such a thing. Clearly, there's some sort of disconnect—either reps don't understand how the service works, or the online form misrepresents how the service works. Either way, it's problematic.

I'm now facing a TWENTY HOUR RESPONSE TIME, assuming the service actually happens on time today. (Something I'm skeptical of given my experience last night.) I'll have been waiting TWENTY HOURS hours, and my car isn't even sitting in the middle of nowhere. It's literally in the parking lot at the public library in the middle of town. That's ridiculous. Definitely not the type of service that AAA promises in all its...