Date: Mon, 1 Aug 2011 21:42:40 -0400
From: Karl Ernst
Subject: A AAA Highway Nightmare
A Highway Nightmare
I would like to respond to a lister’s request for experience with AAA. One April evening 3 years ago Barbara and I went to Gibsonville for a wedding reception. We started back around 7pm. While heading south on US 421 the electrics in the Boxster started doing some really eye-catching things.
Just north of Liberty it quit and we were able to get to the side of the bridge before the exit into Liberty. We both had left our cells at the house. We were happy to see a highway patrolman stop to check on us and he let us borrow his cell to call AAA. They said they would have somebody right there. The patrolman said he would check back by later to see if we had been rescued. That was about 8 pm. By 5 am the next morning, neither he nor AAA had showed up. We sat there on the side of the road all night during some really serious t’storms wondering if someone was going to come.
About 5:30, I saw some headlights of a vehicle coming through the median about 200 yards down the highway and turned my flashers back on which caught their attention. It was members of the Staley fire department who were out searching for a reported wreck. They had a cell phone. We used it to call AAA again. They did not even have a record of us calling previously. They again said they would have someone “right there”. An hour and a half later still no show. Called them again. Profuse apologies, but did not know when their contractor would be there. One of the Staley firefighters said he knew a tow operator whom he called and who was on the scene 20 minutes later and got us home.
I hope AAA falls off the planet. Need I say more?
Karl Ernst
Siler City NC