AAA ditching independent tow truck operators triggering layoffs at small tow companies

[Liberal_in_LA]

AAA Northern California streamlining road service

Don't get too attached to your friendly tow truck operator when your car won't start and needs to be hauled off to the garage. He or she may not be around much longer.

AAA Northern California is ditching decades-old contracts with many small, independent operators, reducing their presence in Northern California by more than 10 percent, from 300 to 265 by the end of the year, and requiring operators to cover greater distances than before.

The changes - what AAA calls "dense metro network optimization" - are designed to lower costs and streamline roadside services.

"It's part of an ongoing effort to provide more efficient business practices," said Cynthia Harris, a AAA spokeswoman. "We will be reducing the number of contract stations and awarding a larger volume of calls to a fewer number of stations."

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"We got the official word on Monday," said Shawn Nall, proprietor of Lamorinda Tow in Lafayette, which had a contract with AAA for 23 years. "We've already laid off nine people, half our staff, since then. We're completely uncertain about our future."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/09/22/BUBH1L76H9.DTL#ixzz1YoJBTzf5

[DJ13]

1. "streamline roadside services"

Translation: Longer waits before a tow truck gets there, meaning crappier service at the same policy rate.

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. yep

[msongs]

3. designed to jack up profits even though customers are paying for quality service nt

[ixion]

4. I'm unimpressed with AAA

so much so that I went ahead and canceled my membership. Every time I called them for help they found a reason not to.

They can take a long walk on a short pier for all I care.

[RebelOne]

5. I have never had a problem with AAA.

I have been towed twice and had flat tires changed twice. They were fairly prompt in getting to me. In fact, I live in Woodstock about 30 miles northwest of Atlanta and AAA had to send a tow truck from Atlanta and the guy got to my house in record time

[PassingFair]

7. I've always been happy with their road service, too.

But I've only had to use it twice.

[cherokeeprogressive]

12. AAA sent a flatbed from Tucson almost all the way to Phoenix for my Harley.

Then the truck took me to Tucson and on the way the kid driving even called his office and found us a hotel room for the night.

They put my RV on a flatbed TWICE and once took me from Temecula, CA to Norwalk, CA. The other time they took my RV from The City of Industry to Pasadena, CA, and on the way made me a repair appt. All in the same year.

Zero cost to me other than my membership dues.

[ixion]

14. good for you.

they weren't so helpful to me, which is why I hold the opinion of them that I hold.

[Broderick]

6. It is a good thing to have but here in Virginia

they cut the throats of the tow companies and AAA service centers by building more and pushing their own trucks to bring vehicles to their facilities where prices are much higher than the general repair shops. They pay diddly to the little guy for tows and under utilize them as much as possible by spreading it out to many companies. Some just refuse to sign up for their programs from a dealer level and truck level.

[customerserviceguy]

8. Ever since I've been able to afford to have and maintain a decent car

I haven't had to use AAA road service. But back in my twenties when that wasn't the case, they liked to get pissy about if if you use it too many times.

It's still worth the motel discounts. AAA is about the only organization that gets so very many of them.

[SheilaT]

9. I haven't often needed my AAA road service,

but it was greatly appreciated when I had a tire blow out at 70mph on I25 a little south of Colorado Springs.

[Historic NY]

10. Means they collect more & you get less or longer waits.

[loudsue]

11. AAA service has gotten really bad. They send tow trucks from another county rather than

my own county, and ya know what? That can be dangerous when a woman is broken down by the side of the road. They cancelled my brother in law because they needed to be towed and had flat tires too many times in one year.

I wish there was a competitor out there, an employee-owned company, or a non-profit, that would compete with AAA as a service to our fellow Americans. I'm so sick of corporate greed I could puke.

[MedicalAdmin]

15. There is a better alternative...

I dropped aaa when I found out how they lobby (mainly in lockstep with the us chamber of biz).

Try this. http://www.betterworldclub.com/competition/aaa_chart.cfm

[rucky]

16. Thanks!

I'll be signing up today.

[nilram]

13. I gave up on them when they were lobbying against pedestrians

I learned to not lock my keys out of the car (knock on wood), and to keep my battery in good shape. I had a blow out that I fixed myself -- and my insurance company includes a roadside protection plan already. They can keep their maps.