This is about making several calls to 'member services' and how pathetic their assistance was for me. ]I have been a member since 1978. That is 45 years. I have the AAA Plus, because I drive an older car and like that little bit of extra security, though I think I will downgrade it after this experience. This is not the first time I have found them to be totally incompetent. A number of years ago, they so badly screwed up a roadside assistance call, that with a little bit of pressure, they agreed to give me a year membership on them! In the past ten years I have used them four times. Here is what happened today. I received a letter in the mail stating that it was most likely time for me to take the driver defensive course. Note - their letter says 'most likely time'. I have been taking the course with them since I began driving, 1977. I always attend one of their classes; I do not do the course on line.
The letter seemed wrong. I seem to remember I took the course not too long ago, when the city began to open up again after the pandemic. In fact, I took the class at this address, their headquarters. It was the first time they were giving the class at their own location. It was actually very good.
... So I say, let me call them and see as per their records when I last took the course. Foolish of me, I just should have called my insurance carrier. They would have provided a quick and accurate answer. I dialed member services on my card. A lot of phone prompts, hit the one I thought best described my needs, got connected to someone who told me - member services doesn't keep that information on the computer for them to access... She will transfer me. It was very hard to understand her and she was so low, that is her volume, that in and of itself was frustrating. I was transferred. I waited not more than 2 minutes, but as soon as I was connected I was disconnected. I called back. WTF can't member services be able to look up this information? Selected the option from the prompts again, waited, long endless messages about 'long wait times', about how to connect via their app, about text messaging being the best way to contact them... Now I was connected with a rep who I could barely hear (again). He told me that is handled by a different department and he will transfer me. And now, it gets worse. Now I am connected with this guy who I can hardly, barely, understand. I wondered if I was now being helped by someone out of the USA ... He want to look me up in his system by my e mail address. I give it to him. He says, he shows no record of me with the AAA and therefore he does not see when I last took the defensive driving course. I told him, I have been a member for 45 years and have used the e mail given to him hundreds of times. I tell him, I have a membership #, can't he look it up by that ? He said no. WHAT ... What about my name. And here we go. I go... M as in mother, I as in interesting ... all the way through my first and last name. The connection is poor. He keep repeating it back to me as we are starting to strangle one another. Finally he say, NO, I don't show a record of you. OMG, it has now been 32 minutes and I can't find out this simple information... WTheF did I take my last defensive driving class with you, AAA. Please when. The guy says he will transfer me to his supervisor, and I can explain to her what the problem is. He transfers me and I note - she answers the phone saying AARP - not AAA. So the customer service rep who answered my call transferred me to an AARP division, and I never would have know that had this supervisor not stated it when she identified herself. I asked her to transfer me back to the main menu of the phone prompts & she said she was incapable of connecting me back. And now, I make the next call. I am already furious. Once connected, the woman who answered the call-once I was transferred to the proper area, with the proper rep who could answer my question, does find me as a member and say to me the last time you took the defensive driving class was 2013. Oh My God. I just took it like within the past two years. And again I stated I have been taking the course with you guys for 40 plus years. She says, she will put me on hold and speak with her supervisor. Now I am on hold and she comes back to me and says it will be about 3-5 minutes and I say OK. Now, at that very moment I sign onto my car insurance company's website, access my account and see a pdf copy of the course completion certificate. I last took the course APRIL 2022. The letter they sent me is gravely wrong as to when I last took the course & that is maybe time for me to take it now. The rep comes back on the phone. She says the supervisor is behind, but she will transfer me to her line and I can leave a voice mail message or remain on hold in the que. I did not state I already have the information. I said transfer me, She did & I was disconnected read more