What's going on with Good Sam roadside assistance?

[Rev. Roy]

Over the past 5-10 years I have probably heard enough GS-RA horror stories to almost fill a book. They are not alone though. I have heard ones about other providers but the only one remotely as bad was AAA. I have Coach-Net's Premier Motorized Plan because they seem to have the fewest complaints. As I told one operator, anything you're sitting on the side of an Interstate highway, you are in a dangerous situation.

[dixonge]

Originally Posted by Rev. Roy

Over the past 5-10 years I have probably heard enough GS-RA horror stories to almost fill a book. They are not alone though. I have heard ones about other providers but the only one remotely as bad was AAA. I have Coach-Net's Premier Motorized Plan because they seem to have the fewest complaints. As I told one operator, anything you're sitting on the side of an Interstate highway, you are in a dangerous situation.

You're right, it's dangerous. But you're fooling yourself if you believe that CoachNet is incapable of also leaving you stranded and in danger:

https://www.gypsyjournalrv.com/2017/06/coach-net-sucks/

That article was shared here on iRV2 and prompted many more responses with CoachNet horror stories:

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f59/anyo...is-344498.html

I'm beginning to think that, in the age of smartphones, there's just no benefit to these services. Use your phone, find someone who can get to you NOW (vs. 12 hours later), then file it on your insurance (if you care to). Otherwise you're at the mercy of a large, faceless corporation whose sole motive is to take your premiums and return as little of it to you as possible.

[Injuneer]

This one picture sums it up:

Seen the other week at the local CW

[dixonge]

Originally Posted by dixonge

Otherwise you're at the mercy of a large, faceless corporation whose sole motive is to take your premiums and return as little of it to you as possible.

I realize that I also just described insurance companies. But I think that's different, and here's why...

Competition is higher
Insurance premiums are much higher
Risk pool is much more diversified

So I think I'll take the following steps:

1. Become as self-reliant as possible for at least roadside tire repair.
2. Call ERS companies myself, as needed
3. Seek reimbursement after the fact
4. When my current roadside assistance contract is up, I won't renew. I'll add it to my existing RV policy

[ItalGerBrit]

Originally Posted by dixonge

I realize that I also just described insurance companies. But I think that's different, and here's why...

Competition is higher
Insurance premiums are much higher
Risk pool is much more diversified

So I think I'll take the following steps:

1. Become as self-reliant as possible for at least roadside tire repair.
2. Call ERS companies myself, as needed
3. Seek reimbursement after the fact
4. When my current roadside assistance contract is up, I won't renew. I'll add it to my existing RV policy

Most sensible comment in this entire thread. I will call Lowes, Pilot, TA for the service and then contact Progressive for reimbursement. Already dropped Bad Sam. Looks like the weakest roadside services sign up to be on the Bad Sam call list. The good ones want nothing to do with them because of the poor pay rate.

[dixonge]

Originally Posted by ItalGerBrit

Most sensible comment in this entire thread. I will call Lowes, Pilot, TA for the service and then contact Progressive for reimbursement. Already dropped Bad Sam. Looks like the weakest roadside services sign up to be on the Bad Sam call list. The good ones want nothing to do with them because of the poor pay rate.

That's the impression I got from my recent experience. Escapees uses Saferide, but the service sent me to some national call center in NY for tire repair which kept referring to Good Sam. I told them I didn't have Roadside Assistance through Good Sam. It didn't seem to matter.

The local repair guys were confused as to why they were being called out to our RV by the tire repair service, as if that wasn't normal for RV's. I guess this is a new setup from Saferide. So basically I'm getting Good Sam'd even without using their service. Great.

[koda59]

It seems that all that is posted are by people that have had bad experiences with Good SAM or Coachnet. We never hear from those that have had good experiences with either one.
I have had Good Sam for many each and granted, I only needed them one time, but was I very pleased with their response.

[Psneeld]

Originally Posted by ChrisDParise

Whether you've had good or bad experience it depends on where you are, what the demand is for emergency services, time of day or night, and the competency of the repair person.

Running all the posts so far through my "general life experiences with all types of assistance" and the "general internet BS filter".....

The quoted post is one of the few here that applies to any roadside assistance company (as I was an assistance towing captain for 13 years and USCG retired...the marine world in particular)....not that any roadside assistance overall is going to guarantee prompt, satisfactory assistance every time, everywhere.

Until there is some overall means to see actual countrywide performance... I would be very skeptical of all this anecdotal "suggesting" which is actually better. For me, noting when, where, how, why...etc..etc the facts of each example to use in my travels.

[Country Road]

Originally Posted by koda59

It seems that all that is posted are by people that have had bad experiences with Good SAM or Coachnet. We never hear from those that have had good experiences with either one.
I have had Good Sam for many each and granted, I only needed them one time, but was I very pleased with their response.

Ok. I agree. I’m happy with them also. I’ve had them for 10 years and have never needed to use them.

[dixonge]

Originally Posted by Country Road

Ok. I agree. I’m happy with them also. I’ve had them for 10 years and have never needed to use them.

And that's *why* you are happy with them. Once you use them, the odds of remaining happy decreases dramatically!

I'll go so far as to say this:

"There are two types of people - those who are happy with their roadside assistance program, and those who have actually had to *use* their roadside assistance program."

Yes, I know, I'm making broad strokes here, overgeneralizing, yada, yada. I understand and I'm doing it on purpose. But there is a lot of truth to what I just said. People are too trusting, and they think a bad experience is specific to one service, but it's the industry that is the problem.

The entire Roadside Assistance industry is a middleman that charges you extra to add layers of bureaucracy and delays and profit in-between you and a local service provider. Now back in 1915 when AAA began providing this service, it probably had decent value. When mobile phones became common, that value dropped a bit, but once smartphones hit the scene the majority of the value dissipated. It is easy to find local repair services and contact them on your phone.

*IF* you do get some form of 'free' benefit, like free towing, you're still going to run into the problem of time. Sure, you made only one call and saved time, but now you're going to wait and wait while your incident is moved to the lowest priority so your service doesn't have to pay any extra. But hey, it's 'free'...

[ItalGerBrit]

Originally Posted by koda59

It seems that all that is posted are by people that have had bad experiences with Good SAM or Coachnet. We never hear from those that have had good experiences with either one.
I have had Good Sam for many each and granted, I only needed them one time, but was I very pleased with their response.

Seems like it is just a matter of luck about the service you get. I had a good experience with Coachnet twice. Once a wrecker pulled me out of a soggy RV park and another time got me started by banging on the starter to free up a stuck Bendix. Twice I gave up waiting on a call back and found my own roadside tire service using my own phone. That is why I have decided to find my own help and then send the bill to Progressive. If I do not get reimbursed at least I got back on the road in a timely manner. The straw that broke my camel's back is when I waited three hours for a truck that came from an hour away to pick up a tire 5 miles away from where I had my blow out and then getting charged for the tire and the mounting. Over $900. I even talked to the guy at the tire store and told him what tire a that I wanted(Toyo) and they brought a cheaper, lower rated, Firestone. I did most of the phone leg work so why pay for Bad Sam to take hours to do what I did in a few minutes? Big truck stop(Lowes) tire roadside service for me from now on. And I now carry a tire tool to bang on the starter.
But, you are right. We all hear more about bad service than good.

[Frost31720]

Had a similar situation, traveling W. bound I-10 in AZ towing 5th wheel. Prior to Truck quitting, I dropped 5th wheel since truck was running iffy & attempted travel to next exit 20 miles away for service. No luck truck died on side of I-10, approximately 3 miles from the exit with a very narrow shoulder and heavy semi traffic.
Called Good Sam, operator couldn’t locate me even after telling him location. He tells me he can’t find a tow nearby and still can’t locate me. Temperature is high 90’s, semi traffic increasing, after 45 minutes of the back and forth I finally told GS I’ll get a tow on my own, I told I might not get reimbursed, told them I didn’t care I just need to get off the Hwy., I located a tow approximately 5 miles away! After some haggling GS reimbursed me. Dropped them after that.

[Bedlam]

While not calling anyone out. I feel some people are relying too much on roadside service and not enough on preventive maintenance. I have heard of people reaching their assist limit for the year...

[Rev. Roy]

[QUOTE=dixonge;6032573]You're right, it's dangerous. But you're fooling yourself if you believe that CoachNet is incapable of also leaving you stranded and in danger: /QUOTE]
I said they seem to have the fewest complaints, not that they were perfect. There will always be situations where you feel stranded. I always ask the operator for a contact number of the company responding so I could confirm an ETA. The truth is I'm just making sure they're sending someone. I'm also making sure they will arrive in an appropriate time frame. I suggest every one do this. That way, if they lied about someone coming, you'll know right off. It also will discourage these companies from lying to us. Always be prepared to call someone yourself.