AAA rv plus service--making good on their mistake

[mst3kguy]

i upgraded my AAA membership to RV plus a couple years ago, as that adds motorcycle towing among other upgraded services.

a few weeks ago i hit a huge pothole on my fjr which ended up flattening my front tire (and denting both rims, that's another story).  i made it to work and called AAA.

dude showed up with a flatbed trailer, and a dolly-like thing.  rolled the dolly up to the front wheel which also had a wheel chock.  idea was to secure in the front wheel, then winch up the bike onto the flatbed.  thing is, dude didn't take into account the flat tire was flat.  after he got the bike on the dolly, he started to prepare to winch it up onto the flatbed, and the fjr proceeded to tip over.  put big gravel dents in my hardcase and ended up cracking a piece of bodywork.

dude immediately called his boss, took photos, and said no worries, they'd take care of it.  gave me a business card with the name of the person to contact from this point on.

of course, i first had to get the bike towed, to holeshot bill's house for him to pull the wheels to send off to get fixed.  that took a few weeks.  in the meantime, the contact person kept in contact with me, calling me every 5 days or so.  wow.  they owe me money, and they're initiating the calls to check on status of the bike.

once i knew the bike was a day or two away from being ready (bill was doing some maintenance work on it), i called and got parts estimates, and faxed to AAA.  i advised i wasn't going to take it to the yamaha shop, that obviously the hard case was not needing an install, and the body part was just a matter of three bolts.

dude called me a few days ago and apologized, said don't take this the wrong way, but the attorneys said i had to get an estimate for the labor to replace the body part, even if i was going to do it.  i replied "so AAA wants to pay me more than what it's going to really cost?", he agreed.  of course, it all has to do with the legalities.  it was "only" about $26 labor per the yamaha shop, faxed that estimate to AAA, he then faxed me a letter saying they would cut me a check for $X, and i would agree not to sue the living crap out of AAA.

so altho the tow truck driver f'ed up, AAA was super easy to work with.  at no time did i feel like they were starting to back out, negotiate, investigate, or otherwise avoid responsibility.  i told dude that the $26 "profit" i was making from the labor i would apply towards adding my wife to the membership, since her roadside assistance she got with the new car ended this year.

so thumbs up to AAA rv plus.

now on to OH DOT to see if they'll pay for two dented rims.  i'm not holding my breath.

[FJmonkey]

Sorry for your unfortunate meeting with that pot hole , reminds me of that TV commercial. The one with a pot hole speaking in a Southern accent. Any way, I am glad to hear that AAA did not make their mistake difficult to fix. I just upgraded to it last year and have yet to test it. Thanks for sharing the news.

[racerrad8]

reminds me of that TV commercial. The one with a pot hole speaking in a Southern accent.

You mean..."Awwwww, did I do Thaaat...?"

Everytime I see that one, I just have to laugh.

[mst3kguy]

"ummmmm.....kay bye!!"