When I was in a wreck, AAA sent Empire Towing out to pick up my car and tow it to a local AAA Car Care Center. That's where the good news ended.
Upon arrival, the tow truck driver was in a road rage incident, jumping out of the car and screaming and cussing at cars around him in order to turn into the parking lot I was in.
Once he was able to pull into the lot where my Jeep was, he was pissy, unprofessional, and telling me everything opposite of what AAA told me. He told me that there's no use towing my car there, but instead to his lot, because the AAA Car Care Center wasn't a body shop. When I asked him if his towing company was a body shop, he said no - so why even recommend going against AAA's advice and have it sit in a different lot? Who knows. Not sure this guy even knew.
Then, once I asked him to just tow the car to my house, he insisted that he should change the blown tire to the spare instead of towing it at all. He told me that the car was drivable if the spare was put on, and that if I wanted him to swap the tire, I needed to text him to release him of all liability of changing the tire. I texted him, assuming he knew what he was doing, but boy was I wrong.
He then proceeded to pull out my spare tire and jack, but then decided to jack my car up using the back of the tow truck instead of the jack and stand my car came with (which, I might add was fully functional, he just decided his way was better). When backing up the tow truck to lift my car by its rear, he stated - and I quote - "can't fu** it up any more than it already is, right?!" That's when I began to take pictures and become weary of the service I was about to receive. Yes, my car had just been in an accident - but nowhere near where he decided to lift my car up by. He then proceeded to remove the wheel, whine about how hot it was and how pissed off his boss was at him, and state "Jeep's are backwards - I forgot that when I told you I'd change your tire" - comforting... right?
Once he (presumably) successfully got the tire on, he had me drive around the lot to ensure it was on, and drive home at a slow speed (approximately 2 miles away). Within two minutes, he called to ensure I made it home safely, but common math tells you I wouldn't be home for several minutes considering the speed and precaution I was advised to drive.
Upon inspection when I got home, I discovered that the suspension arm was bent, which he should have looked for before advising me to unsafely drive home, when all he was truly hired to do was tow my car just a few miles down the road. You'd think based on the camber of the tire both after the wreck and after installing the spare (see photos), he'd recognize this and advise a tow.
This does not conclude the experience I had with Empire, as I will do my best to ensure they are never called for a AAA pickup again, and I will make sure that any damages my car sustained during this experience will be financially absolved by this company. They clearly do not care about safety, protocols, damages, etc. of their customers. read more