We've been AAA members for decades and used roadside assistance a few times. I've also used their…read morevehicle registration service a few times since it was very convenient. When I moved to Utah, I drove to the nearest office in Orem and had Utah plates in minutes. I was pleased with the service. I thought this was the convenience I was paying for since I didn't need to go to the DMV.
I recently called the Orem office and asked what I needed to add my daughter to the registration on one of our vehicles. They said just just the registration, so I drove the 30 minutes to their office and quickly ran into a problem. They said I also needed my vehicle title. They said the employee should have told me that. It was going to be an hour round trip drive home to get the title, so I drove to the DMV in Provo in hopes it would save me from the drive, but it was unusually crowded. I drove home to get the title.
I called AAA while driving home to ask another question (I certainly had the time). I explained my vehicle title was issued from my previous state, but my vehicle was registered here. The employee said that was not a problem, but to also bring proof of a smog check just in case. I got home, grabbed the paperwork, and got back on the road to Orem.
Employees at the Orem office looked at my vehicle title (AKA pink slip) and couldn't figure out how I had registered my vehicle in Utah [through them], but still have a title out of a different state. I told them I had contacted the Utah DMV and they said the title didn't need to be changed. AAA employees made calls and checked different things but ended up telling me they couldn't add my daughter to the registration and I would need to go to the DMV. They suggested I make and appointment, which was helpful since it was so crowded. The employees were very nice and apologized numerous times for the issues, but this was a big hassle and employees I spoke with on the phone seemed to have no idea what they were doing.
I made my appointment, drove to the DMV in Prove, and took a seat since I was quite early. My number was called just a few minutes later (and quite early). I explained the situation to the employee and gave her all the paperwork. She said it was no problem, her fingers were flying all over the keyboard, and I was walking out with the new vehicle registration just minutes later. On a side note, the DMV employee said it would take a couple weeks to get the new title, but I got it three business days later. Seeing as how the DMV is much better in this state than my previous state, I should have gone there in the beginning. Every other experience I had at the DMV here has been surprisingly pleasant. This is one reason to not have AAA.
Just a few days later, my daughter needed a tow truck. I told her this is why we had AAA. I got to her work before her shift ended in order to have a tow truck soon after she was off work. I called and had to go through an annoying phone tree. Press this number, press that number, etc. It was extremely annoying. I then was "helped" by a virtual assistant (a computer). It was terrible. Close to an hour later, the text messages from AAA were still saying they were trying to find us a tow truck. Not that one delayed, but they had not yet even found one. I got jumper cables and got my daughter's car started.
We left and I called AAA roadside assistance automated system to cancel the service. This was even more terrible since I was now driving and it wanted me to press different numbers on the keypad (at least they were on my dash). I choose the option to cancel. Several minutes later I received another text saying my request was being reviewed by a specialist since finding a tow truck was taking so long. I called back, went through the phone tree, and again cancelled the tow. It seemed to work this time.
If you want AAA for the roadside assistance, you may want to first check and see if your credit card offers this. My Visa includes roadside assistance at no extra charge, and I will likely be using it should I need roadside assistance. I also may not be renewing AAA again next year. I just renewed last month, so I have close to year to think about it. One more strike and that's the end of our memberships.
AAA - get rid of your terrible automated roadside system. When people need assistance and are possibly in a stressful situation, they don't want to deal with a phone tree and a computer. I was only dealing with a dead battery and your system still managed to make me quite angry. Your system made the situation worse. Is that what I am paying for?