National Breakdown Organisation
Discussion
OK so I thought I'd better not mention the name, don't want to cause a stir and all that, but...
This morning my Chim decided it didn't like its radiator and wanted a new one. It communicated this to me in the traditional way be spraying coolant all over the engine etc. Not a major problem, the car has been good to me and I can forgive it most anything due to the
factor. So, called the said national breakdown organisation and said " the radiator has gone on my TVR, please can you send a flat bed lorry to take it to the garage"
Reply " we'll sir at the risk of sounding patronising, we always send an engineer out first to see if anything can be done"
Me "no point the radiator is leaking everywhere, it'll need a replacement, it shouldn't be towed so hence the need for a flat bed"
Reply "well it's policy sir that we send an engineer"
Me "OK, OK I give in !"
An hour later the engineer turns up.
"Yeah your radiator's gone, and I don't think we can tow you, I'll organise a flat bed"
Me "Gosh I am surprised"
Another hour passes by and a recovery service van turns up !!
"We were told be control that it was just overheating, I'll find out when we can get a flat bed out to you"
...."we'll sir I'm afriad it's going to be 2 hours"
I think you all get the picture now. Why oh why won't the said national breakdown organisation just listen to its customers, it would save us all a lot of time and money.
This is the third time they've not listed to me, each time I knew the car was not going to be fixed at the road side and each time the know better.
Strongly worded letter will be accompanying the customer questionnaire they have kindly left me.
I'm sure this has happened to some of you, we drive TVR's, we may not be mechanics, but we know when something major is wrong.
What does it take to make them listen ?
This morning my Chim decided it didn't like its radiator and wanted a new one. It communicated this to me in the traditional way be spraying coolant all over the engine etc. Not a major problem, the car has been good to me and I can forgive it most anything due to the
factor. So, called the said national breakdown organisation and said " the radiator has gone on my TVR, please can you send a flat bed lorry to take it to the garage" Reply " we'll sir at the risk of sounding patronising, we always send an engineer out first to see if anything can be done"
Me "no point the radiator is leaking everywhere, it'll need a replacement, it shouldn't be towed so hence the need for a flat bed"
Reply "well it's policy sir that we send an engineer"
Me "OK, OK I give in !"
An hour later the engineer turns up.
"Yeah your radiator's gone, and I don't think we can tow you, I'll organise a flat bed"
Me "Gosh I am surprised"
Another hour passes by and a recovery service van turns up !!
"We were told be control that it was just overheating, I'll find out when we can get a flat bed out to you"
...."we'll sir I'm afriad it's going to be 2 hours"
I think you all get the picture now. Why oh why won't the said national breakdown organisation just listen to its customers, it would save us all a lot of time and money.
This is the third time they've not listed to me, each time I knew the car was not going to be fixed at the road side and each time the know better.
Strongly worded letter will be accompanying the customer questionnaire they have kindly left me.
I'm sure this has happened to some of you, we drive TVR's, we may not be mechanics, but we know when something major is wrong.
What does it take to make them listen ?
They never will, they are habitually stupid.
I broke down in the first TT in the UK. When calling Audi Assist (who are just a front for a well known breakdown company) I explicitly stated that due to the fact couldnt be driven and was 4WD it would need a flat bed. 3 hours later a van with a dolly arrives and the fella annouces 'Oh, its 4WD, you're going to need a flat bed'. Yeah, no shit sherlock, another 3 hours and the flat bed arrives. 6 hours because of stupidity.
Matt.
I broke down in the first TT in the UK. When calling Audi Assist (who are just a front for a well known breakdown company) I explicitly stated that due to the fact couldnt be driven and was 4WD it would need a flat bed. 3 hours later a van with a dolly arrives and the fella annouces 'Oh, its 4WD, you're going to need a flat bed'. Yeah, no shit sherlock, another 3 hours and the flat bed arrives. 6 hours because of stupidity.
Matt.
well when blew a gearbox on a jap 4wd thingy couldn;t do a split recovery i.e take car and store it overnight as it was after 6pm, garage closed and then take me home. so had to pay for a flatbed home then leave it 1/4 mile from my home so recovery could then pick it up next day. so next day recall breakdown people and to cut a long story short they turn up 9hours later, i miss a days work and they had to store the car and do a split recoevery anyway.
i got a £50 refund and a 6 months membership free becasue i complained
i got a £50 refund and a 6 months membership free becasue i complained
I've had exactly the same.
Ask for a flat bed truck to be sent and they send you a mechanic - Last one that tunred up just looked at it and said, oh no, a Cerbera. Best to call for a flat bed truck I think !" - He didn't even bother looking.
Truck came over 4 hours after I'd called.
Must say though that the truck driver knew exactly where all the local TVR dealers were though
!
Ask for a flat bed truck to be sent and they send you a mechanic - Last one that tunred up just looked at it and said, oh no, a Cerbera. Best to call for a flat bed truck I think !" - He didn't even bother looking.
Truck came over 4 hours after I'd called.
Must say though that the truck driver knew exactly where all the local TVR dealers were though
! I've never had a problem. They do always insist on sending an engineer out to take a look even if I've told them what the problem is (when it's obvious, that is!), but I've never had to wait more than 45 minutes for an engineer. The longest it's ever taken to get a truck was 2 hours after the engineer asked for one, and the engineer waited with me the whole time because I was a little girlie all on my own on a busy main road.
Maybe it's just the area I live/break down in??
Maybe it's just the area I live/break down in??
Well, I must admit that I have no complaints with a certain 4th emergency service. When the rear wheel bearing of a nissan sunny went on the M1, i phoned them up, told them it would need a trailer, and lo and behold an hour later a trailer turned up and drove me 100 miles home.
They're not all that bad, in fact when you consider what you pay for, I can't complain.
John
They're not all that bad, in fact when you consider what you pay for, I can't complain.
John
Chaps, would you care to rate your experiences here for the benefit of other members:
www.pistonheads.com/reviews/products.asp?c=5
Thanks
www.pistonheads.com/reviews/products.asp?c=5
Thanks
Problem is that for every call from an informed and intelligent Pistonheader, they get 500 calls from cretinous numpties in Skodas. And of course all big computer controlled organisations lack any initiative or flexibility. Like the time I had a powercut, telephoned the electricity company and got a recorded message telling me there was a powercut in my area....
Having said that, I'm with the AA and they've always got me out of scrapes. The guys that turn out are always very helpful and will take a small bribe for a favour. Like when I lost the keys to my BMW. BMW dealer said 'If you bring the car to us we'll supply a new set'. 'I can't, I've lost the keys...'. Called the AA who took it to the nearest dealer FOC (needed two vehicles - a flat-bed to move it and a truck to pull it out of the drive!). Another time, whilst official AA policy was a simple jump start (TVR), I said 'but then I'll just break down at home and have to call you out again' the chap followed me to the nearest Halfords, helped me choose a battery that fitted the box and installed it too - well worth a tenner!
Having said that, I'm with the AA and they've always got me out of scrapes. The guys that turn out are always very helpful and will take a small bribe for a favour. Like when I lost the keys to my BMW. BMW dealer said 'If you bring the car to us we'll supply a new set'. 'I can't, I've lost the keys...'. Called the AA who took it to the nearest dealer FOC (needed two vehicles - a flat-bed to move it and a truck to pull it out of the drive!). Another time, whilst official AA policy was a simple jump start (TVR), I said 'but then I'll just break down at home and have to call you out again' the chap followed me to the nearest Halfords, helped me choose a battery that fitted the box and installed it too - well worth a tenner!
.Not being funny, but if you've ever worked for a garage, you might have a different perspective.
EVERYONE is an expert. Doesn't matter what they do, when it comes to their car, THEY know what's wrong with it.
"The radiators gone" = the coolant hose has split
"The suspension has collapsed" = I have a flat tyre
IF everything was taken at face value, garages and recovery services could waste masses of money... just turns out that you know what you are talking about and they can't help you.
Clutch cable snapped in my Cinquecento once... called the recovery people... got towed, then the van that was towing me overheated and died...
EVERYONE is an expert. Doesn't matter what they do, when it comes to their car, THEY know what's wrong with it.
"The radiators gone" = the coolant hose has split
"The suspension has collapsed" = I have a flat tyre
IF everything was taken at face value, garages and recovery services could waste masses of money... just turns out that you know what you are talking about and they can't help you.
Clutch cable snapped in my Cinquecento once... called the recovery people... got towed, then the van that was towing me overheated and died...
Having run a couple of cars in the past that were extremely geriatric and unreliable, the AA have been fantastic.
When my old V8 MG decided not to start at 5pm (peak time for AA etc) I was due to pick up a mate and then head up to another of our offices to help man the phones for comic relief. (Always great fun if anyone ever gets the opportunity.)
The moment I told them this, the hour and a half I had to wait became 15 minutes, they moved me straight to the top of the priority list. 25 minutes later I was started and on the way
Ive lost count of the amount of times one of the patrol staff has done that little extra that they didnt have to, or shouldnt do, just to help out.
Im sure people may have had bad experiences with the AA, but so far they have been spot on
Now to go with a more pistonheads themed post I had better find something to rant about
When my old V8 MG decided not to start at 5pm (peak time for AA etc) I was due to pick up a mate and then head up to another of our offices to help man the phones for comic relief. (Always great fun if anyone ever gets the opportunity.)
The moment I told them this, the hour and a half I had to wait became 15 minutes, they moved me straight to the top of the priority list. 25 minutes later I was started and on the way
Ive lost count of the amount of times one of the patrol staff has done that little extra that they didnt have to, or shouldnt do, just to help out.
Im sure people may have had bad experiences with the AA, but so far they have been spot on
Now to go with a more pistonheads themed post I had better find something to rant about
Had a similiar experience.
Had a tyre on my cerb blow out. Phoned Alcholics Anonymous. They said they need to send their tyre company out. I said that this would be a waste of time and that I needed a flat bed. They didnt agree. I said that they wont have 18inch S02s (or even S03s). The tyre co rang me an hour later and asked me what tyres I needed. I told them and they said we wont have those in stock !! So the AA then rang me 1/2 hr later to say a low loader was on its way. 2 hrs later it turned up (after countless calls to the AA who said it was on its way).
So sat at the roadside for nearly 4 hours. Eventually a local tyre company and Fernies sorted me out.
Had a tyre on my cerb blow out. Phoned Alcholics Anonymous. They said they need to send their tyre company out. I said that this would be a waste of time and that I needed a flat bed. They didnt agree. I said that they wont have 18inch S02s (or even S03s). The tyre co rang me an hour later and asked me what tyres I needed. I told them and they said we wont have those in stock !! So the AA then rang me 1/2 hr later to say a low loader was on its way. 2 hrs later it turned up (after countless calls to the AA who said it was on its way).
So sat at the roadside for nearly 4 hours. Eventually a local tyre company and Fernies sorted me out.
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