I purchased Good Sam RV Roadside Assistance for another year just prior to my trip to Utah from Florida ($99.95.) Enroute, I blew a tire (right rear inside) on my motorhome just outside the city of Middle of Nowhere, Wyoming. I contacted Roadside Assist to let them know that I had blown a tire and needed service. The call was routed three times, eventually winding up with a "tire technical expert" who was busy during our call talking to a fellow employee about what she was going to be doing over the weekend (in all fairness, she asked if I could hold a couple of times, and I don't think she knew I could hear her, but that was the conversation going on while I'm twenty minutes into a call to the service center.) Aggravating.
When the tech rep asked if I had a spare, I told her I did, and then made the mistake of mentioning that the spare was not on a rim. She informs me at that time that because the spare is not mounted, there will be a charge of $186.00 prior to sending service out to me. I was flabbergasted. I have had tires changed by AAA before (no such charge,) but arguably have never had the need to use Good Sam before (a two-year member.) I( pointed out that I thought there must be some mistake...a tire shop charges about $4 to $8.00 to put a tire on a rim if you don't buy the tire from them. They might charge $10 if you want it balanced. Please, correct me if I'm off base here...but that is what I have paid within the past 18 months at my local tire shop in Merritt Island, FL.
The tech takes my credit card number, and within two hours the service arrives. The guys with the tire service are great, and knock everything out quickly and professionally. It takes them 7 minutes to pull the bad tire off the rim and install the spare. As they were putting their tools away, I asked what they would have charged me to put the spare on the rim if it had been a service call that I was paying them for directly. They looked at each other and shrugged. One of the tire techs ventured a guess that the boss would have had them charge about $10-15, but he couldn't say for sure. He further stated that it wasn't a big deal...they would have put the tire on the rim for the same price as just switching out a tire that was already mounted if I bought them a six-pack.
After I reached civilization, I pored more carefully through the information that Good Sam had sent me touting their Roadside service. What I found was this (from the brochure:)
A service technician will replace a flat tire with your inflated spare, or we’ll tow your vehicle to the nearest professional service center. On occasion and whenever possible, we will make arrangements for the member to purchase a tire(s) for delivery to the disablement scene. In these cases Good Sam Roadside Assistance will pay for delivery of tire only, member is responsible for all additional costs including cost of tire(s), mounting, balancing, other parts or labor, tax and any other fees. Note: This benefit does not include seasonal tire changes. Member is responsible for all parts and labor.
Although I did not have an inflated spare (my bad,) the charge for mounting was exorbitant (more than 18 times the normal charge of a shop or onsite-tire service.) As a consequence, I have cancelled my membership with Good Sam Roadside Assistance. To their credit, they did (per their advertising,) refund my $99.95 membership fee since I was within the 30-day window from point of purchase. They kept the $186.00. I have since returned to AAA's RV service, and feel all the better for it.
I hope that Good Sam will revisit its pricing policies, although I doubt this will happen. Overcharging your customers is never a good practice, and I am certainly making it a priority to let all my RVing friends know that there is some blatant price gouging going on with this organization.
Americas Road & Travel Club, Inc. Reviews
I purchased Good Sam RV Roadside Assistance for another year just prior to my trip to Utah from Florida ($99.95.) Enroute, I blew a tire (right rear inside) on my motorhome just outside the city of Middle of Nowhere, Wyoming. I contacted Roadside Assist to let them know that I had blown a tire and needed service. The call was routed three times, eventually winding up with a "tire technical expert" who was busy during our call talking to a fellow employee about what she was going to be doing over the weekend (in all fairness, she asked if I could hold a couple of times, and I don't think she knew I could hear her, but that was the conversation going on while I'm twenty minutes into a call to the service center.) Aggravating.
When the tech rep asked if I had a spare, I told her I did, and then made the mistake of mentioning that the spare was not on a rim. She informs me at that time that because the spare is not mounted, there will be a charge of $186.00 prior to sending service out to me. I was flabbergasted. I have had tires changed by AAA before (no such charge,) but arguably have never had the need to use Good Sam before (a two-year member.) I( pointed out that I thought there must be some mistake...a tire shop charges about $4 to $8.00 to put a tire on a rim if you don't buy the tire from them. They might charge $10 if you want it balanced. Please, correct me if I'm off base here...but that is what I have paid within the past 18 months at my local tire shop in Merritt Island, FL.
The tech takes my credit card number, and within two hours the service arrives. The guys with the tire service are great, and knock everything out quickly and professionally. It takes them 7 minutes to pull the bad tire off the rim and install the spare. As they were putting their tools away, I asked what they would have charged me to put the spare on the rim if it had been a service call that I was paying them for directly. They looked at each other and shrugged. One of the tire techs ventured a guess that the boss would have had them charge about $10-15, but he couldn't say for sure. He further stated that it wasn't a big deal...they would have put the tire on the rim for the same price as just switching out a tire that was already mounted if I bought them a six-pack.
After I reached civilization, I pored more carefully through the information that Good Sam had sent me touting their Roadside service. What I found was this (from the brochure:)
A service technician will replace a flat tire with your inflated spare, or we’ll tow your vehicle to the nearest professional service center. On occasion and whenever possible, we will make arrangements for the member to purchase a tire(s) for delivery to the disablement scene. In these cases Good Sam Roadside Assistance will pay for delivery of tire only, member is responsible for all additional costs including cost of tire(s), mounting, balancing, other parts or labor, tax and any other fees. Note: This benefit does not include seasonal tire changes. Member is responsible for all parts and labor.
Although I did not have an inflated spare (my bad,) the charge for mounting was exorbitant (more than 18 times the normal charge of a shop or onsite-tire service.) As a consequence, I have cancelled my membership with Good Sam Roadside Assistance. To their credit, they did (per their advertising,) refund my $99.95 membership fee since I was within the 30-day window from point of purchase. They kept the $186.00. I have since returned to AAA's RV service, and feel all the better for it.
I hope that Good Sam will revisit its pricing policies, although I doubt this will happen. Overcharging your customers is never a good practice, and I am certainly making it a priority to let all my RVing friends know that there is some blatant price gouging going on with this organization.