Good sam

[Actec]

What is your expireance with good sam service when you have break downs.?
Thanks Joe Fanzo

[5er_tom]

We have used them a few times with okay results. Some folk here have had bad experiences but we have not. We still have GS roadside service.

[sherman12]

Actec, instead of going on with my mostly good experiences with GS RS for over 10 years, search on this forum above and you'll see many many stories good, and bad with GS and other road services. Probably the best that you may see no negative responses to is Coachnet RS. I agree they probably are the best, but they are also at least $100 more per year than GS which why I have stayed with them

[5er_tom]

I really dislike CoachNet. The one time I needed them the experience was awful. I called their number, got a recording that they would be right with me. At least 25 minutes on hold. Finally they answered and we discussed the issue. I needed to contact them 3 more times and it was 25-30 minutes on hold each time. They did give me a number to text, but it took them 25-30 minutes to respond to the text.

GS has always answered my calls promptly.

[ChrisParise]

Originally Posted by sherman12

Actec, instead of going on with my mostly good experiences with GS RS for over 10 years, search on this forum above and you'll see many many stories good, and bad with GS and other road services. Probably the best that you may see no negative responses to is Coachnet RS. I agree they probably are the best, but they are also at least $100 more per year than GS which why I have stayed with them

I just signed up for Good Sam's best Roadside assistance plan as an extra level of insurance and safety plan.

In the past I would have winged it on my own but getting older and traveling with pets, I felt we needed additional support.

We will see. Hope I don't have to use it!

[jbflag21ds]

Used GS roadside last year. Was not impressed. I changed to Coach Net. Will give them a chance just like I did GS.

[ChrisParise]

Originally Posted by jbflag21ds

Used GS roadside last year. Was not impressed. I changed to Coach Net. Will give them a chance just like I did GS.

They're all the same. They all use the same providers.

If anyone has a picture of a repairman in a Good Sam or Coach Net uniform that might change my mind

[charles l]

I used good sam two times. The service was good on one and lousy on one. This is not good sams fault. It all depends on the service provider where you are located. Good sam did what they were supposed to do. In the end I got back on the road. I think they are basically all the same. Pick the one you are comfortable with.

[TeachTexas]

According to my good friend, who owns a towing service, all the roadside services contract with the same people. Each contractor negotiates the rate they will accept. Some of the servicers are individuals who work out of their car/truck and are not full service or towing companies. The companies will prioritize who they will respond to depending on the rate they negotiated.
In my many years on the road I have had AAA, Coach-Net, Good Sam, and Allstate. I would never go to AAA or Allstate again(bad memories there). I rate GS and CN equal,both good and bad. I have GS currently and have been okay with them and they are a little cheaper.

[waybeck2018]

I have used GS on several occasions with mostly satisfactory experience. One bad one that sticks in my mind is the most recent. I happened to be at home at the time. Truck wold not start so called GS. The rep from GS on the phone insisted there was a location within three miles of me that could do any repair. I told him over and over that there was not (After all I live here) When he finally told me the name of the business I told him that place had been out of business over four years. He argued it was not out of business. After being a total butt to him ( my DW says I "warrantized" him) I finally convinced him to call the place with the number he had. He did, then told me I was correct and where would I like the truck to be towed. It was finally towed about 8 miles after over 45 minutes on the phone. Irritating.

[jbflag21ds]

Originally Posted by ChrisParise

They're all the same. They all use the same providers.

If anyone has a picture of a repairman in a Good Sam or Coach Net uniform that might change my mind

same people on the phone? same internal processes to find you assistance? same policies for coverages, distances, etc? same communication and follow up policies so you can stay apprised of the situation?

doubt it.

[Actec]

Originally Posted by jbflag21ds

same people on the phone? same internal processes to find you assistance? same policies for coverages, distances, etc? same communication and follow up policies so you can stay apprised of the situation?



doubt it.

Thanks for the feedback. It was very helpful.

[ChrisParise]

Originally Posted by jbflag21ds

same people on the phone? same internal processes to find you assistance? same policies for coverages, distances, etc? same communication and follow up policies so you can stay apprised of the situation?



doubt it.

Sadly, I know how call centers work and the business models behind them.

All of these RA companies probably use contract employees to answer phones, most or all working from home, and they probably use the same software or similar software to manage call workflow. I wouldn't be surprised if the same contract employee took a Good Sam call and a Coach Net (not picking on CN just an example) call one right after the other. Phone switching systems can do that.

Yes, they most certainly offer different levels of services and coverages, but they all have offsets in their programs which varies by price - that's the branding aspect and marketing appeal of each company.

Show me a real life on the job picture of a repair person in a Coach Net or Good Sam uniform. Towing, rv repair companies will get called to a Good Sam customer in the morning and then a Coach Net customer in the afternoon.

That's how they are same.

[sherman12]

Ok, so the stories continue. I used Good Sam three times last year. The first was with my daily SUV that had a tire going flat. I was going to change it myself, but hey why do I pay (or my DW actually) GS. So I got to a chain restaurant, my DW and I went in to have a beer and in twenty minutes a guy shows up in a Honda CR-V. He whips out a small jack, lowers the donut spare (which I didn't even know how to do on my Sorento), and in less than ten minutes was done. My beer was delicious!

The second time, coming home from Key West to Western New York in Maryland on US 15 my check engine light comes on and my diesel is losing power. We made it to a rest area, called GS. They wanted to tow my rig but I asked them to find me a mobile mechanic. A half-hour later GS connected me to a MM, told him where I was and, in less than three hours I was on the road again (bad fuel filter). I had to pay for the service, but GS reimbursed me for the service call within two weeks of emailing them the bill.

The third time my DP is dead in the driveway. Again, call GS. They give me a window of about five hours for the tow company to contact me. After six the shop that I take my rig to called and asked when is my rig coming. Then the shop calls the towing company Sams told me that would be handling the tow and that company tells the shop they refused the order because they didn't have any heavy wreckers available to tow me. PO'd I call GS back and sternly let them know I am not happy. Within a half-hour, a supervisor from Arizona calls me, apologizes, and says he'll take care of it. Shortly after the sup calls back, explains everything that went wrong, doesn't make excuses, and has made arrangements for the best heavy towing company in Western New York to take care of me the next day. By 8 AM the next morning the tow company called and by 10:30 AM my rig was on the way to the repair shop. The cost of the tow to me would have been $800! So, did I get my $149 worth of service from GS, you bet I did.

[CHICKDOE]

i cannot comment on good sam as we do not have them.

but the comment has been made several times that they are all the same. i recently had an axle failure that required us to have our fifth wheel towed. this happened on i-10 just west of the phoenix metro area so we were not in a remote area. we have roadside assistance through our insurance company. it turns out they and many others contract this out to a company called AGERO which claims to be the largest roadside assistance company. my dealing with them were completely disgusting! initially they were unable to verify that we even had the coverage as the computers were down. after a couple of hours this was resolved. then they started to find a tow company and were unable to find one. after 7 hours they basically said they were unable to find anybody to tow us and that we were on our own. i had called the highway patrol asking for advice an they said they could dispatch a tow service to get us. i informed AGERO about this and asked them to call the highway patrol to get the names of the tow services they use. AGREO responded that they could not do this. basically they can only send a tow service it is on their contract provider list and if these companies are unable to tow you that just throw up their hands! when asked if they would reimburse me for the expense of getting our own tow they said no. i would have to request that through my insurance company.

bottom line we called the highway patrol and they had a big rig tow service their within an hour. it was pricey ($4,000) but they got us off the highway and to a repair facility. and then of all things, in the middle of the night just as the trailer was being unloaded at the repair facility and i had given a credit card to the tow service to pay the bill, we got a call from our insurance company. they spoke to tow truck operator and they actually covered the cost of the tow. how this happened at the exact time it did i have no idea!

bottom line: i'm sure many calls for assistance do get resolved, but the one an only time we have requested help it was completely unresponsive.

[ChrisParise]

Originally Posted by sherman12

Ok, so the stories continue. I used Good Sam three times last year. The first was with my daily SUV that had a tire going flat. I was going to change it myself, but hey why do I pay (or my DW actually) GS. So I got to a chain restaurant, my DW and I went in to have a beer and in twenty minutes a guy shows up in a Honda CR-V. He whips out a small jack, lowers the donut spare (which I didn't even know how to do on my Sorento), and in less than ten minutes was done. My beer was delicious!

The second time, coming home from Key West to Western New York in Maryland on US 15 my check engine light comes on and my diesel is losing power. We made it to a rest area, called GS. They wanted to tow my rig but I asked them to find me a mobile mechanic. A half-hour later GS connected me to a MM, told him where I was and, in less than three hours I was on the road again (bad fuel filter). I had to pay for the service, but GS reimbursed me for the service call within two weeks of emailing them the bill.

The third time my DP is dead in the driveway. Again, call GS. They give me a window of about five hours for the tow company to contact me. After six the shop that I take my rig to called and asked when is my rig coming. Then the shop calls the towing company Sams told me that would be handling the tow and that company tells the shop they refused the order because they didn't have any heavy wreckers available to tow me. PO'd I call GS back and sternly let them know I am not happy. Within a half-hour, a supervisor from Arizona calls me, apologizes, and says he'll take care of it. Shortly after the sup calls back, explains everything that went wrong, doesn't make excuses, and has made arrangements for the best heavy towing company in Western New York to take care of me the next day. By 8 AM the next morning the tow company called and by 10:30 AM my rig was on the way to the repair shop. The cost of the tow to me would have been $800! So, did I get my $149 worth of service from GS, you bet I did.

Good experiences to share.

Interesting on your 3rd call. Had a similar experience using just my State Farm RA plan. Gasser MH, valve stem crack. Similar in that I had to call back asking when's help coming. Escalated to a Supervisor who explained they couldn't find a provider because everyone on their call.list was busy. Supervisor went outside their "network" to find a wrecker service willing to fix a flat. They charged me $299 for mileage, had to take tire back to their shop to fix, but State Farm reimbursed me after our trip.

Btw, I wrote a Google review of the wrecker service that was unkind and the owner contacted me personally explaining they don't normally do this kind of work with State Farm RA but they were willing to help get me.back on the road no matter what it took. That made me feel much better and I updated my Google review of course.

But it served a valuable lesson in what can happen with a call, who gets involved, and why

[ChrisParise]

Originally Posted by CHICKDOE

i cannot comment on good sam as we do not have them.

but the comment has been made several times that they are all the same. i recently had an axle failure that required us to have our fifth wheel towed. this happened on i-10 just west of the phoenix metro area so we were not in a remote area. we have roadside assistance through our insurance company. it turns out they and many others contract this out to a company called AGERO which claims to be the largest roadside assistance company. my dealing with them were completely disgusting! initially they were unable to verify that we even had the coverage as the computers were down. after a couple of hours this was resolved. then they started to find a tow company and were unable to find one. after 7 hours they basically said they were unable to find anybody to tow us and that we were on our own. i had called the highway patrol asking for advice an they said they could dispatch a tow service to get us. i informed AGERO about this and asked them to call the highway patrol to get the names of the tow services they use. AGREO responded that they could not do this. basically they can only send a tow service it is on their contract provider list and if these companies are unable to tow you that just throw up their hands! when asked if they would reimburse me for the expense of getting our own tow they said no. i would have to request that through my insurance company.

bottom line we called the highway patrol and they had a big rig tow service their within an hour. it was pricey ($4,000) but they got us off the highway and to a repair facility. and then of all things, in the middle of the night just as the trailer was being unloaded at the repair facility and i had given a credit card to the tow service to pay the bill, we got a call from our insurance company. they spoke to tow truck operator and they actually covered the cost of the tow. how this happened at the exact time it did i have no idea!

bottom line: i'm sure many calls for assistance do get resolved, but the one an only time we have requested help it was completely unresponsive.

Wow. Thanks for sharing! Everyone should read this to get expectations set appropriately. Stuff happens.