March 29, 2008
Ken Betts' Towing: Don't Count On It
Called AAA today at 1:30 after discovering I had a flat tire and no key for the locking lugnuts. I figured it would be easy to resolve given the time of day and that there's a Big O Tire just two blocks away that takes new jobs until 4pm on Saturdays.
AAA sent a Ken Betts truck, but decided a service truck would do, even though I asked for a tow. Turns out, no, I didn't just need air; there's a gash in my tire. Sorry, it'd be another 45 minutes on top of the 30 I'd already waited.
After an hour, I called to find out where the truck was. Just another 40 minutes, sir. Sorry, that's just how long it takes. Increasingly frustrated calls to AAA followed, but all they could say was that calling another towing company could take just as long.
ETA for the proper Ken Betts truck? 4:02. Too late to get a simple flat tire repaired and a full two and a half hours after my initial call. At that point, they would have had to leave it for the weekend at a random Big O Tire in the middle of Oakland. No, thank you.
So I turned to my six-days-remaining factory warranty to have it towed to the dealership. The dealership is already closed, needless to say, but at least they'll cover storage in a secure location for the weekend. And the wait for the new truck from another company? Just 70 minutes, but "probably sooner" I am assured.
75 minutes later, I'm on the phone again. No truck. It is now 5:30 PM and No. Fucking. Truck. There was a mix up. The towing company was waiting for a call back from BMW who had called me around 5 to verify that I still had a warranty (yessir, for six more days, I sure as hell do) and then neglected to call the towing company. "They're sending a truck now. It'll be there in 30 minutes."
Forty minutes later I am just getting my phone out to make another call when the truck finally turns the corner onto the cul-de-sac on which I have been trapped for the last five hours.
Now all I have to do is catch a cab.
Posted by brendan at March 29, 2008 4:12 PM
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