Latest / HAVE FAITH LET IT BEGIN® / Stranded and Silent: A Former AAA Employee's Roadside Breakdown

Transcript

Stranded and Silent: A Former AAA Employee's Roadside Breakdown · HAVE FAITH LET IT BEGIN®

• 0:00
  Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Half-Faith, Let It Begin.
• 0:04
  We're back on the road here, and we're at home. I'm your host,
• 0:08
  Angel Santana. Today's episode is honestly going to be...
• 0:12
  I never thought I'd have to do this, or never thought I'd have to record it,
• 0:15
  but I want to tell you a little bit something here.
• 0:18
  So strap on your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy ride.
• 0:21
  For seven years, from 2007 until 2014, I proudly worked for AAA New York,
• 0:28
  which is now known as AAA Northeast.
• 0:30
  I believed in what the company stood for.
• 0:33
  I believed that when someone was stranded on the side of the road,
• 0:37
  scared, frustrated, or simply needing help, AAA would be there.
• 0:43
  And I wasn't just an employee. I was a believer in the mission.
• 0:47
  And this is why the experience hurts so much.
• 0:51
  This episode isn't about attacking anyone. It isn't about embarrassing employees.
• 0:57
  It isn't about making anyone look bad, but it is about sharing a real experience
• 1:03
  that left me asking one simple question.
• 1:06
  What happened? Because the AAA I worked for would never have allowed this to happen.
• 1:13
  Have Faith Let It Begin starts right now. Welcome to Have Faith Let It Begin. This is Ariel Santana.
• 1:20
  Can you believe I'm seven years old already? I'm old enough now to introduce my dad.
• 1:26
  Ladies and gentlemen, your host, my dad, Angel Santana.
• 2:06
  Well, I call this the breakdown that begins. It's part one. It started with
• 2:10
  what should have been a routine roadside assistance call.
• 2:13
  My vehicle became disabled and was blocking traffic. Now, this wasn't simply an inconvenience.
• 2:20
  It was becoming a safety concern.
• 2:23
  I called AAA, expecting the process that I spent years helping members through.
• 2:28
  Instead, the very first thing that happened was I was addressed by the wrong member's name.
• 2:36
  I corrected their representative, switchboard operator, anyone who wanted to call agent.
• 2:40
  They apologized and they continued using the wrong name. Then came the phone call.
• 2:46
  I gave it very carefully, digit by digit, yet someone that was taking the information
• 2:53
  was, I assumed entering it correctly, but They ended up transposing it inaccurately.
• 2:59
  Again, mistakes happen. Nobody's perfect.
• 3:02
  One wrong digit, one wrong name. Those things can happen.
• 3:06
  But then the conversation ended. No reference number, no service provider,
• 3:11
  no company name, no confirmation.
• 3:14
  No, here's who's coming. No, here's your call number.
• 3:18
  No, if you don't hear from us, call us back. Just someone will contact you.
• 3:24
  We made this a priority call because you're blocking traffic that wasn't reassuring,
• 3:30
  when nobody called me back.
• 3:33
  It left me wondering whether the call had actually been completed correctly,
• 3:38
  part two the waiting and the waiting.
• 3:42
  35 to 40 minutes passed, nothing, no text, no phone call, no update.
• 3:47
  I tried using AAA mobile app.
• 3:49
  It couldn't even recognize my membership correctly. So I called back.
• 3:53
  Once again, addressed by the wrong name, wrong information, wrong callback number.
• 3:59
  Again, they corrected the information, or at least they told me they would.
• 4:03
  Then I was informed by the tow truck that had been deemed to come out.
• 4:07
  I finally got the name and the tow truck was delayed because there was finishing
• 4:13
  another call or backed up from another call. Listen, other accidents happen.
• 4:17
  You know what? It took priority. I understand.
• 4:20
  And I understand that the tow companies get busy. Emergencies can happen.
• 4:24
  Traffic can happen. I'm not upset about delays. I'm upset about communication.
• 4:29
  There's a huge difference. And finally, after another phone call,
• 4:34
  I learned the company assigned to me was a local company called Freemans.
• 4:39
  But here's the problem. I didn't learn that because AAA called me.
• 4:43
  I learned it because I called AAA again.
• 4:46
  I had to get that name from them. So then we go into part three.
• 4:50
  Now it's a two-hour of uncertainty. Now imagine sitting there,
• 4:54
  your vehicle's blocking traffic, cars are driving around you.
• 4:58
  Your people that are driving around you are cursing at you because it's all
• 5:01
  my fault that I'm stranded.
• 5:03
  Your phone battery is now slowing down and getting lower by the minute. It was, I think, at 12%.
• 5:10
  Every minute you're wondering, did they forget me? Is someone actually going to come?
• 5:14
  Do they have the right number since they've kept messing that up?
• 5:17
  Should I call again? That uncertainty became exhausting.
• 5:21
  Finally, I was able to find a charging unit, so I started charging my phone.
• 5:26
  No big deal. Oh, at least I'm going to have battery.
• 5:29
  The problem is people don't pay for AAA simply because of a tow truck,
• 5:34
  for a tow truck to just come in and, and they don't pay for AAA simply because tow truck exists.
• 5:42
  There we go. I want to say it that way. They pay for peace of mind.
• 5:46
  The truck may take time. I'm aware of that, but communication should never disappear.
• 5:51
  And after more than two hours, I still didn't have the correct communication.
• 5:56
  I didn't have any information.
• 5:59
  I didn't receive the proactive phone call That I was originally promised Everything
• 6:04
  I learned I learned because I kept calling That shouldn't happen.
• 6:09
  Then there's a part four, the AAA I remember. This is where my perspective is different.
• 6:15
  When I worked in AAA dispatch operations from 2007 to 2014, I remember the training.
• 6:21
  I remember my trainer, Kim. I remember the expectations roadside assistance
• 6:26
  wasn't just dispatching trucks.
• 6:28
  It was taking care of people, members.
• 6:32
  We verified names. We verified phone numbers. We repeated callback information.
• 6:37
  We gave reference numbers.
• 6:39
  We told members exactly which company had accepted the call If there was a delay,
• 6:44
  we called If there was another delay, we called again Because when someone is
• 6:49
  stranded, silence creates anxiety,
• 6:52
  And when the delay becomes more than what we expect We look for another station
• 6:56
  to back that other station up,
• 6:59
  Communication creates confidence Now, I want to make something very clear I
• 7:04
  don't blame the representatives I spoke with In fact, I feel for them,
• 7:08
  Customer service representatives today are often with different software,
• 7:12
  different policies, larger service territories, staffing shortages,
• 7:16
  and performance expectations they don't control.
• 7:20
  This episode is not about pointing fingers at people answering the phones.
• 7:24
  It's about asking whether the system or systems are allowing them to provide
• 7:29
  the level of service members deserve.
• 7:33
  So we go into part five, when technology gets in the way. Technology is supposed
• 7:37
  to make things easier, not harder.
• 7:39
  When I called AAA, I found myself navigating automated menus,
• 7:43
  trying to convince AI systems who I was, waiting, repeating information,
• 7:49
  trying to reach a live person, trying to explain where I was,
• 7:52
  trying to confirm whether anyone was even coming.
• 7:56
  Technology should remove stress, not create more of it.
• 8:02
  Sometimes the fastest computer in the world still can't replace a well-trained
• 8:07
  employee who simply says
• 8:09
  angel i've got your information you're safe here's your reference number freeman's
• 8:14
  accepted your call they're delayed approximately 25 minutes 35 minutes but if
• 8:19
  anything changes i personally,
• 8:22
  will make sure someone contacts you,
• 8:25
  that conversation takes less than 30 seconds,
• 8:28
  but it changes everything.
• 8:30
  So how am I going to close today's episode? I still respect AAA.
• 8:34
  I still respect many of the people I worked with. Some of my closest friends
• 8:38
  came from that chapter of my life.
• 8:40
  That's exactly why this episode was difficult to record because loyalty works on both ways.
• 8:46
  Members pay every year because they believe someone will be there when they need help the most.
• 8:52
  Not just with a tow truck, not just with communication, .
• 8:57
  It's having great communication with reassurance, with professionalism, with compassion.
• 9:04
  My hope isn't that this episode embarrasses anyone.
• 9:08
  My hope is that someone at AAA hears it, not as an attack, but as an opportunity,
• 9:14
  and an opportunity to help what made AAA one of the most trusted names in roadside assistance.
• 9:21
  Because I know that company. I worked for that company. and I truly hope it finds its way back.
• 9:28
  I'm a former employee of AAA and on behalf of my former colleagues,
• 9:33
  we can get better. We can do better.
• 9:36
  And we are always been for the member. Thank you for listening to Have Faith
• 9:41
  Let It Begin this morning.
• 9:42
  And until next time, take care of yourself and never underestimate the power
• 9:47
  of simply keeping someone informed.
• 9:50
  And never forget, Have Faith, Let It Begin.