On 9/16/2015 3:33 PM, bob haller wrote:
I have been a AAA memberfor 40 years. I have always been pleased by their service etc till now..........

i called them twice about some title issues when thinking about replacingmy one van....

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In cases where it is possible to go to a company to get service it is
usually far more time-effective to go there rather than to call. The DMV
and AAA are two good examples. Cellular carriers are another example.
The person on the phone is far less likely to give you an accurate answer.

Another example is HMOs. I gave up calling my HMO to get an appointment.
I just go there and make an appointment. The medical offices are 10
minutes away so it's generally faster to go there than to call. When I
explain why I didn't make an appointment on the phone they shake their
head, not at me, but at the people at the call center. First you're on
hold to talk to someone. Then they're unlikely to find you a timely
appointment even if you don't care about the appointment being with
other than your primary care physician. Then they want you to talk to an
advice nurse. Then they want you to make an appointment with a
non-physician. Then they wonder why they do poorly in patient
satisfaction surveys.

The other thing I learned about my HMO is that the ER is actually not a
bad deal. You get immediate care, referrals are included, and at $50
it's not much more than a PCP visit and a referral visit ($20 each).
There's a 24 hour pharmacy on-site, they take x-rays and read them while
you wait. My HMO has a wonderful ER with private rooms. They are very
fast and efficient.