My Letter to AAA [That I Actually Sent Them]

[Gaki]

To Whom it May Concern,

A little while ago, in June, I bought myself a moped from a seller in Maryland. My AAA membership is through my mother and she had sent the check in the mail about two weeks before I came in to AAA to attempt to do a title transfer and get a registration for the moped.

The fact that the check had not been processed after having been sent two weeks earlier, that is not my main issue.

My main issue lies in the way I was spoken to about this moped. I don't know if I wasn't very clear on the fact that this was a moped, it has pedals, it is not a scooter or a motorcycle. It is a motor-assisted bicycle. The "member services specialist" that I got clearly did not understand that until he went out to verify the VIN on the vehicle where he exclaimed, "OH, it's like a BIKE with a MOTOR." Yes. That is a moped.

Before he saw the vehicle he noticed that on the Maryland title there is a note there that states, "NOT TO BE REGISTERED." That is because in Maryland when you apply for a title for a moped or you transfer a title for a moped, you are automatically given a sticker that acts as your "plate." There is no registration for mopeds in Maryland. When your member services specialist noticed this note on the title he promptly looked at me and asked in a patronizing tone, "Where did you think you were going to ride this? It says it's not to be registered." Even after his coworker leaned over to correct him on this and I explained that in Maryland one does not register a moped, this issue is brought up again later after we find out that we can't process anything because

1. He will not take my printed insurance I.D. card because "it isn't printed very well."
2. I have pay by check and I don't have a checkbook with me.
3. The check my mother wrote two weeks prior has not been processed yet and I can't pay that bill (not that I had a checkbook anyway.)

This is the part where I got anxious and started to cry (social anxiety gets to me when I am spoken down to.)

So it had been stated that I would need to come back with a "real" insurance I.D. card, after the check has cleared, and with a checkbook for us to finish what I started there, okay fine. But as I stated, the issue of the registration wasn't over. He told me that when I came back in next time he was NOT going to issue me a moped plate because of the "NOT TO BE REGISTERED" on the MD title and that he would have [DMV] issue me the plate instead. He told me that would probably make it so that I could not ride the moped for another month or so after I came in the next time. I had already made up my mind that this was too much of a hassle when he asked me if I'd like to know how much I'd be paying the next time I came in. I told him that it didn't matter, mainly because I was upset and I didn't want to stay in the building any longer as I was being stared at for crying. He asked again but this time aggressively and I couldn't answer him so he told me the price which was 50-something and I just nodded and ran out of the building.

I have not been back.

In fact that same day I took the moped to a notary and within ten minutes I had the title transferred, the temp registration and a plate, and she didn't have a single issue with my insurance I.D. card. I also paid with a Visa card. It was less than 20 dollars more.

Fast forward and [DMV] has had absolutely NO ISSUE with registering my moped and transferring the title even with a "not printed very well" insurance card which was further "not printed very well" when the notary put it through the copier.

She was kind to me, knew exactly what a moped was, didn't have any trouble with it at all, and had me legal to drive in ten minutes.

I don't know why this happened to me at AAA. Is it because I look young? Is it because I was alone? Is it because I'm female? Is it because I'm only a 5-year member? I don't know why I would have been spoken to like I am stupid or not worth someone's time. I don't know why, after I am crying, someone would compound my anxiety by telling me that they were not even going to help me the next time I came in, making that whole morning a huge waste of time. I don't know why anyone would speak to me the way I was spoken to after I am already visibly upset.

My mother renews my AAA membership every year as a half-birthday gift. I'm going to have to think very long and hard about whether or not I'm going to tell her not to bother anymore.

Thank you for your time,

Gaki

[drews]

What an awful experience but a very well written letter. I hope you receive an apology in response. Take care
.

[MistressOfTangents]

What an awful experience but a very well written letter. I hope you receive an apology in response. Take care
.

Seconded. I really don't understand why people behave like this (Ok I do; it's because they think they are better than anyone else) but really the way they treated you was totally unnecessary and I too, hope you get an apology.

[EricKei]

"Where did you think you were going to ride this? It says it's not to be registered." Even after his coworker leaned over to correct him on this and I explained that in Maryland one does not register a moped, this issue is brought up again later after we find out that we can't process anything because ...

I do believe the appropriate CS-ism for someone like this is "douchecanoe."

[Skarredmind]

Wow. What a colossal fucktard. This guy is part of the reason people act like shits when dealing with the rest of us. :-(

[EricKei]

Skarred - I've said it before and I'll say it again: They're not acting

[Mr Hero]

I explained that in Maryland one does not register a moped

Hope things go better for you!

[Captain Trips]

It wasn't you, it was him. The AAA prides itself on the knowledge of its staff, which this person was not able to demonstrate. A complaint against him is perfectly in order - he should have known all that, and it sounds like his co-worker was even trying to correct him.

He may be qualified to work at the DMV, but NOT at the AAA.

[Ben_Who]

I'm going to be honest and say that I've never worked with an agency quite as useless as AAA. (At least, as it operates in this area.) Most people are stunned to hear this, since they consider their AAA cards as a bulwark against being stranded, but I usually only have to share a few horror stories with them for them to get that sinking feeling look.

My personal favorite is when my elderly hatchback actually broke down in the parking lot of a AAA garage. They shared it with the tuxedo place next door; after I came out of the tux place - car wouldn't start. Well, that's convenient, my car actually broke down in the parking lot of a garage, and I'm a member. I'll just pop in and ask for an assist.

A spirited debate and two hours later, with me cataclysmically late for work and more or less stranded, cue the spectacle of the car of a fully-paid AAA member being towed out of an AAA garage, to another garage the next town over ("tow fee $35, cash only; you'll have to submit the receipt for reimbursement" HA HA no that didn't happen either), plus the cost of a cab ride to work that night.

There was absolutely no reason for that car to have budged a bloody inch; I wasn't asking to be seen immediately, just put into rotation. If they hadn't kept me waiting two hours for a tow truck to literally drive me of town and abandon me there, I could have walked to work from the AAA garage.

And that was only the last straw; it was by no means the only one. Other straws included being left on the side of the 128 in Massachusetts with a frozen fuel line for five hours in the middle of the night in subzero temperatures, and at that point I already had a bit of a history with the organization. Every blue moon or so, AAA sends me yet another mailer asking to hook back up again. I'd rather rub my body vigorously all over with a cheese grater.

[Chromatix]

Or, worse, engage in Japanese bondage with a cheese wire.

[protege]

AAA has some real winners on staff.

Some of you know about my project car. It was originally my dad's car. I took it on some years ago, and fixed it up. Up until last year, it was still in his name. But, after his health problems the past couple of years, we felt it would be best to transfer the title. If the worst was to happen, he didn't want me to have to deal with red tape.

I'd already had the insurance sorted. That was taken care of when I put the car back together. All I had to do, was print off a couple photos of the car, some basic info, and I had a new policy in a few minutes.

AAA on the other hand, were being pricks. The first time we attempted the title change...they refused to do it. Why? Because the photos showed a small rust spot on the bumper...and the windows were down in one of the photos. I had all the required paperwork--the original A title, multiple old registration cards (didn't really need these, since the car had classic tags on it...which do not expire), insurance cards, the photos, etc. Yet, they refused to do it.

Second time, I had the exact same info as before. Again, it was denied because of the "windows being down." Bonus points, because the office had never seen a title like mine--apparently they'd changed quite a bit since 1980--and couldn't figure out how to fill out the form. Uh, you do this for a living, and can't handle the form? Further bonus points involved insisting that I'd have to get a new plate as well. Not what I wanted--the car had an old purple/silver tag on it, which had been on it when my dad bought it.

This time, we lost it. Not only did we threaten to dump AAA, but call our local representative, and have him deal with it. End result? The paperwork was filled out correctly, and I had the new title in a few days. I even got to keep the old plate on it. Good thing too, since I wanted to keep the car exactly how my dad owned it.

The only other problem I had with AAA, was when my Mazda broke down across town. The timing belt adjuster had failed, throwing said belt off the pulleys...destroying it and the adjuster, and leaving me stranded. I call AAA up, tell them I need a tow, and run into problems.

I'm within sight of the Zoo, but they have no idea what road I'm sitting on! No matter what road names I threw out, the nearby landmarks, the fact that I was sitting on the sidewalk between the Highland Park Bridge and the Zoo entrance...the dispatcher had no idea where I was. Seems that they hadn't bothered to update their maps! It took several hours to have the car collected, and dropped off at the garage near my house. I was not amused!

AAA is a huge organization, and they're bound to have a couple idiots here and there. I try not to think that they're all that way.