BROKEN DOWN

I've been a Triple-A member for years, and until recently it has served me well. Mind you, I don't call upon them for anything but a tow or a boost. Twice a year at most, and the driver always gets a tip. Lately, though, the service has deteriorated. The drivers are universally courteous and professional. It's the folks in between the driver and me who have become the problem.

The process is simple enough. The call to the Roadside Assistance number gets you a customer service rep who takes your information, schedules the truck and gives you the driver's Estimated Time of Arrival. Once he's on the way, you get an automated call confirming (or slightly adjusting) that ETA. The driver arrives, does his job and -- in my case, at least -- always gets a tip. That's the way it's supposed to work.

Tonight, my car died right at the fast-food pick-up window. Three young men at the store hustled right out and pushed me to a safe area nearby. (Who says today's kids are going to hell in a hand basket?)

I called Triple-A's Houston headquarters and was promised a tow truck driver within 45 minutes. Houston always promises 45 minutes. Thirty minutes later comes the automated call, estimating the driver's ETA 20 minutes later than first promised. After a half-hour, I call. "Uh, I'll contact Dispatch, find out what the problem is and get back to you." Twenty minutes go by with no call-back, so I call again. "He's on his way and will be there in 30 minutes." Thirty-five minutes later I call again. "He's 8-10 minutes out," which proved true. The driver was courteous and professional, and he apologized: he's the only guy covering Plano, Allen, Frisco, Richardson and West Garland, and he's got 4 more calls after me. I've heard nearly-identical excuses the past two years. Tonight, this driver did his job well and got the tip. Houston is lucky that my car wasn't down a ditch in BFE tonight and that the weather was tolerable and that there happened to be a Starbucks within walking distance while I waited three hours for Triple-A's tow truck driver.

Footnote: The disabled car was our "nice car," which has about 100,000 miles on it. The car that my wife drove to the scene was our "everyday car," which has more than 150,000 miles on it and has been far less trouble.