AAA Washington – Seattle

Great service, I was on a road trip and reached out to the office to get best hotels in the area and they made the reservations for me right on the spot! I have a member for over 25 years and have used many of their services. a membership well worth the money.

Love AAA!!! They are super fast, friendly and understand your needs. Absolutely love them! When I can afford it I’m definitely getting Premier (Just in case I’m over 100 miles from where I need to be). Special Thanks to Dick from the Auto Lockout Services. Super friendly, nice and helpful… and quick :)

In WA — I called at 6:45pm for a flat tire … They didn’t show until 9pm… And then the guy wasn’t sure how to change a tire on a 2013 VW GTI and almost left… And he wanted a tip! Seriously?
In CA, the repair guy arrived within 1 hour and was done in 10 mins. No problem changing the same tire and did not expect a tip (gave him extra just for his attitude and speed).

The facilities are clean and there is a pretty large parking lot area to park your car. It is located at an extremely busy intersection so making a left or right into their lot might be difficult.
When I went, it wasn’t particularly crowded. In fact, I was the only person there who needed assistance. I wanted to renew my membership. I had spent 30 minutes previously on the phone trying to renew my membership but they kept me on hold for so long that I decided to just go to their nearest location. Beforehand, I tried online but they couldn’t recognize my id. I think it is extremely problematic when customers are having that difficult of a time to renew their membership. This is the bread and butter to their business. They really should make it easier.
Back to my experience. Like I said before, there was no line. Yet the customer service agent was kind of rude and almost miserable.

When I called to purchase a membership, the agent did not notify me/​was not aware that a membership had already been purchased and existed in my name. I called member services after hours to resolve the issue. The agent told me it would take 1 – 2 weeks to cancel the redundant membership, and that I should make sure to call back and check-​in to make sure it was actually carried out. Because the membership purchased in my name was done only hours before I called to set up a membership myself, perhaps whatever method AAA is using had not yet had time to process the first membership and thus generated no info to the agent who sold me my membership. Yet, that same method had no problem immediately charging both credit cards involved… Overall, a confusing situation with a sloppy, unsatisfying resolution.

The office shares the parking lot with an office supply store. There is enough parking that it’s usually not a problem. Access is a little tricky. Coming from the north you’d need to be careful of the merging traffic coming off the bridge. Coming from the south the left turn can be tricky to yield.
The office is not fancy, but it is clean and it does work. I have only used the services in the back (maps, etc). The wait usually isn’t bad. The staff is friendly and helpful. You can get maps and trip info for US. International maps and books cost extra money. I’ve also obtained international drivers permit, including photo, for very reasonable fee.
In addition to travel and insurance services, they also sell travel goods (luggage, bags, tools, etc).
Overall, for maps and travel services, this office delivers what you’d expect from AAA.

AAA has gone sooooooooo downhill over the years… they are no longer worth subscribing to for roadside assistance, as they are NOT the same company anymore! They used to provide adequate roadside service within 1 hour, but now it’s 2 – 3 hours for a simple battery jump, which is unacceptable and ridiculous. This is NOT what we pay for! When you try to talk to their «customer service» reps, they could care less… NO customer service available here, so move on and find a decent roadside assistance company who operates realistically and cares about customers.

It is hard to believe that I have been working with Christopher Lavin of AAA insurance for 10 years now. He has handled my rental property as it was harder to insurance. He got it rated as a standard risk by looking at a number of different carriers and found one that works with knob and tube wiring. He is absolutely amazing. If you are looking for an agent call AAA and ask for Chris Lavin!

If I could give them zero stars I would. This place is out to nickel and dime you for all you have. The day before I found I had a dead battery in my car. My neighbor called AAA and they came and gave me a quick jump but wouldn’t let it sit to charge the battery. I drove my car for 2 hours that evening to recharge it. Next day I went out and the battery was dead again. I went online and signed up for the classic service. I called to get a jump. They wanted to charge me an extra $ 20 for a «pre-​existing» condition. Are you kidding me? I just gave you $ 56 and now you want $ 20 more because I called the day I signed up? That’s half a year almost for same day service. They told me that even if I called any of the future days I would still be charged the $ 20 because of this now known pre-​existing condition. I spoke with management who was equally rude and unhelpful. No budging. They want all your money with very little actual «service» and terrible customer service. Told me she would be happy to cancel my membership. In the end I had them cancel it for a full refund. What a freaking joke. I had been a member for years prior and they called non-​stop to get me to renew when I lapsed. Now that I come back they treat me like this? They told me there are other companies that provide the same type of service and I may wish to consider them instead. Literally turning away business after they chased me down on my phone calling constantly for 4 months after I didn’t renew. Big. Fat. Joke. Steer clear.

I’ll go ahead and acknowledge right up front that I have been a member of AAA of Washington for years and have generally had reliable and polite service when I have occasionally needed roadside service, be it for a dead battery, lockout or an actual tow. If I had been Unilocaling at the time of previous calls, this might be a 4– or 5-​star review. And, maybe that will happen if I ever update this review, but for now, AAA gets a 1-​star review as a result of my experience on November 23 at 1:45PM.
The fact that I was in the predicament I was in was nobody’s fault but my own. I was waiting for The Boy to finish a music lesson sitting in the car talking on my phone. The key was in the ignition which meant the running lights were on (I think). If it wasn’t the lights, it may have been something else. Doesn’t really matter – what matters is that there was an electrical drain and by the time The Boy returned to the car and I went to start it, it was dead.
Sonofabitch!
I briefly considered trying to pop the clutch, but the hill I was on was only about a 5 foot incline and the road was actually a single lane alley, so had I failed to start the engine – which was certain – the car would have blocked the entire alley.
Instead I pulled out my phone and opened the AAA app. Now theoretically, the AAA app is a pretty slick little tool, but it’s bizarre to me that «Roadside Assistance» is listed third on the menu behind «Maps & Discounts» and «Hotel Search». One wonders if AAA in its quest to find new sources of revenue has lost track of its core mission. But, since this isn’t a review of the app, I won’t spend any more time discussing it.
Using the link within the app to call AAA, I reached a dispatcher who asked all the standard questions — Are you safe? Is the car blocking traffic? And so on. I answered all the questions and provided the location of where I was stranded. The dispatcher placed me on hold for a few moments before returning with «good news» that there is an AAA Battery Service vehicle in my area and it’ll only be a two hour wait until it arrives.
«Excuse me?»
«Yes sir, you can expect an AAA approved vehicle to arrive around 3:45 for your battery service.»
Two hours? Are you kidding me? That is absolutely unacceptable. The dispatcher tried to cover explaining that they were busy to which my response was, «Then get more service vehicles on the road.» Really, isn’t the whole point of AAA to get stranded drivers back on the road in a timely manner? I mean, I can understand if I’m in a rural area with one gas station within 50 miles, but this is the heart of Seattle. There should be a fleet of cars on the road.
Now let me just state right here that I am completely empathetic towards the dispatcher who answered my call and was simply relaying the information available on her screen, but I was pissed and let her know it in no uncertain terms.
Please accept my apology, random AAA dispatcher.
In the end, I walked across the street to Fred Meyer, spent $ 9.99 on jumper cables and flagged down the first guy who made the mistake of making eye contact with me. In two minutes I was on my way.
AAA, let me make this perfectly clear: I don’t care about discounts. I don’t care about insurance. I don’t even care about your TripTiks which have been obsolete for at least a decade. What I do care about is timely road service so that when I am stranded and have somewhere to be, I can be there – something you completely failed at.
Better luck next time.

You guys are the absolute worst emergency car service. For a company whose main marketing scheme is to be there for their customers in their time of need, it is shocking how much customer service you do NOT HAVE. Not only was I deceived by your message of quick reliable service, but I found this out by being left waiting on the side of an extremely busy road in the dark because YOUR company lied to me about the ETA for the tow truck. After initially being told the wait was 2 hours (even though they said it would probably be before that, they just didn’t want to say one time, when it would really be another, HAHAH) and waiting for an hour, I received a call telling me it would be another 2 hours. At that point I took matters into my own hands and called a private company who showed up in 30 min regardless of the «traffic and busy time of day» and even charged me less. The only thing your company did right was let a girl half their age yell at them for their incompetence.
I AM SHOCKED AT ALL THESE GOOD REVIEWS. AAA IS NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE. This is not for first experience with AAA, and every time I ATTEMPT to use them the service and experience becomes worse and worse. I live in a large metropolitan city and was told you, YOU, a MULTIMILLION DOLLAR COMPANY, only run 8, EIGHT, ONLY 8 of your own trucks through out the Great Seattle Area. It’s no wonder you can’t get anything done. The private company I called in your absence, and who arrived right on time, informed me that in addition to all the private calls he receives, he handles at least 200 of your calls a day. AAA is a joke, support your local businesses! WHO CHARGED ME LESS. Whoever said AAA pays for itself is NOT doing their accounting right. I got faster service from the kind local man who saw me broken down on the side of the road AND DROVE TO HIS HOUSE AND BACK to get his battery and alternative tester to see if a jump would get me home. Don’t give your money to some overgrown and non caring company, give it to the local shop down the road who truly cares for your safety and not the money they receive.

AAA is amazing
pays for itself over and over
worth hundreds but only costs like $ 80 a year (for the premier service)
just an outstanding service /​company
GET IT — you will thank me later

terrible customer service, Karen Hempler at the counter, extremely disagreeable when i tried to get a triptik,!!!_____had a Google map printed out with the addresses to route to and would not even have the courtesy to look at it !!! The rest of the experience went downhill from there,
won’t be returning to this location, stay away for sure,

I drive old cars and a 12yr old van, so having a AAA membership is the BEST investment I make every year. I average 2 tows or emergency situations per year. The $ 89 membership clearly is offset by what a private tow company would charge. So I thank you AAA, and highly recommend AAA to anyone owning a car or truck, because you never know!

I was really mad when I wrote that review and I could hold onto that, but instead I am averaging in the time a year ago when I locked my keys in car and everything was taken care of rather quickly. The customer service people gave the driver wrong directions tho– they need to step it up.

A true necessity in the era of the road warrior.
If you drive every day, you really need this service, as you never know when your car will die, need a jump, a lockout, or just plain die.
The drivers are professionals and always know how to solve your issues.
Bravo!

AAA has been there for me since my first car when I was 15 years old. I have always had a great experience. Here in Seattle, I used AAA Insurance (which directed me to Progressive) and had a wonderful experience and very good prices. My agent, Joe Rivas, went above and beyond including dropping off paperwork to my place of work on his off hours. Then, 8 months later when I sold my vehicle, I called Joe and he remembered immediately who I was even though we hadn’t spoken since I first signed up. Joe! You are a gentleman and a scholar! The next vehicle I purchase will most definitely be covered by AAA with the aid of Mr. Rivas.

Thanks for all your help AAA. Locked my keys out of my car, NO PROBLEM says that nice AAA guy, and got into my car no problems. Ran out of gas, feeling stupid as hell because I do have a gas gage that works, and just pure stupidity thinking I could make it and fill up later. NO PROBLEM says that AAA guy happens to a lot of people. (made me feel a little better) cause BOY was i embarrassed. I AGAIN just want to say thank you to the whole team at AAA.

AAA rocks!
Back in the day, when I had an old beater, AAA came to my aid more than once. When you head out to your car after a long day of work and, try as you might, it just won’t start, having a AAA membership and a cell phone makes all seem right with the world. (Well, except that there’s still something causing your car not to start and there’s an expensive repair bill ahead. But, at least you know a tow is just a call away and you don’t have to worry about which towing company to call.)
Now, we have a nice reliable car. It starts and everything. But, we are still human and tonight my husband locked his keys in the car. Since we only have one car and the other set of keys was with me – 20 miles away — he was kinda stuck. Once again, AAA came to the rescue.
Other benefits of AAA — like the many travel discounts and being able to park right next to the monorail entrance at Disney World — make the small yearly fee more than reasonable.
The customer service staff are always friendly and helpful. I know I’ll be renewing for many years to come.

The day before heading off on the ‘The Thelma and Louise «concur & regulate» road trip to Dallas’
I got into my Cherry and she decided that she needed attention and let her alarm ring and ring and ring and ring and would not turn it off no matter what I did.
Being a helpless female who has two gay boyfriends which neither of them has cars I did what any other helpless female would do I called AAA. I explained my problem and as I was on the phone providing my information the alarm finally went off. I waited for a while and it was still off so I told AAA false alarm (no pun intended) I think I’m OK to drive home. I was but when I got home and opened the car door the alarm when off again. Cherry she’s one damn attention whore let me tell you. So I call AAA back, thankfully they had all my information I just updated my location and they said they’d have someone out with in an hour to assist me.
Fifty-​five minutes later a AAA tow truck arrives, with a nice gentleman, I was hoping for a sexy hot stud but what I got was a dad looking guy. I explain the problem to him, he starts looking and tells me that my battery is the culprit. Apparently my battery had a 7.2 charge when it needed a 7.6 or something like that, I don’t understand car talk I’m a helpless female. So he goes on to say he’s condemning my battery because it’s unsafe for me. I ask what that means and he says I need to get a new battery stat, but he has some in his truck. I say use one of those and take care of it now, I don’t have time for this I have packing to do and a dinner at El Gaucho’s to get too.
To make along story short, none of the batteries he had fit Cherry, apparently she’s big like her mother, so he charged it up and made me swear that the only place I’d drive it to would be to get a battery, I swore and he let me keep my battery and promised it wouldn’t go off while I was gone for the next two weeks. The sad thing is I never made it to dinner at El Gaucho’s but I did get Cherry in working condition so that when I returned from my vacation she’d be OK to drive and get her battery replaced.
On a side note for the ‘The Thelma and Louise «concur & regulate» road trip to Dallas’ a AAA Triptik and tourbooks were used and came in very handy on the road. I may not use AAA all the time but when I need them they always come through with flying colors.