Renewing licence at AA, pushy staff!

[fridayflash]

i went into AA today to renew my licence today, and by the time i left
i was thoroughly annoyed...not at the service regarding my licence,
but the realy pushy hard sell of AA products. such as..do you have
roadside assistance sir?..no thanks. and what do you do when you breakdown?..i fix it myself or phone family or friend for help. you fix it yourself?? [condescending look] ..yes i do. and you must be luckier than me
if your friends and family dont mind coming out [condescending tone]
i prefer to be independant myself,which is the beauty of roadside assistance
then i dont have to bother anyone else,so would you like to signup sir?
etc etc!! and then it was on to insurance policys. did i want one? no.
what would you do if you demolished a $30,000 car sir?
now you get my drift,by the time i left with my temporary licence
i was totaly annoyed and wondering if there is anywhere else
that provides licencing services? ..somewhere without an agenda!:blank:

[davereid]

I think you mean the AA, not AMI, they are just insurers !

After years of being in the AA, I left when they became a (virtual) part of the LTSA.

There was a time when the AA defended motorists from the government. But they signed up pretty quick when the LTSA offered them money !

Interestingly, Jenny Shipley attempted to bring in a national ID card called the KIWI card. Politically it crashed and burned.

But only 2 years later, we got photo-ID drivers licences. And guess what. Until the last stage of their introduction, there was a drivers licence class for - yep you got it - No licence.

So, the G'mint, having lost the battle for a national photo ID card, put it in through the back door as a drivers licence.

A neat trick of turning a qualification - a measure of competency AKA drivers licence, into the ID card that kiwis had rejected.

Hence my refusal to use my drivers licence for ID - If the G'mint want us to have an ID card they should form it as a policy, debate it, put it before select committee and face the voter over it.

[fridayflash]

oops,your dead right it was the AA:yes: thanks

[JMemonic]

lol do what I do, tell them my primary form of transport is a motorcycle hence the class 6, the car is the other half's and has insurance on it that provides roadside assistance far cheaper than the AA membership so thanks but no thanks, tends to take the wind out of their sails, (or should that be sales?).

[JMemonic]

Interestingly, Jenny Shipley attempted to bring in a national ID card called the KIWI card. Politically it crashed and burned.

But only 2 years later, we got photo-ID drivers licences. And guess what. Until the last stage of their introduction, there was a drivers licence class for - yep you got it - No licence.

So, the G'mint, having lost the battle for a national photo ID card, put it in through the back door as a drivers licence.

A neat trick of turning a qualification - a measure of competency AKA drivers licence, into the ID card that kiwis had rejected.

Hence my refusal to use my drivers licence for ID - If the G'mint want us to have an ID card they should form it as a policy, debate it, put it before select committee and face the voter over it.

Yeap and we used to have lifetime licences (well until we hit what 65), and similar firearms licences etc.

That aside we unfortunately now have many places where a form of photo ID is required, to enter where I work it is a legal requirement to carry photo ID and be able to produce it on request so the drivers licence is a favourite, how ever we will accept other forms, and one of the best is an 18 plus card, if you don't want to use your licence it might be a good idea to obtain one of these.

[McJim]

Welcome to New Zealand. It's bloody hard for any company to turn a profit here. Only way is to resort to pressure selling unfortunately.

Get used to it as it will be spreading.

[YellowDog]

I don't like the AA either and always go elsewhere when I can. My bike insurance gives free AA cover anyway.

[wickle]

i went into AA today to renew my licence today, and by the time i left
i was thoroughly annoyed...not at the service regarding my licence,
but the realy pushy hard sell of AA products. such as..do you have
roadside assistance sir?..no thanks. and what do you do when you breakdown?..i fix it myself or phone family or friend for help. you fix it yourself?? [condescending look] ..yes i do. and you must be luckier than me
if your friends and family dont mind coming out [condescending tone]
i prefer to be independant myself,which is the beauty of roadside assistance
then i dont have to bother anyone else,so would you like to signup sir?
etc etc!! and then it was on to insurance policys. did i want one? no.
what would you do if you demolished a $30,000 car sir?
now you get my drift,by the time i left with my temporary licence
i was totaly annoyed and wondering if there is anywhere else
that provides licencing services? ..somewhere without an agenda!:blank:
I thought u had your licence your not riding any more of my bikes till your fully licenced

[Swoop]

i went into AA today to renew my licence today, and by the time i left
i was thoroughly annoyed...not at the service regarding my licence,
but the realy pushy hard sell of AA products.
I find those institutions that like the hard sell method, are quite fun.

A simple response of "would you like to go and get your manager, so that I can tell him personally to shove the hard-sell crap up his arse, or can I tell you directly?" seems to get some attention.

ASB were one of the first to introduce this shit.

[sosman]

Just tell the smeghead behind the counter! yr doing AmWay & looking for a few key people & if there interested :scooter:

[TygerTung]

Yeah when I went in to book my restricted licence, the lady was trying to sell me AA breakdown coverage stuff. I told her I used to have it, but found it wasn't really worth it as I usually just fix it myself on the side of the road. She asked if I carry a toolbox around in the back of my car, I said I do actually.... That was the end of that one.

She then tried to sell me some "Great Finance Deals" on ticking up a car or somthing. I asked her that wouldn't you be better off just to save up and pay cash? She seemed to think that noone would do that, and I couldn't be bothered arguing. Such is life!

[Steam]

I do my license and rego stuff at VTNZ, they don't piss around with trying to sell you stuff. But you have to tolerate their ORANGE decor.

[faredce]

I do my license and rego stuff at VTNZ, they don't piss around with trying to sell you stuff. But you have to tolerate their ORANGE decor.

lol went there to sort out my bike rego and they were awsome.

wen i sat my learners at AA i had the lecture about being new to a bike and would no doubt need assistance any day soon! that comment pissed me off i know ill be a new rider but i really dont need to be put down jeez...so i said yes waited till she had wrote it up with a big smile on her face i must add. at which time i had a sudden change of heart. i left feeling better about myself since i had passed my test and had redeemed a bit of respect lol

[brendonjw]

Had the same experiance a couple of weeks back when i had to go sit my learners from there. I like your Idea Faredce, will deffinitly try it next time in there, Iv gota go back 3 times in the next 18 months, 1 for my restricted, 1 for my full, then a few months after that to get my car licence renewed, and dont even start me on why i cant have my car licence renewed at the same time i get my bike full so i wont have to pay for another card 3 months down the road :spanking::argue::angry2:

[FLYMO]

i went to sit my test
there was some boozehag there with her rug maggots and one of them was in the booth with me and kicking my chair
went back to the counter and told the woman to jamb it up her ass and i would come back when there were no maggots there to annoy me

[fridayflash]

Just tell the smeghead behind the counter! yr doing AmWay & looking for a few key people & if there interested :scooter:
lmao!! yea ask her if shes heard of 'passive income' etc etc,
shed run a mile!

[imdying]

Same experience when going to get an IDP. Stupid bastards won't insure a $120,000 D16RR... oh, what's that, you want to move on to business, but I want a quote on another few cars, a bike and a house...

What's that? It's close of business and you're getting fucked off with this arsehole that won't leave the counter? Not so much fun having your time wasted when the boot is on the other foot, is it dick heads?

If you've the time, waste plenty of theirs... people in the line behind you get really fucked off when there's only one server... which is great, cause next they get more pissed off customers to serve :) If they try to fob you off by getting you to stand aside and 'fill a form in', pretend to be stupid, or hard of hearing, and fill it in at the counter. Those hard sell cunts piss me off every time I go in there, but they'll never get my money for extra services.

[Iggy]

I am assuming that these AA staff are trying to sell these road side assistance and insurance deals, are more likely to make a commission on every product they sell.:spanking: I know its a pain in the arse but if there is a good dollar to be made, you wouldnt blame the seller.

[wickle]

I am assuming that these AA staff are trying to sell these road side assistance and insurance deals, are more likely to make a commission on every product they sell.:spanking: I know its a pain in the arse but if there is a good dollar to be made, you wouldnt blame the seller.
If its anything like Shell, BP, McD, KFC and the rest u could be the mystrey customer who reports that the staff member did not try to upsell then the counter sales person gets shite from the Manager who got a email or note by the dickhead on the 5th floor from Head Office if you are pissed off the upsell take the time and ring them most have a 0800 number and have thought for the staff who are only doing what they are told to do as part of they job!

[Iggy]

If its anything like Shell, BP, McD, KFC and the rest u could be the mystrey customer who reports that the staff member did not try to upsell then the counter sales person gets shite from the Manager who got a email or note by the dickhead on the 5th floor from Head Office if you are pissed off the upsell take the time and ring them most have a 0800 number and have thought for the staff who are only doing what they are told to do as part of they job!

I understand what you are saying, as I have personally worked in the service station industry for many years doing the hard sell. Have copped plenty of flack for trying it on customers but I have learnt not to push it with my regulars. I usally try to pick on the tourists and it worked most of the time.

[sunhuntin]

i never got any of that crap when i went for my restricted. i did get asked if i was interested in an AA card. i shot back with "no. i work at bp and see enough of them every day as it is!" if looks could kill... lmfao.

does LTNZ do license testing?

[Edbear]

Welcome to New Zealand. It's bloody hard for any company to turn a profit here. Only way is to resort to pressure selling unfortunately.

Get used to it as it will be spreading.


I am assuming that these AA staff are trying to sell these road side assistance and insurance deals, are more likely to make a commission on every product they sell.:spanking: I know its a pain in the arse but if there is a good dollar to be made, you wouldnt blame the seller.

It's unfortunately a fact of modern business. The poor staff don't have much choice if they want to keep their jobs! The management put the pressure on and they have to go through a "training session" on "key words and phrases" and "pressing the Hot Buttons", etc. They do get "performance bonuses" for selling, but at the same time they have to sell so many policies or plans/packages each month or face a "performance review" with the boss.

I just feel sorry for them, and maybe if you were to sympathise with the staff while politely explaining that you are not interested it will help.

[Biggles2000]

I am an Engineer and an AA member, I never thought I would ever use the breakdown service, my wife pays for it with her membership. However I slashed a 2" gash in a tyre in the middle of no where Otago Queens birthday Sunday a few years ago. The local garage would not help us, wouldent even let me use the tyre bay. Called the AA and they were simply brillant, had 3 options to get the tyre fixed, new tyre, or bike collected all in 30 min.
The AA make money from selling insurance which keeps my membership costs down, they also provide all the maps and accommodation guides free to members.

[Lee Rusty]

standing in line and hearing all the hard sell for the customer in front and then they try it all again when you get there. I just tell them I heard all that before I got to the front of the queue and I dont want any, and if I did I would get it from another provider because I had to stand in line so long I wouldnt want anyone else to suffer.

just the business i came for thanks - the hard sell is why I am no longer an AA member. Roadside assist thru my insurer is cheaper as well.

[jim.cox]

I'm another ex member

I got really farked off with amount of junk mail they sent

And to the way they sold their address list left right & centre

They went from being a motorist's organization to a marketing one

And like others, my dealings with them more recently have also not been the most pleasant.

Worth avoiding IMHO

[HungusMaximist]

I do have to say AA isn't going to be economical if you're not getting your moneys worth (in call outs).

For me, I had about 4 last year (locked keys in car, van died, flat tyre on the car but left all the tools in my garage and towed my bike within the city but had to pay the towie $10.00)

In retrospect, the 80 something dollars I paid made up for itself.

I still remember the day last year when our Uni SMC club went for group ride out to Mangawhai Heads and Macstar had a flattie and none of us had AA apart from me but we couldn't get hold of him as we broke into two groups and from where Macstar was he had no mobile signal. So he dished out $250 bucks for a towie back in to Auckland City.

[Rosie]

VTNZ FTW! :D

Even if the AA don't do the hard sell, you have to queue for ages, and the staff aren't always very knowledgeable about licence classes 2-6.
When I got my motorbike learners at AA in Rotorua, it took 1.5 hours to get the whole thing sorted out. They were so hopelessly confused by the end of it all that we couldn't figure out whether I had paid for it or not.

Vehicle testing (in Rotorua at least) are a pleasure to deal with, the staff are efficient and knowledgeable, and you don't have to queue for ages behind someone who wants help planning their entire 3 month holiday around NZ.

[wickle]

standing in line and hearing all the hard sell for the customer in front and then they try it all again when you get there. I just tell them I heard all that before I got to the front of the queue and I dont want any, and if I did I would get it from another provider because I had to stand in line so long I wouldnt want anyone else to suffer.

just the business i came for thanks - the hard sell is why I am no longer an AA member. Roadside assist thru my insurer is cheaper as well.
if you dont like the hard sale I presume you dont go to Burger King, McD KFC either cause they " would u like fries or would u like to up size " brass's me off too! I usually answer with" no thanks if what more i would have ordered two lots"

[Lee Rusty]

i dontt go to burger king Mc D's or KFC not because of the hard sell but because the food is shite

[Stormer]

I`ve been a member for years and they`ve helped me out of the shite a couple of times...lifesavers.
Just changed the insurance from the VTR which I`d just sold to my new ride the GSXR1000 k7.
Friendly, quick and helpful as service.:niceone:

[wickle]

i dontt go to burger king Mc D's or KFC not because of the hard sell but because the food is shite
I thought it was recycled plastic!

[LittleAngel]

I'm a member of AA - but do hate the hard sell crap however I do understand they are just doing their job.. I try not to shoot the messenger. :2guns: I can't fault the AA service.

Recently bought the RF and had a break down :weep: (was fuel lines were put back in the wrong order by previous owner :Oops:), of course the breakdown would be on a public holiday and we were miles away from home. the AA said no problem to pick up but they would only take to nearest point of repair - however we could pay the towee to take us home at our cost. In the end it cost us $40 out of our pocket, we did bit of research and decided that that 1 call out paid for the year membership plus saved us heaps!! :2thumbsup