It’s time to renew my US Rider membership, but I’ve recently read some disgruntled reviews about poor customer service and really long wait times for assistance. Fortunately, I’ve never had to use it. Any recommendations for another company?
I too have read some poor reviews over the last year or two; but, I still stand behind them. My experiences have been in general very positive. When it came time to renew this past March I did so without hesitation. I’ve had to use them about 10-12 times over the years both with fully loaded horse trailers and with my cars. I’ve only had one experience that wasn’t the most overwhelming because the guy showed up (I had a 4-horse fully loaded rig) when a tire blew out on my truck while on the way to a horse show. The wait was reasonable for where I was located but he didn’t have a jack large enough to accommodate my rig. Fortunately I always carry my own jacks of adequate size as well as everything else needed to change tires - I just am not strong enough to do it on my own anymore. Though I had to help him, the tire did get changed and we were safely on our way in less than an hour of him arriving so in the end the result was the answer to my needs. My calls have always been answered promptly. I’ve had them call back every time after dispatching someone to give me ETA and call back again to make sure our situations had been resolved. I know others who haven’t been as well served; however, I look at it much like commercial haulers - so much depends on the participating vendors/drivers.
I will also add that I gave feed back on the vendor who sent someone for a loaded rig ill equipped and I received a response from US Rider about a week later stating that they always tell the vendor/provider all the details of the situation that they’ve been provided - type of problem, make of vehicle and if animals are in tow or are in need of a second trailer- and that they were no longer going to use ‘that’ vendor because they found another one in the area to work with when needed. So, for me I feel I’ve received more than reasonable customer service. I’ve used AAA and other insurance sponsored services for cars and rigs that did not provide me with anywhere near as much customer service.
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I’m assuming you saw this active thread in Around The Farm?
Lots of mixed reviews of US Rider. Some good, several negative, including my recent negative experience.
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I also have never had a good experience with US Rider including them leaving me stranded for close to three hours in Michigan January. I’m definitely looking for an alternative.
I kept calling US Rider, they kept claiming someone would be there in 20 minutes and I sat in subzero temperatures waiting. I asked for the company that was coming and when I called them directly they said US rider never contacted them. I ended up arranging my own tow.
I called US rider to complain and they were very flippant about it. They said their quality of service just depends on the area you are in.
US Rider (well probably all of them?) are dependent on the service providers in the area where you need help. They don’t have tow truck drivers on staff, all they have is a contact list. They can’t make a tow truck appear out of thin air if there are none working on a Sunday night, or if they’re all busy in bad weather.
They do have contacts that not all of us have at our disposal. When a friend and I were traveling cross country and did not want to continue after a flat without replacing the spare, they were able to summon the manager of a stock yard to let us in and allow us to put the horses in pens overnight. I’m sure I wouldn’t have known who to call.
I’ve had a US Rider subscription for years and paid them even when I wasn’t really hauling that much, just because I want them to continue to exist. It’s an extra layer of protection, but I do not expect miracles.
I’m not condoning misbehavior if they’re lying and saying they talked to a specific provider and did not. That would get a letter written to management with names and dates, for sure.
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Thanks, just read through the thread. Seems like there are only two companies to choose from.
