You may remember a few weeks back you posted my blog about being stuck on I-25 in Wyoming and the dismal failure that was Verizon Roadside Assistance. I thought I'd drop you a line and give you an update.

I just got off the phone with a Latrina Jackson, she called to apologize for the troubles I had that day. Apparently someone high up at Verizon Wireless reads The Consumerist. Based on that blog, they have reviewed the call tapes and according to Ms. Jackson, "That call did not go the way it was supposed to." She claims the operator I spoke to that day is no longer taking calls and is being put through their training program again.

In an attempt to make me feel better about the whole ordeal, they took my mailing address and are issuing a check to cover the cost of the fuel delivery. This was way more than I was expecting. I don't know if you guys post updates on these stories, but perhaps your readers would like to know that while I still consider the words, "Can I connect you to Verizon Wireless Roadside Assistance?" a death threat, but at least they can admit when they made a mistake.

Congrats, Jason! We're glad that Verizon Wireless stepped in to make things right, and that they're retraining the CSR who failed to grasp the meaning of "roadside assistance."

Here are the morals of this story:

1. Never EVER travel without extra fuel.

2. If someone ever says to you, "Can I connect you to Verizon Wireless Roadside Assistance?" They are making a direct threat on your life.

So yesterday I drove from my home in Casper, Wyoming down to Loveland Colorado. Its about a 250 mile drive South down I-25. I was driving a 2003 GMC Yukon XL. I passed Chugwater Wyoming at about 11:00, checked the fuel gauge and decided that half a tank should get me into Cheyenne, 45 miles away.

23 miles later the needle of the fuel gauge finally unstuck and dropped to E in about a second and a half. Then the car sputtered and died. I was out of fuel with no sign of civilization for 23 miles to the North and 22 miles to the South. I raised my hood, hoping that some kind soul would stop and perhaps offer a ride.

I had been in and out of cellular service for the last two hours. In that time my phone was trying desperately to find a signal, which drains the battery at a horrendous rate of speed. I had one bar left on the battery so I went looking for my car charger. I didn't bring it. I don't know anyone in Cheyenne, so I dialed 411. The operator answered and I asked her for a tow truck in Cheyenne, Wyoming. She said to me, "Can I connect you with Verizon Wireless Roadside Assistance?" I said, "Why yes you can, I didn't know Verizon offered Roadside Assistance."

So she connects me. I spent the next 15 minutes punching in my credit card number, my phone number, the last four digits of my SSN etc. etc. etc. Then I finally get a live person on the phone to help me. Goes like this:

Her: Thank you for calling Verizon Wireless Roadside Assistance, how can I help you?
Me: Hi, I'm out of fuel on I-25 23 miles North of Cheyenne, Wyoming next to mile marker 30. Can you send some fuel out?
Her: I can help you with that, are you in a safe place?
Me: I'm on the shoulder of I-25, I'm pretty safe.
Her: Ok, where exactly are you?
Me: .... Interstate 25 southbound, mile marker 30, 23 miles north of Cheyenne Wyoming.
(No shit, this was her next question.)
Her: Are you at home?
Me: What? No, I'm next to I-25 in the middle of nowhere.
Her: Could you meet someone at your home?
Me: Are you serious? Lady, I'm broken down in the middle of the prarie here!
Her: I understand sir, is there a mile marker or an exit near you?
Me: Yeah, like I said, I'm at mile marker 30.
Her: Ok, is there a town nearby?
Me: Yeah, Cheyenne is 23 miles away.
Her: Ok, what is the zip code there?
Me: How the hell would I know the zip code of Cheyenne Wyoming?
Her: Sir, I can't do anything without a zip code.
Me: Can't you look it up somehow?
Her: Please hold.

Fifteen minutes go by, my phone is beeping its battery death rattle in my ear.

Her: Sir? Are you still there?
Me: Yes I am, but my phone is about to die, is someone on the way?
Her: I can't find a zip code for Cheyenne. Oh, wait, let me try this one....

I'm on hold again. Three minutes pass.

Her: Sir, what sort of service do you need?
Me: I don't care, send a tow truck, or a locksmith or a taxi or anyone that will bring me fuel!
Her: ok....

My phone dies.

So I figure she's got someone on the way and I wait. Its 12:30pm at this point in time. I took some pictures to pass the time.

I also picked up some of the bottles and cans from the roadside, carried them a few hundred yards off the road into an empty field and had a little target practice.

Four hours pass. No help has arrived. Finally, someone stops, this is the first time since I've been there. He let me use his phone, I called my voicemail. I had a message from the Roadside Assistance bitch that went like this;

"Sir, I was unable to find any services in Cheyenne. Thank you for calling Verizon Wireless Roadside Assistance, have a good day."

She left me to twist. A 12 hour walk in any direction, she knew full well that I couldn't call anyone else, she just left me out there.

I then called 411 again and asked for a tow truck. The operator said, "Can I connect you to Verizon Wireless Roadside Assistance?" I told her to go have sex with herself in a tirade of swearing that can only be described as Yosemite Sam uncensored.

One hour later Doug's Towing from Cheyenne was there, he collected $150 and I was back on the road.

"Verizon Wireless left me to die. With pics!" [AR15.com]

Dear Consumerist,

My girlfriend and I bought a new car from Classic Toyota. Along with it we bought the extended warranty. I know these usually pad the pockets of the seller, but she's a high milage driver since she drives for work quite a bit, and since we were able to haggle on the pricing a bit, it came out to about the same price as a AAA membership, and comes with free roadside assistance. I figured it would be worth it. Boy was I wrong, apparently.

On the 9th, she ran out of gas on the freeway I was at work at the time so I couldn't run to the gas station and pick up a gas can. Well, that stinks. Good thing we have roadside assistance, right? Wrong. After an hour's wait (perfectly reasonable, I wasn't upset yet and nor was she) the employee from roadside assistance pulled up in the eastbound lane (she was in the westbound, and told the call center that multiple times) and yelled across multiple lanes of rush hour traffic "Hey are you the one who needs help? Are you out of gas?". She told him that he was and he drove saying "I'm going to go get you some gas". So, apparently when you call up roadside assistance and told them you run out of gas, they don't actually bring gas with them?

Anyway, he drives ahead to the next freeway exit, gets some gas, and comes back westbound to "help" her out. When he gets out of his car she immediately notices something is up. He has a tiny gas can in his hand. She knew immediately that there was no way it held even a gallon of gas. He put it in the tank and told her to start it up. Obviously, it didn't work. My girlfriend drives a Rav 4 with a 15 gallon tank. Half a gallon wouldn't even fill the fuel line. She asked how much gas he put in the car, and the man lied and told her it was 2 gallons! They pushed the car forward a bit to make sure it was on level ground, and it still didn't work. I told her via text message to leave the key in the forward position for a bit to let fuel enter the engine. Still no dice. She asked him again how much gas the man put in. He said "It's two gallons, but half a gallon should start this car. Half a gallon should definitely start this car".

He gets back in his van, and talks on his walkie talkie for a bit, then comes back out. My girlfriend asks if he can go get her some more gas. Even pretending that the guy actually gave her 2 gallons of gas, we were entitled to up to 3 plus up $100 for repairs plus a tow. The roadside assistance guys response to more gas? "No. They don't pay me enough for that." Then he got in to his van and drove off! We called up the dealership and raised hell with the general manager, and he eventually got someone to come out and give my girlfriend 2 gallons of gas. But all told my girlfriend spend 3 hours on the side of the freeway in 95 degree heat and 60% humidity because the roadside assistance guy "doesn't get paid enough. Thank GOD my girlfriend was on the way to pick up my infant daughter from day-care as opposed to driving home with her.

I've been wrestling ever since with the dealership and First Extended, the company that handles our contract. First extended tells me I should be calling the company that actually came out. The company they sub-contract to. Roadside Rescue of Cleveland, LLC doesn't return my phone calls. The dealership handed me a $25 gas voucher and told me I can cancel my warranty and have the prorated amount refunded. This outcome is completely unacceptable. Do they have any idea how much day care charges for keeping your baby over? A hell of a lot more than $25. That's how much.

Where the heck am I supposed to go with this, Consumerist? I can't get anyone to talk to me, let alone help me out!

We agree that the contractor Roadside Rescue is at fault and Toyota is also responsible which is perhaps why they gave you a $25 gas voucher and are willing to refund your warranty. We think you should take your voucher and refund and be glad that you are rid of a dysfunctional relationship. Companies usually won't compensate you for events that happened because of their blunder, whether it be lost wages or day care fees so chances are you are out of luck in that area. Also, Consumerist readers might already know that extended car warranties are a usually rip off.

(Photo: Getty)

Here's part of Chuck's email:

After dealing with Progressive executive customer service for most of this week I have finally gotten a resolution. Rachel at Progressive is issuing a formal apology from Cross Country (the outsourced roadside assistance people) and an AMEX gift card.

They of course say that this is an unusual circumstance and call volumes were extremely high at 11:30am on a Sunday...

...I asked for a credit in the amount of my October premium and was turned down by Brian Passell, Divisional President.

But the issue has been resolved to Chuck's satisfaction, so we're happy for him and hope his step-daughter has a better weekend coming up.

(Photo: Getty)

The woman's stepfather, who pays for the insurance, called Progressive Monday morning to find out which part of "roadside assistance" Progressive doesn't understand:

I told my story to a customer service representative who then without me asking transferred me to a manager, Brandy. Brandy was helpful to the extent that she tried to diagnose the problem with the outsourced call center to verify my story. She pulled wait times and various other reports none of which seemed very helpful to either of us. At around 12:45 she said that she had to pull a report and would call me back in 30 to 60 minutes. I am now about to leave the office at 5:30 with no call and no way to reach her.

(Thanks to Chuck!)

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Progressive's Roadside Assistance page
(Photo: Getty)