This AAA employee is refusing to tow a car with a Biden sticker on the vehicle. Let's make him famo

[riversedge]

The next tweet following this says the man has been terminated.


This AAA employee is refusing to tow a car with a Biden sticker on the vehicle. Let’s make him famous...
Raised fist
Raised fist
Raised fist
Raised fist
Raised fist

Link to tweet

?s=20

[SheltieLover]

1. K&R!

[hlthe2b]

2. Without knowing that the owner requested the tow, this story could be interpreted the opposite

Just sayin. (My ongoing irritation with context-less tweets)

[ret5hd]

7. I don't understand what you are saying.

What other interpretation is there?

[hlthe2b]

10. Really?

Ok. Let me give you the contrasting example This tow operator could have been called to maliciously tow a vehicle that was quite legally parked at the side of the road while the owner went to seek gas, as but one example. Do you not see the difference? Context matters.

[ret5hd]

13. I wasn't maliciously asking... I didn't understand.

[hlthe2b]

14. No problem. I didn't realize I was being unclear.

[ret5hd]

16. Should the people involved started videoing earlier?

What should be done to prevent this confusion?

[hlthe2b]

27. Added a simple phrase to the tweet!

--that conveyed that the tow operator refused the owner request.

I don't want to argue with you, but is this really so difficult?

[mr_lebowski]

93. Apparently some have been lucky enough to never have had their vehicle towed against their will

And dealt with the absolutely corrupt system of bloodsucking cockroaches and low-lives involved.

[obamanut2012]

19. You ahve to show your ID and/or AAA card

They don't just tow some random car. They need your keys, make contact with someone, etc.

[hlthe2b]

29. Sometimes LEO engage these same local tow operators that AAA contracts.

and those independent tow operators in some locales also serve the general public (non-AAA members), so no that would not necessarily apply. I know this first hand, given time spent in several less populated areas recently. In fact, most of the tow operators nationwide that AAA contracts with are independent operators (and that is the case here if you read the response from AAA).

Bottom line is that no context on tweets is an increasingly irritating issue, whether you want to dissect the point so finely or not.

[DLCWIdem]

80. Well just for clarification. It is not for sure he was an independent contractor

Just a surmise that is probably correct

[hlthe2b]

81. Read AAA's statement down stream. He was a contractor, as are MOST AAA tow operators.

They acknowledge as much and have cancelled the contract with him.

[olegramps]

38. Your objections seem without any justification. The service was paid for without stupid reservations

[hlthe2b]

39. BULLSHIT

I don't know what your problem is, but consider yourself ignored. You can disagree without posting a ridiculous and obtuse stating of facts not in evidence just to be contrarian.

[olegramps]

65. Thanks I appreciate that. I am not surprised.

I stated that I just don't understand your objections. I was not meaning to be critical or insulting. I still think the actions taken by the driver were stupid and that seems to be in agreement with the Tow Company's actions. Just hook the car and tow it that is what he is getting paid for.

[mr_lebowski]

95. Maybe I can spell this out in a more understandable fashion ...

The OP (and tweet) says that the driver refused to tow a car with a Biden sticker on it.

This could mean one of two things:
a) The driver was called on at the owner request to tow his vehicle. Driver is an asshole.
b) The driver was called on either by the cops or a property owner or someone other than the driver to tow the car (away, which will cost the owner a bundle and be a huge inconvenience) and he saw a Biden sticker and refused to tow it. Driver is way cool.

Just because a driver has a AAA sticker on the truck doesn't mean they don't ALSO tow cars in the punitive way as well as the helpful way. Most AAA tow truck drivers do NOT work for AAA, they are contractors. As was true here.

The complaint was that the Tweet/OP was not specific as to these two wildly diverging possibilities WRT the underlying story.

Make sense now?

[Bengus81]

75. That was my first thought........

[riversedge]

8. This is a memo from AAA

Link to tweet

?s=20

[hlthe2b]

12. Good on AAA. I'm not denying the importance of the story--just that sans any context nor video

spelling out exactly what was going on, this could have been interpreted in the exact OPPOSITE manner.

Context matters-- EVEN and in fact, especially on twitter.

[riversedge]

17. agree. I actually searched for a story (my searching skills are in need of practice), then

I found this tweet.

Have a good day.

[left-of-center2012]

25. I totally agree with you

Based solely on that first tweet the driver might not have been a AAA member and refused to pay.

I'm glad we got further clarification.

[Rebl2]

35. Glad to

hear he was fired.

[pazzyanne]

41. AAA has a contract with each of their customers to provide emergency service when needed.

Have used AAA for 73 years and never have they broken that contract with me. Not surprised that that driver was fired, as they have a 118 year reputation to protect (established in 1902).

[usaf-vet]

88. Well thanks for this post it reminded me that we were never reimbursed for a towing fee that we...

.... paid out of pocket. There was NO local AAA contractor.

The pickup truck was blocking a small business driveway.

We finally resorted to calling a towing service our garage recommended. They picked up the truck 30 minute later.

Dropped it at the garage. They replaced a warrantied starter the only charge was the towing fee. Which we paid. I have all the receipts.

When I got home I called AAA and complained they NEVER responded back.

Covid times maybe but after reading this, two things will happen. I will recall AAA. Two we WILL NOT RENEW it ever again. This actually is not the first time we had a problem with AAA locally. The nearest apparent AAA provider (at the time) is 70 miles away.

[PatrickforO]

58. Well, I just called AAA myself, before I saw this post immediately above, with the memo

from AAA about no longer using River's Edge.

While I hear the arguments on here about context, and admit that I might not have called had I read the arguments about what this MIGHT be instead of what it looks like, because of the lack of context, I did call.

AAA is an institution. They've been around for YEARS, and are part of what we depend on. We have a long way's to go, but when an organization like AAA won't 'serve' you because of a bumper sticker, that is not OK.

[JohnnyRingo]

67. Most certainly should be included in the OP.

I figured at first there may be another explanation for what happened there. Maybe he didn't tow it because the motorist was hostile and told him to go fuck his Trump loving ass, for one example.

[we can do it]

76. That's not how AAA works.

[hlthe2b]

77. AAA contracts tow operators who also tow for the general public. These are not AAA employees

as AAA acknowledges, but contract operators. They rightfully canceled their contract with this guy.

As a decades-long AAA customer, I'm well aware of how AAA works.

[kcr]

90. You aren't the only one

At first reading, I thought it meant the tow truck driver was pro-Biden and that's why he was refusing to tow the car. I don't get why you're being attacked over this. Do that many DUers not realize that plenty of cars are towed without the owner's consent?

[hlthe2b]

91. Thank you... It seems I've incited a need to argue for the heck of it. Maybe a stress relief

venting phenomenon.

[NoMoreRepugs]

3. As a geezer with white hair let me assure DU not

all of us are douchebag Deplorables.

[Dave in VA]

20. Yeah Geezers!

As a fellow old geezer, with very little hair, I would like to recommend your reply!

[iscooterliberally]

64. I grew my hair so long that the other end came out.

I have since graduated from a forehead to a 'fivehead'.

[LuckyCharms]

60. You're a geezer with white hair? I'm a white haired duffer...

Stages of old man:

Duffer
Codger
Geezer
Coot

[MontanaMama]

68. Okay...

Your post made me laugh out loud.

[LuckyCharms]

69. I may have lied about being a duffer...

I'm starting to do the whole "get off my lawn" thing. I think only coots do that.

[MontanaMama]

72. I am a 56 year old woman and

I definitely have a “get off my lawn” thing brewing. What does that make me? I’m scared to ask... I

[LuckyCharms]

79. Noooo....it only works for men.

I'll give you an example.

Have you ever heard of the "old man smell"? There is this smell that attaches itself to old men. It's a real thing. A very distinctive smell. There is a scientific reason for it too, but I can't remember what it is.

For the same reason that there is not an "old woman smell", there are no names for women when they pass through various stages of life.

As an aside, there are two stages of being a coot. The most severe stage is when another man passes the coot on the sidewalk, a complete stranger who is minding his own business, and the coot gives him a dirty look and says "fucker".

[MontanaMama]

84. OMG!

You should write a book.l.or at least a pamphlet. Bookmarking tonsils the spouse after work. This is awesome.

[druidity33]

98. Um.. Maiden, Matron, Crone? nt.

[paleotn]

63. At least you have hair...

This geezer keeps what little is left just for old times sake.

[trc]

73. I seem to be storing more and more of mine

in my ears. Seems inefficient.

[paleotn]

89. Ha! Same. What the hell is up with that?

[riversedge]

4. Now Trump cultists are telling AAA they will be terminating their contracts..

Link to tweet

?s=20

[durablend]

6. Well if I were AAA

I wouldn't renew their membership from 2012 either!

[montana_hazeleyes]

28. 😃😃😃😃

😎

[pazzyanne]

42. Good catch! nt

[malaise]

50. Typo

2021

[phylny]

31. It doesn't look like this person you flagged is a Trump cultist.

It looks like they're upset that this person didn't tow the car.

[Hortensis]

40. Blow hot, Stalled. There's NO WAY AAA would allow bigoted towers

who contract with them to refuse service to AAA members. It's also very likely StalledBrain himself won't follow through after his wife weighs in.

[dalton99a]

5. AAA's response:

Link to tweet

[RAB910]

9. Lost the election and lost his contract with AAA all in one week

BWAHAHAHA!

[Piasladic]

36. Cackle Cackle- nt

[Roisin Ni Fiachra]

11. Just joined AAA two weeks ago. They give me four 100 mile tows per year.

An offer I couldn't refuse.

[MineralMan]

47. My wife and I have been members for three decades.

Recently, my old Ford Ranger's brakes failed. I called AAA and the tow truck arrived within 30 minutes, put my sad old Ranger on the flatbed and towed it to the auto repair place. i was close to home, so i walked back to the house and drove over to the auto repair shop, where the truck was, and arranged for the repairs.

Cost to me for the tow: $0.00.

I rarely need their services, but every time I have needed them, they showed up promptly and took care of the situation quickly.

BTW, there is a Veterans for Biden sticker on the tailgate of my pickup.

[Roisin Ni Fiachra]

55. Yes, the savings on just one tow can be very substantial.

I have a Defend The Earth sticker on my Jeep, which is risky here. Where I live, if I put a Biden Sticker on a vehicle, there is a good chance the windshield would have been smashed, or the brake lines cut, etc.

[SCantiGOP]

62. AAA is well worth it

I have twice had a flat tire while in my office parking garage. They came, put on the spare and I could just take the flat to the shop that weekend for a patch.

[llashram]

15. this close to President-elect

Joe Biden's victory, I think you are on very safe ground in your interpretation of this event.

[erpowers]

18. This Is Just Stupid

There is no reason to not do your job because someone has a sticker for a political candidate. Even if this two truck driver was a Biden supporter and did not want to tow a Trump supporters vehicle I would say the person is being stupid. Unless the Biden, or Trump supporter insulted the tow truck driver for being a supporter of a candidate they opposed there would be no real reason not to tow the vehicle because of a political candidate sticker.

[davsand]

21. He isn't a AAA employee. He works for/owns a towing company.

The individual tow companies have agreements with AAA. If one tow company can't or won't provide service some other one can in most areas. Not saying it wouldn't be annoying or inconvenient, but it really is some asshole driver acting the fool.

Not trying to hate on tow truck folks, but I have met both good ones and some really stupid ones over the years.





Laura

[exboyfil]

22. All money is green

I do wonder about the celebrations on the board when prominent Republicans are chased out of restaurants for example. I always thought it was bad optics and counterproductive.

[Renew Deal]

23. I don't think tow truck drivers for AAA work for AAA

They are locally dispatched and don't work for AAA.

[pazzyanne]

46. AAA has a contract with companies to execute their contracts with customers.

Their guarantee is that their members will recieve emergency roadside services - end of story. The guy lost his job because he did not forfill the AAA contract his company had with AAA.

[Renew Deal]

54. I agree

My point is that he’s not an employee which we both seem to understand.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

24. One of my worst experiences was getting towed...

... by the most racist white guy that I've ever personally met. (The owner of a private towing company in Huber Heights OH.)

The fat-ass looked like the stereotype of a bearded old white guy at a Trump rally.

His anti-Obama comments clearly bothered me, despite my silence, so then he turned up the dial of his racist comments.

About every three sentences, he'd boast about how he'd unhooked cars and kicked out passengers if they annoyed him at all. He also bragged that he was a retired union worker and an independent owner to "stay busy", so any complaints from n-words and their friends meant nothing to him.

It was a fairly brief tow to a repair shop, thankfully, because I couldn't stand to be near him much longer.

That was about 10 to 12 years ago.

Edit: He waited until after my car was hooked up and I was in his cab before the verbal rape.

[Ilsa]

37. I hope there was/is a social media site with

ratings so you could explain the threat, hostage-taking, etc.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

43. I looked for towing companies in Huber Heights OH...

... after my post, but I'm not sure if he's listed anymore. I know the company had his name in it, but I can't remember it now.

I didn't have a cellphone back then, so his veiled threats of abandoning me and my car in a secluded area kept me quiet. I had called him from a business' phone on my way to work (after notifying my employer that I'd be late to work), and I had a loaner car awaiting me at the car dealership.

I remember that he demanded payment in cash, and he also asked over the phone if I was a AAA member. I said "No", and he replied that was good because he didn't like AAA. That struck me as odd, but I had no idea he'd be such as asshole later.

Edit: I bought a cheap flipper phone soon after that experience, so recalling the incident helped me estimate how long I've had a mobile phone.

[Ilsa]

82. Wow, what an experience.

There are some horrible people out there, supposed to be "helpers" of one kind or another, and they are really just a-holes. I'm sure he cheated Uncle Sam out of plenty of tax revenue, too, with cash-only payment. Even a decade ago, who carries $70-100 for a cash-only emergency?

Who knows? Maybe he got busted for one of his hateful behaviors?

[left-of-center2012]

26. Not a AAA driver

Not an employee of AAA.

[pazzyanne]

48. AAA has a contract with companies to execute their contracts with customers.

Their guarantee is that their members will recieve emergency roadside services - end of story. The guy lost his job because he did not forfill the AAA contract his company had with AAA.

[cwydro]

56. He didn't lose his job that I can see.

Just won’t be doing any contracted work for AAA anymore.

[Bengus81]

78. Which could be a large account, but yeah not fired.

[Doodley]

30. He put the triple asshole into AAA.

[Sanity Claws]

32. River Edge has a contract with AAA

River Edge breached the terms of its contract with AAA by not providing the towing service. Therefore AAA terminated the contract with River Edge.

River Edge employed the driver. Any word on whether River Edge has responded? It might be too small to have a twitter account.

[Sanity Claws]

33. More complete information

https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/2020/11/aaa-cuts-ties-with-oregon-tow-truck-driver-who-refused-to-help-biden-supporter.html

The driver has been disciplined by Rivers Edge Towing but this article does not say fired. According to Rivers Edge, this driver will no longer be used for AAA towing but apparently will be used in other towing jobs.
It looks like Rivers Edge has been able to salvage its relationship with AAA by taking this action.

[Scruffy1]

44. Tow truck drivers are often not employees,

They are usually contract workers paid by the tow.

[Tanuki]

59. So, if a non-AAA driver calls Rivers Edge for a tow, they will still send this idiot out

to do the job, only to potentially refuse once he gets there and strand the driver if he doesn't like their political persuasion? Bad solution👎

[kacekwl]

45. This post is something trump would tweet. No

context no explanation. Should be removed.

[pazzyanne]

49. The difference is DUers research to find the facts.

This post inspired the research gene in us.

[nsd]

52. I agree that more context would be better.

People shouldn't have to do research to figure out what a post means.

In this case, it could mean that (1) a pro-Trump driver refused to help a Biden supporter or (2) a pro-Biden driver declined to tow the car of a fellow Biden supporter (who didn't want their car towed).

[womanofthehills]

53. If you are really interested in the post - just tap it and it will open in Twitter

And usually all the info people know will be posted.

[Fla Dem]

51. They are not AAA employees. AAA contracts with towing companies.

AAA can terminate their contract with the towing company, but it's up to the towing company to fire the driver. However, the driver probably owns the towing comapny.

[cwydro]

57. Damn, that kid filming has one of the most annoying voices ever.

Arg.

[Liberal In Texas]

61. Never had a problem with AAA tow truck guys, as a matter of fact they're usually

very helpful and cordial.

But there are sure a lot of tow truck drivers out there who are real assholes. They drive too aggressively.

I once had one who thought I wasn't driving fast enough after a pretty good snowfall with streets that hadn't been plowed yet. He got up on my bumper and essentially chased me until I pulled over into a gas station lot. Then he followed me in and jumped out of his truck and started to charge in my direction. I drove out of the lot and was gone before he was able to get back into his truck and start it up again. (This was before cellphones, so there wasn't an option to call 911.)

[pandr32]

66. I am so glad he was fired

He's not a young guy, likely isn't wealthy, and will need to live on something. Social Security?

[Liberal In Texas]

70. He wasnt fired. He just lost his AAA contract jobs.

He's still out there refusing to tow "libruls."

[MontanaMama]

71. I've had AAA for 30 years.

They contract local towing/service companies for their roadside service. AAA always asks for feedback after an interaction or service call. I’ve known them to be very responsive. I had one tow truck driver that bent the axel on our trailer when repairing a flat and AAA made sure the company they contracted replaced the axel at no charge.

Further, there was a tow truck company in our city that openly defied the mask mandate with signage at their facility and on social media. I noticed that they were a AAA contracted company and called AAA to inform them. The AAA agent I spoke with said they’d received several complaints. Brown’s towing is no longer contracted by AAA as a result.

I’m confident AAA isn’t the problem here. This particular driver is the problem and AAA can’t do anything other than not use the company this maskhole works for.

[rwsanders]

74. AAA supported George Bush (if I remember correctly). There are other options:

for vets, if you have USAA auto insurance (you should), it includes roadside assistance.
Better World Auto Club (I have no experience with them) advertises in Sierra Magazine.
https://www.betterworldclub.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9vfw66z47AIViLzACh1DewDeEAAYAiAAEgJKSvD_BwE

So why use AAA at all?

[njhoneybadger]

83. There is a difference between a AAA employee and an independent contractor's employee.

[LAS14]

85. I tweeted for about the 4th time in my life!!!! nt

[BobTheSubgenius]

86. Even though he's been fired, I think this should follow him around for a while.

I've never known a tow truck operator that wasn't paid on a piece-work basis, so losing a good chunk of his potential customer base would have to hurt.

[treestar]

92. I wonder if he is in a red state?

Even so, it is stupid on his part. AAA would be a large contract, I would think.

[mr_lebowski]

94. Truck says Oregon on the door (nt)

[BrightKnight]

87. They dealt with it and AAA has rescued me a number of times.

[Blue Owl]

96. Hey pal, the AAA ain't the KKK

[Cha]

97. Rt.. Bye Felicia.. rather be brainwashed

than have your job.

[Lisa0825]

99. I had AAA for 2 years, and used them twice. BOTH times their system

for sending a driver from the nearest location failed, and sent them to a different, far away location. The first time, I had to wait 3 hours for help. The second time, I was at almost 2 hours, when an independent driver saw me stranded at the top of the Galveston Causeway, and pulled over to help, so I canceled the tow.

AAA will never get another cent from me. I made a complaint to AAA and no one ever even followed up with me to try to keep me as a customer!

Many people don't even know that their auto insurance often includes roadside assistance coverage, and so do some credit cards too. I found out my insurance has me covered.