In this world of defective products, broken promises and surly customer service, it is only right to give praise to those who buck the trend. The object of my affections today: AAA.

My car wouldn't start yesterday, so I called Triple A. As usual, the person on the phone was sweet as pie as she told me how sorry she was for my trouble and that she was glad I'd broken down at home instead of on the road. She dispatched a fine gentleman to come out to my house and give the car a jump.

No luck on the jump, though. The young man took a look under the hood, thought it was my starter (which it turns out it is) and quickly called a tow truck. The tow truck couldn't fit in my back yard, so they had to put the car in neutral and push it up my rather long driveway. They they then had to call a second tow truck because for whatever reason a 4-weel drive car has to go on a flatbed tow truck.

My regular garage just happened to have the Mechanic on vacation this week, so the tow truck driver cheerfully took me and the car to a different garage while telling me what the problems might be and what I should watch out for when the garage inspected the vehicle.

All of this cost me no money, thanks to Triple A. (The repairs to the car are setting me back $300, however.)

Now I have a history of being against insurances and warranties, and AAA is sort of like a warranty. I could have just paid for a tow truck out of my own pocket & it would have been about the same cost as my Triple A membership. What's nice about the membership, though, is the fact there's no hassle. If I didn't have Triple A and the tow truck came, they'd want me to pay in cash, which I carry very little of. And I can't prove this, but I think they treat you a little nicer than they would if you weren't a AAA member, because they want to remain the go-to towing service for AAA, and that's not going to happen if they get complaints.

I'm not happy about the car, but delighted at the fact that the whole mess was taken care of without me having to blow my top, which is the usual result when these situations arise.

Thanks Triple A!