I've recently joined AAA,
(not AA),
for reasons to be explained later,
which will promise about 2 months of non-cooking posts,
but will promise a steady diet
of restaurants, continental breakfasts,
drive ins, diners, and dives,
a Whup Ass of Fun,
the ersatz of history I throw in,
and scenery.
Oh the scenery!
Mr. Hawthorne and I are going
on a major road trip,
but more about that later.
I was going through the welcome letter/brochure
from Triple A
and found I have numerous discounts
available to me now
at selected places.
To wit:
Hertz
Penske
Lenscrafters
DirecTV
Sirius Satellite Radio
Target.com
Barnes & Noble
AAA Prescription Savings
SeaWorld
Hyatt Hotels & Resorts
Reebok Outlet Stores
Rockport
Hampton Inn
New York & Company
Busch Gardens
Dell
Universal Studios Florida
Best Western
Banana Republic Factory Store
FTD.com
Starwood
Fairfield Inn
Marriott
Hard Rock Cafe (Like I'd go there.)
Westin Hotels & Resorts
Sheraton Hotels & Resorts
Gap Outlet
The UPS Store
What's the difference between
a hotel and a resort?
Anyways,
back to the gist of my post.
I notice my AAA membership
gives me a discount with DirecTV.
I have an account with DirecTV.
So's I call up DirecTV.
I get Tony.
I give him my name and account number.
I have a terribly hard time understanding him
and had to keep asking him to repeat himself.
He apologizes for the slow service on the computer.
But the entire time
I hear fingers flying furiously over the keys.
Minutes later,
he takes my question.
"I have Triple A, Tony.
It says here in my membership brochure
that I get a discount with DirecTV.
I want to get the discount."
Tony has no idea what I'm talking about,
has no idea what DirecTV is,
and has no idea what AAA is,
but he finds out quickly
to whom to send me.
In the meantime,
I found out that Tony was in the Philipines.
When Mr. Hawthorne heard that Tony was in the Philipines,
he called out, "The Philipines are beautiful."
Tony hears him and asks,
"Oh, you have been to my country?"
Mr. Hawthorne replies,
"No. My uncle was in the Philipines
in the Battle of Manilla in WW II
and he told me it was beautiful."
Tony assures us
it is indeed beautiful.
Tony connects me to DonnaFromGeorgia
and she's a peach!
I immediately recognize her accent.
I explain to Donna
that I want to take advantage of
the DirecTV discount.
She says, "No, I'm sorry. That's just for new customers."
"Excuse me," I say, "but that sucks."
"Yes, it does," she happily replies.
"Donna, where are you from?"
"Georgia."
"I thought so.
So Donna,
you're telling me that I have to be a new customer
to take advantage of this discount
to which I believe I am entitled
as I've been
a loyal and paying-on-time customer for x-years/y-months?"
"Yes, I'm sorry, but that's correct."
"OK, so what if I cancel DirecTV
and re-sign up as a new customer?
Would that work?"
"No. You'd have to not be a customer
for at least two years."
"Say whaaaa???"
"Would you mind holding so's I can see
if I can do anything for you?"
"Not at all. Thank you very much, Donna."
.
.
.
.
\/
"I can take $10 off your bill
for the next 12 months.
Will that be OK?"
"Yes, Donna.
Thank you so much
and have a lovely evening."
"You too, hon."
I love good ol' Southern Hospitality.
My AAA membership has already paid for itself.
Not to mention all the maps I've gotten.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
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Good for you, Rosie!!
ReplyDeleteI have belonged to AAA for years but never knew about Direct Tv discount...guess I needed to read the enrollment info....you really have alot going on and planned...looking forward to the trip reports...but do you really want to leave that great bathroom?
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