I needed AAA service last year, because of a dead battery. There were no delays while on the call, and and a service truck arrived in less than an hour to start my vehicle.
They called back while I was at the shop to verify that the service went OK.
BTW, the dead battery was about 22 months old, and was replaced free.
We are not usually looking for a business on vacation. We are looking for cool hiking trails and out of the way places that google might not even know about. A lot of the places we go are less than stellar about cell service too.
In rural North Carolina this was the only WiFi hot spot
and there wasn't much of anything if you were more than a mile or two from this "office"
If you could manage line of sight from this mountain, your cell worked but it was pretty hard to do in most places.
On Thursday, September 17, 2015 at 10:25:10 PM UTC-4, snipped-for-privacy@aol.com wrote :
ote:
t also some paper maps just for pre-trip reviews. My GPS and phone are my d rive-time navigation tools, but I like to look for alternatives to the main routes. Sometime I program my way-points based on the AAA info so my nav t ools take me on the route I want to go
needed. In fact, not only don't I have to worry about a business being out of business, I often don't even have to worry about them being closed for t he day. For example, I just searched for a Grainger location in another sta te. Before even showing me the route, Google displayed the following messag e:
an tell my GPS to avoid highways so that it will guide me on the scenic rou te, which I often like to do. I can't do that with Google (or at least I ca n't get it to do that) I plan to look for a smart phone app that has that f eature. Once I have that app, I won't need my GPS anymore.
You brought up the problem with nav system updates and closed businesses. A ll I did was respond that it was not an issue with a device that can run Go ogle Maps.
I've only had to visit the local DMV (here) twice (at least, for *my* needs) in the past ~20+ years. Once for a DL, and again for a DL renewal (I think when the Feds instituted the new DL requirements; I recall having another photo taken, etc.).
Unlike other places I've lived (New England, Midwest and West), a DL is issued "until you're 65" -- none of this renew every 4 years sort of crap. And, other places seemed to like to zing you with tehnicalities: "Oh, you forgot to bring your birth certificate? Gee, you'll have to come back another time..." "Hmmm, this birth certificate isn't
*notarized*. You'll have to fetch one that *is*..."When SWMBO moved, she contacted DMV regarding getting a new license with her updated address: "Oh, sweetie, just write your new address on a slip of paper and attach it to your DL with a paper clip..."
[Yikes!]The last two vehicle purchases had titling all handled by the dealer so we just waited for a title to appear in the post. We kept the plates (transferred) so didn't even have to pick those up.
OTOH, I've had friends who've been spontaneously notified that they must have new photos taken (!) and had to sit through the process.
The local office is probably the size of a football field. With a "split" in the center ("50 yd line"). You roll the dice when you decide where to sit -- you may be serviced by staff on either side based (apparently) on some random criteria (e.g., whoever is FREE when it's your turn).
There appears to be some specialization involved among the staff as you will often see folks who arrived *after* you getting serviced long
*before* you! Observers failing to realize this would undoubtedly sense some "unfairness" in the system! They try to push folks to their web portal -- though we're not keen about doing many things "on-line". You never know *where* your packets are being routed/processed. [E.g., our local library is serviced by a firm in *Canada*! What privacy guarantees are *they* required to observe?]As with most bureaucracies, it's not something I'd want to deal with unless I absolutely *had* to!
It seems that most if not all states are amassing huge databases of facial recognition data. Real police-state stuff. To do this they need high-res digital photos. (Of course they assure us the data won't be misused, will be protected, etc. Maybe they have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell us as well.)
I do all of my registration and license matters on-line, whenever possible. A used vehicle purchased from a dealer was handled by the dealer. The 2 re cent private sale purchases had to be handled in person.
Our local office might be smaller than a football field but is still pretty large. A cool feature is they recycled a large number of church pews as se ats for their customers.
There is a "reception" counter staffed by 2-3 employees. First, you wait in line to talk to one of those individuals. They handle some transactions, s uch as license photos, eye exams, etc. For vehicle related matters, they as k you what you need to do, they may review your documents quickly just to m ake sure you have the correct forms - they don't review the details - and t hen they give you a number. Off you go to the pews to say your prayers that the wait won't be too long. There is a "wait time clock" behind the recept ion counter but it is far, far from accurate. A big board announces your nu mber and the window you should go to.
In some cases, if there is long line for the reception counter, they will c all out "Anyone just turning in plates?" or "Anyone have a rain check?" The se folks get a number immediately and get sent to the pews.
Yes, this appears to be the case at my DMV also. The numbering system inclu des "A" and "B" series. I can only assume that these letters designate cert ain types of transactions but I haven't gone there enough (thank God) to fi gure out the pattern. As far as I can tell, the "A" and "B" numbers get cal led up sequentially within their letter group, but you might see more than one "A" get called before the next "B" or v-v. That's what leads me to agre e with the "specialization" aspect.
In any case, it does take time, it will always take time. I accept it and d eal with it.
i'm with Amica now in Calif, for house & car [recommended by Consumer Reports]
i was with AAA in Nevada for 15 years, but when i moved to Calif they treated me like i never existed, and i had to start over as a new customer, basically. It's a whole different entity/company in the 2 states.
Anyway, i was mad and looked around for something better.
marc
In cases where it is possible to go to a company to get service it is usually far more time-effective to go there rather than to call. The DMV and AAA are two good examples. Cellular carriers are another example. The person on the phone is far less likely to give you an accurate answer.
Another example is HMOs. I gave up calling my HMO to get an appointment. I just go there and make an appointment. The medical offices are 10 minutes away so it's generally faster to go there than to call. When I explain why I didn't make an appointment on the phone they shake their head, not at me, but at the people at the call center. First you're on hold to talk to someone. Then they're unlikely to find you a timely appointment even if you don't care about the appointment being with other than your primary care physician. Then they want you to talk to an advice nurse. Then they want you to make an appointment with a non-physician. Then they wonder why they do poorly in patient satisfaction surveys.
The other thing I learned about my HMO is that the ER is actually not a bad deal. You get immediate care, referrals are included, and at $50 it's not much more than a PCP visit and a referral visit ($20 each). There's a 24 hour pharmacy on-site, they take x-rays and read them while you wait. My HMO has a wonderful ER with private rooms. They are very fast and efficient.
First of all, many GPS devices come with free updates so there is nothing to buy.
Second, you can buy, for a one time charge of about $10, an app like CoPilot for Android or iOS and it is updated frequently. I like it on a
7" or 8" tablet because the larger screen is nice but it'd be fine on a 5"-6" smart phone as well. I bought the European maps earlier this year for a trip to England and Ireland. It was good for walking as well. There are no data charges, the maps are stored locally on the device, just like a stand-alone GPS.I use a 7" Asus Memo Pad (ME170CX-A1-BK) that was $30 after a $60 rebate. Now it's $50 . Activate the McAffee subscription with a single-use virtual credit card so you're never charged for the subscription.
Beware that the WiFi-only iPads don't have a GPS chip, but most name-brand Android WiFi-only tablets do have GPS functionality.
In California you can't do that. You can call the DMV toll-free number and you could get a hold time of several hours.
The problem with Google navigation is that it only works if you're in an area with cellular data. No problem in metro areas, but a big problem in more rural areas, especially if you're on the T-Mobile or Sprint networks, but sometimes on Verizon or AT&T. too. Also, Google navigation uses quite a lot of data.
I have the CoPilot app on my Android devices. I think it was $6 when I bought it, now it's $10. You download maps onto your phone or tablet (helps to have a phone with a MicroSD card since map files are large).
For $60, the cost of a 7" tablet and the app for the U.S. you have a very nice GPS. And the $10 is per Google account so multiple devices with the same Google account on them can use the app. They also have maps for other countries. I bought the European maps for a trip to Europe for a lot less than a GPS for Europe would have cost.
It lets you select non-freeways if you want.
Yes, that was the assumption I made. A neighbor was told she had to have her photo retaken "because she was smiling" (?) Perhaps they assume most people RARELY smile and want the recognizers to work with your face in its "normal", grumpy state! :>
Doug Miller posted for all of us...
PA doesn't have any local branches, can do it over Inet but are problematic.
heir service etc till
cingmy one van....
How do you submit all the paperwork required to register a used car purchas ed through private sale? How do you get plates the same day as the purchase ?
On Thu, 17 Sep 2015 21:28:08 -0700, Don Y wrote: Snipped
Generally a LOT more privacy protection in Canada than in the US of A
Are you familiar enough with their actual laws to know if these protections extend to business and clients OUTSIDE their country?
Fortunately there are countermeasures to facial recognition. Even wearing large mirrored sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat can be enough if there is not already an identified facial image of you wearing those things in the database. There are even active sunglasses using near-infrared LEDs under development that will prevent the cameras from recognizing that a face is present.
As the police state and corporate interests continue their inexorable encroachment on our liberties in the U.S. It is definitely going to become more difficult to preserve a modicum of privacy.
If you were wearing that the last time you were in the casino, they have it.
What privacy? Everyone got their panties in a wad over the NSA but Goggle knows a whole lot more about you than the NSA and they read/analyse every byte of thor Gmail if you use it. I imagine most "free" email services do. We are the most spied on populatrion in the history of the world and the computer power makes all of that information searchable, unlike the Stasi in East Germany that collected reams of data that they could never actually use.
I've been a AAA member for more years than I can remember, but I was shocked, shocked to discover that they wouldn't tow my disabled car (transmission failure) from my driveway to a used car place three miles away willing to pay me an acceptable price for it.
Why? Because I'd taken off the license plates to transfer them to a car I'd just bought from a dealer to replace the disabled one.
Had I known that in advance I would have had the car towed by AAA before I took off the plates and transferred them and the registration to the new car.
Yes, I probably could have "borrowed" the plate from my new car and put it on the disabled one long enough for AAA to tow it, but I'm still trying to live as much as possible by the rule, "There is no right way to do the wrong thing."
So, I paid a private towing company a hundred bucks to put it on a flat bed and take it to the used car place for me.
Jeff
But at this time they don't have a name attached to it unless you voluntarily give it to them. (Also if you use active glasses their cameras will have difficulty even identifying a face.) The concern is now that government is collecting facial recognition data into a huge database you'll be able to be identified by name, address, etc. No doubt this will ultimately be sold or leaked for corporate use.
No, Google does not, since I do not use any of their products or services.
It is still possible to have a modicum of privacy if you work at it; and there are things you still have control over. For example, I don't use any Apple, Microsoft, or Google products or services. For my primary email I run my own mail server. I do not participate in any social media. All local purchases are made in cash, and online purchases are rare. I do not use a smart phone. (It's not really an effort, really I'm just continuing to live the way I have for decades. For me it would be strange to live any other way.)
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.