AA / RAC patrol.. tell me what it’s like?

[GRUSS 10]

Evening all

 

I’ve got the chance to attend a recruitment day but I’m after any opinions/thoughts about the job?

 

19 years working in a dealership, I’m now an apprentice trainer but finding the role quite stressful. It’s clean and warm don’t get me wrong, but I expected to get more satisfaction from the job. I used to get a good kick from fixing cars and helping people out.

[therascal 10]

Evening all

 

I’ve got the chance to attend a recruitment day but I’m after any opinions/thoughts about the job?

 

19 years working in a dealership, I’m now an apprentice trainer but finding the role quite stressful. It’s clean and warm don’t get me wrong, but I expected to get more satisfaction from the job. I used to get a good kick from fixing cars and helping people out.

 

Think one of the problems with this job is the distance you could have to travel between jobs. Example: once broke down near Towsure phoned the AA and waited and waited and waited, when he arrived he said he had just driven from near Bradford to attend my breakdown. If you can stand working in the rain and snow it shouldnt be a problem to you.

[alchresearch 208]

From my experience they rush the diagnostics and give poor and incorrect advice.

 

I imagine they're under pressure to get you going and onto their next job, and that they don't have enough patrol people so they're not just sat around waiting for call to come in.

 

I used to get a good kick from fixing cars and helping people out.

 

I imagine you'll get that in spades from helping people stuck at the side of the road, that's one positive.

[hauxwell 242]

My father was an AA patrol man many years ago.

Working outside in all sorts of weather took its toll on him. Particularly his neck and back which I think was caused by working beneath vehicles in damp conditions. So you really do need to consider if you can cope with the weather. He did travel quite a distance on breakdowns. Once he was sent to Durham to do a job. I also remember him saying his AA Land Rover was one of the first cars on the M62 the day it was opened, because a car had broken down.

In his mid 50s he had a transfer, working in the office which was in Paradise Square because the weather did affect him as he got older and he was suffering from arthritis in his neck and back. When the office closed he took early retirement.

The wages were not very good in those days but I think they are a lot better now. He got AA life membership when he retired, I’m almost sure they have stopped that now, but he did get the odd tip now and then.

I’m sure things have improved since my father worked for the AA, also I’m sure cars have to, but I’m not sure the weather has. So go along to the recruitment day and find out what they have to say. All the best.

[geared 298]

My friend did it for a number of years, a good percentage of jobs were people who'd just run out of fuel.

Broken fuel pumps was another common item.

 

Alot less tinkering around with newer cars, so if it's not a simple fix it's a tow.

[hauxwell 242]

My friend did it for a number of years, a good percentage of jobs were people who'd just run out of fuel.

Broken fuel pumps was another common item.

 

Alot less tinkering around with newer cars, so if it's not a simple fix it's a tow.

 

I can remember my father saying he had to go all the way to such and such a place because someone had run out of petrol even thought he was due to finish work in five minutes, he was asked to do the job, so things haven’t changed there.

When we change over to electric cars that might be one less problem for the AA.

Although I know nothing about these cars.

Edited February 7, 2018 by hauxwell

[alchresearch 208]

Broken fuel pumps was another common item.

 

I've known a few AA patrolmen say the fuel pump has failed on a car when it hadn't!

 

Car wouldn't start. They'd read the code, which would relate to fuel pressure and just blame the pump.

[max 13]

<snip> If you can stand working in the rain and snow it shouldnt be a problem to you.

 

Alternatively, if you like working in the heat and sunshine then it could be the job for you. I found out last year that the AA send several vans and patrolmen to France for the summer. However, they put them up in pretty basic accommodation and expect them to stay for 8 - 12 weeks.

 

Turns out it's cheaper to do that than pay for cars and passengers to be repatriated to the UK.