After an amazing weekend in New Orleans, things went downhill quickly. The snow came. And came. And still came. New Orleans is not equipped for snow. Especially 11.5 inches of snow in some parts. The snowfall trampled the previous snowfall record of 2.7 inches set in 1963.
And it was cold. Having a 4-wheel drive truck with appropriate tires and experience driving in snow didn’t scare me. I went out to do a few things on Tuesday night and on the way back noticed something odd about the way the truck was handling. I stopped, got out and saw two shredded passenger side tires. Not just flat but torn and destroyed.
I sat there for two hours trying to get someone to stop. I couldn’t find my phone so there was no calling anyone. Finally I pulled it in to a hotel that was right there (luckily) to get a room. I was not in a neighborhood that I was able to get out and walk and leave the truck. It was on the way to the RV Park where I was staying and I had been warned by several people that this particular section of town was not one that I wanted to be walking in – day or night.
I searched and searched for the phone but it was no where to be found. I got a room at the hotel and spent a sleepless night watching the truck and waiting for daylight to call AAA.
The morning came without incident and I called AAA from the hotel room. They assigned someone and I waited. And waited. And waited. I finally called them back and got the number of the assigned tow truck company and called them. They had rejected the order because the driver was on the other side of a bridge and all of the bridges had been closed due to the weather conditions. I hadn’t been notified.
The assigned a second company. Same thing – gor rejected. i didn’t get notified. It was now time to check out of the hotel. i got a late checkout and waited and waited. And got the hotel room for another day. This is when I realized that the phone in the hotel wasn’t ringing when calls were coming in. i bravely walked several blocks to a cell phone shop in the hopes of purchasing a cheap replacement until I could deal with the loss of my iPhone. They were closed, of course. The gas station was opened and I got some snacks as I had not eaten since Tuesday lunch.
Back to the hotel, back to calling AAA. After the second company rejected the order, they reassigned it to the first, who of course rejected it. This went back and forth all day.
Not having a phone and not being able to receive phone calls was really hindering my ability to handle the situation in a timely manner. I walked back to the cell phone shop to see if they were opened and they were not. I checked several nearby restaurants because I hadn’t eaten in nearly 48 hours by this point and i don’t remember ever being that hungry. Nothing was opened. A few blocks beyond the gas station there was a Wal-Mart so I decided to venture there – they don’t close do they?
They were closed. All there was present was a single police officer making sure that windows weren’t getting broken. She graciously looked up the number for the RV Park so I could call and let them know where I was – my reservation had ended there.
Back to the hotel to deal with the truck and AAA again. My order had been cancelled becuase the tow-truck company couldn’t get a hold of me when they called. Even though I stressed multiple times to the AAA rep that I did not have a phone but I would be at the truck and to send the tow regardless.
At this point I was beyond frustrated. I was in a city I didn’t know in a place that wasn’t safe and was stupidly hungry and tired. I didn’t have anything with me to call anyone, I don’t know anyone’s numbers and I didn’t have access to a computer. I couldn’t even buy anything to help me. I was giving up hope.
I’m sure my lack of resourcefulness was hindered by hunger, lack of sleep and an anger so strong that my blood was boiling. I continued despite my weakening resolve.
Thursday morning I finally got confirmation that a tow truck was on the way. I talked to the owner of the tow truck company and the owner of a shop where it was to be towed. I was assured he would be there in a couple of hours. At this point my hope had been slightly restored. I checked out of the hotel and made an arrangement with the hotel manager to hold my key for the tow truck company and asked him to call me a cab so I could get back to my camper, resolve my reservation and begin the hunt for my cell phone.
After arriving back at the RV park and eating everything in sight, I resolved my reservation extension and went to sit in the hot tub. I got on my computer to track my phone. Miraculously, it still had a charge and was reporting being near the French Quarter. I had stopped there on Tuesday night to get a drink with the locals stuck in the snow and chat and it must have fallen out of my pocket in the snow.
I put a lock on the phone and a message on it that read “I am lost, please take me to the Phoenix if found.” The Phoenix was the bar across the street from where I had parked. Then I grabbed a $40 cab ride to the bar.
I sloshed around in the snow and the gutter for probabaly 1/2 hour before giving up the search. I went in to the bar and in one last ditch effort to find the phone asked the bartender if anyone had turned it in. HE HAD IT. After 3 days it still had a charge. I was in shock and disbelief, but extremely grateful.
I got back to the Campground and got a call from the tow truck driver. AAA had reassigned the request to another towing company that was going to tow the truck to a different repair shop.
Sorry for my french, but FUCK. What the hell? AAA told Joe (the tow truck driver) that the truck had been towed by Green Acres towing to Lakeview Auto. What the hell? I called Lakeview Auto and they did not have my truck. He knew about it because Joe had called to verify that it was there. I called Green Acres and the guy stumbled his words but finally admitted he had not towed the truck. I panicked. I had just finally relaxed after 3 days of AAA hell and now I had no idea where my truck was. AAA told me Green Acres had towed it but it wasn’t anywhere to be found.
Once again, Apple to the rescue. I have an airtag on my key so I tracked it – it was still at the fucking hotel! Green Acres had lied to AAA. At this point I completely lost my shit. I called back AAA, asked for a supervisor and then asked for their supervisor. I explained my situation for the 400th time and my cool was not kept. I demanded that they send the order to Joe and to toe my truck immediately. I told them that if Joe didn’t have the order within the next 15 minutes, all further communication would have to be handled by my lawyer.
After a couple of more go arounds, Joe finally got the order. He would pick up the truck in an hour. About 45 minutes later, I get a call from Modern Auto Wreckers telling me that they are at the hotel to pick up the truck. I just told him to go home.
Finally, on Saturday morning I finally got confirmation from Joe/Brendan (Creamer Motors, towing and repair) that they had the truck in their possession. They ordered new tires and would work on it the following week.
A big shout out to the following businesses for being awesome in my time of crisis:
Rodeway Inn and Suites, 4940 Chef Menteur Hwy, New Orleans, LA 70126. They were flexible with checkout, assisted me with looking up numbers and the owner gave me a ride back to the campground.
Creamer Motors, Brendan / Joe. 1341 27th St, Kenner, LA 70062 Were available, willing to help and understanding of my situation. Got tires ordered and truck repaired in a very timely manner. Friendly, helpful and responsive. Went beyond the call of duty.
Jude Travel Park, 7400 Chef Menteur Hwy, New Orleans, LA. Management was super flexible with my reservation, worked with me on saving money with weekly rates and just an all around professional, beautiful oasis to park my RV and enjoy the amazing hot tub.
Phoenix Bar, 941 Elysian Fields Ave, New Orleans, LA. Babysat my iPhone while not in my possession. Friendly, accommodating staff and great drinks.
My mother said that if I can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all, so I’ll keep my mouth shut about AAA because I have nothing nice to say about them. That situation is certainly not over yet, however.
