Dave Kahler

Among clubs recording higher scores is AAA Central Penn, which registered driver satisfaction levels through July 2005 of 88.4 percent for its club-owned fleet - up more than 11 percent over its regular contractor network - and 83.3 percent for its Preferred Service Provider network, according to Dave Kahler, the club's Automotive Services manager.Preferred Service Providers are independent service providers dedicated to AAA and offer "branded service" (trucks and employees are branded as AAA) to AAA members but do not service any other motor club members.

In the most recent quarterly report from AAA National, members' overall total satisfaction rating is 4.1 percent higher for AAACP's Fleet Services than the association's overall average for the same time period and the driver satisfaction rating is 5.8 percent higher.

Included in these statistics is AAA Central Penn's Battery Service Program, which in the first half of 2005 serviced 32.5 percent more members than the same period in 2004.In 2005 the Club expanded the battery program beyond AAA National requirements to include rural deployment into selected Emergency Road Service contractor facilities in some areas, Kahler said.The Club's ultimate goal is to have the battery program available to the majority of its members within the territorial boundaries of AAA Central Penn. Kahler attributes improved driver satisfaction levels to an increase in club-owned fleet call volume.Autotrax reports indicate the club increased its club-owned fleet call volume from 2.9 percent in January 2005 to 9.4 percent in August 2005.

Currently, AAA Central Penn's Fleet services more than 11 percent of members' calls for roadside assistance daily and the Club plans to continue expansion of Fleet Services over the next two years as members' needs dictate.

"We started the club-owned fleet in September 2004 and have expanded to the Harrisburg and Lancaster areas, where we lacked AAA-quality service drivers," Kahler said.

Our dedicated ERS staff and management team led by Tom McGowan, Director Automotive Services, and David Kahler, Manager Automotive Services, deserves much credit for our successful efforts.
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McGowan and Kahler have adopted the improvement of member satisfaction as the No. 1 goal for their department.

"As motorists keep their cars longer, breakdowns are more likely to occur," said Dave Kahler, Director, Automotive Services, at AAA Central Penn. "In fact, in 2007, members of AAA Central Penn needed to use roadside assistance 6 percent more than any of the three previous years."

"Having a AAA Repair Assurance Plan offers the security in knowing that your household budget is protected from an untimely major mechanical breakdown," Kahler said.