U-Haul, you pay in aggravation & lost time; excellent emergency care at LMC

Here's a Mystery Customer nightmare -- U-Haul's national customer service hotline for roadside trouble. Not only was the dour voice at the end of the line unconcerned for the broken down truck the MC had rented in SA and now sat at mile marker 56, the voice was quick to say, “There are 28 calls ahead of you.” From about 9 p.m. one Saturday night until the MC dispatched her own damn wrecker from Laredo at 4:30 a.m. the next morning, the MC was on the phone with U-Haul's “customer service” people, some telling the MC that they “needed a description more specific than mile marker 56, “others saying, “We're trying to get a mechanic out to that location,” “mile marker 56. Is that near Davis , Texas ?” and still others saying, “We're on it.” When the MC told U-Haul that they had never heard of Davis , Texas on IH-35, the customer service rep said before hanging up on the MC, “You better find a state trooper to tell you where you are because obviously you don't know!”

Roadside assistance never showed up. The calls continued through the night and early morning with “Can you tell us again what the problem is?” When the MC told U-Haul Customer Service that a battery jump had already been attempted (which U-Haul suggests on its long recording before a real person gets on the line), a real U-Haul voice insisted, “A mechanic needs to come out to look at it before we send a wrecker.”

Hats off to Orozco's Towing for punctual service and a tow to the unloading address.

When U-Haul no longer heard from the MC and thought seriously about getting someone out to Mile 56 for a look-see at their equipment, Customer Service became incredibly concerned about the MC's welfare and asked if the MC and party had gone to a motel. No, we shared the evening with mosquitoes and coyotes.

But here's the rub. U-Haul agreed to reimburse for the tow ($250), but only agreed to disallow half of the rental of the worthless truck, and made no provision for reimbursement of the moving crew that was on the clock through the night.

One of the MC's co-workers reported very good care under the most dire circumstances at Laredo Medical Center . Emergency room nurses and other staff rose ably to the challenge to comfort and stabilize a patient in severe cardiac distress.

On the Avenue, San Bernardo Avenue . If you like to read or do a little bit of work while you have breakfast or lunch, the Pan American Café is a wonderful place to do so. The service is good and unobtrusive and the chiles rellenos are reminiscent of San Bernardo eateries of the distant past.

The MC had need of a metal and tile-framed mirror from Mexico but lacked the time to run to Nuevo Laredo to get it. Taide's on San Bernardo had just the mirror and at a very good price.

If you didn't take advantage of Lowe's 40 buck installation special for ceiling fans, you have missed a mighty good deal. The MC found excellent prices for nickel finish fans.