How About Truth in Advertising?

By: A very loyal Vegas Voice reader

You can’t always believe what you see on TV…or hear from an insurance salesperson.

Although the GEICO gecko continues to drop to his knees at the sight of a flat tire and be rescued by their 24-hour, 7-day a week road service that’s splashed across television screens, GEICO does NOT offer that service.

And GEICO Service Manager on  East Serene Avenue office continues to add the coverage (at additional charge) although the company can’t deliver.
     
Fortunately for one Vegas Voice reader, the summer heat had broken and around 10:00 pm he hit some road construction debris on Silverado Ranch, about a mile west of the South Point Casino. The tire, just two weeks old, was beyond repair.

Because of recent surgery, the driver was unable to install the spare tire himself. Logging on to the GEICO app, the driver received a message that road service was unavailable until 5:00 am the following morning - a full 7 hours later and a far cry from the 24-hour service touted by the GEICO commercials.
    
Pivoting to the fallback, the driver phoned the roadside assistance 800 number. The phone tree kept him on hold for over 30 minutes listening commercials touting the company’s “exceptional” service before he hung up and called back, this time hopefully outsmarting the “press 1 for information” message to get to a representative manning the sales line.

That rep promised a “brief hold” while he secured a solution…a brief hold that ended another half hour later when the caller again hit the “disconnect” button. The third call was another 30-minute wait while another sales representative failed to deliver on yet another “brief  hold.”

Finally, the fourth call resulted in a woman who, in no uncertain terms, said there was no way the stranded motorist would receive the advertised 24-hour service despite what the company promised, and charged extra for, in their commercials.
    
Las Vegas’ road service industry has not escaped the pandemic’s impact. In all, the stranded motorist made 19 phone calls before assistance arrived at 2:30 am, including two calls to 311 and one to 911, all of whom said they couldn’t provide assistance.
     
Many 24-hour road service lines went to voice mail, some of which were full and unable to take messages. Others said they simply didn’t have anyone to help.

And the stranded motorist didn’t see a single police car pass his vehicle on Silverado Ranch during his four and a half hours on the side of the road.
     
The GEICO policy holder admits to a feeling of despair and some fear on that darkened stretch during those hours. Yet the GEICO office on East Serene minimizes the event and continues to make promises that it knows it has failed to keep.