I have signed up for the Carnation Auto Road-side assistance plan which is valid for a year in many locations all over the country. On paper it is a beautiful plan, since it meant to give you peace of mind in case you get stuck anywhere.
In actual practice, this is a horrible and unprofessional service. I used it recently when I accidentally locked my car and house keys in my car outside my home in Noida sector 93. This occurred at 9pm, and I am girl who was waiting alone for them to come and help me. Despite numerous calls and a number of requests, assistance did not come till 11:30pm(2.5 hrs after original request) even though they kept telling me it would be there in 15 mins every now and then. I was forced to wait outside alone and this was a major security concern. A road-side service is no good if it can’t even assist you when you are very much in the city in an easily accessible place, forget about being on a lonely highway. It would be much better if you just ask someone nearby to assist you with your problem.
Even after the delay, the guy who came to open my car, broke the lock, and Carnation Auto refused to fix it unless I make a 2 hr trip to their service center. It was shocking that their vendor broke my lock, and then I had to make an extra trip to get it fixed and pay for that.
While they have been extremely nice on the phone, I feel like they only give an empty assurance so that unsatisfied customers don’t take action. Their business is cars, and if they can’t handle that then no amount of etiquette on the phone can assure me to continue with any of their service.