I've had to call the RAC twice in the space of a month. It's one of the hazards of driving a sixteen year old car with one previous owner who only ever used it to drive round a village. The service has been spot on both times I've dealt with them. Given my brushes with Orange, Virgin Media and various utility companies this is an all too unfamiliar situation. They're prompt; I've received a call from an operator to tell me the patrol was half an hour away and then one from the patrol itself when they're ten minutes out on both occasions. All of the people I've spoken to have been polite, really know their stuff and expressed a genuine desire to help get the jalopy going again. If you own a car then do yourself a favour and buy great customer service from the RAC. Hell, even if you don't own a car who knows when you might be in one that breaks down. Cover yourself then you'll never be stuck. As an aside I once spent three hours late one night waiting for the AA when a friend's car broke down. When the recovery vehicle finally did arrive it was from some local garage. There was a total mismatch between the expectation set and the service delivered hence why I chose the RAC when it came to needing cover myself.

Disclaimer: if the above seems a little out of character then it's because I want to balance the fact I moan an awful lot about crap customer service on this blog. If someone does a good job I figure I should mention that too.