AA doesn't work

... So say some people.

Browsing a travel catalogue does not get you a suntan.
Browsing for coats in a department store does not keep you warm in the winter cold.
Going to meetings and talking about yourself does not connect you to God.

Here's the deal. What most people think of as AA is the shopfront, not the goods.

To test whether AA works:
Having completed the first three Steps, expose every twist of character and dark cranny of the past, make amends to everyone, forgive everyone, pay all the money back with interest, stick with Steps Ten and Eleven per the Big Book, and then:

Sponsor for at least an hour a day.
Be an integral part of your home group and work to keep it running optimally.
Carry out service in the AA structure.
Spend at least three hours a week on work to carry the AA message to the outside world.
Do this for one year post-completion of the last amend, and report back.

To judge AA without doing this is judge it without actually trying it, because this is what AA really is.