Moving Made Easy, if You Can Get Past the Counter
Written: Mar 29 '08
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Pros: Good sized trucks, moving supplies provided, easy to reserve equipment.
Cons: Customer Service, Nickle and Dime you on Gas
The Bottom Line: U-Haul is a good option for moving yourself, but if you want a professional experience and more assistance with your move, you are better off using a larger moving company.
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| supersaiyan23's Full Review: U-Haul |
I recently had to use a local U-haul place to rent a truck for a cross town move. Prior to this move I had never had to use a moving company, I had always been able to get a few buddies together with SUVs or pick up trucks and we'd make 2-3 trips and move everything. This time though, I had to take my stuff 30 miles across town and in Atlanta, I didn't really feel like fighting traffic more than once on moving day.
The reservation process was easy enough. I love being able to take care of things online, whether it's paying bills or making reservations. The reservation was very easy, I just went to uhaul.com and selected the equipment I needed for the move. The website is very user friendly and easy to use. You can select the size of the truck or trailer you need and any additional move-in supplies such as boxes or furniture pads. You can also specify the time you need the equipment for and it will give you rates based on the information. For this move I was already packed so I just ordered a 14' moving truck which was $29.99 plus $0.99 for each mile driven.
After filling in your billing information the system tells you a U-haul representative will be in contact with you within 24 hours to let you know where you can pick up your equipment. You can specify either a phone call or email confirmation. You won't actually be charged anything until after you return your equipment. They will usually attempt to reserve it for you at the closest U-haul center they have, but be prepared to make adjustments in your time schedule if you need to drive further to pick up your equipment.
So reserving the equipment was the easy part, now we get to the fun stage, actually going to pick it up. The U-Haul reservation sent to me told me the location was about a mile and half from my apartment and that I could pick up the truck at 8:00 AM. I show up at the place at 8:00 AM and it happens to be a Chevron station with a U-Haul kiosk. The problem is the guy working there has no idea how to actually use the software to complete the reservation. So first he tries to tell me that he doesn't have a reservation for me or a truck.
I actually had to go behind the counter and walk the guy through how to use his computer to look up the reservation. He basically had me do everything for him as he was clueless at what to do. Finally we got the reservation printed and all of the information completed. He then informs me he only has 2 17'trucks. The nice thing is I ended up with a bigger truck for the smaller truck price, but I was so frustrated by the time I got out of the Chevron. It took almost 45 minutes to get everything situated.
Moving was a breeze, I was easily able to get everything in the truck with only a friend of mine helping me. The truck drove very comfortably and the EZ load ramp that came with it was very helpful for loading the larger furniture pieces. All of my furniture made it in one piece and the truck handled very well on the interstate at 60 mph for most of the drive.
When I returned the truck I had only driven maybe 30 miles and the gas needle had hardly moved at all. You sign an agreement when you rent the truck that you will put the same amount of gas back in it or they charge you a fuel charge of $35.00. Well I put $10 back into the tank which was about 3 gallons. The needle was pretty much right where it was when I left, but they tried to nickle and dime me and say it was less than what the truck had when I left. So I ended up having to put another $10 in the tank and then it was way over the mark it had been when I first picked up the truck. So I would have been better off just paying the stupid $30 gas charge and leaving.
Overall the move went really well, the only thing I can really gripe about is the customer service. It did not seem like they really had trained individuals on site to deal with the customer. I mean the guy that was working with me couldn't even figure out how to pull up the reservation on his computer. Anytime the customer knows more about the purchasing process than the employee, that will not equal satisfactory customer service. I think U-Haul is a great option if you are moving yourself.
Recommended:
Yes
Punctuality: Showed up on time
Ease of Filing Claim: N/A
Lost Goods: No
Amount Paid (US$): 85.00
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Epinions.com ID:
supersaiyan23
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 - Top 1000 |
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Location: Atlanta, GA
Reviews written: 163
Trusted by: 43 members
About Me:
"I can accept failure, but I can't accept not trying" - Michael Jordan
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