My Experience with PODS
To begin, I was moving my entire household from a Los Angeles location to another in Orange County, California which involved a pickup – storage and access – final delivery.
My initial calls for set up and delivery went pretty smooth, although I found quickly that there was very little you can do on your website. Almost all appointments require a phone call, 20 minute hold, verification of ID and password. I was, and still am, very uncomfortable giving out passwords over an unsecure phone line. Also, I found the logon ID preset as a customer number was cumbersome (I would have liked to set my own logon ID that would be easy to remember). Your call center must be way understaffed, in 2 months I never got through without a 10-20 minute hold)! Once you make it through the maze of call center identifications, I found your staff was knowledgeable and able to solve most problems quickly.
Once on the website, there is very little you can do. When I wanted to schedule access, I had to call. When I wanted to confirm an access date and time, I had to call. No web feedback is ever given. When I inquired why there was no way for a customer to schedule access to his container, all I received from the operator on the phone was, “that is the way we have been doing it for 10 years! ” When I finally did get access scheduled, I was told that my 2 containers were in 2 different locations! There was no web information (maybe I missed it) that indicated where my containers were stored or that they were not together. Why would a customer with multiple containers ever have them is different locations? They were not to be delivered for another month.
I wonder if you will charge different delivery fees because the containers came from different locations?
At the storage facility, your team there was outstanding, helping customers and very aware of customer access times. Of particular note was Boris Alegria (supervisor is Tim Preston), who went above and beyond the call of duty in assisting us with the two containers we had. We encountered a jammed door and Boris was there to help and make suggestions. Because we could not open the jammed door (in a reasonable amount of time – 1 hour even with Boris’s help) we had to rent a third container which Boris promptly provided. I was charged the full cost of the container even though I called multiple times to resolve this with a knowledgeable supervisor. I was told that contents shift when being picked up with the fork lift and the Podzilla and that it was my fault that the rool up door was jammed. I would suggest that the roll up door be shielded with a metal tube to profice better protection. The consumer has no idea how much these containers are handled.
I assume each storage location has different hours, but one day of the week for extended evening hours (for those of us who work during the day) would be great.
The PODS delivery system is not well designed to operate in high density areas like Los Angeles. The 4 pole, truck mounted delivery system is severely limited in height restrictions – 15 feet. Many of the newer homes in the Los Angeles area are being built with cantilevered 2nd floors, leaving only 100” clearance for the ground floor and the outside driveway. This type of construction makes it impossible for a POD container. My only solution was to block the driveway for both of my neighbors and try to get loaded in as little time as possible. Since I had 2 PODS, I also asked initially if the first one could be delivered (pack in minimal time), the second one delivered and the first be picked up. Seems like no one has ever asked for this option, so I was told no, it could not be done.
Your delivery operators (in both cases) are courteous and skilled at maneuvering the containers. They delivered the containers with minimal damage to landscaping and driveways, making every effort to place them in the location I specified. Your field delivery teams are talented and prompt.
So here is my rating system (on a 10 pt scale – 10 being best)
POD delivery system: 3
POD Deliver Teams: 10
POD Website: 1
POD telephone support technicians: 10
POD telephone screening system: 2
POD Storage Access Team: 10
Summary, would I recommend or use POD for a move in the future, probably NOT. Count me one of the 8% who would not use POD again.
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