I HATE U-Haul
Written: Jul 01 '03
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Pros: Can now sing along to U-Haul hold music.
Cons: EVERYTHING ELSE
The Bottom Line: If you have speaker phone, a few days to kill, and masochistic tendencies, you've gotta try it!!
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| muphin15's Full Review: U-Haul |
I have to say that the review from the guy who almost went to jail made my whole day, since misery loves company- somebody understands!!!!
My experience wasn't as bad, just frustrating:
TRYING TO RENT A U-HAUL IN BERKELEY
I started trying on Saturday to reserve a truck for Sunday or Monday. I called Saturday evening and was put on hold for 10 minutes. I hung up, called back, and was put on hold for another 10 minutes. Then I called back and there was no answer. So I called the national number, and they told me they'd put me on a waiting list for any trucks that became available Sunday, and that they would call me.
They didn't call Sunday. I called Sunday night and they told me to call early the next morning.
So I woke up at 7:30 a.m. and called, planning to make a reservation, then sleep for a few more hours.
The guy told me he was busy, he'd take my number and call me back. 45 minutes later, I called them back. He said he was sorry, "sweetie,'' he was still busy, he would call me back.
Another 45 minutes later I called back. This time a woman answered and told me there was a truck available the same day at 3 p.m., but she couldn't take my reservation because she had a line full of people to wait on. She would have to call me back.
(Yes, I called around to other places, but every other rental place in the county was out of trucks.)
I went out, got some food, came back, and called again. By then, the 3 p.m. truck was gone, but there was one available at 4 p.m. But she was still busy with customers, she would have to call me back.
"I have calling since 7:30 this morning. Can you please just take my reservation?''
"No, ma'am it's very busy right now. You can hold if you like.''
"How long is the hold time?''
"Half an hour.''
Silence. "That's not okay. I've been calling since 7:30 this morning.''
"Well you're going to have to hold.''
Click...(la la la... U-haul hold music....)
At that point, I was two things: desperate and bent on revenge.
Since vengeance was the more powerful of my two states of mind, I called the 800 number and asked for a supervisor.
"Please hold.''
Five minutes later, the same person came on and asked how they could help me.
"I was holding for a supervisor.''
"Please hold.''
They transferred me to the Berkeley regional office, and a woman answered the phone, and gave me the number for the general manager.
When I hung up I realized with horror that the number was the number to the store I'd been calling all morning.
Fine. At that point Desperation took over. I needed my truck, so I decided I'd go to the office on Channing Way.
When I got there, it turned out to be a copy place, and they said the U-Haul location there had shut down quite some time ago.
"I hear the company's going bankrupt,'' said the guy behind the counter.
"Good!'' I said maniacally. "I HATE U-Haul. I'm GLAD they're going bankrupt!'' heh heh..heh...
The guy smiled and looked at me strangely, then I left.
Next stop: U-Haul main store on San Pablo Avenue. When I got there, several people were in line ahead of me, so I waited and tried to guess which woman I had talked to on the phone.
Everyone working there seemed unnervingly calm and unfazed by anyone else's stress- notably, mine.
When I got up to the front of the line, I asked if there were any trucks available, and the woman said they didn't have any until 6 p.m.
"I've been calling since 7:30 this morning...'' I began my saga.
She looked again, and came up with a truck that was coming in at noon. If I came back at 1 p.m., it would be ready.
I went home, called at 1:30, they said it still wasn't in, call back at 2:30.
I called back at 2:30--
"You're just going to have to come in and wait for a truck. We're going on a first-come, first-serve basis.''
What can I say? I needed a truck.
Back to the U-Haul office, and fortunately a truck had come in just before I arrived.
They gave me the keys to a 10-foot truck and, after I complained to the general manager, they also gave me a $10 off coupon.
Geez, that's all I wanted. Just a truck and some respect.
So I went back home, my brother and I loaded the truck, then we went to Oakland to the storage company.
Rented storage space, then we just needed to pull the truck around the building to our storage area.
Except the truck wouldn't start.
I had to leave to go to work, and fortunately my brother had followed me in his car, so he drove me back to my car at the U-Haul office in Berkeley.
Now here I am, at work on the graveyard shift, my stuff is stuck in a broken U-Haul truck in Oakland.
I called the 800 number-
"Please Hold''
and they gave me the emergency assistance number, but I gave up after they said
"there's three people ahead of you. Please hold.''
U-Haul does not know their truck is broken in Oakland and I have no idea how this will get resolved.
And I DON'T CARE. I've been awake for a little over 20 hours now, and I'm starting to hallucinate little U-Haul logos everywhere.
So that's my story, and it feels good to vent. If I have kept even one person from using U-Haul with this story, the whole thing will have been worth it!
Go to Public Storage. They're nice.
Even though Public Storage didn't have any trucks available, I almost cried with gratitude when the woman who answered the phone was actually sympathetic.
To be fair, it's not all the U-Haul workers' fault that renting from U-Haul is so hellish. They just have a terrible, unorganized system and they're severely understaffed.
That's it...ah...I feel better.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 50
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Epinions.com ID:
muphin15
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Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
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