U-Haul Letter
I just wrote up my latter to U-Haul's customer service folks. If you want to read about the ridiculous complexity that was involved in my hitch install and trailer rental, here's the text of that letter.
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To whom it may concern,
I'm writing to let you know of the problematic experiences I had while working with U-Haul in the last few weeks prior to my move from Wisconsin to New York.
My move originated in Kenosha, Wisconsin. I decided to have a trailer hitch installed and rent a trailer to make the move with. I made an appointment to have a hitch installed on my car at 3:30 on Tuesday the 28th of July. When we arrived at the franchise around 3:20, the staff there told us that we were about two hours late and that their hitch installer was no longer there. We made a new appointment for a week later and were quoted about $320 for the hitch install. I asked what class of hitch would be installed and the employee did not know. He said we'd have to ask the hitch installer.
Since that price was higher than I'd gotten from the U-haul website, I called U-haul later that afternoon to ask for more information. The person we talked to happened to be at the corporate office; he said we were transferred there because phones were really busy at the time. This was the most competent person I talked to through the whole affair; he said he could do everything from where he was but put his hands on the trucks.
He checked our appointment and told us that we were, in fact, not late; that we had a guaranteed appointment for 3:30 that day. He also told us that the hitch installer was showing in his system as still clocked in and at the franchise location. He was also able to explain that the price difference was the difference between a class 3 hitch and a class 2 hitch at around $275. I already knew I only needed a class 2 hitch, but the staff at the franchise did not even offer me an option or explain the price.
He transferred us to customer service to lodge a complaint, which we did. At the end of that process, I asked whether we still had an appointment for next week. The service rep told us that our appointment was actually for tomorrow, which was a great surprise to me; I'd never asked for that time and I was unable to be there. I decided at that point that I would forego dealing with the Kenosha franchise entirely and get the hitch installed in nearby Waukegan.
To his credit, the general manager at the Kenosha location got back to me later that evening and said he would send me a $50 check to compensate us for the problems.
In Waukegan, I arrived at eight in the morning of August 4th for my scheduled hitch install and was told by the Waukegan staff that they did not have the parts. I had to reschedule once again. Fortunately, my brother was able to take the car for an install the next day since I was busy and couldn't make it.
Moving on to the next part of this saga, a few days later I was going over the information I had about where to pick up my trailer. I looked up the location I was supposed to pick up the trailer, Rence's Auto Repair in Kenosha, and learned that they are closed on Sundays, the day I was scheduled to pick up. I called U-haul again, and the pickup was changed to Top Choice Rentals, also in Kenosha.
Due to a feeling of increasingly justified paranoia, I contacted Top Choice to confirm that they would be open on Sunday and that I could pick up a trailer there. Top Choice, it turns out, had contacted U-Haul corporate that morning to say that they would no longer be dealing with U-Haul rental equipment. I could not, in fact, pick up my trailer at Top Choice. After calling U-Haul again, they changed my pick up location to the Kenosha U-Haul franchise.
I arrived there on the morning of the day I was to pick up my trailer. Due to other moving-related matters, I was an hour or two late. I was regrettably unsurprised to learn that the staff in Kenosha did not have my trailer at that location. Instead, I had to drive to Waukegan once again to pick up the empty trailer and bring it back to Kenosha.
With everything finally installed and where it was supposed to be, the move went well. However, when I dropped the trailer off in Syracuse, New York, I discovered that the U-Haul employee who'd attached the trailer had let the safety chains hang low enough to the ground that one of them was dragging on the pavement once the trailer was loaded. In fact, it wore entirely through one of the links and the hook end of the chain was missing. I feel fortunate that we had not found ourselves in a situation where the presence of that chain would have been vital.
So, in short, I have been less than impressed with my interactions with U-Haul over the past few weeks. I want to bring this situation to your attention so you are aware of these issues. At present, I am unlikely to rent from U-Haul again, and certainly would not recommend that others do so.
Sincerely,
*name
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To whom it may concern,
I'm writing to let you know of the problematic experiences I had while working with U-Haul in the last few weeks prior to my move from Wisconsin to New York.
My move originated in Kenosha, Wisconsin. I decided to have a trailer hitch installed and rent a trailer to make the move with. I made an appointment to have a hitch installed on my car at 3:30 on Tuesday the 28th of July. When we arrived at the franchise around 3:20, the staff there told us that we were about two hours late and that their hitch installer was no longer there. We made a new appointment for a week later and were quoted about $320 for the hitch install. I asked what class of hitch would be installed and the employee did not know. He said we'd have to ask the hitch installer.
Since that price was higher than I'd gotten from the U-haul website, I called U-haul later that afternoon to ask for more information. The person we talked to happened to be at the corporate office; he said we were transferred there because phones were really busy at the time. This was the most competent person I talked to through the whole affair; he said he could do everything from where he was but put his hands on the trucks.
He checked our appointment and told us that we were, in fact, not late; that we had a guaranteed appointment for 3:30 that day. He also told us that the hitch installer was showing in his system as still clocked in and at the franchise location. He was also able to explain that the price difference was the difference between a class 3 hitch and a class 2 hitch at around $275. I already knew I only needed a class 2 hitch, but the staff at the franchise did not even offer me an option or explain the price.
He transferred us to customer service to lodge a complaint, which we did. At the end of that process, I asked whether we still had an appointment for next week. The service rep told us that our appointment was actually for tomorrow, which was a great surprise to me; I'd never asked for that time and I was unable to be there. I decided at that point that I would forego dealing with the Kenosha franchise entirely and get the hitch installed in nearby Waukegan.
To his credit, the general manager at the Kenosha location got back to me later that evening and said he would send me a $50 check to compensate us for the problems.
In Waukegan, I arrived at eight in the morning of August 4th for my scheduled hitch install and was told by the Waukegan staff that they did not have the parts. I had to reschedule once again. Fortunately, my brother was able to take the car for an install the next day since I was busy and couldn't make it.
Moving on to the next part of this saga, a few days later I was going over the information I had about where to pick up my trailer. I looked up the location I was supposed to pick up the trailer, Rence's Auto Repair in Kenosha, and learned that they are closed on Sundays, the day I was scheduled to pick up. I called U-haul again, and the pickup was changed to Top Choice Rentals, also in Kenosha.
Due to a feeling of increasingly justified paranoia, I contacted Top Choice to confirm that they would be open on Sunday and that I could pick up a trailer there. Top Choice, it turns out, had contacted U-Haul corporate that morning to say that they would no longer be dealing with U-Haul rental equipment. I could not, in fact, pick up my trailer at Top Choice. After calling U-Haul again, they changed my pick up location to the Kenosha U-Haul franchise.
I arrived there on the morning of the day I was to pick up my trailer. Due to other moving-related matters, I was an hour or two late. I was regrettably unsurprised to learn that the staff in Kenosha did not have my trailer at that location. Instead, I had to drive to Waukegan once again to pick up the empty trailer and bring it back to Kenosha.
With everything finally installed and where it was supposed to be, the move went well. However, when I dropped the trailer off in Syracuse, New York, I discovered that the U-Haul employee who'd attached the trailer had let the safety chains hang low enough to the ground that one of them was dragging on the pavement once the trailer was loaded. In fact, it wore entirely through one of the links and the hook end of the chain was missing. I feel fortunate that we had not found ourselves in a situation where the presence of that chain would have been vital.
So, in short, I have been less than impressed with my interactions with U-Haul over the past few weeks. I want to bring this situation to your attention so you are aware of these issues. At present, I am unlikely to rent from U-Haul again, and certainly would not recommend that others do so.
Sincerely,
*name