I wound up working with Quality Relocation Services through a broker. The broker didn't tell me I would be working with Quality Relocation Services, and except for my phone number didn't give Quality Relocation Services the information they needed about me or the car I needed shipped. As a result, our fist conversation with each other was awkward.
After that convo, I googled for information about the company and found the mostly horrible reviews of the company on this site (transportreviews.com). They alarmed me enough so that I called the broker and reamed him out. He assured me that he'd worked with Quality Relocation Services many times and there was never a problem. Unconvinced, rather than cancel the job (the car hadn't been picked up yet) and eat the fee paid to the broker, I decided to go ahead with the deal. The car was old (a 1958 English Ford) and cost relatively little to buy ($2000), so I figured I'd take a chance – mostly because it was the first original and solid English Ford I'd found after nearly 5 years of looking for one.
I think the drivers were Alex and Leon. The person at the office I spoke the most to was Mark, or Mike. They were polite and professional all the way. I spoke to two women at the office, too. I didn't get their names. They were condescending and rude. But Alex, Leon and Mark (Mike) were great and easy to deal with. They picked the car up in Centralia, WA, and brought it to New Haven, CT. It was supposed to be a running car with bad brakes. Turned out it wasn't running, but they dealt with it. Alex and Leon called me a few times on their way across the country to say where they were and when I could expect to see the car. They gave great comfort.
They delivered the car exactly when they said they would. AND, it turned out, the mother of all thunderstorms broke out exactly as they pulled the hauler up to the front of the house where it was to be dropped off. The sky had quickly turned dark grey but, as they pulled up, it turned black. Rain came down in torrents. I couldn't see, even when I went back to stand under cover on the front porch to watch them unload the car. They did a brilliant job for a car that didn't run and whose only working brake was the hand-lever emergency one. At one point, inching the car off in all the pouring rain, one of the ramps shifted so that the left front tire was almost off it, and the car could have fallen 3 feet to the ground. They stopped immediately and sussed out a fix, turning the wheel just so, so the left front tire miraculously rolled back on to the ramp. After that, in spite of the rain, it was smooth going. They even helped me push the car down the long driveway to the separate garage behind the house. For that, I tipped them both an extra $30.
You may ask why they didn't wait for the heavy rain, thunder and lightening to subside before they unloaded the car. It would have been a luxury they couldn't take time for, because it was rush hour and the car hauler was blocking traffic – people were coming back home from their jobs.
They moved quickly and efficiently. They were calm, friendly and professional. I would hire them again in a minute. I don't doubt that other reviewers had their problems with the company, but I assuredly did not (though I expect to) and figured I would tell you about it.
Thanks guys, much appreciated.
