Company Response
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Guaranteed Auto Shipping Submitted this response.
Response Date: 8/20/2009 3:13:00 PM
I first would like to express my sincere apologies for any inconvenience to Anthony. We are grateful for our customers who do business with us. Any time a customer is unhappy we always do the best we can to resolve any and all issues and make their experience with Guaranteed Auto Shipping a positive one. We are a smaller company that has been growing quickly over the past couple of years because of our focused customer service and our knowledge of the auto shipping industry that comes from years of experience. These qualities have set us apart from our competition.
In this case we were hired by Anthony to ship a sedan from Clearwater, FL to Blaine, WA – a distance of 3,250 miles. I gave him a Quote (which I will not disclose in regards to customer privacy) that was approximately 51% of the national average price. Needless to say I was able to save him quite a bit of money. I also gave him an estimated time of delivery which was about 10 days faster than the average shipping company. We have been shipping cars for a long time and we know how to get the best prices and service for our customers. Anthony was very happy with both the Quote and the estimated delivery time and asked me to set up shipping for him for his new vehicle and I agreed to go to work for him.
Our conversation was friendly in every way. However, before our phone call ended, Anthony expressed to me that he “expected to be treated unfairly” because the car he purchased was purchased at a low price and wasn’t a “high-end” model. I was honest with him and replied that whether a vehicle is worth $200 or $200,000 we treat all shipments and customers with care and respect. Guaranteed Auto Shipping does not charge or receive more or less profit based on a vehicles value. He seemed satisfied when I explained this to him.
Later that day (about an hour later) I had scheduled a truck to pick up Anthony’s vehicle in FL. Both Anthony and the car dealer assured me that the car would be ready to be picked up the following day. The next day when my driver showed up to get the car he was told by the dealer that it could NOT be picked up because he didn’t have keys for the car. My driver had to then leave the dealership empty, having wasted gas and time. I spoke with Anthony and the car dealership and we agreed to send another truck to pick up the car in 2 more days. Two days later, my second driver arrived to pick up Anthony’s car and was again turned away because the keys for the car were not ready and again my driver left the dealership with less gas in his tank and a few hours lost in his work day. Finally, after a total of 5 days, the THIRD driver I sent was allowed by the dealership to pick up Anthony’s car and start the 3,250 mile trip across the country and north to Bellingham, WA for delivery.
During the next week and a half I received nearly 50 calls from Anthony at both my office and on my cell phone (often at nearly 11pm at night). His calls became increasingly demanding and began approaching paranoia within the first couple of days. He told me over and over again that he “knew” that he was going to be treated badly because he bought his car at a low price which I constantly assured him was not the case. On an average day I would spend anywhere between 1 and 2 hours on the phone with my driver, Anthony and the car dealer to do everything I could possibly do to make the job of shipping Anthony’s car go as smoothly as possible. Contrary to what Anthony stated I always answered my phone when he called. For nearly 2 weeks I listened to and spoke to Anthony more often and for longer durations than I spoke with most of my family and friends.
As the delivery date approached Anthony became increasingly paranoid to the point of making me uncomfortable. He constantly repeated the details about how he “just knew” that he was going to be “looked down upon” because of his car’s value. I over and over again assured him in a professional and friendly manner that that was not true. He also went into detail about how he was going to need to arrange to have a friend drive him to the border from Canada and that he was having trouble planning those details. When my driver got to Washington State and was less than a day away from Bellingham Anthony insisted that he deliver the car to Blaine, WA instead. We agreed to do that to make it more convenient for him. With each phone call from Anthony, the time of day that he would be willing to receive his car was constantly changing and we did everything physically and logistically possible to accommodate him.
Even after receiving his car Anthony continued to make harassing phone calls and emails to me and some of my coworkers making false accusations and demanding all of his money back. After successfully shipping Anthony’s car from Florida to Washington State as quickly and safely as possible and for a more than fair price he expected us to work for him for free and listen to his insults. I’m sorry that he is unhappy. I’m sorry that he and the car dealership that he bought his car from did not communicate properly. I am also sorry that he was unprepared to take the necessary steps to be present to receive his car and bring it back across the border to Canada.
Anthony’s comments about our company are absolutely not true and not fair. I wish he was happier with his car. He really seemed like a pleasant person and I was happy to be doing business with him. I wish him the best and I hope he is enjoying his new car. My job was to ship his car for him quickly and safely and save him a lot of money in the process and I succeeded at all three.
Scott Belmore
Guaranteed Auto Shipping
Auburn, MA 01501