Company Response Review Report Review
Transport of an 86 MR2 from CA to OH - disappointing

Johnny Submitted this review about Ship a Car Direct
Review made Live: 8/27/2013 2:27:00 PM
When I was picking a shipper to transport my MR2 to Ohio, I obtained quotes from four highly rated shipper and I chose Ship-A-Car-Direct due to their excellent reviews. The initial contact was pleasant and Matt was very responsive to an inquires I had. So I sent my deposit and specifically said that I needed my car to be picked up on Tuesday, August 27th. Avanti was the carrier they assigned so I was all set to go.

The issue was that I received a call on August 24th (Saturday) stating that they'd pick up my car on the 25th, which is two days earlier than scheduled! I contacted Matt and to his credit, he quickly responded on the weekend and spoke to the driver. However, I paid for door to door service and did not get it. I'm located in San Francisco and they said I would have to drop my car off in Hayward, CA. I understand that a pickup in SF isn't the easiest but Hayward is a 40min drive away and that is NOT door to door service. Fortunately, the car was quickly delivered in good condition.

I sent an email to Matt detailing my dissatisfaction with having to drive to Hayward and I did not receive a response. The only emails I got were ones requesting a review.

Overall, I have mixed feelings about Ship-A-Car-Direct. They made a mistake and obviously made the effort to have my car picked up when I scheduled it. However I feel that if you're one of the highest rated company on transportreviews.com, you would make more of an effort to NOT inconvenience me due to an error on their part. They were the ones who chose the carrier so in my mind, they are the ones responsible for these mistakes. Add in the fact that I sent an email detailing my dissatisfaction to Matt and DID NOT receive a reply is disappointing.

Would I use Ship-A-Car-Direct again? Very doubtful. There are many other shippers here with excellent ratings and I don't simply choose the cheapest shipper. I want value but I'm not willing to compromise on customer service. Perhaps my case is an isolated, rare occurrence but I find the lack of response to my complaints as an indicator of less than satisfactory customer service.
Shipment Details
Origin State:
California
Pickup:
On Time
Destination State:
Ohio
Delivery:
On Time
Customer Service
Honesty:
Knowlegeable:
Promptness:
Customer Service:
Review Details
Quote or Order Id:
313684-TL
Quote or Order Cost:
$1075

Company Response
Michael Strickland from Ship a Car Direct Submitted this response.
Response Date: 8/29/2013 7:33:00 PM
Thanks for your feedback, Johnny. Sorry to hear your experience was disappointing - timing expectations can be a major issue and it sounds like we missed an opportunity to spare you some angst. Unfortunately we don't have a way to guarantee timing or schedule with precision, but it sounds like we could have been more clear with you about what to expect from us and from the driver. Sorry for your frustration. We are following with the carrier about how they handled your transport.