Never Again
Lewis Williams
Submitted this review about
Super Jet Van Lines
Review made Live: 9/16/2013 1:20:00 PM
My move happened on May 29th through June 6th and I have waited until September 16th to post this review as I still have outstanding issues. I have finally given up and want to document the process.
I reviewed multiple companies, including Angie's List to find a reasonable, reliable moving company to move from Camp Hill, PA to Venice, Fl. Super Jet had extremely good reviews from many sites (one from Angie's List that I got over the phone) so I called to get an estimate. Jake was extremely responsive, call me back multiple times and assured me that he would be my contact throughout the move. He quoted me $3,095 based on my descriptions of what I had to move. They did not provide someone to come in and give an onsite appraisal. The move wound up costing me $3,600 plus a $200 tip for those picking up the product and another $200 for those that delivered it. Eric, the supervisor for the pickup told me at least 3 times that a good tip would ensure great service. I normally tip anyway so I had no initial problem with the tip, but it did bother me that he was pushing for it.
The Good:
1. Eric was 2 hours late in arriving on the 29th but called ahead to tell me, so I could plan accordingly. He was cordial, and easy to work with.
2. The move to deliver the product was scheduled for June 6 which was in the timeframe promised. The supervisor of the delivery came 2 hours early as Tropical Storm Andrea was coming into Venice and he wanted to unload before the rain hit. I was very appreciative of that.
The Bad:
A. Pack and Pickup
1. I had difficulty getting the dates and times worked out with the dispatch office. I called Jake to see if he could do anything, and of course he could do nothing and told me I had to work through them. So much for staying with me throughout the move.
2. Eric continually tried to tell me I could leave the premises while they packed if I had other things to do. I did not, but if I had that would have only exasperated a bad situation.
3. They ran out of packing paper so Eric had to leave his staff and go to Home Depot to get more. The workers continued to pack. As we were unpacking, we found dishes wrapped in our paper towels, and glasses wrapped in our aluminum foil. Obviously none of that product survived the move.
4. As the day wound down, there were several items that they had missed. Eric put sticky labels on them and threw them in the truck. He kiddingly said we really didn't need them.
B. Delivery
1, As I said, they came 2 hours early to beat the rain. Unfortunately, he only had 2 workers with him. The other 2 came late after everything was done. The supervisor told me I had to match the bill of lading with the numbers on the boxes so we could ensure we had all the items. I was not able to do this as I had to help them get the items in before the rain came. I checked the boxes as best I could but 9 boxes had no stickers on them. We tried to match it all up, but the supervisor wanted to leave to go his next stop so left before we could really reconcile. It was my bad for letting him go. My wife noticed our ladder still on the truck just before he left, and we at least got that off.
2. As we started unpacking, we found multiple items broken as mentioned above. We kept hunting for items that we had not found and starting making lists we could check off. The carbon copies of the Bill of Lading was so weak it was almost impossible to read. After about 2 weeks we had our list of issues. There were at least 3 boxes that we did not have that contained items very precious to us such our grandson's paintings, a wooden bowl given to my wife by her mother, a caricature of me from college ( 40 years ago), and pictures of my wife & son and my wife and her mother at approximately the same age. So many memories lost.
C. Issue Resolution
1. I notified customer service/dispatch (same office-phone #) of the issues and they directed me to Anthem Claim Management. I told them I would fill out the paperwork, but could they please look in the warehouse for the missing boxes. I was assured they would look and I gave them the tag # ranges that we were missing.
2. Two weeks passed, I heard nothing so called back and emailed. I was finally contacted by Michele, and said the boxes were not in the warehouse, but she could not locate the supervisor that made the delivery to inquire if they were still on the truck. I asked her for his phone # so I could call him. I came back and asked for that number multiple times and still do not have it. I think he put my boxes in his house (he was moving to Orlando and stopped there prior to coming to Venice). Who knows, they can't find their supervisors.
3. I forwarded the Claim Forms to Anthem on June 16 and followed up 2 weeks later for a progress report. They said they were waiting on paper work from Super Jet. After 3 additional phone calls, Anthem finally said they would send me the settlement paperwork.
4. I mailed the settlement agreement to Anthem on August 10. I called them 2 weeks later and they informed me they had sent the completed paperwork back to Super Jet to cut the check August 13. A call to the dispatch to ask them if they had it has gone no where. I called them on September 3 and was told the Manager, Lisa, would call me back. On September 6th I called again, but Lisa was not there. I have also sent 2 emails requesting a progress report and there has been no reply.
The Ugly
The company has a flawed business model. The warehouse seems to be in chaos, and the dispatch and customer service office are so overwhelmed or incompetent that I can not understand how they got any good reviews. It almost makes me wonder about the whole review process. Additionally, I do not understand why they hire an outside firm to handle complaints only to ignore the finalized agreement. If you are going to stiff customers, why pay another firm for processing?
Super Jet let me charge the initial down payment, but would only take a cashier's check for the balance. The stated reason was they are a discount company and cannot make money paying credit card fees, but in retrospect, the reason for requiring cash is so the customer will have no recourse.
My advice would be: 1. Never do business with a moving company that does not provide on site appraisal, and 2. Never do business with a company that requires Cash Payment at the end of the services without any recourse for issues.
