PODS® Reviews
Drop off to location was fine. Pickup was a disaster. Because uBoxes were placed too close to the POD Container, the driver claimed he couldn't retrieve the POD. He was extremely RUDE to me, the site location Manager, then called his supervisor and the supervisor was worse! They claimed they couldn't have the driver wait for the engraved route uBox driver to come move their equipment because the POD driver was "Finished" for the day & it wasn't even 2:00 in the afternoon (Friday prior to Memorial Day). All this meant my POD wasn't picked up from drop-off location for 5-days when it was supposed to be picked up within 3-hours of drop-off; which, by the way, I had to pay over $200 extra for same day drop-off and pickup!! Original PODs drop off man was Great! The same day Pickup driver & his supervisor were TERRIBLE to put it mildly. I had zero problems with POD when I used them 4-6-weeks prior; however, the 2nd booking was MORE EXPENSIVE and trouble time & again.
I really wanted to like PODS, but the entire process has been a hassle. It took over an hour on the phone to order and schedule the POD drop-offs and pick-ups, and we had to adjust our moving schedule in order to accommodate their required shipment time-frame (they were meant to pick up the POD on May 31, then drop it off at our new home on June 10, leaving us to figure out sleeping arrangements for 10 days, so we planned around that). I did not receive a time frame for the original drop off, and only received a time frame for my pick up an hour before it started (not the night before, as they claimed it would be). Unfortunately, due to overworking their (apparently only) driver (he later confirmed he'd worked three 14s and one 16 in a row), they simply did not pick up the container on May 31--without calling or notifying me in any way until midnight, upon which I found an email stating the new pick up date was June 4th, pushing our delivery date to June 12 and requiring me to find accommodations for two more days and reschedule our unloading crew. In addition, the general response for every call I made for assistance could be summed up with "we could put in a ticket, but realistically they won't get to it in time to fix anything." I don't know if I just caught them at a bad time, but as much as they touted their flexibility, they have turned out to be far less flexible and reliable than initially stated. At this point, I'm just hoping we get our POD on June 12, since they only service our new location on Tuesdays and Thursdays...
Lots of promises over the phone but they don't fully disclose their costs: Quoted me 2 fees for about $400 but charged me 3 fees for over $500). They send a lot of emails but their communication over the phone is difficult because you always end up talking to a different person. Sometimes, they were helpful with requests, but other times, they fell short and did nothing. I just don't like the experience and won't use them again.
I rented a 16-foot PODS container, which was just right for a 1200-sq-ft apartment (no appliances). The driver showed up during the window I was provided, and the container was clean and empty. He was able to easily place the container in the parking spaces I'd hoped for, and he was very friendly yet professional. The container was picked up on the day + timing I was provided in the email.
Make sure you get all the information you need from the customer service agents you talk to on the phone. They literally told me on the phone I don’t have to be there on the day of the container drop-off, and that there would be people loading the container and picking it up for me. Lies. There is so much coordination needed for the container drop-off and I regret not being there in person. They also don’t provide loaders so that was insane to say I don’t have to be there to load the container. I didn’t learn anything about the parking permit required for the PODS container on the street, the time that the PODS would show up, the actual space constraint needed for the container (the space needs to accommodate not only the container but also the TRUCK) until THE DAY OF. I had to call several times to get all the information I need out of several different customer service agents. For such an EXPENSIVE service you’d think they provide more information upfront. Good discounts provided by some agents though. Be very careful with this service.
For small load moving ( ours an 8x7 box 3) met our delivery and pickup schedule but with three hour windows for delivery and pickup. This requires customer to schedule delivery one day, another to load or unload with mover assistance, and a third day for pickup of empty pod (customer not needed for this activity). Pod does offer small loads to not be loaded with other parties moves on a larger van.
I rented two pods based on their recommendation and that wasn't enough. Had to get a storage unit last minute for items that didn't fit in the pods. Customer service was awful to deal with - took over 45 minutes to schedule delivery when they canceled my original delivery date (was supposed to be a Saturday and they didn't show up, so it was then scheduled for the following Tuesday). Each time I had to speak with customer service, it was a very exhausting experience because you have to keep repeating yourself, they didn't understand that I needed to change from storing on my property to needing PODS to store at their facility due to closing on my new home was pushed back, and they increased the price by almost double and when I questioned it then all of a sudden they stated it was a mistake. Just a poor experience all the way around dealing with PODS