PODS® Reviews
Renting a PODS container worked well for the distance we moved. It was the largest container and we needed just a bit more space.The condition of the container was very good. The customer service was quite good. The two young men who arrived to drop off our POD were professional, friendly and very talented when it came to placing the container in our driveway. We thought they did a very good job. We would not hesitate to use them again, if the need arose.
Pod's, overall was great to deal with. Their container was clean, in good shape and the service was excellent. We chose Pods because of the quick scheduling of the move. It gave us more flexibility which we couldn't get with a moving company. We would use them again. Although it's more physical work than hiring a professional mover if you do your own loading, which we did. But, if done right, nothing gets lost or broken and you can have it delivered when you want other than dealing with a movers schedule.
PODs picked up and delivered my POD on time, and everything that I unprofessionally packed in there was in a good condition when I got it out 5 months later. The reason they aren't getting 5 stars is because they stored my POD at a facility that was so far away from my new apartment that they ended up charging me for a second long distance move when I requested that they deliver my POD. If I had known where they intended to store it when I first had it shipped cross country, I would have told them to store it at a closer location so I wouldn't be charged for a second move.
The drop-off and pick-up people were excellent, the pod door latches were difficult (slightly bent?) but otherwise it was in good shape and very clean. Phone contact was okay. ( I do not like to order online, I rely on my computer only for confirmations and receipts when purchasing). I chose Pods because they were the company I had heard of the most frequently. My pod was in storage for a year and things were a bit dusty, but in good shape. Yes, I would use them again.
Some customer service issues with people I spoke to on the phone not giving correct information (not intentionally, just not understanding the info themselves probably), just be sure you clarify any payment and fee details and understand all agreements, but overall a great service. The container was clean and secure, all the people I interacted with in person were great (drivers, warehouse staff and office). So far everything that came out of the pod looks to be in the same condition it went in. The approximate price I listed for this service includes 7 months of storage at about 250/month for a 16' container.
I found out about this company, after I had already packed and stored my belongings with PODS and I needed someone to help me unload the contents at my new location. Since I live alone, I didn't have someone to stay outside and watch the guys as they unloaded my furniture since I had to be inside to direct them where to place the heavy items, as I wouldn't be able to move them myself after they left. I had carefully wrapped my headboard in a furniture pad and the PODS was very tightly packed so that nothing could move around in it durning transport. When I saw one of the movers bringing the headboard in to my apartment, he was not only carrying it by himself under one arm, which meant that it was swinging around as he was walking, he had also removed the furniture pad! When it came in he had put a large gouge on both the front and back of the headboard. That's not all. After the movers had left, I noticed that I was missing a full length mirror that belonged in my bedroom. When I went out to the POD to see if it was still in there, I saw that it was hanging over a curb, completely shattered. Of course, the movers never mentioned a word about it, they stupidly thought I just wouldn't notice. When I submitted a complaint and explained the situation, the representative that got back to my had the nerve to tell me that the headboard HAD to have been damaged in transport, after I had explained, VERY CLEARLY, that it had been carefully wrapped and packed and couldn't possibly have been damaged with a sharp gouge when it was wrapped in a furniture pad. They sent me a small reimbursement for what was covered under their free insurance policy but if you make the unfortunate decision to hire this company, pay the extra money for full insurance coverage and make sure you're babysitting the movers and watching their every move.
Our move correlated to the end of the college year and the phones at PODs were jammed. i spent 1.5hrs on the phone during 1 call and 40 minutes on another call trying to reach them. Their system to identify deliver windows does not work well at all. They call you with a delivery window but don't leave the time on your VM, instead they tell you to log in and check. When i logged in to check, the information WAS NOT posted to my account so I had to make another call. They sent a guy out to deliver a lock that we never requested, so that was another call to get that charge removed as the delivery guy kept the lock. All in all, PODs is a good system but the inefficiencies with their process is creating a lot of additional expense for everyone concerned.
They tried to cancel and change our delivery date the day the POD was to be delivered. We already had arranged for movers to come help us pack the POD the next day and were told the POD wouldn't be delivered for 2 days (due to the weekend). Luckily they were able to deliver the POD on our original date after calling and explaining our situation.
Moved to another state. The price was competative, extra clean containers, had prompt delivery & pick up right down to the time they would arrive empty and picked up when they were full. They were stored at their secured facility for 9 weeks until we took posession of our new home. Again, I received a call from the driver within 1/2 of drop off and they picked up the empty containers at the designated time agreed upon on the date I requested. Very impressed.