PODS® Reviews
We had an issue with the door not opening when our hired unloading helpers arrived. The had delivered it in such a way that it was on a down hill slant. The Mattress was pushed against the door and jammed it. We could not get it open.We had to reschedule the help and pay a $160.00 cancellation charge. Two days later the Pods people showed up. They said if the pod door was damaged we would have to pay for it. Then they loaded it up and turned it around. The door opened. What I would suggest is the following. during the set up for the pods delivery to our new home, they asked if we wanted the door of the pod to be facing our home. They did not say anything like" if the slope of your driveway is down to the house it could cause the items to slide down and jam the door, we recommend that your face it the other way. They did say in there website that they would not be able to deliver on a hill. Our driveway is not super slanted, it is very long with lots of options for flatter parking. Anyways it all ended up ok, no damage. It was frustrating to have to pay extra and to wait two more days to unpack as we were living in an empty house....I would reccomend that you make sure the pod is delivered in a way that things wont shift...you should also tie everything down as they suggest( we did this) I would also suggest the the Pods people really emphasize this issue a little more. If the driver saw it was too much of an angle just park in a better spot. AS I looked for solutions online, I found that this is an ongoing problem, lots of people cannot open the door upon delivery. Other than this I found them good.
Very disappointed with PODS! We still had to get a UHaul trailer to hitch on the back of Hubby's truck to get all of out things from Florida to South Carolina! When we discussed the issues with the Representative she lied to us & then only communicated via another Representative! This was my first & last time every using them & wouldn't recommend them to my enemies! We ended up having to get two separate hotels! One because the company they recommended to load us milked the damn clock & we were to tired to get right on the road & then too tire when we got to our storage in Summerville & was too tired to drive the last two miles after rearranging our storage unit & putting all of the items in storage!
the only thing that keeps this from being a 5 star is the fact that you have no control on the time of delivery on the scheduled day of delivery. This makes it impossible to schedule mover help with pod delivery. If there is an option to have the pod dropped the day before it is definitely the better option.
The PODs people were all on time, courteous, and contacted us ahead of time to say they were on the way. We were contacted via text and email about all thed steps on the way. I would recommend PODs. Having gone through the process from beginning to end with PODS, I STRONGLY recommend calling versus using the website. In fact, DO NOT USE THE WEBSITE TO BOOK: CALL!!!!! Too many questions unanswered on the website. However, when we called, the person on the other end answered all our questions, walked us through the process, and booked everything for us! We knew exactly what we were ordering, dates, locations, dates, and costs. EXCELLENT 1:1 customer service!
POD arrived on site (Seattle) on time. Very friendly. They picked it up on time and delivered to my Tampa location on time. I did have some issues with the delivery where my dashboard kept losing my shipping date request, had to call in multiple times to get that fixed. I also requested access to my POD months in advance, then double checked weeks in advance. The day of, I was told there was nothing on the schedule for me. I explained my situation and they were able to fit me in. I think the back and forth of delivery dates and access dates is the only reason why they didn't get a 5-star rating from me. Note, we just barely fit everything into our POD after breaking down most of the furniture and getting rid of a bunch of furniture. I think their sizing suggestions are a bit off.
Unfortunately PODS representative miscalculated the described contents of our home that would fit into the largest PODS container leaving us scrambling to find another container service to load the remaining items. PODS did not have any available containers that met our tight move schedule which lead to a whole other set of problems with another transport co.
In this area (Central PA, Marietta, Columbia, Elizabethtown), availability for drivers is VERY limited. Be willing to schedule your dropoff and pickup times WELL in advance (1-2 weeks) or risk being charged more for your container. The driver was VERY new and not confident and, while they did their best, ultimately did a very poor job placing the container in our complex.
The guys dropping off and picking up the PODs were great every time. The booking and working with their call center however was a tedious and long process, though ultimately helpful. They made changing pickup/dropoff dates easy. They were not clear that the POD wouldn't be shipped to the new city until I'd scheduled it, so the delivery was delayed by a week, because I thought the POD would be shipped to the new city and then you were just arranging the dropoff date. But you have to schedule every step of the process. Overall, if you have the space for a POD in a driveway and are not in a hurry, it's a good way to move.