| J Haywood |
| 7/21/2008 1:53:00 PM |
| Domestic Auto Transport |
| FL-DC in 7 days |
This is a decidedly mixed review.
Positives attributable to Domestic Auto Transport are that Tyler followed up on the email quote by phone; he was courteous; he was able to locate a truck to pick up my car in Ft. Laud. the following day; he was generally available by phone.
Negatives attributable to DAT are that he provided delivery date estimates that proved to be incorrect and not based on any actual contact with the driver or dispatcher; he was not particularly responsive to email; the car arrived 4 days later than he indicated and at no point did HE seem to have knowledge concerning the whereabouts of the car; at no point did he apologize for the delay or for providing unreliable info. (He did request a positive review as soon as the car was picked up, as well as after the car was delivered 4 days after he projected.)
Positives attributable to JR's Trucking are that the car was picked up on time; the car arrived undamaged; the delivery was an uneventful transaction/experience (not "door to door," but close enough); and JR's dispatcher never misled me as to the delivery date (consistently telling me 3-7 days until I was finally put directly in touch with the driver).
Negatives attributable to DAT and JRT are that it took fully 7 days (and a few hours) for the car to get from FL to DC; time estimates from JRT were vague/inexact; not until the 5th day did I get info. as to the car's real-time location; the driver indicated the car would arrive "first thing" Wed. morning (between 8 and 10) if not Tues. evening and did not call as promised Wed. morning to let me know it would be later in the day. The car was very dirty on arrival, but that was to be expected after 7 days on an open carrier traversing the Southeastern U.S.
This was a very stressful experience due primarily to the false expectations I was given by DAT and DAT's inability to obtain and convey useful and reliable info. once the car was in transit. Tyler had to learn from ME that the car had been picked up and that it had been delivered. At no point did he indicate any sense of responsibility or regret regarding the innacurate time estimates which he "explained" were based on "messages on [his] screen." (I was told on Friday afternoon that the car would arrive Friday evening; clearly, he had no clue whatsoever.)
My experience seems to jibe with those of other reviewers who reported that their transport company was primarily concerned about getting the car picked up and less attentive/informative/concerned after that point. As mentioned above, Tyler was usually reachable by phone but never had any reliable real-time information. Instead he told me the car would arrive Friday, then Monday, then Tuesday (by which point I was in contact with the driver).
I'm glad the car was picked up quickly, but that does me little good if it takes forever to be delivered and I'm given no information or inaccurate and unreliable information regarding status. I don't believe I was deliberately misled; I think Tyler honestly expected the car to arrive when he said it would; he simply had no factual basis for having that expectation.
In the end, I received my car undamaged, which is the most important thing; but the misleading info. was stress-inducing and highly disruptive of my plans. In retrospect, I could have saved time, money, and stress by going with my original plan: flying to FL and bring the car back via Amtrak auto train (Orlando, FL, to Lorton, VA).
I hope DAT and its future customers benefit from the honest and constructive critique.
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J Haywood gave Domestic Auto Transport a rating of:  
| Review details | |
| Quote or Order ID: | 304461 |
| Quote or Order Cost: | $919 |
| Origin: | Florida |
| Pickup: | On Time |
| Destination: | Washington DC |
| Delivery: | On Time |
Total Time from pickup
to delivery of vehicle: | 7 day(s) |
| Truck/Carrier Type: | Open |
| Dirty: | Yes |
| Items Stolen: | No |
| Damaged: | No |
| Honesty: |   |
| Hold Times/Promptness: | |
| Overall Customer Service: | |
| Primary Contact: | Tyler |
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Valley Solutions, Inc.