Crowley - Meaningless Quotes
Brooke O'Hanley
Submitted this review about
Crowley Auto Transport
Review made Live: 11/16/2010 9:10:00 AM
I spent several days shopping around for the best quote and found the best quote with Crowley Auto. When I received the quote, it said that it was a starting price (and that is exactly what it was, a starting price). I immediately called the representative to understand what this meant. She reassured me that this was the exact quote $750 (which included a student discount) and that she did not like the language and did not understand why the language said starting price. I asked her if she would be able to send me something that said this was the real quote, i.e., not a starting price and she talked with her manager and sent me a quote that did not include the "starting price" language. She at no time explained that this truly was a starting price, i.e., it was a quote that was meaningless.
I spoke with my representative at great length and explained that the car absolutely had to be in California on a particular day. I did not care if the car was picked up extremely early from Maryland but it absolutely had to be in California by a particular day. She selected a day that she said would meet this demand (she said it would take 5 days to ship the car across the country - this I later found out is incorrect. It takes more like 7-10 days). I said lets add a couple of extra days as a cushion.
A couple of days before the car was supposed to be picked up, I called my representative. No answer. The next day called my representative and left another message. Finally, getting worried, I talked to the operator. Eventually I found out (after talking with several different people) that my representative had been fired for not doing a good job. No kidding. But the problem is, no corrective actions were done to make me, the customer whole. I was stuck with her mistakes.
I was told that the quote she gave me was just a quote and that if I ever wanted my car to be picked up, I would have to increase the price by $150 (minimum). They told me that the representative should have explained the process to me. She didn't. I also had to pretty much call Crowley a couple of times a day to try and pressure them to call drivers to pick up my car. If I had not been proactive, I think my car would still be in Maryland.
So, if you want to get a quote that means nothing pick Crowley. If my experience is any indication of how they do business, expect that the car will not be picked up for a while, that you will have to call them several times a day to express your concern that the car is not getting picked up and then only then will they find a driver, you will have to pay at a minimum $150 more for the car to be picked up, they might fire your representative (most likely because she does not explain the process, gives a meaningless quote, etc.) but they will not compensate you for their employee's errors, you will have to rent a car while you wait for your to arrive.
I have shipped my car across the country before and this is by far the worst experience I have encountered.
On a positive note, the actually shipping company could not have been better - very professional, friendly, etc. The problem is Crowley.
