Management - Take Notice
N. Welch
Submitted this review about
Navy Auto Transport
Review made Live: 5/14/2015 11:58:00 AM
Navy Auto Transport was the first transporter I encountered, and Mario Lopez's initial impression was very professional. He touted Navy's reputation and credibility. He played up their ties to the American military and positioned himself as just wanting to be helpful in educating me on the risks of contracting with one of the less scrupulous transporters. At the time we were still finalizing our plans, so I told Mr. Lopez I would be in touch. He supplied me with a quote of $1080 and transport time estimate of 7-10 days. My requested targeted delivery date was May 23-26, and I was assured that would be "no problem" as long as I booked it "soon".
For the next ten days my email was bombarded with messages of "We Have Drivers in Your Area", reconfirming the $1080 quote. I had many other quotes from other transporters, some less that Navy's quote, but believing in Mr. Lopez's integrity, I chose to move forward with Navy. On May 11th I emailed Mr. Lopez that we were ready to proceed, asking only that he be upfront with his assurances on my delivery timing. I told Mr. Lopez the vehicle was ready for pick-up immediately. He confirmed that delivery by May 26th was still very doable, that as long as the vehicle was picked up by May 15th there would be no problem. Oh, except now the price was going to be $1150 because "it changes every week" and "we need to post the right price to attract drivers." I asked about all of the emails telling me he already had drivers in my area, and was told by Mr. Lopez that he had "no control" over those "automated" communications. I reluctantly proceeded and signed the Agreement with the Price "QUOTE". I was assured I'd be hearing from multiple drivers soon.
After two days and no contact, and with less than 48 hours until the May 15 pick-up date that I was told was critical to meet my May 26th delivery deadline, I reached out to Mr. Lopez to ask for a status on my order. I reiterated that it was imperative the vehicle be delivered by May 26th, and that if he was no longer able to assure me that could happen, I would simply make other arrangements. I received a curt response that said all transporters use the same messaging board to find drivers, so no one would be able to find a driver any sooner. Then. . .the zinger: Mr. Lopez said that if I would agree to a offer more money for the driver, "hopefully one can be interested". By that point, I had zero confidence that Mr. Lopez was going to be able to meet my timeline at the price he quoted. I informed Mr. Lopez via email and text that I was cancelling the order.
Almost immediately I received a phone call from Mr. Lopez. He was incredulous that I was cancelling, even though he acknowledged that the AGREEMENT clearly states it can be cancelled at any time prior to vehicle pick-up. I calmly explained that based on his communications earlier in the day, I had lost confidence in Navy's ability to deliver the car by the date I had specified. The conversation went downhill from there, with Mr. Lopez rudely questioning my alternate arrangements. The call ended, only to be followed by a second phone call minutes later from Mr. Lopez. In what can only be described as a surreal experience, Mr. Lopez proceeded to berate me, insisting that it was all my "fault", not his, that the deal fell apart. He kept referencing the "signed contract" and the "first available date" of May 15th, and that because it wasn't yet May 15th, he had not failed to find a driver. When I reminded him that just hours before he told me he couldn't find a driver without more money, he became even more belligerent. I have never encountered a sales rep with such a lack of professionalism towards a customer.
To be clear, this review would not have been written if it weren't for Mr. Lopez's response to my cancelling the order. I knew this industry was sketchy. I was prepared for a bait-and-switch. I was prepared for missed dates. What I was not prepared for, and will not let go un-noticed, was the grossly disrespectful manner in which Mr. Lopez handled my order and subsequent cancellation. Ironically, in the end, Mr. Lopez was exactly the type of unscrupulous auto transport broker that he had warned me about in our initial conversation.
