Challenge Number One - U-Haul

My last 7 days in California were spent well. Each day, I was fortunate to hang out with family and close friends. I guess I can insert my first bit of advice here - make sure you use the hell out of the "moving" excuse. People who typically flake out will come see you. And, if you're lucky, you can get a few free meals out of it.

Packed as my schedule was, I was never too tired to make my way out to the city just to meet up for food or a jam session. I kept busy and enjoyed it.

Two days before my departure date, I decided that it would be prudent to book a moving truck ahead of time. So I called up U-Haul. At that moment I had no idea how much I would soon regret making that call.

The first few tries were frustrating enough. After waiting an average of 10 minutes on hold per call, the U-Haul office in Cambridge picked up but were unable to hear me. Finally I called their 800 number and asked about availability. The operator I spoke with said that the pickup time and location that I wanted were both available, so I went ahead and booked through him.

Not long afterwards, I received a confirmation email verifying the pickup time and location - with the wrong pickup time and location. Plus they spelled my last name "BAENT" instead of "CHENG". As if I haven't had enough name mixups with U-Haul (try Mu-Hua on Outlook's spellcheck). I called the 800 number to clarify. Another twenty minutes on hold. They told me that the order already went through and that I would have to call the regional office in Cambridge to change anything. So I called. I waited fifty minutes on hold before reaching an operator. Again, the person on the other line couldn't hear me, so she hung up. Fifty minutes wasted. I spent the next two hours calling number after number on different phone lines until I finally got someone who could hear me. The operator admitted that the 800 number doesn't have up to date booking information and that the Cambridge branch had been fully booked for a month. A month. That means the 800 number is giving out stale information that all their customers will base their booking plans on. Not very efficient, right? The operator agreed, but refused to compensate me in any way. *click*

Luckily, I had a computer nearby and checked out Penske's rates. Their rental costs were comparable to U-Haul's, so I decided to give them a try. My phone call with them lasted three minutes, with no hold time. I asked about availability and made sure they had trucks available at the nearest location. They confirmed. I went online and booked in two minutes. The confirmation email looked fine, so I called U-Haul back (10 minutes on hold again) and cancelled my reservation. What I accomplished in 3 hours with U-Haul (2 of those 3 hours on hold) I did in 5 minutes with Penske.

Lessons learned:

- Book your moving truck early - especially if your move-in date coincides with the start of a college semester.

- Do not use U-Haul. And if you do, don't trust information given to you through the 800 number.