PODS® Reviews
I have only used the POD to pack and they currently have it in storage so I cannot give a re-delivery review with that I will review the service so far. Setting it up was easy however there website has this calculator which tells you what size POD they recommend. That is a joke as it always told me I need the largest size, when in fact I was moving from a 1 bed room, lightly furnished apartment which I've been in for less than 1 year. I knew I didn't need their recommendation, and their smallest size was unavailable so I went with the middle sized pod which turned out to be bigger than I needed still. I needed to have it picked up next day but couldn't set up a pick-up date until they dropped it off. Within 10 minutes of it being delivered I called and they said they needed 4 days which wasn't good but was the only option I could get. The guys who dropped it off were early and dropped it exactly where I wanted it, but forgot to bring my mattress bag and the rental blankets which I didn't realize until the next day (day of the move). I called them early and they said they would send someone out immediately which was 4 hours later, which was 1 hr and 30 minutes after my movers were to arrive (but they were late too so they beat them). The driver who dropped them off didn't call and threw them into the unsecured POD. I caught him before he left and asked him to bring it to me and he wasn't happy about carrying them 20 feet and handing them to me on my deck vs me walking through the apartment and gates to get to them myself. I said "Thanks" he said "Uh" and walked away... guess he wasn't happy. That was my only experience with this company in person and it was poor service all around. They called before they picked it up but I had already moved out and wasn't there to see the pick-up and load so I'll assume they did fine. I hope to find a place to move to and get it delivered with everything in tact. I will not use PODS in the future if I can avoid it.
PODS of Raleigh is fantastic to work with! They were very accommodating when it came to delivering my first PODS unit. The manager (Jimmy, I think) called me to make sure that they could squeeze in the delivery of my PODS unit during Memorial Day weekend, and he even volunteered to come to our house before his route began to deliver the PODS himself. Each pickup and delivery with PODS has been very easy. We have used 2 so far for this move.
PODS were great! Delivered and picked up on time, and the divers were excellent at placing them right where we needed them. The pods were actually big enough for all of our stuff, but unfortunately, the movers we hired did such a poor job loading and wasting space that we had to leave a few items behind.
Pods were great! We needed two of them. The drivers did a great job placing them in our driveway and street for easy access. On time drop off and pick up. Only concern was a miscommunication with the national office insisting that local ordinance would not allow street placement of one of the pods, who insisted I get a letter from the city police, even when I told her the city police said they would not provide a letter for me because the house was actually in the county area outside their jurisdiction. But after arguing with me, she did put me in touch with the local office making the delivery, and they were much more understanding and willing to verify with local officials, making the street delivery possible. The movers who helped us unload noticed a dent in the floor where the piano leg was, and pointed out broken top shelves of book shelves, and suggested this was due to the pod being dropped, or perhaps the driver hitting a speed bump or pot hole causing the contents to get airborne and slammed down. But no major damage other than book shelf tops.
PODS failed badly on our move. They dropped off and picked up the pod on time; but then two days before scheduled delivery, they called to say it was still stuck in our departure city, they didn't have any trucks. This was after I had checked in with a live agent online asking for status (literally the day before) to be told "no news is good news" - direct quote. And then when they finally delivered, a week late, they missed their delivery window by an hour and a half (late, of course). Love the concept, but poor execution for our move.
I will reconsider using PODS again. The drivers were not knowledgeable about the actual PODS-the drop-off driver didn't understand where to place the POD (driveway or street) and the pick-up driver didn't know how to work the locks on the unit. He stated that he "had never seen this type of unit" before.
Everything was good except they totally screwed up the parking permit issues in San Francisco. Told me they would take care of it - they didn't. I ended up calling the city and getting the permit myself, and it resulted in a 2 day delay (on top of the 8 business days!). They also have not owned up to their mistakes or tried to set things right in any manner. Not happy, never using them again.
POD people were very helpful on the phone and in person. The POD drivers were excellent. We stored it for a month and everything was in perfect condition when we unpacked. We hired recommended movers by POD to load and unlaod ahd they were good also. THis was the most pianless move we ever made. Moved from Tampa Florida to Stevens Point, Wisconsin
For a 2.5 month gap in having a house to live in, the PODs was the best way to go. Just remember that you need to pack it for riding down the road. I used pieces of plywood between my dressers and nightstands so that I could stack one on top of the other. Get the most out of the height of the container via stacking and strapping down your goods.
PODS was okay. There was no size in between using a 7' and a 16'. I could have used a 12'. As it was, the 7' was very tight (I ended up having to load up my car as well as leave things behind) A 16' would have been much too big. What the commercials don't tell you is that how you pack it is very important. I can't help but think that in the end, the money would have been better spent hiring movers who would have packed everything up and loaded it on the truck for me.
I would caution anyone securing help through HireAHelper to NOT buy extra hours on-line because if you don't use the extra hours, you won't get a refund so estimate low and then buy it as you need it. 2 College Movers is an excellent company with superb customer service, conscientious employees, and a responsive owner. They packed 2 POD containers for us and I would recommend them to anyone who needs two strong young men to load your household items.