If you are deciding what moving company to use, read this blog post first. As a Portland Real Estate Agent, I come across people every day making plans to move so when I had a bad experience, I wanted to help others avoid making the same mistake.

I made reservations well in advance with PODS #51 (doing business at 2522 N Marine Dr. # C Portland, OR 97217-7709) to deliver a 16’ truck to my condo in SW Portland.  I measured my driveway to ensure there was enough room and spoke with the customer service agent about it.  He assured me it would be fine.  Before it was delivered, my husband watched a video of how they deliver the POD and maneuver them into tight spaces so we felt confident they could do it. The evening before, they gave me a window of time for arrival between 7-10am.

The driver showed up on time and was very polite.  He said he would need to turn around to properly place the pod into our driveway which is admittedly a tight space in our condo area.  After turning around he decided he didn’t think he could put the POD straight in because of the 1’ overhang of the roof above our garage (meaning it would need to be at an angle.) Since our neighbors just moved out, I told him that would be fine.  Then he told me it would be sticking out into the street by 3’ and since the street was our condo’s fire lane, that was illegal.  So I asked what he suggested. He suggested ordering a smaller POD.  I got on the phone to their call center before the driver left to see how quickly they could dispatch a smaller POD.  I would need to order two since I didn’t have enough room for ONE 16’ POD, I certainly would not have room for (2) 12’ PODS. Logistically speaking, one would need to be dropped off, packed and hauled away before the next could be delivered. I had the driver explain to Mike (the call center rep) the circumstances so it could be noted to my account.  The driver left at 10am and Mike assured me the Wilsonville manager would call me back as soon as he was out of his meeting. 2:00PM rolled around and I still had not heard anything so I called back to speak with Mike.  Another rep said they would send an internal message for Mike to call.  An hour passed and I still had no call from Mike so I called back and explained everything to yet another rep.  She told me they had no 12’ PODS available until Saturday. I asked if she could then at least give me priority delivery since they were supposed to have something to me today.  She told me no, they don’t guarantee delivery time.  So I said “Maybe at least try to spin it positively?  Maybe say that you will do everything you can to make sure I am taken care of even though you can’t guarantee a certain time.  Can’t you call the dispatch people to explain that I’m in a bad situation because you said you could deliver here?”  I explained that I am a realtor and this would be a great opportunity for me to be PODS biggest advocate and fan since I come across people every day that are making moving decisions.  She called the Wilsonville manager who told her he wasn’t going to deliver ANY POD to our property.  And that was it. No solution of any kind.  To make matters worse, when my neighbors moved in a year ago, they used a POD which was indeed parked here on the property directly across from our condo so I know it is not only possible, but has been done before.  I had reserved that same exact guest parking spot in case they couldn’t place the POD in my driveway. I checked my credit card and found a pending charge for $179.49 and had to call back yet a fourth time for the order to be canceled and a credit to be issued. Now I am left with no moving plan and our condo closes on Monday.  I’ve got four days to figure out a new plan.   DO NOT USE PODS.  They don’t care about your situation and will leave you stranded without even batting an eye.

I called Door to Door next and explained what had happened. The gal said my call was the second like that she had today. Since it’s the busiest season, the wonderful gal Andrea at Door to Door wasn’t able to get a container delivered to us until two days after we have to be out.  On to the next company!

Pack-Rats don’t service our area despite the online ads that appeared when I entered PODS competitor into Google search.

U-Pack can’t move people intrastate.  (From an Oregon address to an Oregon address.)  The gal I spoke with doesn’t know why.

When I called United Mayflower the automated prompt asked me to enter my “to” and “from” zip code, and once it realized that I was a local move, it instructed me to go online with no further assistance.  I went online and filled out a form and asked for someone to call. (never got a call)

GotBins asked me to leave a voice mail and someone would call me back. (never got a call)

GoMini’s said they are unable to provide me a quote based on the zip code that I provided…they are not in Portland Oregon yet.

Ultimately, SmartBox was the company that saved the day. Not only could they deliver boxes for me this weekend, but they called back to say they could deliver them a day earlier!  The customer service has been fantastic and the boxes are stored locally in a climate controlled warehouse.  I am beyond thrilled.  Half way through filling the four boxes that we ordered, we realized that four wasn’t going to be enough so we ordered another.  Rob was the delivery guy who went above and beyond.  He was so kind, precise with the forklift and came in after he was off for the day to adjust the box placement to appease us and our HOA rules.  BRAVO!  I would recommend them hands down above the other companies!

Kristina Browning is a family friendly, Oregon City real estate agent, designer, photographer & adventure seeker. Lover of beer, travel & gourmet living. Mom to a sweet boy named Blue.  Follow her on Twitter here.