Company Response Review Report Review
Best of the best?

Jeff Williams Submitted this review about Ship a Car Direct
Review made Live: 6/7/2013 4:01:00 PM
Well, where to start? I'll preface this, this is a long read, but feel it is necessary due to the events that took place.

Having shipped multiple cars in the past, it came time to ship another, so I jumped on Transportreviews.com to see who had the best feedback. Safe Direct seemed a sure bet after reading the reviews. So I got a quote and started the process. Order was placed May 31 and I canceled my order on June 7 after a mix of lackluster and over-zealous communication.

Let me explain. I was assigned to Amanda who seemed very interested in earning my business until I actually placed my order. Once my order was placed, communication became near non-existant. I sent a couple emails that went unreplied, made a few phone calls and my wife left a "general" message on the company box. I had a call back from Amanda within minutes. A very quick "Hopefully we will get the car picked up in the next day or two" is what I was told. Ok, no sweat.

This is the lackluster portion of communication. Amanda was always friendly, always a pleasure to talk to, i just never heard anything from her without my prompting. Ok, no biggie. Things happen. She was polite and apologetic, so i continued to stay the course with Safe Direct.

I let the "next day or two" go by and heard nothing and decided to give Safe Direct a call to see if it would be possible to have my agent changed. I had read a couple reviews here stating they had a similar issue to mine (not necessarily with Amanda) and Michael the owner switched their agent, the car was shipped and everyone was happy.

Now, for the "over-zealous" bit of communication..

I made the call to Safe Direct and had an individual answer the phone to whom I explained my situation. During the course of the phone call, I could tell this was not headed in the right direction, I asked whom I was speaking to - Tom. Tom proved to be one of the worst examples of customer service I've ever dealt with. I spoke with Tom for near 15 minutes, before he suggested I "knock my self out" attempting to speak directly to a shipping company and multiple repeated attempts of mine to ask Tom to lose the attitude he was giving me, I asked to speak to Michael, the owner. Tom promptly put me on hold and the call was never transferred to anyone. Tom's attitude toward a customer was atrocious and being a business owner myself, I told him he would have found himself unemployed if I heard him speak to any of my customers in this manner.

After being placed on hold for eternity, I hung up and called back, aiming to speak with Michael. While dialing, my phone rang - it was Amanda. Tom emailed her and she called me. She explained she had her computer in the shop and apologized about again about the lack of communication. Due to her attitude, I decided to allow her to find someone to ship my car.

I however, also took Tom's "knock myself out" advice and went at it alone and arranged a deal with another shipper. I called Amanda and canceled my order. She was very cordial and canceled my order.

Knowing how Michael started Safe Direct and being a home grown business owner myself, I can only guess how excited Michael would be to hear that his company lost business at the suggestion of one of his own employees.

I wish Safe Direct all the best, sometimes things don't work out, but I'll never deal with them again and I put this in Tom's hands. My suggestion to future Safe Direct users? Give them a try if you wish, but if you are assigned to Tom, enjoy the ride.
Shipment Details
Origin State:
South Carolina
Pickup:
Not Provided
Destination State:
Alabama
Delivery:
Not Provided
Customer Service
Honesty:
Knowlegeable:
Promptness:
Customer Service:
Review Details
Quote or Order Id:
306823-DN
Quote or Order Cost:
$500

Company Response
Michael Strickland from Ship a Car Direct Submitted this response.
Response Date: 6/8/2013 10:37:00 AM
This is Michael, the owner. I don't think this read is too long and I actually think it's very good. I have to apologize for Tom's sour disposition. We have the tremendous good fortune to be very busy at the moment, but we are also under staffed and everyone is frayed at the edges. Ultimately, that problem is my fault and I apologize. Tom is all business and no BS though. If you are looking for soft hand holding, he is NOT it. BUT, if you're looking for no nonsense, no BS and FAST results, there is no one better in the business. However, if nurturing is what you need, and you get Tom as your contact, just ask to be switched. It's all good. I'd suggest David, he's a big cuddly bear. What Jeff failed to share is that he was shipping to the middle of nowhere in Alabama. I'm sure it's a nice area, but it's REMOTE and it GREATLY reduces options. So, if you are doing the same, the number one thing you need to bring to the table is PATIENCE. And I think what Tom meant by 'knock yourself out' when threatened with the 'I'm going to call another company' is that we don't charge anything up front and try to force you to stay with us, that's not our style. You have many wonderful choices on this site and are always free to go with someone else if you don't care for us. But, yes, that message could have been delivered better. ;)