U-Haul Responds
A few weeks ago I wrote a blog entry detailing some of the problems I’ve had with U-Haul. Just a few minutes ago, I received two additional comments, one from “jen”:
i think you people need to relax and realize that we are all human and so mistakes can be easily made also we all know computers are all ways having problems so i think you people need to stop whining and move on with your life
and one from “ange”
cry me a fuckin river
Interestingly, these are actually both the same poster—here are the entries from my server logs:
205.241.11.6 - - [19/Jan/2005:16:06:44 -0500] "POST /weblog/the_man/uhaul_sucks.html HTTP/1.1" 200 33399 "http://adam.rosi-kessel.org/weblog/the_man/uhaul_sucks.html" "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 4.0)" 205.241.11.6 - - [19/Jan/2005:16:07:52 -0500] "POST /weblog/the_man/uhaul_sucks.html HTTP/1.1" 200 33563 "http://adam.rosi-kessel.org/weblog/the_man/uhaul_sucks.html" "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 4.0)"
The person got to my site by doing a Yahoo search for “u-haul” (hey, I come up #7):
205.241.11.6 - - [19/Jan/2005:15:58:02 -0500] "GET /weblog/the_man/uhaul_sucks.html HTTP/1.1" 200 12184 "http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=u-haul&fr=FP-tab-web-t&toggle=1&ei=UTF-8" "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 4.0)"
Most interesting, however is the identity of the IP address block—here’s the result of ‘whois 205.241.11.6’:
Sprint SPRINT-BLKF (NET-205-240-0-0-1) 205.240.0.0 - 205.247.255.255 UHAUL, Inc. SPRINTLINK (NET-205-241-11-0-1) 205.241.11.0 - 205.241.11.255
So apparently a U-Haul employee pretended to be two anonymous/pseudonymous posters to say, “Give U-Haul a break, they’re not so bad.”
jen Jan 28
regardless of who or where i am i have not even been working for uhaual for a month but i think what u are doing is rude and immature perhaps you could put your brain to better use im not sure how but why would you try to piss people off and make them more upset as a human you yourself cannot honestly say that you have never made a mistake so maybe you should lay off for all you know it was a new employee who made a mistake b/c they are just learning so grow up
Sean Jan 28
Oh yeah, “cry me a fuckin river” and “i think you people need to stop whining and move on with your life” are *such* mature comments to make.
jen Jan 28
i didnt think i needed to be mature seeing as how mine was the 8th comment entered and none of the above had shown any maturity so i figured this was an immature web page and i didnt want to ruin its name so i stuck with being immature
Adam Rosi-Kessel Jan 28
If the U-Haul folks want to write a rebuttal to any of my blog entries, I would be happy to feature it as a new entry.
Ben Jan 28
Jen – I’d leave well alone if I were you. You’re talking as a representative of U-Haul, and if indeed you are, you could be “bringing the company into disrepute” which as you will know is a sackable offence. Your original comment would have been much better served by simply saying people do make mistakes – although we all know this, it’s just when our money is involved, people are quite rightly more annoyed.
Ben
Joe Jan 28
And of course ‘jen’ misses the point that Adam isn’t just complaining about an isolated incident; he’s talking about how U-Haul regularly does business. I’d suspect that anyone who has experience with both U-Haul and any of its competitors can confirm the drastically differing qualities of service at the different companies.
The Grammar Police Jan 28
Jen–Does your computer charge you for every punctuation mark? Why no ‘periods’?
Tony Bartling Jan 28
Grammar Cop–I bet she’s a tech writer for UHaul, and only uses punctuation marks and proper grammar when she’s paid to do so.
Mick Jan 28
A friend of mine rented a U-Haul truck a few years. The truck broke down, U-Haul sent out a tow truck, which took 2 hours to show. My friend had to argue with U-H to get them to tow the truck to their house so they could unload, and not to U-H to unload and re-load their stuff into a new truck. Then U-H tried to charge them for the tow truck & late fees … talk about good customer service.
Pat Jan 28
I have just completed the move from hell. I made the grave mistake of renting a Uhaul truck in Canada, and much to my dismay the truck broke down not once but twice during our trip. the 1 800 number on the truck was called and oh what a painful experience that was. Apparently only stupid people rent Uhauls as the “repair specialists” on the phone sound like they have never even driven anything but a go cart. There was no concern for our safety as we were pulled over on a busy freeway in dense fog. When I called the number from my cell phone i was put on hold because there were 7 callers ahead of me. I wonder what that means? Duh? A few breakdowns perhaps. They did offer to put us up in a hotel but I shudder to think what type of dive that would have been. We were finally able to talk to an actual person and they sent a mechanic after we hobbled back to the next town. They then decided to put some neew parts on the truck instead and send us on our way. I do believe that it is only by the grace of God that we made it to our destination.
I would suggest to the UH employees that they recommend UH to any of their relatives and friends for a move. Don’t forget to tell them that they should make the move on a weekend when every mechanic in a 100 mile radius has taken the weekend off.
Never again will I rent from UHaul. Next move I think I will find a horse and buggy, as I am betting I will have more luck.
And in closing, if you happen to be a Uhaul employee that answers the 1 800 number and you are reading this… I hope that the fleas of a thousand camels infest your armpits and that your ass grows shut.
Thanks for the opportunity to vent!!! Urgggh
Carrie Jun 22
U-Haul is THE WORST company I have EVER dealt with in my entire life! The only possible reason they are still in business is because they are significantly cheaper than their competitors. I almost rather throw my furniture out next time then deal with them. NEVER AGAIN!
Alison Sep 4
“And in closing, if you happen to be a Uhaul employee that answers the 1 800 number and you are reading this… I hope that the fleas of a thousand camels infest your armpits and that your ass grows shut.”
Yikes. Sounds a bit harsh. I answer the 1-800 number because it pays decent and I need to pay my bills and put food in my stomach. Just like everybody else. Why the hell would you wish that upon all U-Haul 1-800 number answering employees, just because you’ve had a horrible experience with U-Haul? It’s not our fault if you don’t get your truck or that it broke down or mysterious, unauthorized charges appeared on your credit card. Granted, the evidence clearly shows that U-Haul has some major improvements to make (an understatement), but all the people who answer the 1-800 number do is make reservations. You’re wishing horrific ill on the wrong people. (Moron)
michael Feb 27
these angry ex-customers are absolutely right. uhaul will suck every penny out of you they possibly can. its ridiculous. they reel you in with the lowest advertised price, but when it comes down to you will no doubt pay little or nothing more if you go with one of their competitors. not to mention their customer service is not hard to beat.
Viking Apr 28
Well, I would like to thank this blog for one thing. JEN has attempted to join a forum that I moderate on, and her IP will be banned, so ba-bye Jen, or gongorongo or anton rahnev, or what ever your name is. People should realize that their IP addresses are like a fingerprint. Everytime you touch the internet, you leave it behind. And to keep it UHaul related. I also am a previous dissatisfied customer. I bought my own trailer to avoid using them again.