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Simple Guy
join:2012-05-16

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Simple Guy

Member

[Rant] Pack Rat Internet web site for moving and storing info

Pack Rat is a company that according to their TV add that leads you to their web site. They are a company that offer a service for moving your household goods from your old home to your new one in a sort of partnership of self-move with them as your partner.

They bring a container that rides on the back of the truck and drop it off at your place. When you have loaded all your household goods they then pick it up and either deliver to your new home or to a storage facility. Your choice.

The website basically promises you a quote online once you answer many questions and give up much of your private information. A somewhat laborious process by the method they do it as opposed to most online services and the many questions they ask of you and the information they require you to fill out page after page which supposedly once you are done doing so just hit submit and they will give you a price quote.

No way. The very short answer is no matter what you try to do they process your submitted info or at least record it, give you a confirmation number and then require that you call an 888 or 800 series number with the confirmation number will they will discuss what it is you seek. You cannot get anything remotely resembling a price quote online. And of course after you call if the price is not right they still have all your information.

It's people like Pack Rat that make many people reluctant to use the Internet to try and attain a service in detail and costs. The online site is simply to get your info and drive you to a representative for gosh knows what.

ADDENDUM: In comparison you can to the website of a self-mover like U-Haul and online without entering any private information get an exact quote and all the information you need to reserve a truck and all other necessary information.

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

1 recommendation

dvd536

Premium Member

Re: [Rant] Pack Rat Internet web site for moving and storing inf

Well if they put prices online they couldn't upsell you and thats the whole point of getting you on the phone.

DC DSL
There's a reason I'm Command.
Premium Member
join:2000-07-30
Washington, DC
Actiontec GT784WN

DC DSL to Simple Guy

Premium Member

to Simple Guy
The hallmark of a bs operation. I saw this commercial the other night on one of the syndicated rerun channels and got a vibe that they're right up there with those no-exercise weight loss and male enhancement advertisers.

A well-designed site will be easy for just about anyone to figure out and use, and integrate the upsell items into the primary offerings in a manner that will attract and appeal to customers but doesn't bonk them on the head with a frying pan in the process. Collecting some general information such as the city/state or ZIP at the origin and destination would be legit to determine whether they can provide service...there is no need to capture identifying/contact info at that point. Give the quote and present the options to either proceed or save what they've entered for say 5-7 days. At that point it is appropriate to ask the prospect to identify themselves (if only their email address and phone number), because they have received what they came for. It won't guarantee a buy, but it does build goodwill. That is good advertising and customer service.

Probably not a good idea to do business with these folks.

thegeek
Premium Member
join:2008-02-21
right here

thegeek to Simple Guy

Premium Member

to Simple Guy
The difference is with U-Haul they upsell you on everything at the counter when you go to pick up the truck. Pack Rat and PODs and other similar services must upsell you in advance before they roll a truck to your location.

I worked for a moving company in college. Let me offer a bit of advice for moving. Before reserving any sort of self-moving service do some research on how to properly pack and load a truck/container. All of these self serve companies thrive on the fact that the average person has absolutely no clue what they are doing and they use entirely way too much space to pack and load. It is not unreasonable to be able to pack an entire 3 bedroom house into a 14' U-haul. But they will tell you that you need a 20' minimum. Which is true if you don't know what you are doing. But an easy way to spend a hell of a lot more money than necessary.

Also, rent the moving blankets. Get twice as many as you think you will need. They will recommend a certain amount which is about double what you will really need. It's worth the cost though if you value your furniture.

Another pro-tip. If you can get your hands on a big roll of shrink-wrap use it to entirely wrap up your couches with all the cushions and pillows inside. Then stand them up on end inside the truck and tie them to the wall with some cheap rope. That saves a significant amount of space.
Simple Guy
join:2012-05-16

Simple Guy

Member

Funny thing I got an email from them today saying they hoped I liked the quote they sent me and also included some other standard boilerplate info.

The strange thing is what they advertise or offer is very convenient to people in my position and overall makes great sense. There should be a big market for what they advertise.

I'll eventually call them as I am curious as to how their prices compare to renting a U-Haul type truck for the move of about 500-700 mile range. (Final destination not yet decided upon.)

I will eventually call them but I will try their website one more time first to see if my altering some stuff I get better results.

After all my email address obviously went through OK to them.

nightdesigns
Gone missing, back soon
Premium Member
join:2002-05-31
AZ

nightdesigns to Simple Guy

Premium Member

to Simple Guy
Uhaul also offers the "pods" now as well. They do the drop off/pickup thing or will put it on a trailer that you can tow.

psafux
Premium Member
join:2005-11-10

psafux to thegeek

Premium Member

to thegeek
said by thegeek:

The difference is with U-Haul they upsell you on everything at the counter when you go to pick up the truck.

Having worked at U-haul for a period of time, I can assure you the truck size recommendations are based on the corporate office documents, not "how can we screw the customer". As is the case with most corporate-managed businesses, the retail locations were more or less forced to speak that which corp dictated, regardless of our own thoughts & opinions (lest ye be terminated). It is reasonable to expect that a person who is forced to rent a U-haul (or one of its competitors) won't be well-versed on proper loading. The sizes are based on square footage loading capacity.

I will also admit I hated corporate - so take it for what its worth.

Edit to add:
For what its worth, I don't recall ever recommending or forcing anyone to upgrade their truck and we only had one (in the time I worked there) come back wanting to go from a 17' to 24'. I can say the same of my coworkers while I was there. YMMV as always.

thegeek
Premium Member
join:2008-02-21
right here

thegeek

Premium Member

Yes, most are versed in proper loading, that is why i recommended he do some research as well as offered a good tip.

And it may not have been your particular store saying "how can we screw the customer." The decisions on sizes do come from corporate. But corporate's mind set is "how can we screw the customer." Well not exactly in those terms. It's more like "how can we maximize our profit." Profit is maximized by overselling the customer.

psafux
Premium Member
join:2005-11-10

psafux

Premium Member

Show me a company not interested in maximizing profit and I will show you a company that won't be around in a year or two..

I understand your point though. There are profit margins and there is taking advantage of the populous.

thegeek
Premium Member
join:2008-02-21
right here

thegeek

Premium Member

I wasn't saying that it's not OK for a company to maximize profit. I was simply trying to help someone save a buck.

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

dvd536 to thegeek

Premium Member

to thegeek
said by thegeek:

The difference is with U-Haul they upsell you on everything at the counter when you go to pick up the truck.

Don't i know it. my "$19.99 truck" was $134.some change after all was said and done.