“Mark, Thanks for your prompt reply and for the opportunity to present feedback. Lessons learned can be a powerfull tool when used correctly and judiciously. After purchasing my vehicle on Ebay, I Googled "auto transport" and began to look at several different choices. This is where my comments on A-1 begin: Webpage - 5 Star Rating - Your page was straight forward and simple to use. I was able to read customer comments (which is important to most consumers) and I was able to request an online quote. (not a feature offered by everyone) Quote - 5 Star Rating - Kudos to whoever is involved in developing your pricing structure. Very competitive. With three children in university at the same time, and an exwife with a good attorney, I have to be financially prudent. This was the largest single factor for my decision, followed closely by your customer feedback. Customer Service / Contracting & Payment - 5 Star Rating - Once I had determined to accept your offer, I decided to do it by phone. The process was quick, courteous, and professional. This was done on 03/04. Tracking # and GPS - 5 Star rating - Shortly after contracting and paying I received my tracking #. What a great use of leading edge technology. Very powerfull tool. (I am sure that this has helped cut down on the number of "nuisance" calls that you receive) Customer Service / Questions & Updates - 1 Star Rating - I am by nature a patient person, and am more than cognizant of outside influences on "schedule slip", so when it was determined that it would take longer than the original estimate of 10 - 14 days, I was not worried or upset. I had done my homework, had contracted a reputable company, and simply accepted the fact that it would take longer, no big deal. The ETD listed on the tracking page was 03/28. Early ( I am usually in the office by 05:30) that morning I could see that my vehicle was in Baytown, Tx., which is a suburb of Houston, Southeast of my home by approximately 20 miles. I knew that the tracking page noted that I would be notified 12 - 24 hours in advance of delivery. My problem was that I had scheduled meetings for most of the day and simply wanted to find out if I could get a bit more precise estimate of delivery time. I phoned that morning and the operator was quite courteous, but informed me "due to the high volume of calls, all customer service reps were busy", could I please call back. I called back a couple of hours later and was informed that "due to the high volume of calls, all customer service reps are busy", could I please call back in the afternoon. That afternoon, I called on two different occasions, with the same response (very polite), and on the last call was asked if I could call back in the morning. A little frustrating, but not the end of the world. We are now past the extended ETD. The next morning (03/29 - my vehicle had moved to the very edge of the city and very close to my office) I called and was informed that "due to the high volume''''''...). I told the operator that I would really prefer to just be put on hold and I would wait my turn, and she politely agreed to do so. During the next 30 minutes, she came back twice to politely check on me, which I found reassuring. I was feeling good about getting through right up to the point of being cut off. After being on hold for that length of time, no one wants to be cut off. Now I am a little frustrated. At this point I went online and sent a polite email to customer service, explaining my situation and frustration. The page noted that my mail would be answered within four hours, and by then it was lunch time, so I really thought I would not see my car on 03/29 either, if the 12-24 rule really applied. Customer Service / E-mail - 5 Star Rating - In less than an hour I had an e-mail back from Mark apoligizing for the confusion and promising find out what was happening. Before I could respond to the e-mail, Kevin called and asked if it would be possible to deliver my vehicle that afternoon. Customer Service / Delivery - 5 Star Rating - Within 5 hours of being contacted by phone my vehicle was dropped in front of my house. I was notified not only that the delivery would be made, but also when the driver got close to the house. Very courteous and professional. Customer Service / Post Delivery - 5 Star Rating - Mark has followed up with e-mails and a phone call to make sure that the matter had been resolved and even asked for feedback. (This last item is something that all good companies want, regardless if it is good, bad, or ugly) In summary, I am quite pleased with my overall experience with A-1 and will use you again. I would like to note that if the customer service agents are truly that busy, it is not the operators fault. I know very little about your industry, and don't know if this is a seasonal thing or what. I can only think of two ways to mitigate this problem. 1) Advise all clients that all communication post-contract will be through e-mail (less than an attractive option) or, 2) hire more customer service reps. (this is also a signal that business is good'''''smile). Thanks for your time and attention.”
