Hilton shines when carrier drops ball
Bob G
Submitted this review about
Hilton Auto Transport
Review made Live: 6/1/2007 12:48:00 PM
I picked Hilton because of the positive reviews on this site and Nichole's straightforward approach in explaining/setting up shipping. I paid extra for expedited pickup, since I wanted the car before the Memorial Day weekend. Pickup in California occurred one day after booking (Friday, May 18) and delivery in Vermont was originally estimated for Wednesday, May 23. Great I thought! The carrier company Nichole chose was Auto Carrier Services out of Indiana (myautocarrier.com).
Well, when I called the carrier on the Tuesday (5/22) before scheduled delivery they were still in Wyoming/Nebraska and therefore estimated Thrusday night (5/24) or Friday morning (5/25). I was scheduled to go out of town early Friday morning, but agreed to wait until Friday around noon to get the car. I didn't need the car to leave town, as it is an enthusiast vehicle, but wanted it safe my the garage nonetheless.
This is where things got confusing. When I heard nothing from Auto Carrier Services, I called the truck driver on his cell phone on Thursday morning. His wife confirmed that they were still headed to Vermont Friday morning, or about 24 hours later.
So I woke up early Friday morning (5/25) and awaited the call. Nothing from the carrier. Nichole from Hilton called me that morning at about 9 am EST to ask how the process was going. I explained that I was awaiting delivery but hadn't heard anything. She called the carrier and instructed the driver to get in contact with me. At 12:30 pm on Friday I got a call from the original truck driver's cell phone from another driver. My car was in Rhode Island, as the truck had broken down two days earlier. Hmm, I thought, yesterday, 24 hours ago, I was told Friday was still the plan.
Not sweating it, I decided to schedule deliver for Monday afternoon (5/28), as the driver was running all weekend despite the Memorial Day holiday. He assured me that he would call if anything changed. Monday rolled around and I hadn't heard otherwise, so I left my relatives' house earlier to be back in VT for the 3-6 pm delivery window. When I didn't hear anything I called the trucker at about 3:30 pm on Monday and was told the truck had a flat tire in Massachusetts, 2.5 hours from my house. I was told that I was the next stop, and as soon as roadside assistance repaired the tire the driver would head to my house. He thought he would either arrive sometime Monday evening or first thing Tuesday morning.
With no communication from anyone Monday night I worked from home on Tuesday (5/29) awaiting the call from the trucker. I called Auto Carrier Services' headquarters several times throughout the day and was told each time that the trucker was on his way. Everytime I tried to call the trucker he did not answer his phone.
At about 1:30 pm on Tuesday the dispatcher from ACS called to tell me the trucker was in Vermont and would be at my house in about 3 hrs. I continued working, but when I hadn't heard anything by 4:45 pm I called the carrier and was not given an answer beyond, "the trucker is on his way." This is when Nichole really came though. She stayed on top of ASC and eventually got me, her, ASC's owner and the trucker himself in a conference call. It turned out the driver was STILL in MA and claimed he never said he was in Vermont. I'm not sure where that information came from. Anyway, he told all of us he was on his way and would arrive for delivery between 10-11 pm Tuesday night. He also agreed to accept a call from me around 9-10 pm to confirm delivery, as apparently they don't normally accept calls from clients as policy. That night, at about 11:20 pm the car arrived undamaged, and I was able to inspect it in a reasonably well lit parking lot.
Nichole was excellent throughout, going beyond the requirements of a broker. She also refunded my deposit right away as she said she would. I would use her again, but would request that she use a different carrier company.
