Great first time experience

EricY Submitted this review about Ultimate Auto Shipping Inc.
Review made Live: 7/8/2011 10:57:00 AM
I recently decided to use Ultimate Auto Shipping to move my new Ford Mustang from a dealer in Missouri to Virginia. The car was safely delivered. Pat (President/Owner) was great from the first contact to when the car arrived at my driveway. I think what made the experience great was that Pat is really customer focused. He took the time to educate me on the process, selected a carrier carefully and helped with any trouble shooting (Nothing big, but I will elaborate in a moment). He really tries to earn your business and understands the anxiety and potential risks of shipping vehicles. Importantly, I believe he treats my car as if it was his, and that came across throughout the process. It wasn't just another order for him. He made sure my concerns or questions were addressed promptly and calmly. That little difference is really why I thought it was a great experience. Now with the minor issue I mentioned earlier, my car was in transit over a holiday weekend which meant we lost a couple of days in transit (Who wants their car sitting on a carrier in some parking lot because the driver is on holiday, right). It was compounded by pick-up issues by other customer's vehicles along the route. I wasn't in a hurry to get the car. It was more important that nothing happens to it in transit. However, when a delivery date is given, I do expect that to happen. In fairness, I think its the nature of their business that delays happens when you are dealing with pick-up and delivery coordination of multiple cars at any given route, so it was really not anyone's fault. However, I did wish I was proactively kept informed of any delays (or potential delays) or just a status on a regular basis. That didn't happen. I had to call the carrier directly to get the updates and asked Pat to help clarify or mitigate any further delays with the carrier, which he did every single time. In the end, instead of the estimated mid-day Tues delivery, the car showed up at dusk on Wed. So it wasn't terribly late. Importantly, the car was delivered in the same condition it was picked-up. My learning lessons: 1) Pick a 5 star rated broker and carrier. 2) Stay on top of everything all the way (Its your car!). 3) Use your broker to resolve or mitigate issues. 4) Ask a lot of questions and over communicate so that they can explain if any concerns are warranted and ask them how they can help you. Pat was great to deal with and I'd use Ultimate Auto again.