Monday, March 14, 2011

Dear Penske Truck Leasing.....UPDATED!


Dear Penske, 

You are forgiven.  Thank you for my refund.  Apparently it really IS all about talking to the right person AND being armed with the right information to justify your claim (Steph be sure to thank Ant again for me!). 

Before I start my letter, let me just offer fair warning that this is going to be a ranty and probably quite gritty post because I am all kinds of pissed off.  If you are looking for something cute and fluffy today please allow me to direct you to LOLcatz for your fix.  

Dear Penske Truck Leasing, 

Even though you came highly recommended by personal friends, your product sucks ass.  On your website your slogan is "Penske offers high-quality moving and expert support" not 'Well it DOES get you from point A to point B".  Perhaps you should take a moment to slip into something more honest like the latter.  You see, your District Manager in Salt Lake City is trying to shove the whole 'well it did get you there' thing down my throat  (although it feels more like up my ass - which, by the way, I don't take kindly to).  

So far I am completely underwhelmed by both your products and your support.  

When we decided to move cross country we knew that we needed the best possible truck to carry all of our worldly possessions some 2200 miles.  That's why we called you.  My Darling Husband explained the situation in painful detail to everyone that he spoke to.  'We're on a tight schedule, cross country in 4 days, weather permitting.  We will be traveling with 3 kids, 2 pets and all of our worldly possessions, we  don't have the luxury of waiting for someone to come out and fix the truck in transit.  We need one that will go where we need it to with no or minimal hassle."  Everyone he spoke to said they understood and seemed to be clear on what we needed.  

Not sure where exactly the breakdown in communication occurred, clearly somewhere between the call center where the order was taken and the Penske truck location where we got the truck.  All I can figure is that your rental offices received the messages via braille, morse code, ancient sanskrit or any number of other ways that need to be deciphered and apparently they lacked the requisite Ovaltine Little Orphan Annie decoder ring because we got out of there with a truck that had a shitty front-end alignment. 

That motherfucker (that's right, I said it) pulled to the right like a poorly leash trained mutt who smells a bitch in heat in the vicinity and shimmied like a burlesque dancer (minus the nice view) when driving at speeds between 45-60mph.    Not only was it uncomfortable to try and keep the monster on the road and off the shoulder, it was just plain dangerous.  

Neither myself or my husband are professional truck drivers and we crossed not one, but two mountain ranges in that piece of shit.  Oh and have I mentioned that it was the last week in February?  Most of the areas we traveled were still locked in with snow and ice and many places were still slicker than whale shit. 

Darling husband diligently reported the problem every morning that we were on the road.  Even Cliff himself doesn't have that many notes in the pocket version of Wuthering Heights.  And yet when I speak to the District Manager at Salt Lake City (oh yes, we're back to this lovely bag o'douchery) he tries to tell me that we called first in Wyoming.  Really?  Seriously?  WHAT?????  I heard the calls myself.  

Darling Husband is usually a force to be reckoned with but the DM at SLC (we all know what that stands for by now, right?) has been jacking him around for nearly two weeks since we turned in the truck.  Hemming and hawing and explaining everything away.  Or trying to.  Darling Husband in this case has just been entirely too nice.   

All we are asking for is a refund for product that didn't live up to expectations by far.  We aren't asking for compensation for all the money we spent to fuel the gas hog, or even for the antique white oak dining room table that was crushed due to all the aforementioned shaking and shimmying.  At this point, you are leaving me no choice other than to contact the BBB to report our harrowing cross country ordeal.  

Kiss my ass....

Semitruestoryteller

Apologies for ranting it all out here and if you are so inclined please feel free to post on your own blogs as a favor to me, even for just a few hours.  I want as many people as possible to know that Penske Truck Leasing sucks donkey balls (to coin a favorite phrase from Mrs. Hyde). 

12 comments:

  1. Love a good rant and I hope you feel better getting it out.
    I do admire you guys driving that far in that monster of a truck. Hope you get them sorted. Hugs lovely lady

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  2. Oh no... OH NO... HERE it comes....

    GAAAAAAH!!! I had the same issue with Budget. The move from Cali to Idaho was paved with RAGE!

    First, the truck was 2 1/2 hours late. We were supposed to get it at noon, which gave us 5 hours to pack up. Instead, we get it at 2:30. AAARGH!

    Needed to be done at 5 so we can have it fully packed, and get my gf's car hitched up on the 4-wheel trailer. They need to do the hookup, and they close at 5. We BARELY get it done in time, and get there to watch the lady rush through the hookup.

    40 miles into the trip, one of the tires on the trailer blows. Budget takes *4 HOURS* to send assistance to fix the tire. Because of this delay, we couldn't make the trip in one straight shot. Add $90 for a hotel to the moving costs.

    When the AAA dude comes to fix the tire, he goes "Hey, did you know this trailer has no brakes? Looks like there was a fire on this thing, and all the brakelines are melted off. That's not safe, dude."

    We're freaking out. Budget says "don't worry about it, just brake slow." I find out later that the extra strain on the truck's brakes ate up more gas, since the trailer wasn't helping. Added gas fees.

    We get to idaho, worn and smoldering, and right as we pull in to the street we now call home, the TRAILER HITCH POPS OFF! Call to budget again, this time there in 15 minutes.

    AAA guy goes "who put the hitch on? They did it wrong. It was never fully attached." REALLY!?? REALLY!?!?!?!? The trailer (and car) could have came off during the drive at any time. Major accidents and damage would have ensued.

    Budget = evil. I never recommend them. Ever. So if they're out, and Penske is out, I guess that makes Uhaul king.... Meh.

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  3. seriously, uhauls are pieces of shit. do any kind of search on uhaul trucks on moving websites and you'll see NOTHING but shit. uhaul employees post anonymously about how shitty their stuff is. previous uhaul employees post with their real names. awesome husband worked for a store that rented uhauls and couldn't understand how they stayed on the road. we've never had an issue with penske :/ i'm so sorry to hear you've had such a shitty experience with penske :(

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  4. bummer-for you..but!

    looks like since i do not have to kick some viking ass in the and of OZ, i have to cruise to SLC and kill me some truckrental dm...

    cuz i am all surley and pissed like that...

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  5. That just sucks ass.

    I will never use them.

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  6. No apologies necessary. After an ordeal like that, I'd say you were being too lenient on them.

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  7. Sorry you guys had to go through that debacle. What a bunch of shitty douche-canoes! Anything that has to do with moving usually ends up a complete and utter clusterfuck. Oh, and the phrase is "sucks big, sweaty, smelly hairy donkey balls". That was my public service announcement against Verizon. Troll my blog if you'd like the graphic to attach to your next complaint letter to Penske.

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  8. Way to vent :) And I agree with Vinny C...yes you are being way to leinent...make them suck 'donkey balls'!

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  9. So I had a comment all done up and each one of you responded to and blogger ate it or something. I hit enter and it told me that it couldn't do it (for no apparent reason other than it didn't want to I suppose). So here I am to try again.

    Mynx - So good to see you in my comments. I've missed you dearest one. You've moved recently and I'm sure had your fair share of 'irritations' with it.

    Lost - thanks for sharing your story. Sort of puts our experience in perspective. It was bad but nothing like that. I do hope you got some compensation out of it.

    Steph - I think they all suck and regardless of which truck rental we go with we are merely rolling the dice. Next time I'm not moving unless we can hire moving men. Big strong, handsome, shirtless, movers.

    Well Bruce, if you have your schedule already cleared for butt kicking....who am I to get in your way. Just don't bring Tucker because he's way too sweet to be involved in any ugliness. *grin* Speaking of...it's Tucker Tues I'd better head over to see what's on his mind.

    OT - It does suck, but we DID get here in one piece.....whatever, they provided a crappy product.

    Vinny - Thanks for the affirmation. I prefer to keep it light and funny but sometimes a girl's just gotta bitch.

    Emps~ Totes love your phraseology. I missed the Verizon post but I think I may have to come check it out. And steal...uh...borrow your graphic. Some people are 'visual learners' after all.

    Miss Vickie - I'm working on making it happen. So far no one in that company follows through when they say they will call back. Grrrr.....

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  10. Okay, that is just too damn scary. Refund? What about compensation for emotional distress? What about a bonus for dealing with the SLC asshole??!

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  11. Hi! the exact thing happened to me and I am trying to get a refund right now. In San Francisco and have to return truck in two days. Do you have any idea the name or number of who you had to talk to to get a refund. Did you get a full refund for truck and gas? I am just looking to resolve this matter and am unbelievably stressed. If you have this info still, can you please email me at maryjenblige@gmail.com. THank you so much in advance for any help you can give.

    Jen

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