PODS Reviews

I made the reservation online and the self-help tools were good. It was nice being able to set up appointments and see the status of everything. The only snag I ran into was that Pods had someone who worked at the warehouse who was trying to be helpful and offered to set things up for a Saturday when they're technically not available. And that caused some issues. Someone from their office down in Florida contacted me afterwards and said they couldn’t do it. It was outside of their hours. And it contradicted what the guy said. But I won't hold that against Pods because the guy meant well.

I got the 16-foot container and it was perfect. The drivers were cool, and when they dropped it here in Colorado, things went well. I was a little bit worried about whether Pods’ warehouse was climate-controlled. I asked about that, and they weren't clear about it. They said that it is, but they leave the doors open at times, so it's not always perfectly cold. That's probably just them being honest about the circumstances. I haven't tested my vinyl yet that I packed in there, but it looks fine. I packed my television well and it survived. I didn't have a problem with moisture or heat either. It seems they've designed it well. It's a metal frame with some fiberglass sides.

I wish Pods were a little bit more upfront about how restrictive it is regarding where they drop the container so I wouldn't have been caught by surprise. I thought they would be able to place it in my driveway, but because of space requirements and other restrictions, I had to have them drop the container at their warehouse and then rent a U-Haul to ship things to it. If I had known that up front, things would have been a lot smoother with less frustration, and it would have been more worth it. I would have only needed to unload from my house to it. The driver checked the maps and he said he couldn’t do it. He called me even before he got there and informed me of this. But it would have been better if I had known that before the day that he was gonna drop it.

Pods was still very accommodating and we worked out a solution. The service was very convenient and helped a lot. There were people available after hours by phone who were able to help me. I was pleasantly surprised. If people need to sell a home, Pods is a perfect solution. For the scenario that I was in, the pod was perfect.

The pickup and delivery both really great. But they had told me several weeks prior that I was going to get a notification the day before confirming the day and approximate time that my pod was going to be dropped. I automatically assumed that they were going to drop it off first thing in the morning, and that as soon as they were up and moving, they were going to run this thing over. But I learned that was not the case.

In my case, I was emptying a 10 x 20 storage unit, so I had several of my friends take the day off of work to help me unload it because it was going to be a full-day project. I had that thing packed. So, it was only in the day before that I realized that we were all going to be all set to go at 9:00 in the morning, but there was no guarantee at this point that the pod was going to get dropped off before 9:00 in the morning. So I needed to confirm that a little bit clearer. When I called PODS back, that was when they informed me that, for around 100 bucks additional, I could lock in the first drop-off of the day, which, to me, was definitely worth it. But I wished I had known that at the start. For a first-timer, when I was having that initial phone call and walking through the whole process, that would have been a good part to have in their conversation script.

In the end, I was able to talk to somebody at PODS, got it confirmed the day before, paid the little bit extra to ensure that it was dropped off first thing that morning so that, when my friends showed up, there was something for them to help me do. So that worked out really well. The price seemed reasonable, too. I had to end up renting a Penske box truck as well, which was a 16-foot box truck, which was about the same price. But I had to put about $1,000 of gas into it. So getting the pod was the more cost-effective approach. At least for the pod, I didn't have to drive it across the country. It was dropped off at our house, I unloaded it, and I got it unloaded earlier than expected. So, I went back on the website and moved up the pickup date. Then they had it gone out of our driveway the very next day.

With using a POD container, we were unsure about what size to use, and how many we would need. The internal dimensions on google are accurate and I measured out a space in the garage to fit our boxes into. As we packed, the boxes filled the space. And when the container arrived, we filled it top to bottom and front to back. We used plastic totes for heavier items and for delicate things. We also used the totes for clothing that was placed in vacuum bags and shrank to conserve space. The pod has anchor points on the walls and I could secure the wall of totes, boxes, and furniture easily. Nothing moved from pick up to delivery.

For those using the pods container, understand that it takes time to get to your location if you’re moving any distance. Our pod took 10 days for a delivery. Knowing this, we packed 2 vehicles and a small trailer with clothes, kitchen things, a mattress and bedding, anything very breakable, and whatever we needed to “camp” in our new home for 2 weeks.

A few suggestions for future movers… Rent totes and fill them accordingly. If it’s heavy now, it’ll be heavier later. Mark every box. A roll of masking tape and a sharpie will save time and confusion later. Secure your load. Use the anchor points in stages as you load the pod. Longer ratchet straps will be your friend. Aside from any major catastrophic event, your pod should arrive as it was loaded. Anything inside that is damaged will be on whoever packs and loads the pod. And if you have ANY QUESTIONS, call the number on the website. They are amazingly helpful!

I started the process online, and then I ended up calling a representative who I didn't really care for and decided I wasn't going to use PODS after all because the person was very pushy. It was through the online chat thing, and they were so pushy and were like, "Well, you have to do this now. You're going to do this now." I was just gathering information to try to weigh my options and they were so pushy that it turned me off and I almost didn't go through PODS after all. However, I didn't hold PODS accountable for the one person.

I got the big container. It was my only option. They said that the two smaller ones were only for local storage. I'm glad they pushed into the big one because I filled that thing. It just didn't take really much furniture at all, but we moved in with my mom and dad. I got divorced. So, I left New Orleans and moved to L.A. I grew up here in Los Angeles. I moved in with my mom and dad because Los Angeles is expensive. So, until I can get my first couple of paychecks under my belt here, I'm living with my parents. They had all my stuff in the garage.

There was somebody who dropped off the pod and then she picked it up as well. Her name was Jasmine and she was amazing. I felt weird because I was videotaping her but that was because my dad likes mechanical stuff and I wanted him to see how the pod was picked up and delivered because the processes are so cool. I had to go out and talk to her and told her I was videotaping it for my parents, and she was so nice. My daughter has special needs and she was super cool with my daughter.

We had a guy who dropped off our pod here in L.A. He was also very accommodating. We had to cut a tree down in order to get him to move a bunch of branches to get the pod in and he was like, "Look, I don't know if I can make it. It might not be cut enough." My dad said he measured it. So, he tried it. We actually had an extra six inches of clearing. So, we were able to do it but he was trying to eyeball just to make sure because he didn't want to have to leave our stuff on the street or take it away. He worked really hard with us to make sure that we could move along the driveway.

At that point, it would have been easy for someone to simply say there was nothing more they could do. Instead, Chrissy went above and beyond. She took ownership of the problem, made countless efforts behind the scenes, contacted the storage facility directly, advocated on our behalf and worked tirelessly to find a solution. Her determination and willingness to think creatively ultimately made what seemed impossible possible. Chrissy genuinely cared and was a pleasure to speak with on the phone. She understood the urgency and importance of the situation and treated it with compassion, professionalism, and persistence every step of the way. In a role where it would have been easy to stick strictly to policy, she consistently looked for ways to help.

As a victim services worker, I work with many organizations and exceptional customer service can truly make a difference in someone's life as well as recognizing it. Chrissy's efforts directly contributed to helping a vulnerable individual relocate safely and begin a new chapter. The experience came full circle when I called back one final time today to confirm the invoices and happened to be connected with Chrissy again. It was a wonderful opportunity to personally thank the person who had worked so hard behind the scenes to make everything happen. I truly could not have done it without the role she played and wanted to send a heartfelt thank you to her and your team!

PODS is fortunate to have an employee like Chrissy. Her dedication, empathy, and commitment to finding solutions are exemplary and I am incredibly grateful for everything she did. She made a stressful and emotionally charged situation manageable, and I will never forget her kindness and perseverance. Thank you for having someone so great on the team!

Within 2 weeks of my NC arrival, I found and purchased a house. Called to schedule delivery of my pod, they came when promised, and only one item was broken, and that was just the glass out of a picture frame that fell down when we opened the door! Pickup was right on time and went very smoothly! I hope I never have to move again, but if I do, or know anyone who is moving, I will definitely recommend PODS!