mikeb75
05-30-2014, 04:38 PM
I figured I’d post my experience with Stewart Transport to save other the aggravation of dealing with them. Knowing what I do now, I would be hard pressed to do business with them.
The setup: my 818 kit was scheduled to be completed 17 May 2014 by Factor Five. I had been undecided on a shipping method until right before that date. The original plan was to drive up the night before, stay at a hotel and tour the factory, load a trailer and return. However, my trailer plans fell through and my Father In Law who’s my partner on the project wasn’t comfortable making the drive (8 hours each way). So I called Stewart Transport and got a quotation on 14 May 2014. The price was expensive, but I didn’t consider it outrageously so and payment was made that day.
The agreement with Stewart Transport was that the kit would be picked up from Factory Five on 24 May and should be delivered the following day. I was informed that the driver would call after loading (on Friday) to arrange the drop off time and update me as he made progress.
I wired the outstanding payment to Factory Five and received notification that the funds had cleared on 20 May 2014. So everything was set to roll.
Come the afternoon of 23 May 2014 I still had not received any contact from Stewart Transport or their driver, so I sent an inquiry e-mail to the home office. I received an e-mail reply (shortly after) stating that both of the Stewart Transport trucks “were in the shop last week and delayed us by a week. Our driver will is scheduled to pick up your kit next week for delivery. Once he loads at the factory he will be calling you with an eta”.
Obviously I was displeased at this point and inquired back when/if Stewart Transport was going to notify me of this before I contacted them. I got no reply on that question. I also asked for a clarification on the new pickup date since “running behind” is difficult for me to schedule. I was told that the new pickup date was “around Friday 5/31 with a weekend delivery”.
I had already dropped my transmission off at Andrewtech for an LSD install and was waiting also for the 2WD conversion and block off plate to give to the shop so they could button the transmission up for me all in 1 step. With no recourse available at that time I sent Andrewtech an e-mail to let them know the delay and sat on my thumb for another week. Luckily they had no problem holding on to my transmission until the parts arrived.
On the afternoon of Friday 30 May I still had not heard anything from Stewart Transport so I sent another inquiry to the office asking for confirmation that the truck had arrived at the factory and was loading the kit. The reply was no, the truck has been delayed with deliveries and is expected to be at the factory Monday afternoon.
So I called the office to ask for an explanation and if this was how the company normally operates. I was told that one truck was in Texas and one in Dakota and that delays in the drop offs had affected the delivery schedule and the truck drivers are on the road 7 days a week trying their best and if the deliveries have issues or no-shows it affects the schedule.
Sure, whatever. I am not unsympathetic; I’m sure the drivers are very nice guys and it’s a hard job that I wouldn’t be able to do (can’t spend that kind of time on the road). Be that as it is, it’s immaterial since I haven’t seen one of these mythical drivers.
The issue I’m dealing with is that Stewart Transport does a poor job of communicating to the customer. I can't imagine not getting fired from my job for failures to communicate like this, especially to customers.
At the absolute least, for the money this service costs, updates should be provided to scheduled deliveries when something affects the delivery date. An e-mail would suffice that states the truck has been delayed and the pickup date from the factory is now xxx. I have small doubt that issues like this only add to scheduling problems that further delay deliveries.
Anyone considering using Stewart Transport should be aware that until they hear from the driver any date provided is optimistic at best and at worst imaginary. Certainly don’t go into the experience as I did expecting dates provided by the office to be meaningful of anything and don’t make any plans until you hear from the driver.
I’m sure after I have my kit delivered I’ll be impressed by how helpful the driver is and have the same experience others have posted of. But prior to getting to that point I already have a poor impression of the Stewart Transport and will (in all honesty) be hard pressed to remain pleasant to the driver. I would never consider being uncivil, however I am certainly not going to be all rainbows and unicorns.
The setup: my 818 kit was scheduled to be completed 17 May 2014 by Factor Five. I had been undecided on a shipping method until right before that date. The original plan was to drive up the night before, stay at a hotel and tour the factory, load a trailer and return. However, my trailer plans fell through and my Father In Law who’s my partner on the project wasn’t comfortable making the drive (8 hours each way). So I called Stewart Transport and got a quotation on 14 May 2014. The price was expensive, but I didn’t consider it outrageously so and payment was made that day.
The agreement with Stewart Transport was that the kit would be picked up from Factory Five on 24 May and should be delivered the following day. I was informed that the driver would call after loading (on Friday) to arrange the drop off time and update me as he made progress.
I wired the outstanding payment to Factory Five and received notification that the funds had cleared on 20 May 2014. So everything was set to roll.
Come the afternoon of 23 May 2014 I still had not received any contact from Stewart Transport or their driver, so I sent an inquiry e-mail to the home office. I received an e-mail reply (shortly after) stating that both of the Stewart Transport trucks “were in the shop last week and delayed us by a week. Our driver will is scheduled to pick up your kit next week for delivery. Once he loads at the factory he will be calling you with an eta”.
Obviously I was displeased at this point and inquired back when/if Stewart Transport was going to notify me of this before I contacted them. I got no reply on that question. I also asked for a clarification on the new pickup date since “running behind” is difficult for me to schedule. I was told that the new pickup date was “around Friday 5/31 with a weekend delivery”.
I had already dropped my transmission off at Andrewtech for an LSD install and was waiting also for the 2WD conversion and block off plate to give to the shop so they could button the transmission up for me all in 1 step. With no recourse available at that time I sent Andrewtech an e-mail to let them know the delay and sat on my thumb for another week. Luckily they had no problem holding on to my transmission until the parts arrived.
On the afternoon of Friday 30 May I still had not heard anything from Stewart Transport so I sent another inquiry to the office asking for confirmation that the truck had arrived at the factory and was loading the kit. The reply was no, the truck has been delayed with deliveries and is expected to be at the factory Monday afternoon.
So I called the office to ask for an explanation and if this was how the company normally operates. I was told that one truck was in Texas and one in Dakota and that delays in the drop offs had affected the delivery schedule and the truck drivers are on the road 7 days a week trying their best and if the deliveries have issues or no-shows it affects the schedule.
Sure, whatever. I am not unsympathetic; I’m sure the drivers are very nice guys and it’s a hard job that I wouldn’t be able to do (can’t spend that kind of time on the road). Be that as it is, it’s immaterial since I haven’t seen one of these mythical drivers.
The issue I’m dealing with is that Stewart Transport does a poor job of communicating to the customer. I can't imagine not getting fired from my job for failures to communicate like this, especially to customers.
At the absolute least, for the money this service costs, updates should be provided to scheduled deliveries when something affects the delivery date. An e-mail would suffice that states the truck has been delayed and the pickup date from the factory is now xxx. I have small doubt that issues like this only add to scheduling problems that further delay deliveries.
Anyone considering using Stewart Transport should be aware that until they hear from the driver any date provided is optimistic at best and at worst imaginary. Certainly don’t go into the experience as I did expecting dates provided by the office to be meaningful of anything and don’t make any plans until you hear from the driver.
I’m sure after I have my kit delivered I’ll be impressed by how helpful the driver is and have the same experience others have posted of. But prior to getting to that point I already have a poor impression of the Stewart Transport and will (in all honesty) be hard pressed to remain pleasant to the driver. I would never consider being uncivil, however I am certainly not going to be all rainbows and unicorns.