Before I start..this is NOT a report in what its like to drive or work for this company...just a rant of there PISS POOR operations.

I ordered a shipment over the phone on February the 12. Had BOL form sent to the guy I bought a complete motor from in Melbourne, FL. He filled out the BOL, having the motor picked up by Estes there in Melbourne FL and set to be delivered to Tampa FL Estes Terminal where my engine builder was scheduled to pick it up on Feb 15th.

3 days shipping. COD $187.

Easy right? Not quite.

February the 15th my Engine builder rented a truck to go to the terminal and pick it up. Paid for the freight charges. Went to dock to get motor loaded.

Cant find my engine crate. No clue where it is. Now my guy is out of $70 for a rental (comes out of my pocket)

I have to call and they tell me they will investigate where my motor went. (Mind you this is a $5000 motor floating in the breeze somewhere)

Dont hear anything for a week. Call up to get info. They found my motor. Some idiot on the dock had for some reason got the pallets mixed up and put it on a truck to Missouri!!! They have to run it down and get it shipped back. Don't know how long it will take.

Calls about 5 days later. Motor made it to Atlanta and is waiting to get to Tampa.

On March third i get a call. Finally...18 days after the scheduled delivery these people get my motor back to me and they say my guy can come pick it up.

Now my motor crate has more miles than the motor itself has (engine had 3K on it)

Im stuck with a $257 bill and delayed 3 damn weeks on getting my motor built all because one guy was in a hurry.

Sorry ### work and service if you ask me. I had to call every time to get an update, they didnt even call me when it was lost and i was the name on the bills. Guess they hoped I would forget.

Estes Truck Lines - Richmond, VA
Customer Service: 0 of 5 stars
Pickup Service: 4 of 5 stars
Delivery Service: 0 of 5 stars

Recommendation: Find LTL Service Elsewhere

Not to defend Estes, but, sometimes I wonder how anything gets to the right location in LTL operations. Freight is handled so many times, by so many different people that the chance for stupidity to assert itself is always there.

I have known many instances where the customer got tired of waiting for the "lost" freight to be "found" and went ahead with a reorder. It's not unusual for the reorder to be delivered while the LTL company is still trying to get their thumbs out and figure out where the original order is. . .

What would it have cost just to go pu in Melbourne FL, since a rental was needed anyway, and it was a in state move?

Sorry about the problems, but I have never found the C/S at trucking company's to be very good. They almost act like they are doing us a favor, rather then us keeping them employed by using them.

As one who is actually in this line of work, I've found that a big problem with engines is a lack of labeling. When it's just Joe Schmo shipping a motor to somebody else the engine just gets stuck on a pallet and tied down with hanger wire, which really is a crappy way to do something.

Most, if not all, mix-ups of this type happen with engines and trannys. It isn't just Estes that encounters this problem, it's everywhere.

I like blue's idea of going to get it yourself. Oftentimes this is the only way to get something done right.

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Z-Lady's devoted hubby.

He was lucky I was working fo a Co.that ordered a new Volvo engine about 30,000 more R less Yellow Freight delivered it I think they flew it in and gropped it with no parachute.They had to reorder for customers machine but wait over a month for Yellows Insurance to pay off.

Was the thing even crated or did they ship it unprotected?

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Z-Lady's devoted hubby.

It had a steel frame around it with pockets for fork lift,Funny thing the engine was busted up on both sides but the frame it was mounted in was not even scratched.They had to work hard to do that.

That sounds like a non-forklift operator loading or unloading a linehaul trying to shove the thing around sideways, but even the worst non-operator couldn't possibly be so stupid that it could completely escape his attention that it just MIGHT be better to push on the FRAME instead of the engine block. I'd be amazed that such an idiot could find his way to work in the morning.

That only leaves the possibility of someone sending your company junky merchandise, which is not inconceivable.

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Z-Lady's devoted hubby.