I move on saturday. I should’ve secured a moving vehicle before now, but I finally tried to do it today. I found the U-Haul location nearest me and called them up. the phone rang for 2 minutes solid before I hung up and checked the number. When I called a second time, a gentleman answered. I asked to reserve a truck on saturday.

“Did you call before?”

“Yes, I called just a moment ago. The phone rang for 2 minutes without answer”

“So you didn’t call before”

“This is me calling now, can I get a truck on saturday?”

He seemed to think I should’ve called to reserve a truck before I called the reserve a truck. He told me didn’t know and he’d have to ask his manager who was not at the location at the time. What else could someone possibly do working there except take calls from people like me with similar requests? I was beginning to understand why he didn’t answer the phone the first time I called.

He took my number and promised to return my call. 30 seconds later, I he informs me that a 14 foot truck would not be available, but they had 2 10s and a 20. I opted for a single 10. He then put me on hold, or at least held the phone away from his mouth as he spoke to someone else in the room. When he returned, he told me the computer was down and I could call back tomorrow morning. I explained that I work during the day and would not be able to get them until after 4 PM. Apparently this isn’t a problem and he assured me that if I wanted to I could come at 8 AM on saturday and just rent the truck without a reservation.

I thought about reserving one on the company website, but my confidence in this company is questionable, and I’ve had rotten luck brick and mortar businesses fulfilling web demands. OK, so it was expedia losing a hotel reservation 4 years ago, but I still feel nervous.