1) Dude! That ALWAYS happens to me at work. I call and have an issue with a person on the other end of the phone/email and I explain it to my boss - he goes and does the SAME EXACT thing I did...and suddenly it gets done.

No wonder women in business are considered "bitches", apparently it's a necessity. And EXTREMELY frustrating! Don't cha think?

2) Probably the female aspect. I've dealt with it in many forms in my life. That's why, under certain conditions, I give in to the way it is and let the guy take care of it. WAY back when I did dog training, I got the "let me talk to one of the trainers" mentality ALL the time. I think it is better now but still a ways to go in some arenas. Either having a guy do it--or baiting them with brownies seems to help. :) I will say the move to MN was made much nicer by a JarTran guy in TN who gave us unlimited milege when I only asked for an additional XXX to get me to Charlotte and then to MN. The JarTran folks in MN were amazed someone had done that. Apparently some folks are just respectful without factoring in gender. :) Glad it worked out but I know how you feel about it.

3) What is JarTran?

4) Used to be another company like UHaul. Not sure if they are still in business but when I moved from TN to MN, that company gave me the better deal. Since we did all the driving ourselves and were moving two houses of "stuff"--we had an 18-ft. truck. We could have gone smaller since we only filled up 2/3 of the truck. Hard to gauge. When I moved out to OR, I used a company that fit you into a truck heading that way to save some $$. I will never use that company again--not sure I'd ever use that option again. The company was very poor in communication and "Trucker Dude" who drove the truck was the stereotype of a truck driver with jeans, white-tshirt, gold chains (BIG CHAINS) and boots. He basically slept while you loaded or unloaded the truck but he showed up late to get the stuff and then pushed me to get to OR before him to be able to off-load the truck. I don't know if all companies that work like that are that bad--but they really gave me a bad experience to avoid next move. I had terrific friends on both ends to help with loading and unloading.

5) Oh, I forgot to mention--he acted like he was on something--very weird and dull-thinking. He got my phone # and the woman in Montana mixed up and couldn't remember where she was to deliver the stuff, etc. I was driving parallel with him most of the way--him on a different freeway to the south. I pushed hard just to avoid problems when I got to OR. I think I beat him by 2-3 hours at the most. And I didn't even have an address for sure until I got out here. Weird property management company and their rules. Not faulting them--just frustrating to move from a distance.

6) Dude, U-Haul is a farce. They are a necessary evil in times like yours though, and they know it. I've been hornswaggled and flapjacked by them on several occasions. And will I ever go back if I absolutely have to? Yes. But I will bring your step-dad.

7) Dave, next time you get hornswaggled and flapjacked, can I watch?

8) Wow, LGrant - I'd kill for that deal you got!! And I agree - there are some battles that just aren't worth fighting. From now on I'm sending the testosterone.

9) I could tell you my nightmare story about my first attempt to move to Oregon and the U-Haul I drove from OH to TN. Scary stuff!! Do what works for you and get the best deal--hopefully with references!! :)

10) Every time I have been in a Uhaul place (mercifully accompanying other people who are the renters) they have been utter toilet. They are disorganized, can't keep promises, have terrible customer service and are just plain crap all round. I will refuse to use them unless I absolutely have to.

Going on to comment on the "getting things done" part of this conversation (can I do that in one comment?), I would like to mention that it is the other way round with me and the missus. I'll get off the phone talking to someone having achieved little but when she gets on the phone she seems to have a persuasive way that passive little me lacks.

11) We used Penske to move from Florida to Kentucky, and they were super-nice. I hate using UHaul.

12) Yeah, Betsy - I wanted to use Penske, but U-Haul is Caterpillar's "preferred" vendor for moving, and supposedly the only way I could be reimbursed in full was to use U-Haul. Next time I'm negotiating :-D