Estes Express Lines
Reviews and Complaints

I DON'T KNOW WHAY YOU PEOPLE THINK YOU ARE DOING BUT I TOLD THE SALES PERSON ON THE PHONE I DID NOT WANT TO CHANGE MY ELECTRIC COMPANY! I'M VERY HAPPY WITH NATIONAL GRID AND IF YOU SEND ONE BILL TO MY ADDRESS I WILL REPORT YOU TO THE BBB! I MAY STILL REPORT YOU ANYWAY FOR FRAUD I NEVER GAVE YOU ACCESS TO MY ACCOUNT I WILL CALL NATIONAL GRID IN THE AM TO MAKE SURE YOU DON'T FU-K WITH MY ACCOUNT!
HANDS OFF MY ACCOUNT
BETTY TRAINOR

Estes is a good ole boy employer. I worked for estes specialized and in a 4 month period I saw same guy wreck 3 trucks. he received a week off with pay after each one. Nothing happened to him because the supervisor investigated the accidents and determined he was not at fault. The supervisor was his brother in law talk about a conflict of interest. Anyway I was driving and had the roadway shoulder collapse from a waterline that had been done 10 days earlier. It had been redone because there had been 4 accidents of the same nature in the same spot. I had a witness to the accident and statements from all 4 of the people who had this happen to them. I was terminated while still under workers comp I guess i am not a good ole boy

The red head in sales is very unprofessional and is too busy taking pictures of herself and the drivers instead of doing her job.

In Joplin MO today at 20th and Connecticut the Estes gas truck turned South onto Connecticut almost striking a curb which would have been a disaster for everyone in the intersection and area.
SLOW DOWN!

I was just driving on 146 in Sutton going south bound and one of your trucks were exiting off Central Turnpike in Sutton, Ma and he never yielded to traffic. I was going 50 in a school bus and thank god the drivers saw what was about to happen and slowed down. Not sure you can track the driver but we have it on a dash video camera. If you don't do something about this driver he is going to kill someone.

I've been a truck driver for 22 years, and I see this stuff all the time. There are a couple of things you can do in these situations. The first, and most important is, if you even THINK the item might be damaged, REFUSE IT! That way, you don't have to deal with filing a claim. If you do accept it, unless you make sure any damages are noted on the delivery receipt, once you sign for an item you are saying you received it in good order. When in doubt, open it up and make sure it's ok. If it's not, REFUSE IT! Next, make sure when you order something that you have all the details worked out with the shipper for the delivery in advance. In most cases, unless worked out in advance, the driver's responsibilty ends at the end of the trailer. If you need an appointment, a liftgate, or inside delivery, make sure all of that is paid for in advance and noted on the bill of lading by the shipper. If it doesn't say it on the Bill of Lading, it's all on you. Also, in most cases it is not the driver's responsibility to set up or assemble new items, or to diassemble or remove old ones. Also, disposal of any packaging is generally the reponsibility of the consignee. You buy the milk, you buy the carton.
I had one customer who thought I was going to assemble and set up her new 12 place dining room set and take away her old one, the Monday before Thanksgiving. She said the shipper told her we would do that. She was very upset when I told her that I just deliver it. She ended up calling the shipper and they hired a moving company to take care of it. Another customer bought a patio set at a home show, and again thought it was my job to unpack it, set it up, and take way the trash. She asked me who did all that. I said, "you do". Not what she wanted to hear. But, we are a freight company, not a moving company.

I scheduled a pickup through freight quote have used them many times they are a great company and the following isnt their fault. I had a pickup sheduled for monday no shiw by driver then tuesday again no show. I called the middletown/newhaven ct terminal and the wonan said that the drivers truck was full so they could not pick my item up. She told me to call in the morning and ask for r-----e. So morning came I called and the gentleman who was polite said that the driver would be coming between 1-2. So 2:20 rolled around and nothing. I called the gentleman again and he said the driver was in my town and would be here any minute. Ok so now its after 3 pm so I called again and the same guy said let me check and will call back. So 30 mins went by and nothing so I called him back. He told me that the driver refused the pickup for whatever reason which he didnt state. Asked if A straight truck would fit down my road and i quickly responded of course. So by this point I was pissed off. I forgot to mention that everytime I talked to this guy I asked if someone was definately coming to pick the item up, that I wouldnt wait around all day if they couldnt. He always responded yes someone is coming for sure. So after Ingot off the phone with him I called and asked to speak with the manager, I was transfered and got a voicemail. I left a message and was called back. So now this guy told me that they also would definately be picking it up. Now its after 4 so I called freight quote. I had them call estes and estes told them that they gave my number to the driver and that the driver would call me. So now its after 5, i call back estes and am told the driver just got back in and said he ran out of time. So not only did they not come they didnt call. I could see if they called each day to tell me they couldnt make it. But no I was forced to take 3 days off just to wait for them. I should also mention that the first man I talked to was thw dispatcher, he claimed that the drivers would be out all night picking items up lol. I personally will never ever use this company again. I made a complaint with their main office I will post their response. Not only did I lose income. Because of these people but my customer who this item belongs to is also ripping mad.

One of Estes trucks tore up the side of my 2014 jeep Cherokee and kept going:(

To the idiot, Freight Consultant, perhaps you should follow your advise and get educated yourself. Clearly you have no idea of what you speak of. Estes does not agree to a value of freight with their customers, i.e. shippers. What they do is pay by the weight of the freight, with few exceptions. If the freight claim is on concealed damages, they pay considerably less for the claim. Estes is a very shady company and all dock workers are instructed to hide damages when possible so the consignee will sign for the freight clear. I say clear, meaning without exceptions of damages or possible damages. This way, if there is a claim, they aren't obligated to pay the full claim.
I worked for this company for seven years at their terminal 116, first in Cinnaminson, NJ and in Lakewood, NJ. I have traveled to several of their terminals to train employees or to help out when they were short handed. From my observations, all the terminals operate the same way, freight going from one terminal to another is loaded on a trailer in such a manner that much of the freight is damaged. I would not recommend shipping anything through Estes, but if you have the misfortune of having no choice as whomever you purchase items from typically chooses the carrier, make sure you inspect your items very well.
Spa covers, truck bed covers, vanities and furniture seem to be the easiest damages to spot as they are sole cartons. If you receive a pallet full and shrink wrapped, ensure that you inspect every carton before signing for the freight as this is where they get you. Just because the freight appears to be pristine at first glance, most certainly does not mean that it is. Remember, the dock workers are trained to hide damages and I assure you that they do have access to shrink wrap of their own.
With my experience working for this pathetic company, when I order something online, I am always clear to whomever I purchase from that if they ship with Estes, the freight will be refused for damages, damaged or not. They do hire some pretty stupid people at this company, as with any company. But you would think that management would be an exception.
I assure you, you would be incorrect to make that assumption. I have worked side by side with these people and haven't found one yet with the intelligence greater than that of a toddler. They seem to be full of ### when it comes to everything. Take the terminal manager in the Lakewood, NJ terminal 116 for instance, his name is Pietro Parisi, he will promise you anything to keep you there but when it comes down to it, he doesn't hold his end. I was promised many things under his rule and never saw anything that was promised.
To the person that stated that Estes is going to be a Union company, clearly you don't have a clue either. I'll explain how Estes works, we will use their old Parsippany, NJ terminal for an example. All it took there was one person to sign the union paperwork and the following week, Robey Estes closed the terminal. Estes will never be a union company nor have any union terminals, they will just close those terminals, leaving those employees unemployed.
If you have any questions or need to be educated, post them here, if I see them, I will be more than happy to enlighten you. I have worked at Harrisburg, PA terminal 024, Philadelphia, PA terminal 053, Bronx, NY terminal 176 and Cinnaminson, NJ terminal 116 now the Lakewood, NJ terminal 116. I have done everything from working the dock to supervising, dispatching, OS&D, claims, , billing and anything else that was asked of me, including hiding damages on freight. Everything written here is true, not from a disgruntled ex-employee but an ex-employee that made the best career choice possible and left the company to stop cheating people.

Worst company to deal with my vendors used them twice and of course they lied to me twice never on time with deliveries and this customer service lady had the guts to tell me they tried calling me to set up another appointment for the following week because they did not have the goods in their warehouse but I pulled it up in the tracking shipment info on line and It shows that it had arrived there 2 days ago what a piece of crap company this is the working class of this country is going down hill employees without any work ethics there to collect a pay check and do a half ### job Estes in Chesapeake Virginia the worst, Upper management should monitor this location better they just do no know how to deliver call Fed ex or Ups dont call this clowns

I am another victim in the long list of damaged deliveries. I ordered a handmade solid wood bedroom set. Two nightstands, Queen size bed, and a large dresser. Upon delivery, the first item off the truck was the dresser. Once it was in the garage I noticed several areas of damage. Not just scratches, gouges in the solid wood which looked to be forklift damage. Thankfully the driver was cool enough to let me go on the truck to inspect the rest. Every single piece of furniture had damage! So naturally I refused the delivery.
Weeks later, round two. I was called a few days in advance to schedule the delivery. I agreed to a Tuesday between 9am-12pm. At 1:15 no call no show. I called their dispatch and was given an excuse that since It was an original refusal and redelivery that something was not processed properly on their end and that my furniture was not on a truck. I explained to the dispatcher that I had to miss another days work to accept the delivery. Finally she was able to get a returning driver to deliver my furniture... 4-6pm was the goal. Shortly after I received a call back with the dispatcher admitting that there is visible damage on my second shipment! I had it delivered anyway to view and record the damage. This time there was a giant crack through the headboard of the bed which was blatant forklift damage! WTF?! There were only minor scuff marks of some of the other pieces so I was able to accept them. The real insane thing about all of this is that all of this furniture leaves the furniture maker in wooden crates with stamps that say "fragile", "do not un-crate", and "do not stack". I was told that it was unfortunate common circumstance for goods like this to be un-packaged in order to cram more deliveries onto a trailer. Especially due to all of the recent weather delays across the nation.
So tomorrow is round three... after reading all of the awful experiences everyone has had I have absolutely no faith that my bed set will reach my house in one piece. If you have any choice whatsoever, I would go out of your way and even pay a little more to use ANY other freight company.

Bad experience with ESTES in New Orleans with ESTES delivery. Lazy unhelpful driver. I have Fedex and UPS deliveries and other truck lines all the time. Their drivers are great.. Estes driver is prime example of an employee no one wants. If we had a choice they would never deliver ever!