Walter went beyond to get me the vehicle I wanted. None available but he made a call to a customer who was late picking up and she canceled and I got the vehicle! The rental and return was seamless and smooth. Thank you Walter
patricia BCustomer Reviews for U-Haul of Santa Monica
Testimonials From Recent Customers
Customer feedback is extremely important to us. We use these reviews to guide our efforts and improve our service. Everything that follows is direct from our customers, without any filtering or editing on our part.
Excellent! Thank you. LORD Bless
VICTOR DMake sure staff has phone to clock in and help waiting customers. Waited 20 minutes after my initial reservation at 7am to finally be helped due to staff forgetting their devices.
MARX HSanta Monica U Haul always delivers a great truck, friendly service and an all around wonderful experience
KATHRYN NI’m submitting a serious complaint after having a dangerous experience and disturbingly poor customer service at the Santa Monica U-Haul location. First, the initial employee who opened the building arrived late at 9:12 AM, and it was not until 9:40 AM that the first person received the keys to their vehicle. There was a long line of very unhappy customers, and many people were on the phone with customer support. One customer even announced loudly to the line that they felt customer support was speaking to them as if “they were above them.” Second, the vehicle I received had a brake fluid leak, which left me in a dangerous and vulnerable position on the road. I noticed the leak when I parked the vehicle in my driveway, where the brake fluid also leaked and badly stained the surface. I called the Santa Monica U-Haul location hoping they would bring me a replacement vehicle, but no one answered. I also texted customer service and received no response. As a result, I drove the vehicle back to the facility, and at one point during the drive, my brakes stopped engaging entirely, and I had to slam on the brake pedal with both feet just to get the vehicle to slow down. This was extremely dangerous and could have resulted in a serious accident. After arriving at the U-HAUL location, I was treated very rudely by the manager, who repeatedly referred to me as “bro.” Despite the field mechanic explaining to the manager that the vehicle had no brake fluid, the manager still insisted that the vehicle was safe for me to drive. This presents a major liability, as the brakes were clearly not functioning properly. After insisting on a replacement, the manager finally had an employee transfer me to a new vehicle and extended my drop-off time to 11 PM. However, when I received my receipt, I was charged for the miles driven on the unsafe vehicle that had no brake fluid, and I was also charged an after-hours fee. The fact that I am being charged at all for this experience is unacceptable, let alone being charged additional fees resulting from U-Haul’s negligence. Please issue a full refund. David
David SNothing everybody was so cool. It was great.
john mFriendly agents
Raymond BAll went as planned plus the air conditioning was great!
KATHRYN NOur representative was wonderful!
Melinda TWhole team are great and you get a warm welcome ad soon as you step through the door!
DOMINIC THonestly, my experience was FANTASTIC !! I rented a 10" box van for a 1 way trip and had to extend the rental because I was dealing with some health issues that kept me from loading and driving. Walter took care of the easy extension and Ken was understanding on the other end ! Could not have been happier with the rental !!
CHRIS SLoyal Uhaul customer and this Santa Monica location has been there with me for decades including family and friend. Always professional, tons of really well kept equipment and supplies, this is my favorite store in Southern California and I am a native of the area. I would drive miles just to get my equipment from this location. So professional!
FRANK MBetter customer service would be helpful
amir mThe vehicle I rented, I think needed to check the brakes because they made too much noise when braking.
BRYAN AI am never given the vehicle type that I reserve; the Manager does not know the difference between a Box Truck and a Truck. The same manager, In the past I requested for the biggest box Truck that uHaul has but the day I picked up at 4:30pm I was told If I want that particular size truck I had Togo to Inglewood; this was the same kid who is interested in telling customers that he is the manager. He is not interested in service
SUSANA WWalter was very helpful and professional!
TERESA RThey do not pull out the 15’ Van stuck between two other 15’ Vans so you can take pictures before you depart. They said we don’t do that anymore. The windshield washer was empty and windows dirty, I washed all the windows inside and out with Windex including the mirrors. The service with the last manager was excellent but the service her is crappy. The negative attitude of some of some outside employees is anti business and racist towards white people. The UHAUL that I have used the last decades has deteriorated and the staff makes you feel like tgey are doing you a big favor renting from them. Sadly service of some positive younger employees is darken by some older negative employees.
Charles EThe man who set me up with the van and helped me when I picked up is a good worker, courteous, professional, punctual.
EDWARD KBest u haul ive ever been to
SAMUEL NThe human service is great. The cell phone app is terrible. Adds time and confusion to the process....Needs work!!!!
GUY OThis car was reported stolen and they have taken money out of my account U-Haul taking money on my account without my permission and I would like it all refunded as soon as possible. I demand a refund.
Frances MFacility was closed
JEFF WThe company forces you to use the app and online technology, and none of it works correctly. It's an extremely frustrating experience where nothing was working the way it was supposed to, things weren't loading, no one can answer questions. I have been renting U-Hauls for 25 years and this was the most frustrating in least smooth process I've ever experienced. Stop forcing people to use self-service with such poorly implemented technology
Daniel EI ordered mattress pads but mattress pads were not provided. Also, the online check in glitch for taking photos made it difficult to check in without talking to a UHaul employee.
Daniel RThe GM is awesome. A real asset to your company - he was very competent and I enjoyed my interaction with him.
john cI wish thay had this service in Italy
Marcello GThe lady who took care of me at 7:00 am approximately was a delight re customer service and she was patient with me A+ The rate was also reasonable Thank you U-HAUL
Ariel GI had a terrible experience here. I relied on the advertised mobile checkout since I was running late from work, but the staff called me twice to pressure me, eventually threatening to give away my truck if I wasn't there by 7:00 p.m. When I arrived, the employee, who I assume was the manager was extremely condescending, acting like I was a burden for running late and picking up a reserved rental. He also forced a $30 insurance charge onto my bill after I insisted on not getting the insurance option & telling him I had my own coverage. The truck itself was very dirty and reeked of cigarettes, yet the return system tried to flip a cleaning fee onto me. If mobile checkout isn't actually supported here, it shouldn't be listed.
DAPHNE Gconvenient location. chaotic, jammed parking lot
Tera Atoo much!
TAREK Syour app check-in stinks, humans do the job better and faster. That alone will make me look to rent from Home Depot before coming back to U-Haul
David SAsk for Walter the GM. This guy handles business. I will come back to this location because I can trust he runs a tight ship. Thank you for making moving easy.
Daryl BGreat Experience
STEVE SWalter is the best! He had the paperwork and the truck all ready when I arrived
KATHRYN Nvery experienced staff
SCOTT KNothing. They are the kindest and the nicest. They've made my moves so much easier.
MEGAN GNothing , the guys that were working there were really polite and helpful. That being said these surveys are stupid and they shouldn’t be sent out nor should your employees be judged by them..
STEPHEN NWhat can you do to improve? … NOTHING. You are so good that you make Disney and Apple look sloppy!
BRUCE WVery quick and easy. Helpful employees
MARK VBad behavior from the manager , he demanded I download the app, I tried several times , I kept getting kicked off line , at one time I said as I tried to, “ oh shit “. He became aggressive and angry and scolded me and said “don’t curse at me “! “ who do you think you are “? You better apologize “. I am a 63 year old attorney , and have never been treated this way . He knew me from prior rentals and I have always been polite . I will never rent from this location and advise you to terminate this employee . He is aggressive , takes things personally , is rude and really out of line . Enterprise has van rentals and I will go there and be treated politely with respect for being a repeat customer . Absolutly disgusting !
IAN BCheck-in process needlessly complicated. Driver license pics & credit card info in pre-check-in and then again in check-in with long system waits. It's as if you don;t want people to transact with the company.
MARC VI only had one problem...the app did NOT work as it was supposed to. I had a 6am pickup and was instructed that the app would provide me with a way to get the keys to my truck that were held in a lock box. I scheduled the pickup for 6am because I needed to get on the freeway before Friday morning rush hour started as I had to head to downtown LA. I saw on the app that there were instructions to reach a LIVE person via text if there were any problems by typing "Help" into the texting field. I did this three times as I waited in 37 degree temps outside. I also had workers meeting me at my Public Storage facility downtown. I needed everything to go smoothly. When I reached the General Manager at the Santa Monica U-Haul office, he kept telling me that the truck was ready to go and that it was my phone that was the problem. Obviously, things got heated because an employee from the U-Haul office showed up just before 6:30a and tried to use the app on my phone and let me know the app just didn't work sometimes. The experience just caused undue anxiety. I was expecting a $50 credit since I was unable to access the truck at 6am through no fault of my...or my phone's...own. Everything else went smoothly...but being unable to reach a live person who could help me out at 6am caused undue stress.
Paul ANothing to improve. But the gentleman who checked me in and gave me the keys might be the nicest and most professional employee you’ve ever had. Don’t lose that guy!
DAVID BThe service was EXCELLENT when I picked up the truck and returned it. Nothing but nice people.
TRACY JHad to be transferred here due to lack of forth thought on renting a truck the night before at Radius auto body. They rented a truck the night before to be returned at 8am. With my reservation at 10. I waited an hour and then ended up having to uber across town. I have never had a more terrible experience
Kurt HAn overall delightful experience. For the size of the lot, the staff here maintains it very well. Everyone is friendly and makes sure you're helped in a timely manner.
Thanh HMiles was exceptional. He was answering the phone and patiently answering questions, communicating well with those who interrupted him without neglecting the customer in front of him. He wonderfully managed the long line at store open and kept things moving well. I was blown away by his professionalism, adaptability, kindness, and efficiency. He was doing at least 5 different jobs, communicating well, and all with a smile on his face. Wonderful experience.
MATTHEW SYou guys were so kind and nice!!! Amazing customer service. Fri. Check out and returning the product you guys went above and beyond
AUSTYN LTimothy B was great.
Michael SCustomer service was friendly but rushed. Used mobile service but assigned rental equipment truck was stuck behind other vehicles, make sure assigned vehicle is not obstructed. Thank you.
Cindy WThe front desk folks were not the friendliest folks. To require app check in is ridiculous for some customers. I’d recommend this location because of convenience to our locations.
Jacqueline CI received the U-Haul with it on empty and gas light on, very annoying to have get gas when you just picked up the U-Haul. While there is a gas station right nearby it is a headache to get to and just a kink in the process of getting the U-Haul.
CELIA TGreat service and people
ALICIA APick up process was very annoying
Grannas HWalter was so impressive to us as a family. We came in from Atlanta, Georgia to pick up a truck and he could not have made our lives easier! I just wanna tell Walter that he was the best customer service the best assistant he cared about our situation and he did everything he couldn’t make our experience easy. Thanks, Walter and I hope to find more Walters across the world!
Scott MAll was 100% perfect
KATHRYN NGreat place to get a moving van for an hour or a day. Manager is also great!
MAYRA HWalter was nice with us, great service
ADRIANA MExcellent! Thank you. LORD Bless
Victor DI showed up around 8:45 and was first in line when I got there, it took about an hour for the system to process my check-in at the counter. Understandable, sometimes the system is slow. I got the truck with 1/4 tank in it, which wasn't enough to get me to my location, which I had previously asked for 100 miles in my reservation. In addition, I had been guaranteed that the equipment I reserved would be there, and I had reserved two furniture dollies. There were NONE available and they made me purchases two in order to complete my order. This is ridiculous! They should have rented me the new ones and added them to their stock of rentable dollies. Overall was a terrible experience, and I will look elsewhere in the future.
ZACHARY SI was so tired from packing the easiest thing about this. Move was renting this beautiful truck Chante and the service team were so kind and professional. I was in and out of there in minutes I didn’t have my reading glasses, so Chante had to set me up with the app, which was extremely simple. She was very lovely. Thank you again for a wonderful experience
ROSE CI have rented here several times and they are the best!
DEVIN BThe U-haul I received was dirty ont he inside & out. there were parts of the seat that were broken. this specific van needs to be fixed or removed from the fleet.
Antonia AGreat service, very clean cars and they updated them! New Vans. I rented it in 2021 and now in 2026 and I can see that new Vans have cameras for rare view which makes it very safe to drive.
ANNA DAlways use Uhaul. Always reliable.👍
RAYMOND LOur van was parked between cars so that we couldn’t pick it up and had to go inside to change it to another vehicle which took time. The service employee was kind and helpful, but I expect that my car is ready for pick up when I book it in advance. And there are homeless people on the property offering help for moving. Doesn’t feel very safe.
Lorena AThe U-Haul app I used to pickup my van was extremely frustrating. It took me 45 minutes to navigate through multiple screens. It kept asking me to retake screenshots of my face and driver license (5 times). The counter s taff wasn’t helpful at all. When I finally got the keys to my van it was blocked in by 5 other rental vehicles. This was a total waste of my time. Next time I’ll rent from Enterprise and save the hassle.
John LLove U-Haul. The customer service is the best around
TODD TThe lack of human customer service is incredibly frustrating. Having the ability to check in online is great, in theory, but the entire process is very slow and inefficient and when there’s someone on site available to help you through the process but not actually able to is really ridiculous. Pick up and drop off take far too long because you have to take a bunch of photos that may or may not upload properly and it’s not a good process for people who are clearly trying to get things done. I don’t think these are jobs we should be taking away from people. Online check in should be a supplemental process not the only process.
LIZZIE B