U-Haul Moving & Storage at S Capitol St SW

I cannot say enough about how wonderful and professional Jahmala Scott and his staff are at 1501 South Capitol. We were unfortunate enough to be moving houses during a historic blizzard, and upon arriving in DC, there was no place for us to park or unload because the streets were unplowed and the sidewalks weren’t cleared. After hours of driving around the city trying to find a solution, we found 1501 South Capitol even though it wasn’t the place we had originally planned to return the truck. Jahmala and his staff welcomed us with open arms and helped us to lock the truck and store it safely with them until the snow was cleared and we could drive to our house to unload — which took nearly a week. Not only did they help us out — but they didn’t charge us anything extra. I have never had such a positive customer experience in my life from a large company and I will certainly be going back to 1501 if I ever need to move anything again.

Fantastic experience renting here:
–Parking is somewhat limited, but the staff came outside to direct me to a space quickly.
–It took me 15 minutes at most from arrival to be in my truck and on my way (I had reserved online in advance)
–Staff were incredibly friendly and efficient — special thanks to Amber and Tee
–I’d knocked mirrors with another driver while I had the truck and was nervous that this would make checkout difficult. On the contrary, it took me about 5 minutes (even though there was another truck being returned right in front of me and I thought I’d have to wait in line) and the staff reassured me that the insurance coverage was sufficient — by the time I left I didn’t have to do anything else to follow up on this.

I picked up a cargo van right at 7:00 AM on a Saturday. The staff working was great. Very polite, very helpful. Even helped me read the paperwork since I had forgotten my reading glasses. I recommend going early in the morning, it was pretty busy when I dropped off at 10:00 AM.
The only reason I’m not giving them 5 stars is because of the hidden fees that seem to always come up when renting from Uhaul. I know that’s a corporate issue though and not the fault of those working here.

I’ve rented here about 5 – 10 times so far, usually a cargo van but sometimes a truck, and here’s my take: Fast, easy to use, always great about returns, and amazingly courteous. Love these guys! Thanks for always taking care of me.
The neighborhood is not exactly welcoming – lots of low income housing and sketchy people around here. But I wouldn’t be too afraid to leave my car parked here all day – I do it all the time :)
This location is right across from Nats Park. It’s the Navy Yard metro stop. Parking on the street is limited. They have after-​hours returns if you are running late.

Excellent service. Very responsive on the phone and at the counter, and very helpful as I moved storage units within the building. The storage facilities are clean, well-​maintained, secure, and easy to access.

Took me about 20 mins to schedule a simple truck reservation. The person I was talking to got several details incorrect. I had to repeat myself more than twice on several different occasions. When I looked up the reservation online, the drop-​off location was a completely different part of the state and the wrong day! They eventually hung up on me. When I called the general u-​haul line they fixed it for me and the price was half of what I was actually quoted.

I can’t count off for the neighborhood because this group makes up for that with their customer service. I had to go there a lot when preparing to move a week ago. I started going just over a month ago. Some times I would have to wait a bit in line but they were personable and attentive when it was my turn. They even remembered me on one of the trips and let me know they got in some of the boxes I needed. They also made recommendations as needed for better products to use. Everything worked because I packed everything and didn’t have anything break.

Staff were friendly, neighborhood could not be safe at night. Metro-​ing there was great and walking distance was short. we rented a big truck. and returned it in 24 hours and it went just well. They could not help us with information or anything on where to park the car but other than that very nice and friendly staff.

Customer service and attention to detail has definitely gone down hill in the two years since I last used this location.
Upon arriving it took 20 minutes for someone in the back to answer the radio to bring the truck up to the front and then when it was there, I had to take another 10 – 15 minutes to find someone to give me the pads/​blankets that I ordered with the rental.
Returning the truck was an experience in catching up on all the U-​Haul gossip that the girl behind the counter felt she needed to tell her co-​worker for 5 minutes before even acknowledging me there. When I asked to have a walk around of the vehicle she said that was impossible and to wait for the invoice in an email.
Well the email and invoice never showed up and I had to call U-​Haul only to find out that I was charged an additional $ 25 cleaning fee for what I assume was the individual to pickup the blankets in the back of the truck that I rented. I think the $ 25 «cleaning fee» was tacked on as a, «Interruption Fee» since she had to stop talking about about who is hooking up with who at U-​Haul.
While it is still slightly better than the K St location, I would walk around and make them check your vehicle in. Also take pictures of the odometer and full gauge. I think they throw the extra $ 25 cleaning fee on everyone just to increase revenue.

DO NOT PUT YOURSELF THROUGH THIS TORTURE — Rent a truck from Budget or Hertz (or the U-​Haul on Bladensburg Road, NE)!!! I wish I had listened to the warnings of others on here and even on the U-​Haul website, but instead I’m stuck with a cancelled reservation, a pre-​paid storage locker I can’t get things to, and a whole lot of frustration. I rented a Cargo Van, confirmed it TWICE (once via email and again after completing online check-​in), and then several hours later received an email confirming the reservation for my 10′ truck. If I could fit a 10′ truck where I needed to go, I would have reserved one! When I called (since the manager at that location certainly didn’t call me to apologize and explain the situation — although I wouldn’t believe anything they say, regardless), the manager answered and TOLD me what they were giving me as an alternate. He was calm but not exactly professional, and clearly had gone through this scenario many times; and after many ridiculous insufficient alternate offers made on his part — and a lot of ranting on my part — I told him where he could put his reservation (which he gladly cancelled).
I have no recourse but if my disappointment can spare even one reader the annoyance then I’m glad I took the time to post this. If you ignore it (as I did since this location is so close to home), then I can’t have much sympathy…

Terrible service. Went in to rent a unit after having called and gotten price information. When the girl at the desk quoted me a different price, I pointed out that I had just called and gotten different information and that they should be careful with the information provided over the phone. She responded with «First of all…», at which point I thanked her and left. Went to Public Storage up the street and had a great experience.

I’d give them a zero if I could. Reserved a storage unit to start on saturday and called to confirm day of, was told they close at 7pm but 24 access for customers. Arrived at 6:30 to get unit and waited in line for 20 minutes before the attendant told us new units couldn’t be opened after 7pm, err 6:30 after she realized it wasn’t yet 7pm. Attendant was completely unapologetic and we were forced to come back the next day, leaving us stuck overnight with a trailer full of stuff to hang out on the street. I wouldn’t mind so much if I hadn’t called earlier in the day to check on it! Never using u-​haul for storage again.

I’ve used this location twice and both times they had the equipment I reserved (online) and it was clean and ready to go without any wait (about 30 seconds after I signed). Checking back in was also efficient. The most recent time was Saturday, June 1^st, a weekend at the beginning of summer when a lot of people were moving, so I don’t think I was just lucky to catch non-​busy days.
I’ve used a few other U-​Hauls and had much worse experiences (equipment not available, customer support unresponsive, equipment not as described, etc.), so wanted to leave a good review for this one.
One minus is that when I tried to call this place to confirm my reservation, no one picked up (I think the call got auto-​transferred to a national U-​Haul line with crappy service). But when I showed up, everything was in order.

This place is a disaster. Do not go here. Understaffed and you will wait an hour or more. Try bladensberg rd né.

I want to thank Jermaine at U-​Haul on Capitol South.
I saw such negative reviews of this location, and I’ve had less than stellar experiences at other U-​Haul locations in the past so I was not looking forward to my trip. I was buying a bundle of 25 moving boxes and walking them back about ¾ of a mile to my apartment.
Jermaine took the time to lash them to my small grocery cart and make sure they were balanced and secure. While he was helping me, I also watched him patiently explain the drop off process to another customer who seemed not to be native speaker of English. Such nice, really careful service is really rare.
His kindness made a really annoying task so much better!

The worst service we have received anywhere in DC. We have used them on a couple occassions and the service keeps getting worse.

For the storage part of things, they’re okay. For renting vans for local moves, they suck. They told me to get the additional insurance. I never get the additional insurance; I have plenty already. They said I had to get it unless I could show them my policy. Now I rode my bicycle there and do not carry insurance policies around in my wallet. I told them to call my broker. «How do we know it’s your broker?» You can google his name and call the number.
They did not get my business for the van rental. Go to Budget near the Home Depot off Rhode Island Ave. Better attitude and better prices and no baloney charges.

Part three of my U-​Haul saga.
OK, this place sucks. Seriously. I know that working at U-​Haul on Independence Day is nobody’s idea of a fun time, but rude doesn’t even begin to describe the employee attitudes here. I haven’t seen morale this low in a loooong time.
But before we get to that, it’s very unclear where you pull in to return the trucks at this location. I pulled into a lot in the back, only to be told I was in the wrong spot. The employee told me to drive back out onto P Street and pull into the bay closest to South Capitol.
Fine. So I pull the truck back around, and there’s absolutely no room in the bay. I put the truck on the street and walk into the store to figure out what to do next, only to be scolded by an employee for illegally parking on the street rather than pulling into the bay with no room. Acting completely annoyed, she took my key and went outside while somebody else processed the cardboard boxes I was trying to return.
«Why don’t you want to keep our boxes? You don’t like our boxes»? Um… because I wan’t my money back from this company! It says guaranteed refund right on the box.
Anyway, the first employee came back inside after a while only to realize she wrote down the «trip» mileage rather than the actual mileage (if only that truck was brand new with only 350 miles on it rather than 80,000). After resolving that, I was finally able to check the truck back in and be on my way.
I was so happy to finally get out of there.

I was super nervous about having to rent a UHaul to move from DC to Philly last weekend. We had never rented a UHaul before, and to add to the stress of moving, Hurricane Irene was threatening to totally ruin our plans. Honestly, I was sort of freaking out.
So when we went to UHaul to pick up our rental, I was relieved and almost giddy at how efficient and pleasant the whole experience turned out to be. The shop was new and nice inside. The cashier (I wish I caught her name), was very nice and extremely helpful — she heard us discussing which boxes might be good for a few items, and she immediately chimed and walked us around the store, suggesting the right boxes for our flat screen TV, our lamps, our electronics, etc. I thought that was excellent service.
The rental process was quick and easy, and the instructions and contract was explained to me clearly, and the cashier even went so far as to suggest the best strategy for returning the truck in Philly (hint: don’t name an exact location, call when you get there and see who can accept you).
It was a great experience all around. And we beat the storm.

Pat behind the counter was very friendly at 9 am on a rainy tuesday morning. The truck was clean and full of fuel. I was able to return the truck without waiting around. They asked if they had my email address and said they would email me the invoice within 20 minutes, which they did. The price was $ 20 lower than the estimate that morning, and the difference was refunded to my checking account in about two days. Fast, friendly, helpful, honest and not a lot of screwing around.

Pat and the rest of the staff were friendly, helpful and all around awesome. I needed to rent a storage unit at the last minute before going overseas for work. Having never rented one before, I had no idea what size I needed, and Pat took care of me. One thing that I really liked about Pat and the rest of the staff was they did not once try to upsell me or try to talk me into buying things I didn’t need such as special packing tapes, etc. In fact, Pat insisted that I could get by with a smaller unit than what I was originally trying to rent. Also, the store itself as well as the storage facility area are extremely clean. I could have eaten off of the floor throughout the entire store and storage area.