I doubt this review will be taken seriously by LBC but I decided to post this anyway and who knows, maybe this will be helpful to someone.
I have tried other balikbayan box forwarders on Oahu but one had gone out of business and some others have disappointed so these last couple of years, I went back to LBC Waipahu. Unfortunately, my recent experience with LBC was the worst ever.
When I scheduled the pick up for my boxes, I was told that if I wanted to ensure they arrived in Manila before Christmas, I should have them picked up on the first Saturday in October so I called to schedule the pick-up for that day. I even called the day before to verify that I was on their list for pick-up that Saturday and was assured that my two boxes would be picked up the next day, Saturday morning. I packed my boxes and those who send balikbayan boxes know how much love and care go into preparing and packing these boxes, not to mention the patience and tremendous anticipation felt by our families. It was past noon on Saturday and the LBC cargo associate still had not called. So I called LBC and was told their driver had not yet reported for work but we were still scheduled for pick-up that afternoon. But when the LBC van had not arrived by 2:00 p.m., I called LBC again and this was the part when I exploded.
The LBC office staff told me their driver had arrived but was hotheaded, left and refused to do pick-ups that afternoon. This angered me and embarrassed me because this was a Filipino business and they clearly did not care for their customers. The LBC lady then suggests that I myself drop off my boxes to their office. I totally lost it after I heard this. I told her this was not possible and how can I even go to another balikbayan box forwarder now when I already paid for the LBC boxes and packed and labeled them. In any case, I told her, if I schedule with another company, my boxes would not arrive before Christmas. I told her LBC committed to picking up my boxes that day and I therefore expected a pick-up before their office closed that afternoon.
After about 45 minutes, someone whom I assumed was the LBC Waipahu Supervisor called and just kept giving me one excuse after another -- no driver, how about Monday pick-up instead, blah, blah, blah. I just screamed: "This is unacceptable, I am a returning customer, I don't care about your excuses... if you yourself have to come over and pick up my boxes, I don't care, I expect my boxes to be picked up this afternoon." She said she will see what she can do so we waited some more.
Then shortly after 3:00 p.m., I got a call from an LBC driver who said he was coming from downtown Honolulu and will be arriving in about half an hour. Thankfully, the LBC cargo associate came and was professional and efficient. But this whole experience was so nerve-wracking for me, I don't know if I want to give LBC another chance. Worst, most frustrating balikbayan box experience ever. I was going to complete the online survey on the LBC site but decided not to waste my time because it may just be worthless. Sad. read more