Suddath CEO promises changes after Action News Jax investigation

PDF: Statement sent to Action News Jax from Suddath Relocation Systems

The CEO of a Jacksonville moving company that relocates tens of thousands of military families a year is promising changes after an Action News Jax Investigation.

Action News Jax first reported last week that dozens of military families told us they had experienced major delays with Suddath Relocation Systems.

Some complained their items showed up damaged or never showed up at all.

A Facebook group of military families who experienced problems during moves with Suddath this summer has grown to nearly 200 people.

Over the weekend, Suddath Relocation Services posted a YouTube video of CEO and President Mike Brannigan addressing summer delays for military families.

Marine Corps wife and new mother Anna Menne told Action News Jax her family’s belongings were picked up on June 15. More than five weeks later, Menne said her family is still waiting on half of their things to arrive.

Menne said her headboard and bed frame made it to their new California home, but she and her husband are still waiting on the mattress.

STORY: Military families say Jacksonville-based Suddath made their move a disaster

“Over a three-week period, we called 32 times, called our coordinator at Suddath. We did not receive a call back at all from our original coordinator,” said Menne. “It made me feel awful, you know? Very discarded, brushed aside.”

In the new YouTube video, Suddath's CEO said the delays are industry-wide.

“During the past few weeks, the moving and storage industry has experienced a shortage of drivers and shipping capacity that has created longer shipment times for some military customers in specific locations,” said Brannigan.

Menne said the truck driver shortage does not explain the lack of communication her family experienced.

“Just because there’s a truck driver shortage does not mean that the move coordinator can’t pick up the phone and let the families know, keep them updated,” said Menne.

A Suddath spokesperson said Menne’s “experience is not reflective of how we handle customer service.”

In the video, the CEO said the company is now adding peak-season staff.

“We are qualifying additional agents in markets that are saturated, and capacity is tight,” said Brannigan.

A company spokesperson also said Suddath “recently deployed a new text communication platform to make it easier for customers to get updates and communicate with us.”

Suddath continues to point to its average 94 percent on-time deliveries, a statistic a company spokesperson said reflects deliveries through May of this year.

Brannigan has agreed to an on-camera interview with Action News Jax on Tuesday.

Action News Jax wants to clarify one part of our July 19 Action News Jax investigation:

On Thursday, we reported that U.S. Transportation Command judges military moving contractors, in part, based on the companies’ own satisfaction reports.

On Monday, a U.S. Transportation Command spokesperson clarified it’s actually based on the agency’s surveys of military families after their moves, and apologized for the miscommunication.

Cox Media Group