U-HAUL TRUCK RESERVATION · LIVE PROJECT
Redesigning self-serve truck pickup and return
© U-Haul Truck Reservation
ROLE
Lead Designer
TIMELINE
Ongoing
TEAM
12-person cross-functional team
SKILLS
Service Design
UX Research
Interaction Design
Prototyping
PROBLEM
The pickup experience was broken and it was costing the business.
At pickup, users couldn’t see truck availability, find their vehicle, or complete verification without staff. Busy Saturday mornings meant 30+ minute waits, heavier staff workload, lower conversion, and higher support costs.
Pickup Flow Mapping
Mapped the end-to-end pickup and return journey to identify where customers got stuck or gave up.
On-Location Observation
Watched customers attempt pickup at real locations to see firsthand where confusion and delays occurred.
Cross-functional Collaboration
Partnered with ops and store teams to keep changes feasible within existing hardware and staffing constraints.
CORE FLOWS
A guided path through pickup and return
Research showed users didn’t fail because the product was difficult; they lacked clarity at each step. I designed every transition to explain what’s happening, what’s next, and how to recover. Reservation, verification, truck location, accessories, and return were mapped to minimize staff intervention.
Mobile Reservation
Let customers reserve and pay for their truck ahead of time, so pickup becomes a formality instead of a transaction.
Remote Verification
Move license and identity verification into the app, removing the front-desk bottleneck during peak hours.
Self-Serve Pickup
Give customers a way to unlock and inspect the truck on their own, so staff are only needed for exceptions.
Showing Availability That Doesn't Exist Yet
Show upcoming truck return windows:not just what’s available now.
Breaking the Verification Loop
Verify in the background, then notify users when they can continue:removing the verification loop.
RESEARCH
I went to the stores. Here’s what I found.
I visited pickup locations and walked six customers through the rental journey in real time. Peak Saturday observations showed the friction was emotional as well as logistical: users felt stressed, uncertain, and abandoned. Those insights shaped the design.
Final designs
We prioritized a simple, familiar, and clean interface.
Final designs paired clear entry points and guided verification with a lot-finding map customers could follow easily.
reflections
Key Takeaways
Testing in the Real World
Real pickup-location testing exposed friction a clickable prototype would miss.
Design and Build
Rapid prototypes tested entry patterns with real customers before engineering commitment.
Clarity Over Convenience
Setting expectations before pickup outperformed extra automation:trust came from clarity, not just speed.
Talkvisor
Airbnb AI Planner