I reviewed this company immediately after they packed the home I was moving out of, and the workers…read morehad been there since early in the morning. Even though I had paid for the service, I was impressed and grateful for the help since I am disabled, lived on the second floor, and could NEVER have accomplished any of it myself. Although there had been a few snags (workers taking long breaks, smoking at the door of my apartment, arguing with each other about who was not working or who was moving too slowly) when I called the office, it seems the matters were handled well, so I was still okay with the initial results of the first part of the move. However, I had no idea how my evening would end.
My move was from one city to another city 45 minutes away. The workers met me at my new place but seemed rushed and almost aggravated when I pulled up. I didn't know if it was at each other or me, but I tried to ignore it. At the time, I did not realize their boss/the manager had joined the crew. He did not identify himself to me. I could hear that they were cursing at each other and rushing each other along, instructing each other how to unload my belongings, but I didn't understand why. After all, this apartment was on the ground floor and the parking was just outside my door. In any case, I tried to ignore it because I was just thankful to be in my new place.
Every box and bin was supposed to be labeled as they were packing since I had gone to great lengths to designate items and instructed the packers at the other location. The group ended up staying and unloading past midnight, resulting in items stacked up in my two-bedroom, two-bath apartment in a highly unorganized way. As I mentioned, I am disabled. Large wardrobe boxes (nearly as tall as I am) lined my hallway so that my walking device could not fit down the hall with me. All of my closets were stuffed with the same wardrobe boxes. My kitchen was full of heavy boxes that I could not move, blocking all appliances and leaving me unable to use my kitchen for months. Everywhere I turned, there were boxes and boxes stacked on top of each other. Most disconcerting was #1. Many boxes were not labeled and were incorrectly packed (items were just dumped from drawers or cabinets into boxes without care); #2 boxes were placed in the correct rooms (leaving me having to search for essential items). Many of my items were damaged due to the way they were packed or not packed. I am still finding broken items as I continue to sift my way to open boxes, little by little, almost one year later. Using Tri-City Mover's services has left me in a dire situation for quite some time. Due to my condition, I could not move much of anything, but I had to enlist the help of a kind volunteer college student once, and then ultimately had to hire someone to help me slowly undue what was done.
I would not recommend this company. They overpromise and severely underdeliver. The customer service over the phone is delightful, but the actual service is atrocious. In addition, the manager, Kelvin, comes off as a problem solver, but he never showed up each time he said they "would fix it," he refuses to give me the company's insurance information so that I can file a claim for my damaged items. He even accused me of "just wanting an interior decorator" when I asked if his company could come and rearrange the boxes to the correct rooms and remove them from blocking my closets. Can you imagine??
This packing and moving service cost me about $2,000, but I paid way more because of the costs incurred to survive and how they left me in my new place. I have used several services such as this and have never had such an experience. I can't believe they are still in business doing things this way. However, I found out they have several websites under different names directing people to the same company, and they do business in NC, SC, and VA very quietly (no registration in VA or SC, so perhaps misguiding people is their business model. I am unsure but will never give them another dime or referral. I retract EVERYTHING I said about them in my initial review. I am also attaching photos of what my new apartment looked like and how some boxes were packed when I opened them just after Tri-City Movers left me in my new place and I found someone to help me make a walking patch.
