I moved on July 20th and it is November 9th. I still don't have my piano. Here's what happened:…read more
On the day of my move, I texted Nate and asked if it was ok to add my old upright piano to the load. He called me and I described it to him. He approved it saying that I could add anything because they charge by the hour. This was very different from other movers, so I was really happy about that.
When the movers arrived, it turned out to be his 18 or 19 year old son and another young man who looked to be slightly older. They worked very hard and efficiently - they did a great job. But when it came time to move the piano, they were having some difficulty moving it because of its weight. The did the right thing and called Nate, who came right away to help. All three of them practically broke their backs getting the piano outside of the house. Then Nate reassured me that all was well and he left. He told me later that he didn't help load the piano onto the truck, and he didn't make sure his son secured it properly with more than one strap. He thought to remind them, but he didn't. And then he gave them the green light to move my piano up two flights of stairs to my apartment without providing them with the proper manpower and equipment. That just totally blows my mind!
By the time they arrived at the apartment, the two kids found that the piano had snapped the restraint and had been seriously damaged. Nate's son called him and told him what happened - Nate was furious at him, of course. But I felt sorry for the kid, because he was just a kid. He had no experience with this. Nate was responsible for his training and follow through. Nate knew how heavy it was. There was no excuse. And prior to leaving my house, Nate's son had gotten a call from the next scheduled move - I heard him say he was running behind. Nate knew about this, too. Nate had clearly overburdened his son, made one poor judgement after the other, and just wasn't committed to doing things right.
At my apartment when the damage was discovered, I spoke to Nate on the phone and he reassured me that he would bring it to his house and have it repaired immediately. He told me that he didn't want to file an insurance claim, but would pay for it out of pocket. He said he would take it out of his son's check... smh..
Here's what happened after that:
1) I have had to reach out to him for updates - he has never once bothered to contact me to let me know how things are going. I have had to seek updates from him. I haven't harassed him at all,
2) In one response, he said he had put about a thousand into the piano for repairs and asked me to be patient as he got enough money to re-key and tune the piano. I expressed understanding but still pressed him for its return. I asked him to keep in touch with me. He hasn't. That was the last time I heard from him - it was September 21st.
3) On that date, he admitted that he should've filed an insurance claim, but it was too late by the time he realized it. Now I was at the mercy of his pocketbook.
4) I have reached out to him 3 times since September 21st with no response. The third time, I explained that my partner and I are both musicians with a home business and we rely on that piano for income, especially during the holidays. He made no reply.
I'm not a malicious person. I'm not a hard nose, though my partner told me I should've been more demanding when the damage was discovered. It's possible that Nate would've done the right thing if I was belligerent toward him, I don't know. Bottom line, I trusted him at his word.
My next steps: I thought I'd start here with Yelp - at least this would warn others not to trust this man with their property. Reporting him to the Better Business Bureau will follow and then potentially small claims court. And it sucks because he's a nice guy, and had good intentions - but nice doesn't equal good judgement and character. You have to have both when you're dealing with caring for other people's possessions.
