I contracted for a truck and 2 movers for a local move. Scott showed up with a pickup truck and a wire trailer like landscapers use for their gear. He grumbled about so many cars in the parking lot. It was 7:50 a.m. on a Saturday in an apartment complex. He parked a long way from my apartment so he wouldn't have to move if someone wanted to leave. When it took 50 minutes to load the first item (a dryer), I had a talk with him about my expectations. All he was to move was furniture which was ready to go, some pieces with bubble wrap around them and some heavy crates and boxes. I told him my move from storage into the apartment had taken only 2 hours and I was expecting no more than 3 for the current move. He flushed and told me it was a 4-hour job. He told me he didn't like to "compromise his work." Also said, somewhat ominously, "I don't like to hurry; that's when things get broken." During the talk when I agreed to use him for the move, he had emphasized how he and his helpers show up to work, don't take breaks and get the job done expeditiously.
He loaded and unloaded the little cart several times, determined to make good on his word that it would all fit. He grumbled about how flimsy some of my furniture was. He took everything apart, even things that no mover had ever taken apart. He was clearly unhappy. At the end of 7 hours, he delivered the last of my stuff on the 2nd trip. He took me to task for my behavior, which he described as rude and condescending. He told me I "was mad even before he arrived." Actually I was pretty happy until I saw the gardener's cart. He said the only reason he had not been able to make the move in one trip was because I was hurrying him. He managed to lose some rollers off the bottom of my sewing cabinet, rendering it unusable until I contact Koala for more, and one of my dining chairs was scratched in a couple of places. I was surprised how much of my stuff was okay. He also left with the parting shot of, "I had to put a cat down last night so THANK YOU for making my weekend just that much better."
Communication was a problem.I had told him I was so unhappy because he had said he was providing a truck and two men. He told me his cart was a truck and that is how he does most of his moves. Said it would have cost me $20-30 more per hour if I'd had a real truck. None of this was presented to me when arranging for the move. He also had a habit of just leaving without mentioning he was. This was critical for knowing to go back to the old place for the second load. So while he did get most things moved, it took at least twice as long as it should have and he was not pleasant to work with. If you decide to use him, you need to really corner him for specific details ahead of time. read more