So many 4 and 5 star reviews- what could possibly go wrong? Nothing that couldn't have been completely avoided. Maybe my little apartment move wasn't enough for them, so they had to make it more worthwhile to them? I just don't know.
It started out with a good estimate. Not the highest one, not the lowest one, just right in the sweet spot. The estimator was friendly, professional and explained everything. So a few days later, after making my comparisons, I called and booked a day of packing and moving the next day after that. Normally I would pack up myself but trying to get it together between medical issues was daunting, so I bit the bullet and had them do it. It was my lifetime move #33 so not having to pack up was admittedly going to be an improvement on my usual stress-fests!
The two packers were friendly, seemed professional and were super speedy-they arrived at 9am as planned. Basically they reassured me I could get out of the way while they worked. Off I went to a medical appointment. They were gone by 2pm with only a few items left for the next day. Tips were handed out and everyone was happy. Next day four movers arrived at 9am and started right in. I was expecting two movers but as it turned out they were killing time while waiting for another job to start so I was unexpectedly paying for their waiting time. Not a huge deal since it meant they'd be done twice as fast. All in all, there were very few glitches and the move was done by early afternoon. Surprise #1: the final bill was 20% higher than the estimate. I expected 10% but 20%? Yikes. I'd have gone with a mover who's moved me before (who always breaks something) based on the estimate. Not so much I can do at that point, so . . .again, tips were disbursed, they left happy with the leftover breakfast donuts.
Then I started unpacking. Surprise #2: a few hours in to unpacking and I opened one of the bigger boxes, a china box. Usually packed with dishes & kitchen stuff, this one had even more paper than the previous ones, which were chock-full of packing paper. And more paper, and more paper and . . . yes, more paper all the way to the bottom of the box. Nothing but lots of paper wadded and screwed up in bunches to fill the boxes. Unpacking one empty box after another was a punch. All total, five large boxes with nothing but paper. Why??
Surprise #3: once I finally got everything unpacked I realized: I was missing two walking canes, one about 45 years old brought back from Barbados, with a carved fish head on top and one Amazon Choice with purple flowers for the last knee surgery. I called Burkhardt Brothers to inquire (1) if they had my walking sticks, (2) why the final total cost went 20% over, and (3) why bother stuffing boxes with paper if they were going to overcharge me anyway??
Their phone rep is always very pleasant and she reassured me she understood my concerns, she'd have the move teams check for my canes and I asked that she relay my overcharge and empty box concerns to the owners. She assured me I'd hear from her by the following Monday. Needless to say, over two weeks later we still have radio silence! So- as always, caveat emptor and be FAR more watchful than I was if Burkhardt Bros pack you up because being charged for the empty boxes and a ton of packing paper is adding insult to injury on the hefty cost of a very stressful day.
p.s BTW, be sure to check the bottom of your wardrobe boxes because, Surprise #4: whatever they throw in the boxes that isn't hanging on the bar will be gone with the wind, as Burkhardt movers don't check the bottom of the wardrobes before unexpectedly taking them away, so . . . read more