In Feb. I hired Clay to move move my parents from their home in Sonora to a senior living community in Turlock as well as some items to my sister's house in Stockton. Clay suggested doing both moves in 1 day. It was not a full house move, but did include 2 bedroom sets, dining room table, several side tables, lamps, ~20 small boxes and many plants. Clay came to the home ~8 weeks prior to the move, I showed him everything that was to be moved to each destination, asked for packing service in addition to moving, and he provided an estimate. I asked for references and copies of his insurance at this time.
The night before the move, Clay called asking how much we were moving so he could determine how many of his staff he would have to send for the move. I texted pictures of every item.
Overall, very unorganized and not very professional.
Pros:
Was responsive to my original inquiry and we were able to arrange a time to meet and get an estimate very quickly
Clay is very nice and personable
Some of his guys were very nice and helpful
Cons:
* Never provided references or copies of insurance
Didn't bring boxes big enough for some items. Only brought boxes marked small. Did not mark any boxes as to contents or room. Asked but did not supply wardrobe boxes.
* Did not show up on time, 45+minutes late
Told us initially we could pay with a credit card but reversed the day of the move and asked for a check for full payment up front.
* Crew that showed up did not know the destination for the move. Thought they were going to Tracy vs Turlock
* Came with no tools even though I was told they would disassemble/reassemble beds and remove TV and wall mount from the wall. . They used my dad's tools.
* Only 2 people showed up initially and not so much as a hand truck/dolly. After about 1.5 hours, Clay stopped by, saw that not much progress had been made, and brought in 2 more guys to help. Clay asked if I had added items and said he was glad he sent the big truck because he was only going to send a trailer. I reminded him of our original conversation and the pictures I had texted him and assured him there were no additions beyond what we discussed and the pictures he was provided. All in, it took 3+ hours to pack what should have taken half the time.
* some items were not being moved and there was much supervision on my part requied and multiple reminders about what was staying, what was going to Turlock vs Stockton despite arranging items in separate locations and in the end some items almost didn't get moved /were missed, things were moved that were not supposed to be and items left in Turlock that were destined for Stockton.
* When the truck was finally packed, Clay left only 2 people to move and unpack what took 5 to pack. The 2 left behind asked again about the destination and I told them senior living community in Turlock. I reminded them of mask requirements at the destination, something I had been very clear about and texted Clay up front. They refused to wear masks which resulted in another call to Clay, another change in crew and ~30 minute delay. Clay himself and 1 other did the move. They left the house without notice to me, who was waiting inside, that they had left.
* 3.5 hrs to unload in Turlock, ~2/3 of items, another 1+ for remainder in Stockton which did not include assembly of 2nd bed
* Did not make any attempt to leave boxes that I had marked with room info in corresponding rooms
* Broke 2 lamps. When this was shown to Clay before he left to move items to Stockton, he did not seem apologetic or immediately offer to correct the situation. He did eventually agree to an amount to cover the cost of the lamps. To ensure I wasn't going to have to chase him down for payment, I stopped payment on the original check and wrote a new check less amount to replace the lamps.
Prior to the deduction for broken lamps, we paid $2,200 for the move which ended up being far more stressful than it should have been and I'm not sure worth the price for what we got. I was under a great deal of stress moving my elderly parents and did not research alternatives (Clay was recommended by the real estate agent) and frankly I ignored warning signs including the fact that there are basically 0 reviews online. I only hope that Clay heeds this as constructive feedback or at least others consider alternatives.before going with this moving company. read more
