I hired Above & Beyond on behalf of friend moving out of a storage unit. It was a much harder job…read morethan I expected - far more stuff than I realized, much of it poorly packed or even broken, and moving from a storage unit to an outdoor space behind a garage. I really want to appreciate the hard work this crew did under tough conditions, but here's the extremely disappointing part: The financial aspects of this move were sloppy or deceitful or both.
I was given pricing terms for the move over the phone. The pricing given as the job began was higher for reasons I never understood, but it was really a bit too late to back out. The storage unit was already nearly unpacked, and it was after 5 pm. I handed over $1000, cash, and asked for a receipt. I never received one. Pricing/terms were never given in writing for what was covered or what would happen if the job ran longer.
The owner estimated the job at 8 hours but it ran much longer. Once we were 5+ hours into the move and still at the storage unit, additional money was required to 1) add a crew member and 2) extend the time frame. I was able to cover some of this in cash. The rest - $660 - had to be put on a check, which the Lead accepted.
The crew and truck arrived at the destination to discover that there was conflict about whether or not the truck could be unloaded there. This was unexpected, and I encouraged the Lead to leave destination if he needed to - to return to storage or unload things on the sidewalk or do whatever he needed to do for the safety and welfare of his crew. He did not stop the move but did insist that I provide $660 in cash; he did not trust that my check would clear.
I supplied the requested cash. I asked for my check to be returned to me. The Lead said he didn't have the check; he'd given it to the owner. We called the owner. The Lead instructed the owner to tear up my check. I was assured that this was done. I was told the check would not be cashed. I was told I would be contacted if the move was going to go over on time.
I was not contacted about any additional expense, nor should there have been additional expense. I had paid through 5:30 am. Residents on the property (not the beneficiary of the move) tell me the movers were gone before then. Furthermore, when I arrived during the move with the $660 cash, the crew wasn't actually moving anything. They bickering about how one member of the team was not working (the Lead) and how another left the job to take a lengthy break. They were upset that the Lead wanted additional money and said that the move had taken too long because the whole team wasn't contributing - that I had been paying for 3 movers and getting work from 2.
My check - the one I was told had been destroyed - was deposited the following day. I did not notice immediately. Once I discovered that the check was deposited, I contacted the Lead to help remedy the situation. He assured me that he would fix it and the owner would call me right away. No one called.
I have continued calling both the move Lead and the owner of the company for the last few weeks. I have been told the situation would get resolved. I've been told my calls would be returned. There has been no follow-through on these commitments, and I no longer have any confidence that I will see this money again.
The company seems to have regrets about how they priced the move - "This should have cost you more," etc. Truly, I have my own frustrations and regrets - that I hired this company, that the crew Lead was exhausted from a previous move and had not slept in 24 hours, that I attempted to assist with the move at all, that there was no discipline around paperwork, pricing, receipts. Everything was more difficult than I expected - for the movers, for me personally, for the property owners at our destination, and for the friend whose belongings were moved.
Here's the thing, though: none of this matters - not policies or poor paperwork or regrets or bickering or hurt feelings or disappointments. The issue is really very simple: At the request of the crew Lead, I brought $660 in cash to exchange for my $660 check, which I was told was destroyed while I was on the phone with the owner. Either the check was not destroyed and then deposited by mistake - sloppy, but forgivable, and easily resolved - or it was deposited deliberately, and I was lied to by the Owner and the crew Lead. Or perhaps what began as a mistake is now being justified based on frustration with the whole experience?
Ken and team, do your customers the courtesy of showing, in writing, your pricing and terms at the beginning of the move. Have them sign off before any work begins. Provide a receipt. And honor your word - fix what you say you'll fix, call when you say you'll call.
