Extremely disappointing experience moving and reinstalling a full home gym…read more
I hired Pro Fitness Movers and worked directly with Roberto to move my complete home gym from Woodbridge to Fairfax Station. Unfortunately, after seeing how my home, brand-new gym flooring, equipment, and wall-mounted squat rack were left, I would not hire this company again.
If you value your home, your flooring, and expensive gym equipment, make sure whoever you hire has adequate manpower, proper moving equipment, floor protection, moving blankets, a bad-weather plan, and understands exactly how wall-mounted equipment should be installed before the job begins.
Things started off well. Roberto was friendly and communication was good. Before he quoted the job, I sent videos showing the equipment that needed to be moved, including my Rogue squat rack, cable machines, treadmill, dumbbell rack and dumbbells, weight plates, benches, and other equipment. I even offered to let him inspect everything in person, but he chose to quote the job from the videos.
I also discussed mounting my Rogue squat rack at the new house. He told me that if I located the studs, he could mount it.
I went out of my way to make the job easier. I placed blue painter's tape on the floor and walls showing exactly where the equipment should go. For the squat rack, I personally located the studs, marked each stud with blue tape, and drew a line through the center so there would be no guessing. I also asked them to remove the tape afterward.
Despite that preparation, the rack installation was disappointing. The wall-mounting system came with 16 lag screws, but Roberto decided that only 12 were needed. When I later noticed hardware was missing, he gave me six additional lag screws and said his coworker had thought the remaining screws were trash. The rack also was not positioned the way I had carefully marked it, and I ended up having to address the placement and remove the tape myself.
The first scheduled move was canceled because Roberto said his truck broke down. I understood and we rescheduled.
On the rescheduled day, it had been raining heavily and the property was muddy. I specifically told Roberto about the mud and asked if they were still comfortable proceeding. He said yes.
During the move, he then complained that there was more equipment than expected and that some of it was "industrial." That was frustrating because I had already sent videos showing the equipment and had offered an in-person inspection before the quote.
The biggest issue came when everything was brought into my new home.
For a company specializing in gym-equipment moving, I expected proper protection for the house and equipment. Instead, I did not see adequate floor runners, moving blankets/pads, or other protection being used while heavy equipment was being moved inside during muddy conditions.
The photos show the result.
Mud and dirt were tracked throughout large sections of my brand-new rubber gym flooring, not just near the entrance. Dirt was spread around the machines, squat rack, dumbbell rack, and walking areas. Some of the equipment itself was also left dirty and muddy.
I had just installed this flooring and ended up spending hours vacuuming and cleaning it afterward.
What frustrated me even more was the response when I brought it up. Roberto acknowledged that the move probably should have been canceled and indicated that he had been waiting for me to cancel because he had already canceled the previous appointment.
That is exactly why I hired a professional moving company. If conditions are bad enough that the job should not be done, I expect the professional to make that call or arrive with the proper protection.
I understand that moving a complete gym is difficult. My issue is the lack of preparation, inadequate protection for my home and flooring, the condition some of my equipment was left in, complaints about equipment that had already been disclosed, and the squat-rack installation despite me clearly marking the studs and placement beforehand.
I would NOT recommend.
