I was moving to another 1 bedroom unit in the same apartment complex. My family would typically help each other when moving, as there's a lot of us. This time, I only got 3 volunteers. So I looked into moving companies to get help with the heavy lifting. After looking at reviews and calling a few places, I took a chance at Mike And The Movers (MATM). Mike was friendly and straightforward over the phone. So off I went to schedule an appointment.
On the big move day, the big CONS:
1) The movers were late
2) Dealing with paperwork was included in the 2 hour minimum (that's 15 min. that could have been spent moving!)
3) Expensive wood furniture got damaged
-- Was the price reasonable?
I suppose. I've never employed movers before. In the past I've used U-Haul and family helpers. The overall price would have been comparable to renting U-Haul and equipment, and then getting movers through them. I figured since MATM would bring everything needed, i.e. truck, dolly, furniture pads, even box hangers for clothes, I would rather just go through one company instead of U-Haul + MovingPartner.
-- Were the movers on-time?
No. I was told to expect them between 9-9:30 AM. The 2 guys showed up at 9:45 AM. Reason? They said they didn't have my phone number. I explicitly mentioned that there is a gate and they would need to call me so I can let them into the apt. complex.
-- Were they professional?
The lead mover was. The other guy was his younger brother, who seemed kind of lost without his big brother telling him what to do. He didn't seem to know how to deal with a customer, so would defer to his big bro.
-- Were they careful?
The lead mover was, but his younger brother messed up big time. You see, four months ago I finally decided to invest in some really elegant and long lasting furniture, which included a chest drawer... that got damaged!
Things were going so well at first, so I thought it would be fine the rest of the way... until they moved the 60"x40"x19" drawer. The side got HORRIBLY SCRATCHED. The paint peeled off because they were so DEEP! I'm talking about multiple scratches that were up to 8 INCHES LONG!
Why the younger bro decided not to use the furniture pads they brought is beyond me. I was too busy and don't like to micromanage since they said they've "been doing this for at least 10 years". I am usually a very calm, patient and understanding person, but I have to say I got SO upset, I felt like steam was coming out of my ears! It's the first time I ever bought quality furniture, which cost thousands and were fairly brand new! I would not have shed a tear over my older furniture and I was mostly concerned with the expensive wood furniture, and that chest drawer was the first one they moved from the set. They were more careful after that. Still...
-- So what happened next?
The lead mover said I could file a claim for the scratched drawer, that they can send somebody to fix it for me. So I called the office. They said they would email me the claim form, but days later I still have not received it!
To be fair, I'm glad they there for the heavily lifting, and they were nice, but I'm still NOT happy with the damage and the fact that it's taking so long for them to do anything about it. Luckily it's just with that one (as far as I know at this point since I still have more to unpack and get through.) read more