I was moving during the pandemic from the East Coast, and it was a harrowing move: the pandemic decimated my business, and many other things went sideways. So much so, that I had to move twice in less than 3 months - from Illinois to Baltimore - but unfortunately, Baltimore imploded in many unexpected ways - one of them was the moving help that unloaded my stuff into a storage unit there were terrible..they were late, and they reeked of marijuana - and yes, it's legal, and so is drinking, but it is unprofessional for employees/or other workers I think to do while "on the clock" (most anywhere one would be fired, and it does not inspire confidence in a customer!), but especially seems dangerous and beyond inappropriate for people who are driving cars around, let alone basically anywhere on a job to be doing.
I called friends to try to get some ideas and solutions, as I was having an anxiety attack, as I have PTSD, and my trauma was kicking in. Unexpectedly, but fortunately, an amazing friend in Flagstaff offered for me to stay with him. And I have friends nearby in Sedona, Cottonwood. It was unexpected but it seemed like "the last house on the block". And I booked the Uhaul for Flagstaff, found
While I was on the road to AZ, which was a 1200-mile drive thru the Ozarks among other things, I was trying to arrange a storage unit through a friend in AZ, who also found moving helpers, that sounded great at first, but they were either so busy, or so distracted, they never followed up with a firm confirmation, despite multiple times telling me they would send me an email confirmation and a deposit request.
I was getting nervous as I was 2 days away from arriving in Flagstaff, and needed to unload all my stuff into a 10x20 storage unit, including a small upright piano - so there was no way I could do this myself.
I put my "job moving labor request" into the system to get offers, and Smart Move contacted me, and after what I had gone through previously I was very nervous, but they were in contact with me, and they showed up exactly at the storage unit and unloaded my 26' UHaul moving truck in excellent time.
I am a classical musician and teacher with a great deal of music, some instruments, as well as clothes mostly. So when I packed, I had boxes labeled with pictures of their contents, or I wrote very clear descriptions always on one of the ends of the boxes, and on the top of the boxes, so I could find what I needed to find when I needed it most easily. I also color-coded the priority boxes and items with tape indicating what I would anticipate I would need ASAP, and what could go to the back of the unit.
Previous moving labor companies basically disregarded requests like that; the one in Baltimore actually become rude, verbally abusive, and completely dismissive and disrespectful. Causing me to have to completely re-pack the storage unit I used there by myself - it was horrible.
SmartMove, on the other hand, were completely reliable and professional, and understood me "directing" where things need to go, and how things should be stacked so boxes would be available that needed to be, and so that stacks of boxes wouldn't collapse because contents - and labeling - were ignored - and stacking 50lb boxes of heavy sheet music on top of a box of clothing, are always sure to topple, and potentially damage contents!
So, I was very happy that I had a totally professional, respectful experience with the crew from SmartMove, and they were great to work with. The price was also very reasonable compared to some of my previous moving labor help experiences.
I recommend them highly. They were the best, and I really needed that after the trauma stress of moving 3x during the Pandemic, and having the most previous experience - the unload from the moving truck in Baltimore triggered my PTSD and trauma (never use HireAHelper - they will overcharge you and nickel and dime you on top of that; and the movers they sent refused to move something heavy, called in their company, and the company insisted if I didn't pay them a surprise extra fee, they would just leave, with stuff still in the moving truck) . So I was worried, and still recovering from that exceptionally awful experience. As a result, with the guys from SmartMove, I was so relieved at how smoothly things went with this unload.
I'll use them again. Kudos to SmartMove.
SmartMove saved the day...and they were flexible and available with almost no notice and we found a time that worked for both of us, which also was important - so I didn't have to pay for an extra day of the UHaul truck. Thank you, Colin and Company! read more