I have used them a couple of times (3). The first move was great and only took 5 hours total to move from Uptown to Downtown. They were ghetto, so it was a bit embarrassing but they got the job done.
During the second move, they snap a chord to my surround sound. The reason I knew they did it was right before they arrived, I was on the phone with Best Buy who was going to install my tv and system so I looked to make sure I had all parts and it was fine. He was also short staffed and had 1 person to help him. Vance is older, so he stood at the top of the stairs while the 1 helper moved everything. It took 9 hours from Downtown to Lincoln Park. Vance had given me a quote and he only takes cash so I pulled out a little extra, just in case. That was not enough for what should have taken 4 hours like last time but instead was 9 hours. I was supposed to drop off the rest a few days later but I fell down a flight of stairs and was bed ridden. Vance said we could "split" the cost of my sound bar which was $80 so I had the person taking care of me leave $40 outside which he picked up. Also, during the second move, his employee asked for my number and said he doesn't have a lot of friends so I gave him my number to be nice.
Third move. Since I had fallen down the stairs and was going to have surgery, I asked if Vance could move my bed from upstairs to downstairs. He said it's a 2 hour minimum of $200. It took them 45 minutes which is fine. However, he said if I could find cheaper to call someone else from Craigslist. I asked the guy who had worked for him if he could do it. He said he would do it for $100. Shortly after I agreed, I thought I really should be giving Vance the money so I said no. He texted me all morning saying he was coming to my house no matter what. He started calling obsessively as well. He even took photos of my front door when he arrived. I called Vance and was honest. Vance called this guy and the guy never called me again and Vance moved my bed. After he moved my bed, I sent a text asking where the extension chord was. He called and said he used his own. Ok, fine. I couldn't walk upstairs to see where it was.
I called Vance for my next move and he said I'm on a "do not move" list that his employees created. He is the owner as well so this does not make sense. He said my text asking where the extension chord was the last time, was accusing him of stealing. I explained I had no way to go upstairs and check. I wasn't accusing him. He said by leaving the $40 outside for him in an envelope was treating him like a dog and I should have come to the door. How? I COULD NOT WALK. He said the chord he went half on was never broken (yet you agreed to go half?). And he said I went behind his back to try and hire his employees. I explained that I was trying to be nice and when I realized how that could look to him, I gave him my business and shut that down. I would never intentionally be rude or disrespectful to anyone. He moved me after that because I thought he understood that.
So, now it's a week or two since we talked about this move. He told me to rent a truck which I have. And now he said to go on Craigslist and get 2 movers. I have no control over how long he takes to move or if he or his workers break something. I did have control over giving my number out which I apologized for. However, why are you hiring hoodlums? He told me "that guy is not one to mess with. I wouldn't fight him." The same one who was sending me pictures of my house, while outside of my house when I asked him not to come. Also, don't you dare say Vance or his workers did anything wrong. It's ALWAYS the customers fault.
If you're moving to a classy area, respectful area, and one that you do not want to be embarrassed in, don't use them. They cuss and spit and talk crazy to people. I learned that when I moved downtown, however, they're cheap. If you don't want things broken, don't use them. If you don't want known felons moving your stuff, knowing your apartment set up and what you have, don't use him. If you want a reliable company, do not use them. I'm sure half of the workers put those good reviews in. Please beware. If you have to go cheap and can handle the rest, use them. I needed to go cheap but I see the headache it has cost me. I only have 1 star at all so that I could post the review. Otherwise, they would have received 0 stars.
Update: As soon as I posted this review, Vance called me yelling and telling me to take it down and that his staff called him. He said I tried to cheat him which I did not. I don't believe someone who tries to cheat someone would openly review their own actions in the scenario as I did. I only told my truth so take it for what it's worth to you as a customer.
Even better news is, I got a call that I got the apartment I actually wanted so I'm moving back downtown and I've secured movers to move this week instead of Feb. Moving should be as stress free as possible. read more