A Terrible Experience
We chose this company for our move because they came highly recommended by review guides, the Better Business Bureau and the government’s “Protect your Move” service. I appreciate the efforts to ensure a smooth long distance move. After we initially spoke to them, I was confident that we had made the right choice. I thought that they gave excellent customer service, and I expected the same from the employees. The move, however, did not go as we had hoped. A very abrasive and rude move supervisor, who used sexual innuendo towards me, met us, and we received an initial invoice for $2,000 higher than our estimate. It was later revised from $4,500 to $4,000 after a “good tip” was offered. We very carefully went through our belongings, size of our bed and dressers, number of guitars, etc., and we were shocked that Available Movers so poorly estimated the final cost. In addition, I was asked to fill out an evaluation of the move before a final cost had been discussed—the employee was looking over my shoulder while I was filling out the company’s form, which was very intimidating. Later, after giving what I have been told by several sources was a very generous tip ($200), I was insulted, laughed at, and told that my tip was not what he expected. I was worried about my belongings being in the wrong hands, so I waited until Monday to call the manager. He told me that I was "not very bright" for waiting to call. He offered a discount of $200. When the items arrived, the delivery men (different from the pick-up men) were very kind and polite. Unfortunately we witnessed how the boxes in the truck were handled-the movers use the boxes as stepping stones to get around in the truck. They not only stepped, but sometimes jumped on and threw the boxes. As we unpacked over the next couple of days, we found several items broken and/or ruined. I am glad this experience is over. My husband is a graduate student and I am a teacher-We used our savings for this
moving company as we thought it would save us all kinds of stress. Unfortunately, it would have been less stressful to move everything ourselves.
A Kaplan