I would have really liked to have left a positive review for Ultimate Choice Movers. They started out so well, and if the morning had gone as well as the afternoon, I would have given them top marks. Sadly, it didn't.
The men they sent were top notch - friendly, hard working and professional. They arrived at 9:50, had my beds disassembled and everything wrapped and on the truck by 12:15. I was very pleased as we headed over to the new place, just 2 miles away. I got there ahead of them, even though I missed my turn, picked up my keys, did a walk-through with the landlord, and there was still no sign of their truck. At 12:49, I called the office. The man I spoke to called the guys, and then told me that the truck had overheated, they'd had to pull off, and they would be there "very soon".
At 12:57, the man at the office called me back and said that the truck was in need of repairs and it would be an hour. I advised him that I'd had to book the elevator in my new building and would only have it until 2:00. He waited while I spoke with the building manager, and I was able to get the elevator from 2:00 - 4:00 instead.
At 1:37, the moving guys called to let me know that they were broken down and still waiting. They said I should call the office. I did, and got Michelle - the woman who did my original booking. She assured me that she felt terrible about the situation, and pointed out how badly she was inconvenienced as well. She said that she would call the guys on the truck and see how much longer, and then she'd call me right back. She said, "I might not be able to get ahold of them instantly, but I'll call you back as quick as I can." I waited nearly an hour before calling back at 2:31. I got the same man I'd spoken to earlier and told him that, again, we were running out of time with the elevator and I could not get another time that day. He told me that Michelle was on the phone but she'd call me right back. Again, she did not, and I called again at 3:01. I'd been extremely patient, but now I was getting upset - I had the elevator for less than an hour before somebody else had it booked. I got the man again, who was very apologetic and said that, unfortunately, Michelle was tied up. I could hear her shout that they were working on "it" (meaning the truck), and I told him I couldn't be satisfied with that answer any longer. I told him that there was now less than an hour to unload, and - judging by the time it took to load - I didn't see that happening. I wanted to know what arrangements they were willing to make for storage overnight, since they had been unable to deliver them within the time frame that they, themselves, had requested. He sounded as though he felt very badly and said that he'd "try" to get Michelle to contact me - indicating quite clearly that she was avoiding my calls on purpose (something I had already figured out). Michelle finally got back on the line and was no longer pleasant to me at all. Her attitude the whole time had been, "Your inconvenienced? How do you think *I* feel? I've got another move this afternoon...blah...blah...blah." I've done office management and customer service/damage control for 22 years, and her attitude was outragious. I had been stuck in an empty apartment for 2.5 hours, hadn't eaten all day, had no idea when to expect everything I owned to turn up, was running out of time to unload it, still had to finish up at the old apartment, and I was getting grief from the person responsible, who was supposed to have some answers.
It was 3:25 before the truck pulled in. The unloading seemed to go on forever, and actually took an hour longer than it had to dismantle, wrap and load in the first place. I couldn't understand the delay until I saw my bill. First, they had overcharged me for the morning - 3.25 hours at $125/hour, when it had actually been only 2.5 when the truck broke down. When I pointed that out, Michelle got very angry and said that she'd had a very hard day and wasn't going to "quibble" over the difference of less than an hour - even though both of our phone records proved my case. She deducted less than $60 from the bill - 50% less than the price difference between the accurate time and their "made up" one - and refused to consider the matter further. She made it very clear that she felt I was extremely unreasonable and made excuses that the guys had to finish closing up the truck, etc...except that I was still at the house for all of that, and didn't leave until we were all in our vehicles and ready to go. The truck had been 2 cars behind me when it broke down at 12:20.
Worse, though, was that even though I had a contract for 3 men, she had only left me 2 men for the unloading. At a reduced rate, yes, but not reduced enough to make up for the extra time - 3 hours at $105/hour is a lot more than 1.5 - 2 hours at $125/hour.
Moving the contents of a 1-bedroom apartment 2 miles, took exactly 8.5 hours and cost me $900.
When everything goes right, I'm sure Ultimate Choice Movers seems great. But trust me when I tell you that you don't want them for movers when something goes wrong!
- Approximate cost of services:
- $900.00
- What could this company do to improve their services?
- Getting rid of Michelle would be a start. Also, since they said that this was the 2nd time in a week that the truck had broken down, and somebody else complained of an oil leak less than a month ago, perhaps the company should providing better trucks.
- Any advice to offer fellow homeowners facing a similar project?
- Run for your lives!
- Company Response
Leslie, I am quite shocked to read your review. It seems to me that you are a very unreasonable and not understanding individual. You are speaking as if this was done intentional. First of all, you contacted our company in regards to your move and we were booked and you could not find a mover. We had a customer that changed to the afternoon and I called you back and told you that I could assist you in the morning only and you accepted. Your list of events is some what correct but I spoke to you through out the ordeal right from the first contact with the driver of the truck. I was never at anytime rude to you as you mentioned in your review. I merely told you I am very sorry for this mishap and trust me when I tell you it was not done intentionally. In speaking with you I mentioned that we had a job in the afternoon which you already knew since I had called the other customer and arranged with them for the afternoon to do your job in the morning. It had nothing to do with your job. You called our office every 10-15 minutes but we had no update to give you. I told you I had a call out to our mobile mechanic to check into the situation and as soon as I heard back, you would be my first call. When you called and John answered your numerous calls, I told him to tell you the same. I expressed to you that it was not in the best interest of the company for this to happen. At the time of the mishap with the truck, I asked you to go to security to see if you could extend the elevator. You called back and informed our office that this would not be a problem. You were not charged incorrectly on your bill. When the bill was being completed at the end, the difference was 1/4 /hr. I told you that instead of writing the bill all over again, I would just round it off to $900.00 instead of $959.65. I told you for the inconvenience I was not going to quibble over that. I asked you if this was acceptable and you told me yes. A little FYI for your advice, I am the owner, so no one can get rid of me. Customer service is my number 1 prior but unfortunately you did not want to see that. I am not sure of how much nicer you wanted me to be to you. I at no time was rude to you only very sorry for this ordeal.