After calling Fitkin Movers for a quote, Gary Fitkin came to our house. Very nice, very pleasant conversation, which in all honesty what sold us on this company.
Our questions: do you use your own employees or do you sub-contract? Answer: "we do no sub-contract; the staff are my employees". Question: do you place runners? Answer: "yes we do, in all the areas, hallways and stairs.
Reality: The people (3) that moved our furniture were sub-contracted (I asked the crew chief and he confirmed that they do work for Fitkin, but are not employed by Fitkin); Runners or I should say runner (singular) was placed on the stairs going up but did not covered the entire staircase, nor was there any others placed. When we pushed, the crew placed some blankets on the floors but had to remove them to cover our furniture. Other: damages done to many walls in our old house and to furniture; was also told cash or cheque by the crew; when I called Mr Fitkin, he was very rude over the phone, asking was I was bothering him. When I mentioned that I wanted to pay by credit card, as indicated on his website, he said that they were not setup for this and continue yelling at me and saying "sh$%^, sh%^&, sh%^&, why I am talking to you". Crew was ok in new house (freshly painted), as we watched them every single minute to ensure no further damages was done.
Also, since we were getting our new house days before emptying the old one, we had made several trips with our van, which was a blessing since when they were done packing, the truck was full, which means they would have had to do 2 trips to empty our house!
We are happy that others had a good experience with this mover. In our case, Gary Fitkin gives a good first impression, but once he has you booked and has your deposit, he doesn't care a bit! If you still move forward with this mover, watch them every step of the way.
P.S.: A complaint has also been filed with the Better Business Bureau.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $850.00
- Company Response
I think the title of this customer's review says it all, and that's unfortunate. Mr. Trepanier's not mad at the crew. He's mad at me. This customer got an excellent move and he knows it.The crew finished an hour early and the bill was less than quoted. And there was NO damage to his furniture either. He's just trying to make me look bad. And no, we do not contract our work. That crew has been with me since day one. And by the way there was lots of room on the truck for everything. Mr. Trepanier took over a few small things but that's only because he wanted to. He wanted to get a head start on things. Bottom line: Mr.Trepanier's mad at me because I couldn't take his call. I was in a restaurant at the time and when the phone went off everyone glared at me.The tables were only a foot apart.It's my fault.I should have shut my phone off, but I didn't. I did however make several phone calls on his behalf that afternoon, and made sure everything was okay and that he was happy. And he was. And that's one of the reasons why the move finished so early. He got along great with the crew. We deal with a lot of ungrateful people in this business. It's too bad Sylvain Trepanier is one of them.
Gary Fitkin