We hired Firemen movers for a move in the winter. The people within the company are very professional and very nice; they were able to provide a reasonable quote within a short time frame and that was greatly appreciated. I was excited to be working with them and trusted them implicitly (they're firemen after all!!). Lorne informed us that there would be 5 movers on the job and that it would take between 8-10 hours. On the day of the move, however, only 4 movers came and the job took a lot longer than expected (17 hours total). Unfortunately, one of the guys fell ill, so we were down to 3 movers and one guy got injured...really unfortunate. Another mover came later on (which was great) and we wrapped up in 17 hours. Things were damaged - light fixtures, furniture, walls, ceilings etc. I wasn't mortified by this as I know things like this happen when people move and especially when the movers are exhausted. We were compensated for some of the damaged goods (thankful for that) but the memory of it all still remains (not a good memory, unfortunately). It was all so chaotic. I've been thinking about what to write here for a very long time. I like this company, I really do and feel bad saying something negative but here's the bottom line: this is not a "moving" company in my humble opinion. This is a company who's hired some well built (and nice) firemen to move things. When a problem would arise, the guys really didn't know what to do. I'll give examples: our queen size mattress box couldn't fit up the stairs so, it was left in the living room. Our dresser couldn't fit up the stairs...it too was left in the living room. Not once did anyone "think" about how to get these items to their proper location; we had our handyman on site who was helping and he and my husband had to figure these things out. Both pieces were moved to their rightful locations by our handyman and my husband - and that was another out of pocket cost to our handyman (which is OK but he's not the moving company we hired). So, my disappointment rests in the fact that when I hire a company and pay a lot of money, I expect them to not only "do the job", I expect them to think while on the job and not just be mechanical about it. It's not OK for my things to get damaged. It's not OK for my dresser and mattress box to be left in the living room with an explanation of "well, what do you want, they don't fit up the stairs"...because they did fit up the stairs, you just have to think about how to get them up the stairs (which we did). It's not OK for a job to take 17 hours and for everyone involved to be frustrated, exhausted and at the end of their ropes. In the move, we also lost a big bag of our clothing - it just disappeared. No one could find it (and 5 month later still is missing). Can't blame the guys for this but..."sorry we can't find it"...(sigh). I have to say that there were a few things that were moved into my parents' home that evening and that experience was good and seamless (thank God).
It is for these reasons that I would not hire Firemen Movers again - I'm sad to say that because I really wanted to have a positive experience like so many others attested to on Homestars but this is my truth. Maybe it was the act of moving - I can't believe people do this all the time - or the moving company or both but this wasn't a good experience for me or my family. We'll be really hard pressed to even think of moving again.
On a happier note, the administrative team and owners are organized, easy to reach, easy to talk to and a real pleasure to deal with.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $3,300.00
- Company Response
Thanks Haroula for writing this review in what we consider a fair manner. Things definitely did not go as planned. I did come to your house and recommend 5 guys for your move and that is how it was set up. Unfortunately 1 crew member fell ill that morning and so the day didn't start out the way we hoped or planned. As we started to call our team members to back fill for the sick person the injury then happened at the jobsite and that set the day back even further. It is our job to set you up for a good day of moving, and that was done, but we are very sorry it didn't work out that way due to the illness and injury. This is the reason the day stretched out so long. It's not how we plan a day for our clients or for our crews as clients become stressed and crews will tire and problems become compounded.
I do however take exception to the comment about us not being real movers. Firemen Movers is now in it's 5th year of business and we have done thousands of moves to this point. As witnessed by the reviews on this site and many others, the moves almost always go exceptionally well. The crew you had that day were seasoned movers who did the best they could on a very long day. We know that fell below both your standards, and ours, and that's why we did a deep discount on the move. As I said, 99% of our moves go exceptionally well and we do stand behind the great work our crews do for us every day.
I am sorry your bag of clothes went missing but as you know, you and I both personally spoke and emailed about it several times and the items weren't left on the truck or brought back to our shop. I personally checked everywhere and unfortunately the black plastic bag the clothes were in was not left on the truck. Again, we are sorry they went missing as we don't want that for any of our clients.In closing we would like to thank you Haroula for hanging in there during your move and remaining calm and continuing to be nice to our crew throughout the long day. It wasn't what we planned for you and we are sorry we didn't provide you with a stress free move which is always our goal. We hope you enjoy your new home Haroula.
Lorne Babiuk
Co-Owner