Simple Moving Labor

There was a time limit on how long the movers could stay. The did as little as possible so at the time they were to leave they had to literally dump it in the garage. Only one of the two could speak or read English. Sooo...labels on boxes were not read or applied.I tried to explain that the furniture would need to be along the wall and the boxes in the middle. They refused to listen and wasted a lot of time moving boxes to the center like i suggested. While I was getting ready to pay, the man who spoke English kept trying to get me call some phone number even after I explained I had a link to u se.I went in to get money to pay them and noticed my purse had a giant mirror from the bathroom in it. I had just traveled cross country and that alarmed me about my cash. My sister, who was in the house said the ssecond mover was ligering in the room where my purse was. When they got to the house I went into the Den and put my cash securely in my purse. When I went to take it out to pay them it was short 300 bucks. I know it is my word against theirs and nothing could be done but I wanted to warn people. Don't let them separate and don't let them go back and forth from their vehicle. I would never use SML again.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1600

Hired SML on recommendation of Penske (from which we rented a junk truck, but this review is about SML). Using SML's web tools, we followed the suggestion to request three guys to load our household in Florida and then unload it in Michigan. The Florida crew arrived precisely on time, but within the first 30 minutes it was obvious we had made a very big mistake. From the first floor of our two story home, it sounded like we had a demolition crew working upstairs. After around an hour of loading our pre-packed boxes and storage tubs in the truck, I heard a giant crash. I ran to the truck only to see everything scattered on the floor. They had put very light boxes on the bottom of their floor to ceiling stacks and very heavy boxes/tubs on top. So an hour was wasted while they refilled the boxes and tubs (disregarding all the damaged items and foregoing any hint of organization) then re-stacking them with heavier units on the bottom. I wish things had gotten better from there, but they didn't.

After the avalanche inside the truck, I began supervising more closely and noticed that only two of the three men were actually working while the third seemed to be there only to get in the way and slow things down. I noticed that they would use a dolly for literally everything. A filing cabinet that would be quickly and easily carried by two men was instead removed *upside down* ensuring the finish would be damaged by the steel dolly and the few contents left inside would be scrambled as if put into a blender. I saw a single empty drawer from a dresser brought out on a dolly. Our realtor stopped by and unprodded asked why we hadn't hired "real movers." Neighbors stood around gawking at the spectacle as it seemed it would never end. A Herman Miller Aeron chair had heavy tools stacked on it in the truck. After roughly three times the estimate SML's website provided, the men declared themselves done and indeed our belongings had reached the back of the truck. This was mainly due to incredibly sloppy and inefficient loading, but were far too exhausted to debate the matter so we signed their form and sent them on their way. We wound up with a full storage unit we paid a "real mover" to remove the next day while we drove North hoping to get back on schedule.

As it happened, we were a day late in arriving, but were able to reschedule the unloading crew easily enough (the Comcast folks were a little less accommodating). The Michigan crew was over an hour late and we feared a duplicate of our experience with the loading crew in Florida. Happily, we were wrong. Within 30 minutes it was extremely obvious that two of the three guys in Michigan were highly experienced and took good care of our (now damaged) belongings. The third guy, well, again his purpose seemed mainly to get in the way and ask stupid questions (i.e. a box labeled "kitchen" would have him standing around untill I or my wife walked by and he would ask, "where this one go?"). Even with this boat anchor slowing them down, the Michigan crew finished the job causing no new damage and in less time than estimated. I would gladly hire them again, just without the third guy.

So .. SML. A totally mixed experience. They were hands-down, no contest, by far the worst and most incompetent movers I've ever seen. They were a bad Saturday Night Live parody of a moving crew except it's NOT funny when it's your stuff getting banged up and your wallet getting emptied as they slowly wheeled out a single 20lb box on a dolly (sometimes taking two guys with one to keep the box on the dolly and the other to pull the dolly itself).

Yet like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, SML sent us a couple of real professional movers in Michigan. We have moved quite a bit over the years and the SML Michigan guys were easily in the top five (maybe top two and tied for first place) among the dozen or so movers we've encountered. So, would I hire SML again? The answer is "No." What good is a competent professional crew when your stuff is already torn up by incompetents? As good as the Michigan crew was, they couldn't fix the damage (both to my furnishings and property as well as my wallet) caused by their Florida counterparts. If you are moving locally in Michigan and get the same crew we had, I'd recommend them without hesitation. But since most people want to move out of Michigan, this scenario is unlikely at best. My advice then is to seek a recommendation from your friends, family, or realtor. And allow yourself a flexible schedule so if you have a nightmare crew you can fire them on the spot and wait a day or two for a competent crew to be found and hired.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2000

First off I paid for "professional movers" so I didn't have to worry about helping as I had other things to do.  They were unable to pack 3 rooms into a 26ft truck.  I had to stop what I was doing and help them unload 1/2 the truck and then pack the front half again so there whould be enough room for everything.  I personally was able to take what they had as a full truck with no more room for the rest on my belongings and make it to a 1/2 full truck with more then enough room to fit everything else.  These poor kids they sent me had no reasonable packing system to load.  Its not rocket science.  Neither of the "professional movers" knew how to push the button on the dolly and turn it into a 4 wheel cart.  They were unable to pack the truck in 3 hours due to them standing around scratching their heads as to how they are going to fit everything then having to unpack it and re-pack it with my help.  I could have bought pizza and beer for my friends and could have gotten it done quicker, better and would have cost me under $100.  I called to inform them of the issue and was told someone would get back with me.  That never happened!  I posted a blog on their site about the sevices similar to this blog and it was removed within 24hrs hmmm.  All and all don't be fooled by this company there are nothing more then a below average comapny with below average services.  I drove the truck myself so technically there was no pickup or delivery time.  However they were on time for the load.  I have not decided yet if I am going to pay them another $380 to unload me.

Service cost: $760

I took a new job that required me to move from South Carolina to Arkansas.  My budget was fixed so I tried to do the contracting myself.  I hired Simple Moving Labor (simplemovinglabor.com) to load the truck and to unload it.  While loading the truck, they broke some one of a kind art work and punched a hole in a leather recliner.  They didn't bother to mention it when they did it, they just continured loading. I tried to file a claim with them and was rejected.  I was told all claims for broken items must be done before the movers leave your premises.  That is impossible when I would not even know it was broken until it is unloaded.  The "professional" movers they sent were far from professional.  I would NEVER use this company again.  Now I'm stuck with a $1000 recliner with a hole in it's arm, and two shattered one of a kind pieces of Indian art. Also, the "professionals" places light boxes on the bottom of much heavier boxes crushing the ligher boxes.  At least these were just clothing and a trip to the cleaners for several hundred dollars fixed this problem. Please avoid SimpleMovingLabor.com at all cost if you want your possesions to arrive in the condition they left your old home in. The only thing good I can say about the move is the people from UPack.com who provided the truck to me at a very resonable cost.  Actually the cost of the truck and the driving it 750 miles was less than the cost of UHaul equipment I used when I first moved to South Carolina.

Service cost: $1100

What SML does not tell you is that your helpers are day laborers from a temp service. One looked like a junkie. He tried to convince me to lie on the paperwork and pay him cash. These "helpers" do not follow simple instructions. Unless you are willing to provide 100% supervision of how each thing is loaded, do not use this service. Our furniture was damaged due to not being draped with moving pads. They only did when they were being watched. They broke a buffett door while moving it. They did not tell us. The unloaders discovered it. Our total damages exceed 5000.00. Go with a lic. Mover. You will not regret it.

Service cost: $600

Simple Moving Labor (SML) representative were very helpful and in contact regularly prior to the load day. The load time was confirmed twice and was scheduled for noon. On the load day I was contacted by SML and the load time (crew arrival) was delayed twice. And, they did not meet their second showtime either. A SML representative contacted me twice about delays prior to the last time adjustment and then SML did not follow up after the second delay as they said they would. Loaders arrived at 3:30 and rushed. Thankfully, it was a simple move with mainly boxes.

Service cost: $350

This company is great for anyone needing help moving. However the local moving company they send can make the experience vary. My movers were not on time. They were taking their time loading the truck. One was working hard while the other seemed to be watching him half the time. I helped them load the truck, as it seemed they were milking the clock. Some of the items were crushed and furniture got scuffed and chipped. I told them to use all of the furniture pads and they didn't. A large vase and stained glass terrarium shattered from how they packed it in the truck. All fragile items were labeled. They were courteous and friendly. One of the movers complained that he hasn't gotten a raise in 12 years. He seemed to be fishing for a tip. I gave him a minimal tip. I didn't think that was professional.

Service cost: $540

My SML ProMovers were courteous, punctual and hard working, but the end result of their services was very disappointing.

When I arrived at my destination I noticed that 13 pieces of furniture had significant scratches, gouges, and other damage to the surface due to the way my ProMovers had packed these items into the truck. This was due to a number of poor packing practices used by my SML provided ProMovers, including: 1) a number of wood items had been packed by the ProMovers next to each other without a blanket or plastic wrap separating the items, allowing the furniture items to scratch each other during the trip; 2) in 1 case a wood chair was placed on top of an upholstered chair by the ProMovers without a blanket or wrap separating them allowing the wood chair to rub very visible holes into the upholstered chair; 3) some of the wood furniture items were placed against the side rails of the truck also causing signifiant scratches to the furniture; and lastly 4) the legs of my dining room table were laid directly on the floor of the truck without being secured or wrapped in any manner causing significant surface damage to all four table legs. I found it interesting that my ProMovers wrapped certain furniture items in shrink wrap but not others even though there was more than sufficient supply of wrap and they were under no pressure to finish the loading effort in a specific time period.

My understanding from my conversations with SML and the documentation provided was that ProMovers were professionals with extensive moving and truck loading experience. This is the reason I paid for this premium SML service and allowed them to pack the truck based on their experience. I now see that the load service I received from my SML provided ProMovers was not of professional quality and has resulted in significant damage to my furniture that will require me significant time and money to restore my furniture to its previous appearance.

Service cost: $500

The movers were on time, very nice and polite. However I should have stayed in the room with them 100% percent of the time. My furniture was in perfect condition and not broken, it was my childhood bedroom suit that belonged to my mother who recently passed away, so it was of great sentimental value to me. The mover called me into the bedroom to show me a broken bed frame explaining it was found like that before he took it apart, surely I have been sleeping on the bed for almost 1 year broken. Then we proceed to the storage unit where as they bring in the other end of the bed the opposite leg breaks off and he says nothing at all. Then when they bring in the chest of drawers the entire top has been broken off, he proceeds to ask me if it's suppose to be like that, it just lays like that. I am in complete disbelief, I think I am in shock at first, how can you be so nice but treat people's belongings with such disrespect. My father and I even told them that my mother had died, how they had been married for over 60 years and I was moving in with my dad and how much the furniture meant to us. The dresser had an applique on it that had come off and I had to even ask about that. To top it off, I even tipped them 60.00 and they said nothing about breaking my furniture or no apology for breaking my furniture. They were very nice and should be very ashamed for the way they acted and to not own up to breaking my furniture, especially after finding out how much it meant to my dad and I. Then I call to speak to the office, explain in detail everything, I am crying the entire time, explaining the sentimental importance of the furniture. The girl I am talking to says it is so important, I will let you talk to a manager, no manager comes to the phone. She says I can file a complaint because it's important that this does not happen again, I am crying, and other people's furniture does not get broken and she will send me a form to my email. She sends me no form. I was only nice to everyone I dealt with, I paid, I tipped, what I got in return, was broken furniture, dishonesty about broken furniture, covering up of broken furniture and bad customer service while I was crying to resolve the matter. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $435

Overall I was very pleased. The leader of the team that loaded the truck was especially good. We communicated several times and he did a great job of setting expectations. There was rain in the forecast and at the last minute he was able to adjust his schedule and start the load 30 minutes earlier than originally planned. It started to rain just as they were finishing so the timing was perfect. Great loading job, absolutely no damages in transit. Team that unloaded also did a nice job. They arrived a later than planned because of road construction and a detour. Bottom line, I'll use SML if I move again.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $595

We were so pleased to how easy it was to have SML find a company willing to reply on a holiday and come the next day to help us unload a 26' truck filled with our family's possessions. The sales rep on the phone was pleasant, willing to help, and quick! Would definitely use SML again and the moving company, Maverick Moving in Gainesville, FL were EXCELLENT! We will be using them again for a move into a home we are buying in the near future. Thanks for all your help!

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $735

The movers that came to help were polite, professional and had great attitudes! They were efficient and did an amazing job fitting everything into the truck.

We were lucking to have them come on only a few days notice when we realized we couldn't handle the job ourselves.

The only glitch we had was that two movers arrived when we had asked for a team of three, but the representative we talked to offered to resolve this oversight or correct the pricing. We decided to make the most of the time and just go with the two guys who had already arrive and they finished the job with no issues.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $770

Justin and his crew were able to do what we thought was not going to be possible. Fit 2 storage unites into a single Penske 26 ft. truck. I was already planning on what to leave behind. They got both storage units into the truck with room to spare. We started at 11:00AM and were able to leave the Atlanta area by 3:00 on our way to Utah. Thanks again to Justin and the other guys for a job well done. No damage at all from the 1900 mile trip due to everything being packed extremely well.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $424

We have used SML 3 times, 1st was great, 2nd was ok and the 3rd was HORRIBLE. They are nothing more than a middleman between you and some (possibly crappy) mover in your area. You're much better off selecting a local mover on your own. You can avoid the unknown and the cut SML takes/adds to the bill. From their office in Texas they just sub out movers from cities all over the country and you have no control over who might be showing up on moving day. We just had 3 guys who were not only unskilled, but just plain lazy. 3 guys, 7 hours into the move, essentially quit and left us with a truck to unload ourselves. SML offered to send another crew the next day, but we declined. Thank heaven for nice neighbors. So do the math..we paid 5 hours for 3 movers and really got 1 marginal mover for 7 hours and an unfinished move. Again, I recommend dealing with a local mover on your own and avoid SML at all cost.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1000

The crew arrived right on time (early, in fact) and were very respectful and considerate. They worked diligently and did a perfect job packing up the truck- nothing moved an inch! We were amazed by how quickly they got done, they finished in record time.

The only small thing was that we were told that they would have tools necessary to disassemble furniture and would be able to do it if necessary. We had disassembled mostly everything in advance, which I was glad about because they didn't end up having any tools with them. When we asked if they could disassemble one of our pieces of furniture, they were a bit confused and we ended up doing it ourselves.

But all in all, a great experience and would highly recommend.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $750

I hired SML movers for loading(3 movers) and unloading(2movers). I moved a three bedroom house with a 22 foot truck. The loading crew arrived on time. I thought that the movers were being careful during the move. They manage to fit everything into the truck which was a feat in itself. Unloading was not as smooth as I thought. They arrived an hour late due to traffic conditions which rushed the unloading process since we had to return the elevator key at 5 pm. Three movers for unloading may have been better. Since there were so many factors involved its is difficult to determine where some of my furniture pieces got damaged. I had a night stand that got scratched quite severely on one of its legs. The movers don't provide furniture wrapping materials so this is something to consider. Wrapping the furniture your self saves time during the move but adds to your effort.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1600

It took 2 men to load 2 beds, 2 dressers, tv stand, dining room table, a desk, small couch and about 25 boxes onto a truck 5.5 hrs. I already had the furniture taken apart and all boxes placed in the livingroom. All they had to do was walk down the hall and load the truck. Not only did it take them way longer than it should have but they ate all my snacks that I set aside for my 800+ mile long trip. Oh he did ask if he could have a cookie after the first 12 so I said yes as it was the last one in the box. They also used box tape that left sticky residue on my wood furniture. Good thing My fiance and I unloaded the truck ourself so we didn't waste more money on useless labor. It took us only 2 hours to unload it.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $668

These guys first showed up at the wrong location. Then they took twice as long as they should have to load our truck from the storage unit. They didn't listen when I asked them to save the boxes for last, so some of my big items got left behind. The reason it took them so long is because they barely used the hand trucks. I had 2, and they brought 1. They carried and loaded almost everything by hand! Even though most of my furniture was carefully wrapped with padding and clear plastic.
They took 3 hours to load 1 26ft truck! Then I had to wait another half hour to 45 minutes because they forgot to bring the paperwork! With a 13 hour drive ahead of me I wasn't happy about waiting for paperwork.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $400

We used this company for loading and unloading. We listen to their advice of getting a 3 man crew for loading and they worked very hard for us. The man in the truck was able to utilize every space to tightly pack the items and get as much in as possible. They worked through lunch to keep the project moving. With their assistance and our packing of boxes, everything arrived 1600 miles later intact. We had a problem with our truck, so had to adjust our unloading date and there was NO problem or charge. The unloading crew (2) arrived on time also and "powered through" the unloading. They were helpful and listened to directions for the placement of boxes to make the unpacking easier for us. If I ever HAVE to move an entire household again (Please NO), I will use them again.
I really don't know what the end cost was, but everything associated with a cross country move is Expensive$$.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $600

We used SML to load up my mother in laws apartment and my apartment and then unload everything into one larger apartment. It was a 2 man crew but I really should have said yes to 3 of them, It was too late to add another man, once they started working. The 2 guys they sent out worked really hard! They were polite and helpful with my mother, her place only took an hour to load. When they got to my 2 bedroom apartment, they looked at the stairs and I thought it would be difficult but once they disassemble everything, it was all loaded in less 2 hours.

The only thing I didn't pay attention to was travel time, this added an hour on to my moving costs. Next time I move, I'm getting 3 movers so I don't have to move anything! Thanks for sending some great workers SML.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $600