Simple Moving Labor

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

It took over 2 hours to pick up the Penski truck. Problem with the computer systerm that would not allow a new renter to in effect sign out the vehicle. The loaders were about an hour late arriving so the whole timing thing worked out in the end. Just a hurry up and wait situation that made us late driving away with our stuff. Being short of time we did not check the almost empty house to see that every thing was loaded and some things were not loaded but coming back a week later to clean the house before the new owners arrived we were able to take the forlgotten things to Good Will and just bought new tables at the new location. The 2 guys that packed our truck were really efficient and strong. The loading process ran a half hour over the 2 hour limit but the added expense was well worth it. Amazing to me that one of the loaders moved a couch/bed all by him self. I had a tough time moving just one end of couch a few inches away from the wall, those things are really heavy. On the positive side nothing was broken when we unloaded the truck at our destination although the rough I95 road in S. Carolina and I295 around Richmond, Virginia really tossed things around.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $250

I used SML to load up my entire apartment into a 16 ft moving truck. Reserving the move was easy on their website and they called to confirm, once shortly after making the reservation and once closer to the move. On moving day the movers called to let me know when they would arrive, which was right in the middle of the hour block I'd chosen. Once they had arrived they quickly and courteously loaded all of my belongings onto the truck. My furniture faired better when I used SML than when I moved myself and it was done in a fraction of the time it would have taken me to do it. During the move SML called to confirm that the movers had arrived and everything was satisfactory. I can't think of anything that would have improved my experience.

Service cost: $386