Simple Moving Labor

You really have to watch to make sure these guys are packing you stuff properly. They packed it good and tight, but in such a way as rubbing during transit damaged the bejeezus out of our belongings.

Truck was packed 2/3 of the way back good and tight. However things were laying all over in such a way that damage was done during transit. They ran out of moving blankets. As it turns out about 11 of them were stuffed under 1 item.

Items were forgotten in rooms we told them needed to be cleared. By the time they got to the end of the load and left, we had nowhere to put the remaining items. Had to load a utility trailer with the rest.

I wouldn't use them again.

Service cost: $600

We were going to use Simple Movers, as suggested by Penske. We paid our deposit as requested, but ended up not needing them. We booked this on a Thursday for assistance on Friday, but no one was available to assist until Saturday -- only 36 hours in advance. We packed all of our own belongings on Friday so we notified them via a phone call and again by an email that we would not need them. Apparently their website ad is a hoax as it states:

"What if I have to cancel or postpone my move? If you need to cancel your move, we need at least 72 hours notice in order to be able to fully refund your deposit. If you need to postpone or change the date or time of your move, we ask that you let us know as soon as possible - at a minimum three (3) hours before your move is set to begin, and we'll work hard to accommodate any changes free of charge."

They charged us the entire fee, the deposit plus the labor of the movers who were never there -- over $500 and we never used a single service from them. Their answer is that we did not supply them with a 72-hour notice and can't seem to figure out that when a booking is only 36 hours prior to the move, it is impossible to give a 72-hour cancellation notice.

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!! You will most likely be disappointed.

Service cost: $653

Unpacking at destination was done in an efficient and professional manner; thus was completely satisfied with the unloading.
The loading was a completely different experience. Had contracted to have loading work done by experienced, professional movers. Clearly only laborers with limited moving experience were provided instead. They were very reluctant to use moving blankets to wrap and pad items, although a large number were supplied and they were specifically asked to do so on several occasions. (In fact they used less than 1/2 of blankets provided.) The result was during transit some of the items rubbed, thus damaging some of the finishes. As they completed the loading they stacked a number of un-wrapped items on top of the load and did not secure same. The result was that I had to spend about an hour wrapping and securing them. Unfortunately, I was unable to get to the furniture items (loaded first) to add additional blankets.
I used this same service 5 years ago and the loaders--who were clearly experienced professionals--were excellent. Based upon that prior experience I expected the same quality this time; thus, was clearly disappointed in the recent service.

Service cost: $698

Sml "professional movers" (3) loaded the truck from a storage unit. They worked efficiently and cohesively and very compactly packed the furniture into the truck. On arrival, one marble desktop had a broken edge (unfixable), two cherry chests of drawers had their edges sheared off (unfixable), the tops of a stained and polished bed baseboard were abraded to the bare wood (will require restaining and finishing), and an ornamental feature on a mirror frame was broken off (can be glued back on but will mar the appearance).
sml "non-professional labor" (3) unloaded the truck. The leader was incompetent and the other two were helpful, willing to learn but inexperienced. None of them knew how to properly use a hand truck. They forced furniture through tight spaces without stopping to think how the task might best be approached. The leader smoked cigarettes and left his butts on my driveway. I would recommend to always hire sml professional movers if you are moving valuable furniture. In retrospect, I should have paid extra and hired professionals to unload the truck.

Service cost: $900

Excellent experience. Used professional movers to pack glass tables, and wrap furniture/load truck in Houston, Texas. They were on time, experienced, careful with my belongings and did not ride the clock. Very efficient crew. Used SML day labor for unloading truck in West Virginia. They were also excellent. They needed lots of instruction and supervision which was not a problem because I knew this up front. SML explained before the move that the professional movers are slightly are experienced and likewise more expensive (and worth it in my opinion) and that the day labor was less expensive and inexperienced and would need supervision and instruction. However, I knew this in advance. I did not opt for professional movers to unload my items. I was well informed by SML when I contracted with them. SML provided reliable, excellent moving help, provided exactly what I needed and agreed to and in addition, they provided movers at the spur of the moment. Would definitely use them again.

Service cost: $400

We relocated from Henderson, NV to Davie, FL. We were supposed to have 2 professionals load the truck in Henderson. They were supposed to have a hand-truck and tools. They didn't have either. Luckily, we own a hand-truck. We got the impression only 1 of the men was the professional, the other was in training.
We did have 2 professionals unload the truck in Davie, FL. They had the hand-truck and the tools. They worked quickly and efficiently.
Overall, it was a pleasant experience and we would use them again.

Service cost: $562

We've used SML three times. First crew of 3 ProMovers moved a piano and other heirlooms into a rental truck so expertly that not a thing was damaged or shifted in transport. They were helpful to ask about moving additional furniture within my house to use up extra time. They arrived later than expected but SML compensated us for the delay.

We were better prepared for the second crew of 2 ProMovers a few months later. We had extra tie downs, large sheet wrap, and lots of pads available. But they used only 1 tie and nothing else. The result was scratched table tops and two broken lamps.

At the other end of this second move were the best-of-all 2 ProMovers. They were efficient and pleasantly interactive. We would not hesitate to use this third crew again if we can request them specifically.

Service cost: $836

We hired two professionals to pack our 26ft truck in Gainesville Florida - we were excited at looking at a 3 to 4 hour load time and getting on the road - 1,000 mile drive ahead of us. They actually arrived early, they were supposed to be there somewhere between 10 and 11 and they showed up at 0945. Off to a great start, but from there things went very slow - would not let us assist in any way, except that I had a air compressor to put air in their hand truck tires because they all were flat. Worse part is they they would not let us carry things out to the curb to help in staging. One was a professional who definitely knows how to pack a truck (26ft Penske from front to back, bottom to top) and the other just for labor. We had everything apart already so they didn't have to do that (Thank God)- we had everything boxed and for the most part ready to put on the truck. Needless to say over 6.5 hours later we were packed and ready to get on the road. Think they could have moved a little quicker or let us help, but it was a good experiences non the less and saved us a ton of money rather than going to a VanLine for moving. Had some issues with the truck, but that was a whole other story, got out to Arkansas and with the families help, had it unloaded in about an hour and a half.

Service cost: $847