Simple Moving Labor

Pickup in MI went fine. 2 nice fellows showed up close to starting time and did a excellent job loading my POD. Careful, no goofing off, friendly, professional.
Unload in Florida totally different. SML called and said guys were on the way at 8:10am and would call me for directions. DID NOT HAPPEN. When I called back I was told they should be there in 20-30 minutes. 3 hours later and at least 6 phone calls I was still being lied to and told they are on the way. Obviously, the excuse of my home was not on GPS was a BS story as I gave all the needed info to SML. We had multiple deliveries and tradesmen here all week that found our home, but NO, NOT SML. Poor excuse at best.
2 guys showed up at our main gate 3.5 hours later and tell us they were just call 30 minutes ago.
Very sad. All we got from SML was lies about the 'crew is on the way and will be there in 20-30minutes". FOR 3.5 hours!
SML in the end gave us a $70 discount to placate us for the huge mess they created. Nothing but lies and mis-direction.
I would rather they told me the truth, were above board with me, rather than screw me around for the whole morning.
I would recommend looking elsewhere.
I understand that moving labor the PODS people endorse are excellent as being rated by BBB and 1000's of happy customers.
Original quote of $275 for 2 men for 2 hours was discounted.
My wife and I, both Seniors, unloaded the POD ourselves to about 30% left for the SML guys to unload. LOOK ELSEWHERE!!

Service cost: $275

Very disappointed with this company. I paid for professional movers and got idiots, but was in such a bind for movers that day I had to accept them. I had professional movers
set up for the day before but my closing date for the sale of my house was moved, so I went with this company. I had no choice I had to get my belongings out of my house. Two guys showed up to my house and looked at my furniture and started complaining right away. They just threw everything on top of everything since I paid for professionals I didn't think I had to babysit it was raining and didn't think I had to stand in the rain to watch everything but I see now I should have. I explained everything I had before I booked them. I have very expensive things my bedroom set costs 16,000.00 and I have a sleep number bed and expensive furniture from Lazyboy. When I arrived at my destination in another state and the movers there started unpacking, everything I had was damaged gauges of wood was missing from my bedroom set. My sleep number bed was ripped I had nowhere to sleep until I ordered another one and it took a week to come in. It was drizzling when they packed my truck I rented 50 clothes to cover my furniture they didn't want to use them they said it's harder to pick up the furniture with the clothes on it and I paid for 4 hrs. it took them 7hrs. every piece of furniture they moved they took a 20-minute break. I filed a claim with the company, there is a clause in the contract stating they are not responsible for things damaged in the transit. That's the way they get away with not paying for damages. I'm extremely angry over this and will be seeking an attorney. I just wanted people to know think twice before booking this company you may be sorry. Believe me, you can find better help than this.

From: very sorry for ever using this company!

Service cost: $780

We were referred by a friend who used this company a month ago and couldn't be more pleased. The guys that loaded us showed up at the end of the one hour window and started working right away, they seemed a little rushed and said they had another job after ours but they weren't careless and they finished in the 3 hr window the SML phone rep said they would. We didn't use SML for the unload but really wish we did. It was really harder than we thought and after the long drive we were really tired when we arrived. Thanks again.

Service cost: $285

This was the 1st time I have ever used any kind of moving service. My son had this service 2 years ago, when he moved from Ft. Lauderdale, FL. to Plano, Texas. He was very happy with how it went, and told me about it, so I thought I would give it a try. Very glad I did. They were prompt, polite and professional, and did it all in a reasonable amount of time. I also had another crew at the other end, to un-pack the truck, who did a great job as well. I would highly recommend this service to anyone.

Service cost: $625

We hired SML to help us load and unload for a move from New York State to Georgia. We were told by SML that we would be fully taken care of for our move and that they would make life easy for us. This is not what happened. We had two movers show up for the load day. They did not move any furniture out of our home. My Husband and my son moved all of the furniture. Including all dressers and heavy pieces from the upstairs of our home. One of the movers only carried boxes and handed them to the other mover who waited in the truck. One of the movers was continuously on his cell phone texting. They could not stay the entire time we needed them, we had to finish loading the truck ourselves. The last 1/2 hour they were at our home they sat and talked to their boss on the phone and then tacked it on to our hourly rate. They did nothing during that time except talk on their phone. We called sml the next day to cancel out unload to explain why. We spoke with a representative named Emerald. She was extremely rude to us on the phone over the course of several phone calls spanning three days. She claimed we were not telling the truth, throated to keep our deposit money. I have never had such a bad experience with a company that I have hired to do labor. For that matter I have never been treated so rudely by a company either. They did give us a small refund for our troubles. But in no way did it make it worth what services we received. I did report them to Penske who had referred SML to us. I will never recommend SML to anyone.

Service cost: $563

After reading recent reviews, I guess mine is not original. My problem was with loading help in Phila area. Labor arrived 1/2 late after the 1 hour window. It was a hot day and they were shirtless which was my first clue they were not professional. They said they wanted to stage the loading so half of my furniture and possessions wound up on the lawn adjacent to the truck, they would then figure out how they would load it. They were asked to wrap furniture with 4 doz moving blankets and shrink wrap. That barely happened as most of the blankets and wrap were ever used. They were also provided with 8 heavy duty ratchet straps to tie in parts of the load. They did not know how to use them and would up tieing them together.
What pro mover doesn't know how to use ratchet straps?
They wanted to shut down the job half way thru, because they did not like being criticized for their work nor open to any suggestions to rectify problems with the loading process. After an hour on the phone with a SML coordinator, they agreed to finish the load. Childish ?
The load took 5 hours, and should have been 3.

Service cost: $450

I carefully planned our moving schedule to coincide with our arrival from another state 400 miles away. When the time came for the laborers to show up, they called and said they would be 45 minutes late. I reluctantly said that was okay, but I made it clear it could not be delayed any longer than that because I needed the truck loaded before dark. They showed up 2 hours later. When I reiterated my concern about darkness falling soon and that there were no lights available, they said not to worry because they had lights. They proceeded to load the truck without any lighting. What happened to the lights they said they had? On top of that, it started to rain, getting my things wet. Had they been on time, the rain and the lighting would not have been an issue. If I hire moving labor, I expect them to be on time, and not be condescending if I voice my concerns.

Service cost: $250

Mario and his crew packed my 26 foot truck great. Polite and courteous as could be. They called because they were stuck in traffic in Nashville which was the right thing to do. Can't say enough good things about that crew.

Jackson was a whole different story. Suppose to unload between 12:30 and 1:30 - no shows. Kept calling and getting the run around for several hours. Finally someone was suppose to show up at 5:00PM. They showed up at 6:00 PM; so you know unloading a 26 foot truck in the dark is a nightmare in the making. My girl friend, her husband,son and I had to help these two and it took them way longer than it should have. Boxes and furniture got put everywhere. Had to end up buying a new bed frame as one of the parts was missing. Check the truck twice, called back to my place in Nashville - just gone.

Service cost: $500

SML was great to deal with from beginning to end. Our rental truck company recommended them. The quote process was efficient by phone and online. We packed and drove the truck ourselves but used SML to help unpack. We had a two story house to move into and most of our man power wasn't coming along. It worked out great. We contracted for two men for two hours each. They arrived on time and were courteous and hard working throughout. They got everything into place with no damage to our belongings or the new house. Would definitely recommend them. Might use them for packing next time too. Only one small suggestion, it was raining and some mud got tracked onto carpet. Shoe removal should be routine in such a situation. Still, overall a great experience.

Service cost: $325

I hired 2 professionals to unload my rental truck at my destination. They were supposed to bring their own hand truck (dolly). They did not. Fortunately, I had rented one for the load-up that they were able to use. They did a good job moving my furniture up one flight of narrow stairs. The older of the two professionals seemed too old to be moving such large items but he managed to work the entire time. He also seemed to be the supervisor and gave direction to the younger worker.

Service cost: $250

We hired movers from SML to load a truck from a storage locker. They moved all of our large items putting much more on the truck than we could have figured out.They were fast, took great care with our furniture and when we went to unload nothing had moved. We were so thankful that we had their help.

All of the movers were knowledgeable, polite and professional. We had never used a mover before, SML changed our thinking about receiving help next time we have a large move.

Service cost: $320

We arranged for a team of two people to unload our truck. The team came from Bennett Movers in Elizabethton, TN.

The unloaders arrived on time, were courteous, friendly and professional. They were careful to take pictures as they approached each new layer of goods in the truck. They pointed out any concerns they had due to the loading (done by another company in another state).

The unloaders took care when entering the house to deliver the goods. They were careful with the goods and careful with floors, carpets and walls of the house.

They got the work done quickly and efficiently and I would recommend them to others.

Service cost: $319

I've used SML now for two moves - the first time I got "helpers" to assist with unloading at our house in CA & it was such a good experience I used them again for our most recent move from CA to OR. This time around I got the professional movers & it was a great decision. At both the loading & unloading sites, the movers were friendly, professional, extremely hard-working, careful with our belongings, and FAST. I'd definitely use them again myself as well as recommend them to friends.

Service cost: $712

I hired loaders and unloaders for my move through SML. Although the loaders were very nice and hard-working, they were extremely careless in padding my furniture and completely ruined several pieces, some of which had great sentimental value to me.

I submitted a claim to SML with 20+ photos of damaged furniture and SML had the audacity to reject it, saying I didn't have proof the stuff was damaged during the trip to the truck. My proof is they didn't use any of the 60 furniture pads I rented for them, instead telling me "I got this, don't worry. Plus pads will make it heavier to get down."

Who's every heard of a moving company that doesn't wrap/protect large valuable pieces?! Even the unloaders upon reaching my destination were shocked at the carelessness of these guys who packed the furniture.

And once inside the truck, the loaders just threw a loose pad over tops of dressers and table, no tape, which further destroyed my items in transport.

SML should be ashamed. They won't even refund me for the 45 minutes of included extra time I paid for that was wasted by the movers trying to get down a piece I told them 3 times would not fit - they of course had to lug it back up and go back the correct stairwell as I initially advised.

DO NOT USE SML unless you don't mind possible getting your furniture severely damaged by movers and then having SML tell you they will not reimburse for anything.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $774

Our movers were absolutely wonderful. They were extremely polite, on time, and efficient in loading my furniture from a 1-bedroom to a 12' truck. In preparation for the move, they contacted me five days and 1 day before the move to confirm all the details. Also, on the day of, the electricity went out for 30 minutes in my apartment building (no lights in the long, dark hallway and elevators were not working. The movers were not even phased by this issue and continued to load the truck. The entire move was completed in 1.5 hours with all furniture neatly and securely packed in the truck. Definitely worth the cost. Would absolutely recommend to others.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $220

I used SML loaders and unloaders in my move from Alabama to Arizona. I had a couple of pieces that were over 300 lbs so I had a 3 person crew at both ends. The loading crew showed up on time and were courteous and respectful. They did a good job loading but I could tell they were in no rush as they were getting paid by the hour. The unloading crew was really good. They were on time, professional and they worked hard from start to finish. They were so efficient I was able to let them go early as the majority of the work was done.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $650

I have mixed reviews. First the lead gentleman was very nice and professional. I paid for a 3rd mover so that we could get it all done in 2 hours. The 3rd helper turned out to be his 17 year old son. Again all very nice guys. However I have used this company previously and it was apparent from the first 15 minutes it was never going to get done in 2 hours. The 17 year old needed constant direction which unfortunately wasn't given. There were constant stops to answer cell phones and take breaks etc. Additionally I helped move tons of stuff out of my place including helping move furniture. It ended up taking the 3 guys 3 and a half hours. As I said previously when I moved into this apartment I had the same company and they had everything in the truck and packed properly in an hour. Great guys as I said but I knew that money was the name of the game here. I couldn't just tell them to leave and finish myself. The truck was packed very well and nothing broke. Hard to write a bad review when the guys were nice and the 17 year old did what he was told, when he was told but overall I am beginning to lose faith in this company. They contract the work and its a gamble.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $600

We used SML to downsize my mother's home. We were taking about half the furniture with us and leaving the rest for staging to sell the house. Although friendly, I felt our 3 movers were in a huge hurry. I heard them discussing a bonus they would receive from their boss if they finished before a certain time. I felt extremely pressured and rushed and ended up leaving some items behind that I meant to have them put into the truck. Ironically, they were late in arriving to the home. One mover even asked for a snack when they were down. Several items arrived with scratches on them; I don't think they carefully planned how to load the truck.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $350

We needed help loading our Penske truck for a long distance move of a few rooms of furniture and small items, including antiques, heavy pieces, and glass. Our SML crew called ahead, arrived on time, listened carefully to our requirements and went straight to work. Our lead and his helper were experienced, courteous, careful, and quick. The load was well padded, well tied down and safely placed; everything made the 750 mile trip in original condition. Just as planned, very satisfied.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $269