Every now and then a customer walks us through the whole experience, start to finish, from their point of view. That kind of detail is rare and genuinely useful, so we want to share it here exactly as it happened, including the part where the crew earned a B-minus.
Long-Distance Moving from Tampa to Chicago
“Brothers Easy Moving of Tampa did a great job wrapping our furniture and loading 2 semi-trailers for our move from Tampa to the Chicago area. Shea did a wonderful job in the office coordinating everything and promptly answering my emails. We were pleased when Gary came out to take a detailed inventory on what we were moving. It was important to us that they give us an accurate estimate because we did not want any negative surprises regarding the actual, final cost.
What Happens When the First Number Feels Too High
The initial estimate came in very high. I was impressed by Gary, the pictures on their web site and the testimonials, so I told Gary that I felt it was way too many hours. He responded that he always estimates on the high end and does not try to give the best case. After I explained the prep work we would be doing, he responded that he thought his crew of 6 could get it done in four hours.
Because we had contracted another company to transport our goods, we purchased 100 moving blankets on Craigslist. (If anyone tells you, you need less than 100 blankets for a cross country move of a 2300 square foot, four bedroom home, pick another mover!)
How the Crew Handled a Complicated Load
The morning of the move, we got a call from Rob, the crew chief at 8:30 asking if it was alright if they came at 8:50, ten minutes before the scheduled time. They did a quick walk around to get an overall picture of the move and then went right to work. These guys were amazing! They wrapped our furniture in the blankets and then professional grade shrink wrap.
Our move was somewhat complicated because we had to segregate the load to go to two different locations. We used special colored Duck Brand Tape we bought at Home Depot to mark the items that were going to the second location. For this part of the move, I would give this crew a B- grade. There were a large number of items that should have been loaded first on the first trailer, but ended up on the second trailer for which we contracted just 9 feet. The final item that was missed off trailer #1, and loaded last on trailer #2, was an extension ladder that measured 12 feet. There was no way to get this on the first trailer because it was jamb packed floor to ceiling, front to back…literally all the way to the back door.
Where Things Landed at the End of the Day
Other than this minor slip up, these guys were amazing! They moved very quickly. The morning started with a light drizzle, which halfway through the loading, turned into a downpour. The crew did not miss a step. They powered on and the rain did not slow them down a bit. They packed the full trailer very tightly. Due to the nature of the items that made up the remaining 9 feet on the second trailer, not as tight. There is only so much you can do to tightly pack a lawn mower, gas grill, fertilizer spreader, patio chairs and an elliptical machine.
In conclusion, I highly recommend this moving company. They did a great job wrapping and protecting our furniture and packing those trucks. BTW, regarding Gary’s time estimate, they clocked in at 8:50 and clocked out at 12:52. Rob was gracious in giving us the additional 2 minutes above the four hour estimate. Oh, and the moving blankets, they used 99 of the 100. I used the last to put our plants on in the back seat.
No company gets every detail right on every job. What matters is whether the customer ends up in a good place overall, and whether they trust that you were straight with them from the beginning. This customer was. We are grateful for the honest account, B-minus and all.
