Life of Brian

Everyone wants a review when ever you buy something, anything, from a pack of 50¢ widgets on Amazon to a new car from your local Shubert dealer. And apparently moving companies. Our movers sent us an email asking for a review, with links to do it on their Facebook page, on Google and on Yelp, like practically begging for one. Well, I usually shun this marketing crap and I will this time too, at least publicly, I will reply directly to their email though. Here is what it will say:

A Mayflower crew packed us out at our origin. A United Van Lines driver delivered and unloaded us at our destination with the help of two local crew.

The Mayflower folks packed our items in wooden crates for local storage. Our estimator/salesman told it was okay to keep or pack our stuff in desk or dresser drawers if they were tight. The packing crew then told us all drawers needed to be empty. The crew was polite and respectful and did their job well with a couple of exceptions: Some jewelry items were packed in items of clothing and ended up in scattered between boxes. The plastic cabinet loaded with various nails, screws, bolts, washers and nuts in the garage was taped up in front, but not the back causing a substantial amount of screws/bolts scattered in a box.

The delivery driver opened all crates and disassembled a few items so he could pack them more tightly into his truck: an office chair, a computer desk, two leaning ladder-style shelving units and the wheels were removed from our 4 bicycles. Our household goods were packed tightly mid truck and that location was misjudged in a way that caused the unloading crew to spend the first 45 minutes or so trying to push, shove, wiggle, pry two dressers out the door so they could get to the rest of our items, not a pretty sight. It is amazing that not more than the one bent desk drawer handle and three hooks broken off a decorative towel rack were damaged. This delay along with a slight weather delay of the arrival, put them in a bind to finish because the driver had to be 400 miles further north by the next morning for another delivery.

Six people packed us out, but only three unloaded us, there should have had more folks, took way too long. It didn’t help that one of local crew was either very new, incompetent or lazy and had to be constantly instructed or corrected in the manner to handle the unloading. After nearly 5 hours everything was in the house, but they still had to assemble everything. They were struggling with the computer desk and fearing they would put it together wrong, I told them I’d do it (I had already put the bike wheels back on.) I also told them I would put together the shelves, so the driver could get going. He had the local guys put together the desk chair while he and I went over the inventory.

Even though both the chair seat and base were clearly labeled with the word FRONT, they still managed to get it together backwards. The two leaning ladder shelves were quite a challenge. These were made by a carpenter friend and were not mass produced, so all the screw holes were close but not exactly in the same place. This was like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. The first one took 4 hours, but second one only took 20 minutes. The vertical parts for each shelf were wrapped together, the horizontal supports were separately wrapped together, but the horizontal shelves were not. The screws were separately packed nicely, but he should have labeled each piece for each set.