NorthStar Moving Company

My wife and I just completed a local move, moving between two houses literally two blocks apart. Basically ,we hired Northstar to move all our furniture and rugs (but no small stuff, which packed and moved ourselves). The Northstar experience came literally within one second of perfection. Oh, so close . . . . The positives about Northstar were numerous. The estimator came out promptly and gave us a “not-to-exceed” estimate of 6 hours work for three men and a truck, for a total cost of $974 (including some minimal packing materials). We thought this estimate was fair., particularly as things are generally pricey here in San Francisco. On the day of the move, the truck arrived in a timely fashion, and the team got to work right away. They worked quickly and, for the most part, carefully. They completed the move (loading, moving, unloading, and reassembly) in only 5 and a quarter hours, under their projection of six hours. The total price for the move came to $827. And with the $150 deal we bought from Angie’s list for only $50, the cost of the move actually fell to only $727 -- well under the projected "not-to-exceed" estimate. Ok, that’s not quite the whole story, particularly with regard to cost. The one second that marred an otherwise perfect move was when one of the guys -- while offloading my wife’s grandmother’s antique writing desk -- tripped and fell. Of course, he dropped the desk hard and damaged it heavily. Since we had only the basic insurance coverage of 60 cents per pound per article, and the desk probably weighs only about 30 pounds, we calculate the insurance will only cover about $20 of the several hundred dollars it will likely cost to fix the desk. The incident was obviously an accident, and the worker was suitably apologetic, but we wished he had dropped something else. Yeah, anything else. (BTW, the worker was shaken up from the fall, but not, apparently, seriously hurt). Of course, we could have bought a greater amount of insurance coverage, and perhaps that was the lesson here. We didn’t think we would need the extra insurance because our stuff was not going into temp storage (where we have observed damage to occur in other moves).

Working with NorthStar was a great experience. My moving team of Chris M, CJ, and Nelson were rockstars. This team was punctual, proactive with communication, professional, and extremely efficient. Having good people makes all the difference, and it's clear that Northstar believes this. Northstar provided both packing and moving services, and everything was handled with the right amount of care. They showed up on-time, and finished under-budget. These guys had such a handle on things that I was even able to take a few work calls and answer emails. I dislike moving as much as the next person, but I actually really enjoyed today's move. I was already looking forward to moving into a new place, and these guys helped keep set the tone with a good moving experience. Money well spent. I highly recommend NorthStar. This recommendation goes double for that Rockstar team of Chris M, CJ, and Nelson!

Both crews were nice enough, but, belongings weren't properly protected in storage and were packed too haphazardly in the space. Between that and retrieval several high-value items were damaged, but with the exception of my brand new custom bicycle, which was banged up because it wasn't properly secured in the truck, I didn't see the problems until well after everyone had left. The process of filing a claim for damages for the one thing that could be repaired (treadmill) was too challenging post-move, so I was never able to complete it. Simply decided would never use this service again.

Couldn't have been better. Four guys. Very polite, worked hard and took great care of our stuff. We will use them again next time.

Since the moving debacle, the company has responded quite responsibly to apologize, as well as offer further discount off of our move for our extreme inconvenience. They also assure us they are retraining their personnel to avoid future problems. While I can't give them a different rating for punctuality (the reality is the reality, and we can't go back in time) I do have to upgrade their other grades. Their manager was strenuously apologetic. Quite diligent about tracking me down to reassure me this was highly unusual for their company. Very very understanding that we would naturally be upset and suspicious when our truck went missing. Impressive apology. I guess I'd try them again. Because, mistakes do happen and they did the best they could (including the nearly tearful driver) to make it right for us.

My experience was great from beginning to end. From calling Northstar and scheduling the appt/understanding pricing, etc all the way to the 3 professional movers coming to my house to doing the actual move. They were very upfront about pricing during the scheduling and also when the guys showed up for the move. We discussed it all upfront and it was pretty consistent with the initial estimates given on the phone. (So no haggling at the end of the move). Also, since the move was charged based on time of labor, they even brought from furniture from a separate location (within walking distance from a neighbor) to the final destination. They were extremely professional and efficient. I would definitely recommend them.

These guys were great! Showed up on time, parked their big truck (which has a side opening - what a great idea!) in a conscientious way, surveyed the apartment for what needed to get moved, and got to work right away. They had a good sense of humor, and handled the multiple flights of stairs at the condo with determination. I would recommend these guys whole heartedly, and would hire them again. Their prices are average, not higher or lower than their competitors. With the Angie's list coupon, it was a great price! Why I put in a couple of "B's" on their grade: 1. the shelf anchors for my bookshelf were forgotten in one of the guys' pockets, so I had to call the and ask for them to be returned. They brought the the next day - and taped them to my doorknob, as I wasn't home, which I thought was a nice gesture. 2. The aforementioned bookshelf sustained some damage on the front of the removable wooden shelves, like it got hit with a pole. If it had happened on the BACK of the shelves I wouldn't have cared, but it's visible at the front, and now looks shabby.

The service turned out very well. They were just very professional. The $50 Big Deal was like the starting point, but the final cost was significantly more than that just because the move would take a long time.

The company was very professional. They go over all of the details when you book and when they confirm the move date and time. The movers showed up on time and ready to go. They went over all of the details prior to starting and gave an accurate estimate of the time it would take to complete the job. They were very careful with all of the items (pictures, TV, glassware, etc.). I couldn't be happier with the work and I would definitely use them again.

It went really well. We had some item's chipped but I have filed a claim for that and they are taking care of it. Very fast and very efficient.

Most of the move went well. However there were some problems. Some furniture got damaged as well as a valuable Hummel figurine. The thing that bothered me the most was a lost box that contained my daughter's college diploma. When I called these problems to their attention company representatives took immediate action to rectify the problems. The management was professional and I appreciated their concern. I would probably use them again in the future.

Team arrived as planned assessed the move and got to work. I was so apprehensive about moving I put it off for a year! Northstar was on budget and on time. They let you know exactly what everything will cost. I've actually used them three times now to complete this complicated move.

Everything went as planned. Very happy with the service.

I used the Zipgo boxes to box everything myself. They came in, and everything went like clockwork. Even came in under budget. Couldn't have gone better.

We recently had Jason and his team move us into our new house. They arrived early and came prepared. We all appreciated Jason's attention to detail when it came to wrapping and packing our expensive furniture. Nothing was broken and there wasn't one scratch on the walls when they left. I highly recommend Jason and his team if you want a top-notch moving experience.

It went very well. The movers are professional, respectful and very efficient and hard working. They definitely exceed my expectation. Not only they moved our stuff, but also accomplished a couple of tasks that we thought were not possible to do without reassembling the items. For example, they were able to move our monster heavy wardrooms to upstairs bedroom without reassembling them. which saved us a lot of time. They are patient and flexible. I have changed my mind several times in regards to how and where to put certain furniture and they were very patient and accommodate all my requirements. Couldn't be happier with these guys!

Excellent crew. Very professional. They arrived on time with three crew members. Everything made it to the new house without a scratch. They placed every piece of furniture where we told them. I recommend them 100%.

The move out was a C grade. I had some prescriptions stolen, which was a bummer. Walls were knocked into. Two of the four movers were inexperienced, and not terribly bright. The move back in was a new crew and gets an A. They noted that items were not packed well during the unpacking. Given the mixed nature of the service, I would use another mover next time.

The 3 guys were efficient, polite and turned up on time (they came in the afternoon, and called 30mins before they were due to arrive). Using their coupon, and only booking them for 3 hours, it was a fairly cost efficient way of getting the heavy/big stuff moved.

Fast and effective packing. Jason G and his crew did a great job packing our 2 bedroom apartment. Looking forward to tomorrow's move which I'm confident will go just as well.

It went well. Their prices are reasonable.

Service was fantastic. The guys showed up and got right to work. They bring certain supplies that you can use for free such as warddrobe boxes (with the metal bars so your clothes can hang inside the box) which are pretty expensive, and moving blankets, hand trucks, etc. These guys were really fast, maybe even too fast. A couple nicks here and there on furniture, but nothing too bad. They also scratched our new hardwood floors, but when the company called after the move to see how it went, I told them about that and they paid to have the floor fixed! Fantastic service. Highly recommended.

It was fantastic. They showed up with a big truck and 3 very strong men. They were super fast, and very careful. Although they have a minimum time commitment for their billing, they were able to accomplish it in the minimum. I was also able to use a $150.00 voucher for which I paid $50.00, which helped as well. I would hire them again in a minute!

It went exactly like you would want it to: quickly and easily. The movers were helpful, careful, and professional.

It was terrible. The movers did not show up on the day that they were scheduled. They said that whoever booked it forgot to put it on the schedule. It ended up causing thousands of dollars because we missed our move out date from our apartment and we missed our flight going out of the country. I am very surprised that they are marked as an “A” because we had a horrible experience. They showed up but they didn’t come the first day and then I called to try to find a crew and they say they couldn’t and they will come the next day. So they came with a rented enterprise rental truck which is not very large with a small crew of people who seem to me like they were not professional movers. They could not do full coverage insurance. When we were done, we had to make several phone calls speaking in Spanish to get my credit card authorized. It was just not professional at all.