Empire Piano Movers

We purchased a baby grand piano from the owner who was my close friend for years. The piano had a very nice bench which the owner had purchased, paying close to $1,000. Empire Piano Movers picked up the piano and the bench from the owner. No paperwork was given. While they stored the piano at their storage, they lost the bench. On the day when the piano was going to arrive at my place, Mr. Stephen Swancer from Empire Piano Movers called me at 4am. He said there was no bench. He said there was no bench from the beginning. Eventually the piano came without the bench. Empire Piano Movers claim that they didn't pick up the bench. Empire Piano Movers claim that they have never lost a bench in their business. If you look at how they do business, you will see they will easily lose one. They do everything still in paper. If you call them, it will take 5 minutes for them to find their own paperwork on you.

it went very smoothly.

Steve and his crew showed up on time and moved the piano with ease. They have the right equipment and the knowledge required to overcome any obstacle. They were courteous and did the job in accordance with the price quoted over the phone. I would definitely use this company again.

No problems, they ran a little later than originally estimated but other than that, it went without a hitch.

I inherited a nearly 100 year old upright player piano that had been in my father's basement since 1967. I remember that it was extremely difficult getting it IN the basement and knew it was going to be even more difficult getting it OUT. The guys at Empire were definitely up to the task. The player mechanism, and the solid wood construction, make this piano extremely heavy. The only ways out of the basement both involved very narrow right angle turns. With only two guys to work with, they had to make several attempts, but wouldn't give up. They were going to get that thing out of there. Somehow they were able to negotiate that very tight angle, out the back door, and get that monster up the stairs. These guys worked their tails off to get that thing out. Fortunately, the delivery on the other end was much less challenging. I had requested an online estimate, via the Empire website, which worked very well, and I thought the resulting estimate was very reasonable. When it came time to schedule the move, Steve was very responsive, and easy to work with. We set a time for the move, and Steve called me in advance of their arrival, so I could meet them at the house. They were prompt and very professional, both very nice guys, and very helpful. This move was temporary, as my daughter will be taking the piano when she moves into a house that can hold it. I told Steve I would definitely be calling him back when the time comes to move it again. I would definitely recommend Empire to others.

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The guys from Empire arrived towards the end of the scheduled appointment window... which in itself was a small miracle, since this happened right after a winter weather event that had left the whole area in traffic chaos for the previous twleve hours! Extra kudos for not cancelling or rescheduling on us. They had their work cut out for them: Our upright piano (heavy, steel frame) needed to be moved out of our condo and into a nearby storage unit, from a third floor room through a very narrow staircase. Even though they ended up having to carry and balance the piano on its end to fit it around the tight turns they made it look almost easy. Everything was handled very efficiently and quickly. No collateral damage, either to the piano or the building. Lots of moving pads were used to protect everything. Getting the piano into the storage unit on the other end of the trip was easy, since it was ground level and accessible by dolly. I've had this piano handled by "regular" movers before (who had always assured me that they knew how to handle a piano)... and the results were usually dangerous and disastrous. Better to leave the pianos to the pros!

Our experience with Empire Piano movers was very satisfactory. I would hire them again.

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I purchased a grand piano that required delivery and set up in my home. The coordination of the actual appointment time was very easy as this was completed by the piano dealer themselves. The good news is that Empire was willing to accommodate my terrifically complicated schedule. I picked the date and a pretty narrow time window and they made it happen. I was provided a cell phone number for the owner of the company to ensure that I had good lines of communication. His phone mailbox was full and I could not leave a message, but he returned a text message in less than 5 minutes. I much prefer to text anyway, so this made life simpler for me. Two guys delivered this massive piano and set it up EXACTLY where I wanted it and made absolutely certain that it was positioned exactly how I wanted it. They educated me on the climate control system and made sure I had no other questions I would hope that I don't have to move this beast of an instrument any time in the future, but I assure you that I would not hesitate for a moment to hire their services again in future. In short, they are professional, courteous, detail oriented and their prices are very reasonable. Thank you guys!

Steve and his crew were very adept and professional. The piano arrived in excellent condition and I can't say enough good things about Empire Piano Movers.

They showed up within their scheduled window and they did a good job. They were knowledgeable on how to dismantle and move our baby grand piano and they were careful. Best of all, they had the lowest quote for the move. I would consider them again if we ever need to move our piano locally in the future (hopefully not!)

They denied it saying it was in poor condition. When I asked the company to show their insurance paperwork, they didn't show me these documents. I took photos before the moving and hired a piano technician to inspect this piano. The owner of the piano company, Stephen Swancer said I didn't have the video of the scene to prove the dropping and he refused to admit that his employees damaged my piano. He said he would hire a piano technician to come to see this piano, but nobody showed up. His company's name is on the DO NOT USE LIST of three piano stores or colleges. They are Downtown Piano Works in Frederick, MD, Jasons Piano Warehouse and Peabody Institute in Baltimore

Empire had the best quote - but by only $5. They were quick to accept the job on short notice. However, they said they would call me 30 minutes prior to arrival. I got a call after they had loaded the piano in the truck. I complained about scratches on the piano at delivery but they were quick to deny. I complained in an email to the owner, only to get a call from him to tell me that it is impossible that they caused the scratches. He proceeded to tell me that they move pianos for all the major dealers in town, and they are careful, etc. He wouldn't listen to me and was quick to dismiss my complaint. I really don't know why he called me back because all he did was tell me how good they are. All I know is after they delivered my piano, I had wished I hired someone else. I know my piano didn't have this many scratches on the finish.

I had been trying to sell or donate my ancient upright piano before moving out of my townhouse and had not been able to find anyone to take it. I was up against the wall in terms of time and Empire Piano Movers were able to accommodate my tight schedule, came 30 minutes earlier than what they had estimated (which was great for my schedule) and treated the piano with respect, despite being a haul away.

I contracted with Empire Piano Movers to move a piano that was being given to me as a gift. They had been recommended, so I went with them despite a slow response time on email. Unfortunately, that was a big mistake. They said they could do the move on Saturday and would call me on Friday with a time frame. By the mid-afternoon on Friday they had not emailed or called, so I called them. The owner, who picked up, didn't seem to have a clue who I was and said he'd call back in an hour. After two hours I emailed again and I finally heard back late on Friday evening. They were to come 5-7pm on Saturday. Saturday, at 6:30, no piano movers at my friend's house. I called - - they were running 4+ hours late. I pointed out that they could have called - - as I'd now had a friend waiting at her house for 90 minutes for no reason. They clearly could have known that they were not going to make the window. We decided to go ahead and wait for them to get to my friend's house - estimated now at 9pm. They never showed. Never called. I will be moving the piano with another company. I am so frustrated - - particularly because someone who was giving me a gift ended up having her time wasted.

They did a great job. They were very careful with our panels. I would use them in the future.