Response from Mr. Mover of Ohio Inc
Angie's List After reading this complaint myself, I read the entire text to each man individually over the phone or in person and asked each one of them to respond to the allegations directed at the crew. Not one of the men had any knowledge of any problems between any of the crew members. No one heard any arguing, complaining, or sensed any tension at all. I have all of their individual statements on file. Please keep in mind that these are the same men who have completed countless moves for me and not one customer complaint has ever been made against any of these men. The bulk of this anger seems to be directed at one individual. This individual was referred to by one of the other men in his interview as the customer's "buddy." He said they grew up in the same area and knew the same people. He is also the man who took the treadmill apart. The work order did clearly state that the customer was responsible for dismantling the treadmill. I asked him why he took the treadmill apart and he told me the customer started to dismantle it but laid it over and part of the plastic cracked so he asked if he could take it apart for him (one of the other men said he begged him to help). He said he knew he could do it and was just trying to keep the customer happy. This is also the same man the customer asked to build bunk beds out of two twin beds because the room was too small for two twins. This is the same man he accused of letting his cat out of his backyard when he moved the grill and who helped him look for the cat around the neighborhood and eventually found it in the back yard under the deck. The estimate did not include any time for dismantling the treadmill or setting up bunk beds (approximately $100.00). One of his other great concerns is that this man does not presently work for us fulltirne. We explained to him when he brought this up originally that he was a fulltime employee but this business is very seasonal and it's very difficult to make a living from November to April. However, the weekends remain busy. So, instead of filing for unemployment, this man works three jobs which I find very commendable. At the new location, there were steps up to the front door, they were fairly steep and somewhat hard to navigate so they backed the truck up so the unloading ramp rested on the front porch. The steps were never an issue. One man said in his interview that unloading was a "piece of cake." When the move was completed, not only did the supervisor not refuse to call in for the correct price, he made the call right in front of the customer (a record of the call is on both phones). He spoke with Judy who is our operations manager, who had the estimate with her, expecting his call. She gave him the charges but did quote them incorrectly ($51.00 higher than the guaranteed price). She apologized to the customer the next day and certainly did not do it on purpose. If the customer had not cancelled his check, he would have received a call from our accounting department because there was no explanation on the work order for the additional money collected. A refund would have been sent out. The supervisor on this job is also the driver. It is the responsibility of the driver to wrap and pad furniture and load the truck so he rarely comes into the house. When the customer asked about noting damage on the work order, he would naturally inquire as to what needed to be noted and certainly not in a smart allec way, as the customer implied. I've known this man for twelve years and he is respectful, humble, hardworking man who has never had a customer complaint. I would not hesitate to have him move Angie, herself. During this man's interview, he stated that (member name removed) did not come to him one time with any concerns or complaints about his move or any of the crew. He also said, as did every other man on the crew that the customer seemed very pleased until it came time to pay the bill. Finally, the most serious complaint is the allegation of theft. There was a small bag of clothing and a pair of boots lying in a hallway, along with a variety of other loose items that needed to be packed. The supervisor explained to the customer that it needed to be moved for our access. The customer commented that it was just items to be donated and one of the men inquired about a pair of boots. The supervisor and one other crew member who witnessed the conversation, both said the customer indicated that he could have what he wanted. During the course of the move, the bag was loaded along with everything else. When the truck was unloaded, the supervisor set the bag aside. When the move was completed, the supervisor informed (Member name removed) that the bag was on the truck and confirmed with him that he had given it to the other crew member. At that point the customer said he did not give it to him and he wanted it back for a tax deduction. He then said "what else did you steal" and ran upstairs. When he came back down, the bag was handed to him, he looked in it and said everything was still there. Customers give our movers everything under the sun. It is company policy to confirm what the customer has given away so we write it on the work order and have the customer initial it. We do this just to avoid a situation like this one.The following is a timeline of e-mails from (Member name removed), our replies, and the essence of two meetings between (Member name removed) and two company representatives. It is a condensed version, but I believe it will be very enlightening. Saturday, 12/28/13 Moved (Member name removed) E-mail sent by (Member name removed), stating he had damage, had stopped payment on his check, accused man of theft, and said he would pay in full, less the cost of the damages. Sunday, 12/29/13 Called (Member name removed), damages sounded severe to wall and carpet. Met (Member name removed) at old residence, found very minor wall damage. Inspected stairs and said we could have them cleaned Monday, 12/30/13. Took pictures of the stairs, no mud or loose dirt, just normal wear. (Member name removed) said he had small carpet cleaner and would clean stairs himself. Judy said to save receipts for supplies, we would pay. Asked about basement stairs and the rest of the carpet, customer said just stairs. She still inspected remainder of the house with customer. No mention of problems with the crew but did bring up theft. Judy's impression, nice, pleasant, happy she came out. Monday, 12/30/13 12:42 pm Received e-mail from (Member name removed) questioning ability to repair. 3:04 pm Sent e-mail, reassuring (Member name removed) that repairs could be made and repairman could see him on Thursday, 1/2/14. 3:24 pm Received e-mail, not going to pay now and wanted bill reduced. Scheduled repairman for 1/3/14. Friday, 1/3/14 1:00 pm Company rep and repairman went to residence, inspected damage. Rep's impression, pleasant, nice, down played damage. No mention of problems with the crew. 4:24 pm E-mail to (Member name removed), informed him we found replacement parts for two damaged items, two other items would be repaired, and two items would be replaced. Total amount of repairs and replacements: $266.50. Should be able to complete repairs the following week. 6:10 pm Received e-mail wanting money for desk, $566.00, which could be repaired for $25.10. Three pages, complaining about everything possible. Said he filed a complaint with BBB. There is no logical progression from happy at 1:00, when meeting with our rep, to filing BBB complaint 4 ~ hours later. Monday, 1/6/14 Got confirmation that desk part was shipped and would arrive 1-2 days. Thursday, 1/9/145:25 pm E-mail from (Member name removed) saying that since he had not heard from us yet, concluded that we were not going to fix his furniture. His solution was "we part ways, this ends, you fix nothing, I pay nothing, we never speak again. I will drop BBB complaint." Monday, 1/13/14 E-mail to (Member name removed), received notice from Fed-Ex, desk parts delayed but we did receive them this afternoon, can install tomorrow or at your earliest convenience. Attached Fed-Ex notice. E-mail from (Member name removed), "no one is setting foot near my furniture until I know what the final price will be and what you are going to fix and replace./I Tuesday, 1/14/14 E-mail to (Member name removed), restating exactly what we e-mailed him on 1/3/14, along with the price which would be the quoted price of $1701.00, or the difference, less the items to be repaired or replaced. Wednesday, 1/15/14 E-mail from (Member name removed), rejecting our plan and offering to pay $944.00. Thursday, 1/16/14 (Member name removed) filed Angie's List complaint. Informed (Member name removed), bye-mail, we requested legal, binding arbitration through the BBB. Thursday, 1/23/14 Received e-mail from (Member name removed), agreeing to pay $1484.50, exactly the proposal we made on 1/3/14, which is the quoted price of $1701.00 less the items to be replaced. Lastly, all of the items damages, except the bunk bed rail, were made of pressed wood. This type of furniture is prone to pulling apart at joints and breaking because it is not structurally made to be moved after it has been assembled. For this reason, we exclude this type of furniture from our damage coverage (most other moving companies do as well), unless it is completely dismantled by the customer. This is stated in our policy and procedures, and these two lines are the only two lines written in red. A copy of this was e-mailed to (member name removed) one week before his move. Even though we had no responsibility to repair this furniture, we were still willing to do so to satisfy our customer.