Response from BoxCart Moving & Storage
I must say, this review is particularly disappointing, given the services this customer requested and received, and the very generous way I feel that we chose to handle this customer's account. BoxCart performed exactly the services requested; we charged only for the services we performed; and while those services were never in dispute, I proceeded to make significant monetary concessions as a show of good faith to assist this customer with the final amount of the bill. After many hours of conversations, she thanked me for my assistance and told me that there were no outstanding issues. I feel very strongly that BoxCart performed this job successfully, that we treated this customer with nothing but respect and generosity, and that this review is NOT a reflection of the actual events. If this review has you concerned about choosing BoxCart, I would ask you to please take into account the events as they unfolded, which I have presented below. After BoxCart completed this customer's move, I was presented with the following issues: 1) the cost of the move was more than originally estimated, and 2) there was some damage to her wood floors. Within minutes, I had our repair vendor contact the customer directly to schedule repairs to the floors; and I told the customer that I would review her account to determine why there was a discrepancy between the estimate and the actual charges. I then called the estimator and the crews who performed the job to understand the scope as it was estimated and performed. Admittedly, this customer and I played phone tag several times...while certainly not an excuse, I was in the midst of a family health emergency which required much of my time outside the office; therefore, I gave this customer my cell phone number to reach me, if I was not available at the office. Upon review of the actual services performed, it was clear that the scope of the job was significantly greater than the original estimate, and the additional services were requested by the customer. The original estimate was provided over the phone, which is industry-standard for the type of move the customer requested. The estimate was for BoxCart to load the contents of the customer's apartment into storage containers, store the goods in our warehouse, then deliver and unload into a new apartment a week later. The estimate assumed that this customer intended to do all the packing herself (with the exception of a few pictures and lamps she needed us to pack). This original estimate was approximately $850 for the load into storage (including the minimal packing requested) and $750 for the unload into the new apartment (total $1,600). At the last minute, the customer informed us that she had not been able to pack a significant portion of her apartment and asked if we could pack it for her. This request changed the scope of the job, but was not a problem. The estimator informed her that we would bring extra supplies, and the job would simply be billed by actual time and actual materials used. We did not send a revised estimate to this customer, as it was all dependent upon how much packing the customer chose to leave for our crew to take care of. The charges presented to the customer at the end of the load day included the services originally estimated, plus $230 in additional optional insurance the customer chose that day, plus approximately $720 in additional materials and labor needed to complete the packing the customer was unable to complete herself. These services were signed off on by the customer, and the total amount invoiced was only over the original estimate by the additional $950 in services she requested. The unload into the customer's new apartment was exactly as originally estimated. I repeatedly explained the charges over the course of approximately 5 different phone calls, and given the fact that we had performed exactly as requested, I told the customer that I was at a loss as to what remedy she was expecting us to provide. She stated that she did not expect to have to pay anything over the original estimate. After hours of phone conversations, I sincerely just wanted this situation to be resolved, so I suggested the following remedy, and this was agreed-upon by the customer: 1) I would absorb the cost of the furniture repair which should have been her responsibility, given her choice of insurance ($400) 2) I would refund the premium she paid for insurance ($230) 3) I would refund 1 hour of labor from the load day ($185) Total concessions = $815, bringing the entire cost of her job to within $120 of the original estimate. Given the ill-will this customer is trying to create, I regret not only the unwarranted monetary concessions that I made, but more importantly, the time and energy I spent attempting to assist this customer when there were more pressing issues I should have been attending to, both business-wise and with my family. If you have any questions about this particular job, the way I chose to handle it, or any concerns about BoxCart in general, I would be more than happy to discuss them with you! Please don't hesitate to call me at the office at: (703) 263-3300. Sincerely, Amy Stowell Vice President