Big Al's Specialty Movers Inc

This sounds like an easy job, but it wasn't. We knew it would be difficult before they came and told the person in the office what the problems were. Given the difficulty of the job, we thought the price was fair. The clearance up the stairway is about 2 inches greater than the smallest dimension of the piano. A grand piano is extremely heavy, but because of the small clearance, the movers could not use their dolly and had to carry the piano up the stairs by hand. The movers were clearly strong enough to do this without complaint. Then the piano had to be moved around several corners to get it in the correct position. Of course, the legs and cover had to be removed prior to moving the piano. These things had be put on after getting the piano to its new place. They did everything expertly. The movers clearly had a lot of experience moving pianos.At no time were we concerned that the piano or anything else in the house would be damaged. In addition, the crew was extremely friendly. I recommend this company with no reservations.

My 6-foot grand piano needed to be moved from our old house to our new house. We wanted the piano to be moved upstairs. However, I was concerned that moving a large grand up our L-shaped stairway might not be feasible, so had an alternative, downstairs location picked out in advance (though I had not told them I had an alternative location). When the move was scheduled, the office told me the movers would arrive sometime between 10:00 and noon and that they would call about 30 min. prior to their arrival. On the day of the move, instead of waiting for them to call, I called Big Al's to get a better idea of when they would be arriving, as I was working that day and had other tasks on my agenda. They estimated about 1 hour. That was a very good estimate, as they actually arrived exactly 1 hour after my call. I could tell that they had a lot of experience moving grand pianos, because hardly a word was spoken among them as they prepared my piano for moving. They had special gear and padding for a grand piano. They handled it with great care! When we arrived at the new house, Al evaluated the stairway and said that he was afraid they might break one of the stair steps because each step had a wide overhang. He was also very concerned about the 90-degree turn and narrow stairway, and wasn't certain whether they could get the piano around that turn. I told him I didn't mind it if one of the stair steps broke, but was more concerned about the piano -- and the men moving it. We discussed the pros and cons of moving the piano up the stairs. I really appreciated his straightforwardness. He told me that one way to get the piano upstairs was to take it apart and then put it back together, but that would cost more and he couldn't guarantee that the piano would be put back together properly. I asked him for his confidence level in regard to moving the piano upstairs (without taking it apart), and he was pretty straight with me when he said, and quot;Do you mean -- Am I feeling lucky today?and quot; I decided that moving the piano upstairs was not a risk I wanted to take, and showed them the alternative location for the piano downstairs. Our new house is on acreage, with wooden porches (not as sturdy as cement). They drove the truck up to the back porch and made sure they had a sturdy platform for transferring the piano from the truck, over the porch, and into the house. They were also super careful to avoid damaging our new bamboo flooring. They reduced the cost of the move since they did not move the piano upstairs. I am glad I had Big Al's move the piano. I could tell they had the necessary experience to tell whether something was too risky and were up front with me about it. They treated my piano and my house with utmost care. I will definitely call them again!

Vicky, who did the scheduling was very nice and helpful and made every effort to have the furniture delivered in a few days, as needed. I explained that the desk will be stored for a few months at across the street by one of our neighbors so no re-assebly would be required (which save them time). She told me that in this case the furniture will be wrapped in paper and that I will be charged for it separately. The timing for the pickup and delivery was changed the day before the move to accommodate consolidation of their deliveries. Luckily everyone involved was able to accommodate the change. We could not be at the location for the pickup but someone from the office where the pickup took place was assigned to be the contact and represent us. The delivery happened within the two hour window, as promised. The staff was polite and professional. The reason for the Cs has to do with the following: - the furniture was wrapped with plastic foil, not paper. As it was after the fact we didn't think it was a major issue particularly since the desk appeared to be in good shape. The lead mover asked if the A/C will be on in the basement where the furniture was moved and the lady of the house said yes. After they left, it occurred to me that this was a and quot;strangeand quot; question. I looked the topic up on the web and I learned that wrapping the furniture and particularly storing in with plastic wrap on it is a no-no as the slightest bit of condensation can cause detrimental damage to fine leather or finished wood surfaces.... We had to go back to the neighbor and do lifting to be able to unwrap the furniture. This should have never happened and we should have been told about the reason for the question re. A/C. If told about it, we would have requested to have the plastic removed instead of having to the lifting and removing. - after the pieces of the furniture where moved in I was told by the lead mover that in fact one of them was damaged before the pickup but fortunately such that when everything will be re-assembled it will not show. I would have expected the movers to show the contact person the problem and make a note of it as otherwise one doesn't know when the the damage happened... I believe that this is part of a standard moving process.. I reported the above to Big Al's and they apologized and told me that the above will be discussed w. the staff... If ever again needed, I might consider using them in the future conditionally (if they would provide up-front a capture of everything that we agree that will happen, etc.). I would hope for a better experience.

They scheduled us right when we needed it so that worked out. They did a really good job! Absolutely no damage to the piano during the move. They got it done in a few hours.

It went a lot faster than I expected. I needed to relocate my 700 Lb. safe within the residence. We have laminated flooring and were having the last room done. This was the room with the safe. I was scared to try to move it (with friends of course) across the floor. Big Al's assured me that they could do It. I was to meet them at my house around 10:00 AM during my morning break. Well they came 20 minutes early and had it done before I got home. They were just finishing up when I arrived. Whew! That was one less thing to worry about during this project. I will definitely use this company again.

The crew worked very swiftly and carefully to move our furniture and boxes. They did a wonderful job putting things into place in our new home.

Absolutely great. The three gentlemen were on time, efficient, careful, quiet, polite. I hired them twice because the first time they moved a piano for me....VERY carefully. This time, during total move out, my family and friends had assorted back, knee, hand problems. These guys treated every piece carefully. Move was complicated by items belonging to 4 different persons. some stuff went to garage, some to condo, some to condo garage, etc. Didn't phase them a bit. They didn't even bat an eye when I changed my mind on something, necessitating them carrying it back upstairs and to the garage.

They did an excellent job. Herman's crew is fabulous. They were professional, had a sense of humor and worked diligently to assure everything arrived at the new place in tact.

I am giving them the highest rating. They were efficient and friendly. They seem to care. They were careful.

From my first contact with the front office to the pick-up and subsequent delivery of my baby grand and mattress/box springs from Portland to Incline Village/Lake Tahoe I was duly impressed and very pleasantly surprised with the professionalism and care taken with my treasures! The gentlemen who did the actual moving were friendly, well groomed and very competent. Not once was I concerned with how my piano would survive the move to storage and eventual transport to Lake Tahoe. Upon arrival at my home in Incline, the gents made certain everything was in order before actual unloading of the piano and its placement in my family room. I can't speak highly enough of Big Al's consummate professionalism!! A++

I highly recommend this company. They moved our office. This was not an easy move because our office was located on the second floor of a building that had no elevator. This required heavy furniture be moved down a steep, narrow flight of stairs. They were very careful--every piece of furniture was carefully wrapped in plastic wrap to prevent any scratches. Everything arrived at our new location without a scratch. Every employee I encountered in this company-- from the front office people who schedule the move to the men who actually moved our office were hard working, highly professional, and genuinely pleasant. The men who moved us worked quickly yet carefully. If you ever need someone to move--be it your home or your office--you will not find a better mover than Big Al's Specialty Movers.

This is the second time we have used Big Al's to move a piano. Highly recommend. They are professional, courteous and helpful. - Very careful with hardwood floors - On-time - Gave me a call 30 minutes before they picked up the piano and 30 minutes before they were able to deliver it. This is VERY unusual in my experience, to have the technicians actually follow-through with calling the customer before they will be there. Recently I have used a plumber, electrician and window washer for our rental units. Each service I asked multiple times to call me 30 minutes prior to arrival and for the technician on-site to call me with the diagnostic information. NONE of them and quot;rememberedand quot; - which is an extremely poor business practice - and just plain discourteous to the customer. Their respective offices didn't and quot;rememberand quot; nor did the on-site technicians. I can count on Al's that when their office gets information (times to call, credit card info, specialty moving information, etc.), that information will be relayed and acted upon by the movers. Seems as if they have the systems in place - and they care. - Great with dogs - Professional - all three movers shook my hand and thanked me. - Great attitudes - the movers seemed to enjoy their job - which is a great sign. - Great Customer Service - 1) I got the vacuum out to vacuum the back of the piano before they put it in place against the wall, and one of the movers offered to do it for me - and did:) 2) I had mentioned a concern earlier that I didn't want the padding to show underneath the piano wheels because it was ugly (the padding to protect the hardwood floors), so they automatically cut it down to a smaller size so it wasn't noticeable - without me having to ask directly.

Very smooth. They showed up on time. protected my floors, moved the piano expertly and safely. They were polite.

Four movers... extremely polite, very careful, protected walls and furniture, hard workers, stayed on task, a job well done! These movers were phenomenal! Would definitely use them again for a big or small move!

I bought a lovely but very large, heavy and fragile china cabinet from an ad in Craigslist, and had no way of getting it to my house. So based on the positive reviews on Angie's List and Yelp, I decided to try Big Al's movers. They gave me the estimate on the phone, and while I thought it was a bit on the pricey side and especially considering they were charging for 3 guys instead of just 2 like other movers had quoted me for less, I didn't want to afford to take any chances with damage to the china cabinet since it was being picked up without me being present, so I had to make sure the movers were going to be reliable and careful. I can't say enough nice things about Ivan the crew leader, he called the person at the pickup location as scheduled, then he called me when they had picked up the item and were on their way, told me when to expect their ETA, and again when they were just getting close to my house, so that I could be ready for them. That alone was great piece of mind, not to be waiting longer than expected since I had to be at work at noon it was important that they were on time. They were very professional, now I can see why it takes 3 guys and not just 2, one of them was always making sure to direct the others and keep the path clear so that my item was not bumped into anything along the way. They set it up inside for me exactly where I wanted, and were very quick, efficient and very pleasant guys to deal with. I will definitely be using them again and would highly recommend asking for Ivan and his crew! Great movers!

It was somewhat difficult to get from the condo to the place where the truck could be loaded but they did it carefully and very well. Would highly recommend Al's to anyone needing furniture moved.

From the moment of my first contact with them (which I got from Angie's List) was an excellent experience. Everyone was courteous, organized, and efficient. The office handled my call expertly and courteously. Then the movers came as scheduled, communicating with me along the way so I was ready for them. They moved the piano so that no wall was touched! They moved it efficiently but took their time to get it out the door expertly. They did an exceptional job, were friendly, courteous. I highly recommend them.

I found Big Al's on Angie's List. .....and figured a company that said they move pianos would be just the answer! They were polite, efficient, on time and did a perfect job. I would use them again, happily!

I called several places and they were the most reasonably priced. They were on time, friendly and very, very strong. They literally picked up the piano and carried it to where it needed to go to avoid damaging the new floor. I would most certainly call them again for moving needs.

Super great movers! Professional, quick and friendly!

Big Al's team was superb. The estimation process went smoothly, they confirmed everything prior to the move, and - just as they said they would - they called half an hour before arriving on the day of the move to make sure everything was ready to go. The three man team arrived right on time, were friendly and very professional. They went straight to work, carefully wrapped all the furniture in protective coverings, and had the entire apartment emptied much faster than I would have thought possible. As they arrived in Astoria with the shipment sooner than expected, and during a time period (lunch for the residents of the new assisted living facility) during which they could not move my aunt's household goods into her new apartment, they stopped the clock on their billing until the facility indicated that all was clear for them to continue. Because of this their final bill was much less than expected - or what they could have justifiably charged for their time. When they were done, they even asked if there was anything else my aunt needed done in the new apartment before they left. I will be recommending Big Al's to everyone I know and will most certainly contract them the next time I need to have my own household moved.

Went very well great service

great service. professionally and courteously moved an extremely heavy piano into our home

I made the call to order service rather late in the process of moving, but they were able to schedule me in three days later, which was perfect for my schedule. Initially, all I was looking for was moving the piano. The crew and truck arrived very nearly the early side of the time window I had been given. the driver had called in advance, so I was certain to be available. When they arrived, I added a couple items to the move, they were quite agreeable, since they charge by the hour, not the item or the pound. They were quite diligent in wrapping each item with padding to protect them as they loaded them into their truck. The initial quote was for a crew of three with a 4-hour minimum. they arrived with a crew of two, with the third person on standby. It turned out that they could safely move the piano with two, thus saving me considerable additoinal cost. I think the phone quote was based on a conservative estimate, so they were able to adjust in th emore favourable direction. When we got to the destination, they made several creative attempts to get the piano in the back room where I wanted it, but when it got to the matter of taking out the door I decided the amount of work required would create a problem if I ever wanted to move it out of that room, so we placed it in an easier to reach location. At no time did I feel any hesitancy from the crew; if anything they seemed a little disappointed that I decided to not let them make my original plan happen... All the other expectations were there, clean equipment, correct equipment, tidy and respecful crew.

Big Al's called in advance as they were running ahead of schedule, which worked for us. Three men arrived to handle the job. All were courteous and professional. Their drive from our house to the Oregon City residence was approx. 25 minutes. We would certainly us them again.