Deciding on mover for interstate move is hard

[silibran]

Thanks for tip about the mattresses. We've seen 4 people so far. The first didn't write anything down, but gave a good detailed estimate. The second used a checklist, and the last 2 used IPads. The last printed off the estimate on a portable printer. So, we saw everything in that regard.

We've learned a lot from each visit, but we are leaning toward one company. But I feel this is so subjective. On the other hand, I also believe in paying attention to one's gut feelings.

[silibran]

We've chosen our mover. It boiled down to their ability to move a car for us with a minimum of hassle, as well our household. The big movers came in very close to each other pricewise. We chose a local firm that has been in business for a very long time. We thought the salesperson/estimator was very professional.

We should be beginning our move one month from today.

[silibran]

We used United Van Lines via a local mover, A. Mrazek of St. Louis. The move is not completed; my furniture is in storage at present, but it looks as if we will be in a house late next month, with furniture to come perhaps 3 weeks later.

So far customer service has been excellent. As I have mentioned elsewhere, a major factor in our choice of a mover was their ability to facilitate the shipping of our second car. This was major for us. Packers worked hard and did, apparently, a great job. We'll find out definitively when the stuff is unpacked. I trusted them to pack some valuable and/or fragile items. They had to crate several pieces, and it was interesting to see how that was done.

We asked a million questions early on, and we talked to the customer service person assigned to us many times. They have done everything we expected so far. I'd recommend A. Mrazek to any StL resident needing to move.

To others getting ready for a move, and who are using a mover, I recommend talking to multiple movers. Ask the same questions of all, and pay attention to what they tell you. It is worth doing this, because you will get good info and tips from each of them. Check the BBB ratings too. Good luck to anyone else just starting on this journey.

[sll3454]

We got estimates from Atlas, Mayflower, and Allied. They were all pretty close. Then we discovered that Atlas and Mayflower now have containers (SmartVaults), so we decided to check those prices. Mayflower couldn't go to our destination, so we tried Atlas Smartmoves. We ended up getting the move for half the price of the regular van.

Things that helped us make the decision:

1. The movers load the vaults with us present. We lock the vaults and they are left locked until they reach our new home, where we unlock them and they are unloaded in our presence. I didn't like the idea of our stuff being transferred from truck to storage, figuring that movers may not be as careful with owners not present. (Also, the fewer "loadings" the better.)

2. Our stuff is not mixed with anyone else's stuff in any way, at any time.

3. We are not charged extra for storage. They will keep the stuff for up to 28 days at no extra cost, and after that it costs $3 per vault per day. They can store much cheaper because they don't have to unload and reload the stuff.

4. We had done our own packing, but we still got the advantage of having professionals prepare our furniture for the trip. They wrapped it in plastic, then in the furniture pads.

5. They bring the vaults on a big truck, but they bring a forklift and can set the vaults down wherever it's convenient. (Our driver chose not to come down the driveway, but they brought the vaults right down to the door.)

What we didn't know until loading day was that the Atlas movers assigned to us (Paxton Van Lines in Charlotte, NC) would do an excellent job. They did. So on the Charlotte end, Atlas gets our recommendation.

What we still don't know is what kind of service we will get at our destination. We'll find out next week.

[SergeL]

Originally Posted by SergeL

Moving from MD to TX. So, looks like I have to do at least 2 overnights...

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk 2

Our trip took 4 days. VA and TN were slow ride, too many hills and big truck can't go fast uphill. Then there was a straight shot through Arkansas and Texas. I would not recommend to go beyond 450 miles per day.

[silibran]

You can't always have stuff put right into the vaults. In our case, a van would not negotiate our driveway. Our things had to be transferred. Otherwise, the procedure was the much the same. They offered to allow us to witness the weighing and I think we could have also witnessed the "interment" but it was not convenient.

There should never be any mixing of possessions. That's why stuff is placed in "vaults." In fact, if you suddenly realize you need something, it can be difficult having someone retrieve it, because of the way it is stored.

When our possessions come to us in a few weeks, we will have an inventory list to check off as our things are unloaded.

Mayflower was not interested in giving us a quote, because we thought would need Saturday packing, and they charge overtime to do this. The rep wouldn't even talk to us when he found out about the Saturday packing. As it turned out, closing was changed, and packing was done during the middle of the week.

[sll3454]

Update on Atlas SmartVaults: overall we were satisfied. The destination unloading team was not as good as the loaders from Charlotte, but they did okay. We would use SmartMoves again.

[silibran]

Update on my move. We received our furniture about three weeks ago. The local movers were fine and they had our possessions out and in the house or garage (per our direction) in about 4 hours.

We had some concerns about our hardwood floors, which have not had time to totally cure after refinishing. They put our dining table together on top of a tarp, and we put self stick flannel pads on each leg before the table and chairs were set in place.

The origination mover (A Mrazek of St. Louis, a United Van Lines mover) had excellent packers. We have unpacked most everything and I am completely pleased with the care shown and the condition the items arrived in. We have not unpacked all of our paintings and art, or all of my mother's china. But so far, what we have unpacked has come through unscathed.

The only problem we have had is with DH's computer. It had problems, and he took it to Geek Squad where the software had to be reinstalled. I don't know the terminology anymore, but they had to reformat the hard drive because it didn't work. Luckily, DH had backed everything up! He is in the process of getting the computer back to where it was, and I think we are over this hump. (We had used a laptop for 5 months and had the computer in storage with the furniture. It was packed in its original packing, and that box was packed in another, larger box by the packing crew.)

I understand the dilemmas of those of you who have to move on a shoestring. If you must pack all your stuff (I packed quite a bit of my stuff, but not my high value or breakable things.) err on the side of over padding. Use more smaller boxes, rather than larger boxes, whenever possible. If you own things which have value, or which are very meaningful for you, consider having packing pros pack for you.

I wish all of you the best of luck in your impending moves. I hope some of my posts here have been helpful. I gained a lot from reading in this thread. Thanks to all who posted.