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I'm moving the contents of my home from Lexington, KY to Roswell, GA. Does anyone have any experience with Lexington movers? I'm paying for this (corporate relo expired) so I am hoping for inexpensive AND good.
After studying the BBB site and epinions.com, movers seem like a total crapshoot. You might get great movers for a pittance, or you might hire a national company and end up in court.
We're looking at Two Men and a Truck. At least there were only 2 complaints against them in the last 12 months, though I don't feel good about the choice (lots of bad stories about them in other cities).
I would really like to use someone like ABF. The only trouble is that I do not know how to pack a truck so things don't shift during a six hour trip. Having done this before in previous, smaller moves, I realize there is some skill involved. I know there are people you can hire to do that type of thing, but they seem to vary even more wildly in quality than movers do. At least with movers I can check the BBB for complaints (and find them afterward). It's also annoying when your stuff gets delayed because the people who have their stuff behind your stuff on the truck are behind schedule in unloading.
We had professional cross country movers, supposedly, but they broke a lot of things and managed to drive a hole in the floor of our new dining room through the carpet and baseboard. So good luck...
You're right in assuming that using a moving company is a crap-shoot. Every company has good crews and bad crews. Your best bet is to go with the largest moving company you can find in the area. In Lexington it would be Vincent Fister (United Van Lines.) I'm sure there are horror stories about this company too, but you have to remember that crews who work locally are paid differently than those who do long-distance moves. You always want to make sure your driver is a contractor, preferably an owner/operator.
If you plan on having them pack you also, it's going to get expensive. There is no way around that, other than doing it yourself. Don't settle for a discount of less than 60%. This can be negotiated, but 65% is the highest discount you could possibly get. Having quotes from other moving companies is helpful here.
Also, avoid having your stuff go to storage. (Make sure you have a house to move directly into.)
I just moved here from out of state and had *wonderful* movers. They also moved the people who lived in this house before me - that is how I found them.
They are: Malone Moving and Storage (859) 281 6757 (John; Chris; Kelly).
I didn't get any other quotes, but I was told they tend to be "less than half". They are also genuinely nice people.
We moved last weekend, and I was VERY HAPPY with Two Men and a Truck. Your mileage may vary, since you may get a different crew, plus Two Men is a franchise so it's not consistent between cities, but these guys were fast, very careful, worked very hard, and were nice guys, too. The estimator really was off (by 1 truck), so we were a bit nervous when they called the additional truck in. However, our quoted price did not change. We had four men and two trucks, and we still got the same price. The other great thing was that we could charge the move. This is wonderful when you have packed your checkbook (and get cash back on your credit card).
We only had them load, not pack. They did a good job loading the truck and they were $600 cheaper than the nearest competitor. Ironically, some of the moving companies that only give you space in a truck weren't all that much cheaper (maybe $1000) and it was WORTH having someone else do the heavy lifting and load the truck professionally. Plus we filled TWO of their trucks.
The only problem was that they couldn't fit everything in the two trucks, so there is a U-Haul load in our future. Still, they moved a massive amount of stuff (we went from one 2600 sq ft house to another, and there was A LOT of stuff).
Anyhow, I do recommend Two Men and a Truck for moves from Lexington! Sad to have left, but the move was a good experience.
jtrosen, I'm glad you had good luck with Two Men and a Truck, and thanks for posting about it. My boyfriend wrote that last comment under my name on here. It's always nice to hear good things about various moving companies since he's in the industry. Good luck in GA!
Forget all of these companies! There is a new Lexington moving company that a UK MBA graduate just started called Wildcat Moving - they have the best rates by far and the guys that work for them are awesome. All of them are athletic young guys with great attitudes. Ask for Blake and Mike! They are the best. Wildcat Moving is the best in Lexington!!
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