Ok, so let me say upfront that the following post is meant to serve as a "buyer beware" for any perspective client looking to move on the west coast and thinking about hiring West Coast Moving and Storage company.
Living in Portland, OR I needed to hire a moving company to move my one bedroom apartment from Oregon down to Phoenix, AZ. Well I researched a lot of companies and found the West Coast Moving and Storage came in right around the middle of estimates. Plus, they seemed very nice, and since they were a family-owned company, I thought perhaps their service would be better than a larger, corporate-crippled company. Boy, was I WRONG!!!
So first of all, the company quoted me about $1300 to move my stuff. Hah!!! Well, when the movers FINALLY showed up on my move-out date - first they were supposed to call me 24 hours in advance to confirm - they did not. Then when the finally called, they said they'd be there in about an hour. Well, 4 hours later, they finally showed up... AND, one of the movers spent about 15 minutes in my bathroom - god knows what he was doing. Well, I had everything all packed and organized neatly so it didn't take them very long to load my stuff. But, not before tacking on more than 300$ of extra fees! Let's see - first there was $150 for shrinkwrapping my couch and dresser, and a mattress cover for my bed, then there was another $75 for my flight of stairs (mind you, they advertise the first flight is free - HAH! (in the small print one flight is only 8 stairs)). And another $75 for having to allegedly carry my stuff more than 75 feet.
So then, the crooks, I mean West Coast Movers - said that my stuff could theoretically arrive in 2 days to Phoenix. Well... over THREE WEEKS LATER - my stuff finally did arrive. After being over their "10-business day" guarantee - they consented to giving me a 10% discount. Wow, how thoughtful of them! After sleeping on an air mattress and not having any of my stuff for three weeks, that was the least they could do!
So, all of this isn't even the worst part... read on prospective clients ...
Steve or Eric from West Coast said that the driver would call me 24 hours in advance to let me know an estimated drop-off time. Well, Friday morning the company calls me saying the driver is in Phoenix and will be there shortly. Yeah, nice - right. Well, I had to drop EVERYTHING i was doing at work, miss meetings, cancel others, run to the bank to pick up a cashiers check - because oh yeah, did I mention - they charge 4% on top of the final bill for using a credit or debit cards. So I get home to find the mover waiting for me. Only it's NOT West Coast Moving & Storage it is United Van Lines! The driver of United says he was contracted from West Coast as just a driver, and West Coast was supposed to send their own actual manual labor movers to actually unload and move my stuff. WELL, we waited, and they never showed, and finally called and said they are not coming because they don't want to go up the extra flight of stairs!!! But that I can pay extra to have United driver pay for hourly manual labor to help me move. Plus, that I should be charged an extra $650 to rent a shuttle to transfer my stuff from the larger freight truck into the smaller truck that can better navigate the streets of an apartment complex.
At this point, I am fuming. I told the driver I am absolutely NOT paying for manual labor, or the shuttle, and he is just going to have to figure out a way to get the truck into my apartment. I help him ease the truck in... and then I then wind up having to help the driver (who is not even a mover) move my OWN stuff (that I paid to have someone else move for me) into my apartment. The heavy stuff, like the couch, the dresser, and the bed, some random nice guy who happened to be touring the apartment complex as a prospective resident offered to help! Thank god, or else my couch and heavier furniture would probably still be outside somewhere! He was also threatening to charge me based on West Coast Moving instructions an extra $150 for long length carrying fees and an extra flight of stairs. To which I responded that I was paying NONE of the extra charges.
So, are you appalled yet? Well - it gets better. So after I spent a couple hours moving my own stuff that I paid for West Coast Movers to move for me, I was livid, and decided to call the company and let them know about what a horrible experience I had.
I called Eric or Steve - I always get them mixed up, and let him know exactly what had happened. His exact response was "it could have been worse." REALLY?!! Are you kidding me?! Is that they way they do business? Yes our moving company sucks, but you know what paying customer, it could have been worse. They should put that quote up on their website. Way to go guys - you really know how to market yourselves. Then he was like, "well, let me get this straight, because quite frankly, I don't understand why you are so upset - your stuff did arrive, and you are angry because you had to move some of your own boxes?" I was fuming, again - and was like no, that is not why I'm upset - I'm upset because I paid for someone else to do this for me, and that is NOT what I got. I had to move everything myself with the help of random good sumaritans who helped out!! He's like - it's your stuff, I'm not grasping the gravity to which you are upset! HAHAHA. These guys are great... aren't they?! Well, if I wanted to move my own stuff, I wouldn't have hired West Coast Moving & Storage to do it for me, now would I?!
So, thankfully, I wound up only having to pay around $1200 for the moving fiasco, as opposed to their original 1300 + + + which would have amounted to nearly three grand in hidden fees and extra charges they conveniently fail to mention in their initial estimate.
So, bottom line is this...beware of this company. It is poorly owned and managed, and customers will get crappy treatment, and will be lucky to get their stuff in a timly manner. Oh, and did I mention, most of my BRAND NEW BOXES look like they've been to hell in back. Oh, and be prepared to move your own stuff. Yeah, that was special.
DON'T EVER USE WEST COAST MOVING and STORAGE. Hope my terrible experience with them can serve as a warning to others.
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