moving drama

If you haven't heard the drama with my movers, there's a lot you've missed, most of it ugly.  It basically boils down to "Heidi was an idiot and had to sign a contract that basically screwed her over."

Then I got a customer satisfaction survey in my email.  Lets see how that went.

"

Dear BLACK,HEIDI: Thank you for choosing E-Z Movers, Inc. for your moving needs! As a valued customer, your opinions about your recent moving experience are extremely important to us. We will have our Customer Service Department contact you as soon as possible regarding your issues. E-Z Movers, Inc. wants to help you make your moving experience a better one.  Thank you for sharing your time and opinions with us.    Sincerely,    Genave Daniel  Marketing Director,   E-Z Movers, Inc. Below is the copy of the submitted survey: 09/20/2010 03:07 PM ARONS,JOSHUA: A = Excellent B = Good C = Fair D = Bad F = Lousy A B C  D F *Overall Experience: F *Price: F *Quality: F *Responsiveness: F *Punctuality: F *Professionalism: F *Would you use this company/individual again in the future?: No The questions in this section are optional. Before you skip it, remember that other customers will appreciate having this information. How much did the final cost compare to the original estimate? higher than estimate How does the value of the work compare to the price? I paid too much How far in advance did you schedule the work? 1-2 weeks How did you find our company? website Why did you choose this company? other: price  Have you used this company before? this is the first time I've used this company What did you like most about this company?  nothing! What did you like least about this company?  unpunctual, unprofessional, unhelpful, unwilling to negotiate. The contract is written in a way that removes all liability from the moving company which is very sneaky and dishonest. What surprises came up during the course of the work?  the movers did not speak english well, the time it took to deliver, the full-size 18-wheeler in the middle of an old, crowded downtown, broken electronics, broken furniture, horrible contract. What words of advice would you give other customers considering this company? It took them over two weeks to even arrive from Toledo, OH to Savannah, GA. The movers, drivers, and dispatchers did not speak English very well at all and I had trouble understanding them at every turn. They did not even properly convey that they were going to bring an 18-wheeler into the heart of downtown Savannah. (A full-size semi does not fit in most downtowns, much less a very old one like Savannah). They did not have directions to my place and had to call me, then refused to believe me when I told them where to go. They parked on the street blocking traffic and did not even try to park in the empty lot or in the lane I live on, and tried to tell me it was my fault that they had run their semi into a telephone pole and broken the transformer and done other damage. They then refused to carry my stuff further than 75 feet without an extra $300 in cash, and would not even bill me later. (I'm pretty sure they saw that I lived on the second floor and decided they didn't want to even negotiate.) After they measured out their 75 feet, they dumped all of my stuff in the alley by the garbage cans, using the excuse of "company policy" for all of their unhelpfulness, forcing me to find anyone willing to help to carry my stuff with me. They broke several items and repackaged some of my stuff into large boxes, making it much heavier. They were extremely discourteous, dishonest, unreliable, unhelpful, untimely, and unprofessional. I would not recommend these movers to even my worst enemy. What words of advice would you give this company? Customer service should be an important part of your business strategy. The fastest way to lose customers is to ignore it. That being said, it surprises me you have anyone willing to use your company.  Thank you for your time spent here making our company a better business." Now, lets hear their reply after this was received: "We regret you were dissatisfied with the contracted services provided for your move to Georgia. We appreciate the opportunity to review the circumstances of your move and take a stance regarding this matter. We disclosed to you that all deliveries outside of a Chicagoland area require access for semis. We do consolidated shipping which means your shipment is not the only one on the truck and to make the most efficient use of our resources we utilize 53' semi trucks. This was disclosed to you in writing not only prior to the move within the Confirmation but on the day of the move in two different documents you reviewed and signed. When access for a semi is not possible we must either rent a smaller truck or carry the shipment much further than the contracted distance of 75'. For your delivery the distance was 250' - more than 3x the contracted allotted distance. After speaking with the driver he stated that you wanted him to park in an alley since the low hanging cables and trees prevented a safe scenario for the truck to park directly in front of your home. To illustrate what type of damage a low hanging cable or tree can cause the driver told you of the previous delivery in which he did not heed the hazard of low hanging wires. I have attached a picture of that delivery to show you what can happen when we ignore our experience. On this particular delivery when the truck backed up to leave the wire caught under the back fin of the cab tearing down the wire, the utility pole and the transformer. We can not risk this type of damage and when the hazards prevent themselves we must resort to long carries or shuttles. We were in no way blaming you for the circumstances of the delivery before yours in which this damage happened and hope you can understand that we must resort to safe alternatives when such hazards are presented. These hazards can cause not only physical damage to our truck and to other people's properties but also health concerns had the wires been exposed and someone electrocuted by them. This is where the small lot that you spoke of was located, however, the alley was too small to access as well. We were forced to resort to the long carry option. You did not want to pay for the fee of $75/100 cf ($150) and therefore the foreman had the shipment carried the contracted 75' and you agreed to be responsible to carry them the remaining distance. We regret you were unhappy, however, we feel that asking our crew to carry a shipment 250' as a good faith gesture is unreasonable. We wish you the best of luck in your new home and ventures." We regret you were dissatisfied?  But we're not going to do shit about it? I think my friend was right - I shoudl just take this to 4chan . . . .  My reply:  " It is not simply that they would not carry it, it is that I asked if they could bill me later, and they refused.  I do not carry large amounts of cash on me and would not have been able to pay, but requested to be billed.  They would not allow this at all, and in fact, seemed to want to blame the incident when they ran their truck into the power transformer on me! It would also be helpful if your crews had a better grasp of the English language.  I understand that it is a difficult language, especially as a second language, but their accents were so thick I had a very hard time understanding their words.  It is very hard to do business when you cannot understand what someone is saying. Next, there is only a minimal difference between 75' and 250' when you have dollies - which they did - it takes only a small amount more energy to wheel something the further distance. Finally, many items were broken or damaged due to the move - a bookshelf was broken beyond repair, a deep gouge was made in a dining room table, and an expensive piece of electronics was broken.  It seems the "feather" in your "gentle as a feather" slogan actually refers to a half-ton granite boulder.   Thank you for your excuses.  I look forward to never moving with you again." But let this be a lesson to you all.  E-Z movers is not a company to be trusted.  Do not use them.   Just another page in the unfortunate life lessons of Heidi.