Ron himself comes to the site to give estimate. He schedules 9-10 am.
Pro: on-site estimate.
Con: Ron showed up late: 10:15 am despite office is 10 minutes away. Made me late for work. Despite Ron's lateness & higher rate (easy move to 3 rooms: not much furniture, 1 small, upright piano only heavy object; not many steps either end; only 6 boxes; art; lamps; exc weather; short travel dist (7 miles), hired them. Pros: We wanted to hire minority owned & operated biz which this is. Ron made a point of asking what time we wanted movers to begin & telling me clock starts running "when movers arrive." We said 8:30 am. He agreed: 8:30 am. Called Friday before Mon move to confirm agreed upon time. Office: yes, 8:30 am!
Cons: Monday morn, no one at the house at 8:50 am. Young man calls, head of crew, name unclear: "Running late/scheduling problems. Be there 9:00 or maybe 9:30 am." (Ron's Trucking has its trucks parked minutes from our former home). Arrived late: 9 am. Head of crew, Ron's son. No name tags.
Pros: 3 crew, polite, respectful. Dressed in Ron's t-shirts. Clean truck.
Cons: Son asked inappropriate, intrusive, irrelevant questions (like dad): how long have you lived here? Ages of my children etc. Let his subordinates tell me moving problems such as a minor break); a piece for bed left, by crew, in garage of home, we moved from. We had to drive it over (quicker than them driving to our house, getting it, driving back). This mistake dragged out the time they were getting paid (hrly rate $215). No apology from head of crew (others, yes). Blamed me, customer, when he/crew, misplaced screws for a dresser. Should have been a 5 hr move. Worst p[art. Bill misrepresentation. Bill presented by son, w/out crew present for 7 hr move & reads: 9 am start, in writing, on the receipt. But in fact, he verbally informs me, they charge from "load time." Customer is not supposed to pay for "load time" as "clock begins when movers arrive to the house," said owner Ron. I believe NY state law says "the clock begins" when the movers arrive (otherwise why not start charging the night before? Or better yet, two days before?). I clarified that the "clock begins when movers arrive at the house" over the phone after the on-site estimate from Ron, when he stated this. On the receipt, start time is 9 am but son claimed that I the customer, misunderstood (just like I was blamed for the lost screws to bed) and emphatically stated I was told Ron's charges hrly rate for loading which is not on the bill and that I "misunderstood. Nope. I was not told and nope I did not misunderstand. Be forewarned our bill directly conflicted with agreement." They also stopped for lunch, not part of the pre-arranged deal-- took 30 minutes off bill for a 45 minute delay. Maybe (?) a business is entitled to charge for "travel/loading time" but you are NOT entitled to write on the bill the day began at 9 am (when the "clock started"), to agree in advance that in advance and then change up the agreement at the end of the day of the move. Certainly not in NY state. I politely pointed out the misrepresentation on the bill--as I was writing the check for the extra amount, I/we paid in full. The young 21, yr old son had the audacity to argue w/customer. I then tipped all 4, inc Ron's son $100 cash. Pros: respectful crew of 3, thanked me for big tip on easy move. Cons: Ron's son took the $100 bill, turned his back, refused to shake my hand, did not apologize for the misrepresentation of the charges of the start time bill, the lateness, sudden pit stop for lunch, refusing to take responsibility for left bed piece, blaming me for misplaced screws and minor damages. Later, after we paid inc full and big tips for all 4, that night, Ron left a belligerent, hostile vm on our machine demanding I/we call him. Ron doesn't seem to understand the customer doesn't work for him. He works for the customer. He not only was paid in full, but I was over-charged yet still gave generous tips. We had another small move to do and decided against hiring Ron's. read more
