Universal Moving Company is the BEST!
When we were getting ready to move, we looked at a bunch of different moving companies and got estimates for how much it would cost to move a 3-bedroom house to a city 120 miles away. Most companies were priced considerably more and some even wanted to schedule appointments to inventory how much stuff you had. Who has time for that?!
The first thing I noticed was that the manager of Universal Moving Company (Vicki) was very good at responding to emails. We liked getting prompt replies/answers back, instead of having to wait hours or days like with other companies.
Their quoted rate was significantly lower than their competitors, so we were a little leery at first. But thru our email correspondence, we found out that the company is fully licensed, insured and bonded. Another concern we had was with our newly-cleaned carpet at the new location. Would the movers be able to put on booties or take off their shoes? Vicki was very quick to email me back to assure me that the movers would put out blankets or rugs to protect the carpet/stairs.
On the day of our move, the movers arrived 5-10 minutes early, which we loved. Punctuality is a must for us! They quickly got to work and even told me not to move boxes, when I was trying to help. :) I also liked how they put out a rubberized red mat over the carpet and stairs, to protect it while using their cart to move heavy boxes or furniture.
We hired 3 movers for our move. 2 of them ("Mr. Chen and Mr. Chang") were in charge of moving the boxes/furniture from the house to the truck outside. 1 guy ("Bruce") was inside the truck, organizing the pieces to maximize the space. We compared it to playing Tetris. :) He had ropes to make sure everything was secure and wouldn't topple over when driving. We were really impressed with his skills.
I really liked Mr. Chen's "We can do it" attitude. A few times, I'd say to him, "Well if it doesn't fit or it's too much trouble, we don't need to take it." He'd be like, "No problem. We can do it!" and he'd find ways to make the furniture fit. The other guy ("Mr. Chang") was more like, "Yeah, don't take it..." as though he didn't want the extra work. At first I thought Mr. Chang was just being lazy, but then I started to kinda feel sorry for him, cuz after I moved a bunch of furniture, I'd probably have the same attitude, "Why bring it if it's not necessary," right? I definitely think management should hire more people like Mr. Chen though. He really has the customers' best interests in mind.
It was A LOT of work for these guys and we really felt for them (since we used to move all the items on our own, but got smart this time and decided to hire a moving company). They worked nonstop and wouldn't even stop to take a break when I kept trying to offer them cold beverages.
Furniture items were carefully wrapped with heavy wool blankets or plastic wrap. Boxes were carefully moved. After around 4 hours of loading everything into the truck (I think we're hoarders), the truck was loaded and ready to drive to the new location.
2 hours later, they arrived at the new location. So punctual! They didn't waste time on the drive. Now if it were me, I'd probably just stack the boxes and furniture everywhere around the house and just let the homeowners deal with it. Instead, these guys took the time to patiently ask where each box and furniture item went, even when it was in random rooms UPSTAIRS! We were really impressed by how professional they were, and how they were cheerful and hard-working despite having worked all morning already!
We made sure to supply these movers with ice-cold beverages and a hot meal, as well as tipping them generously for their hard work (we felt that their initial price estimate was a little low, so we made up for it by tipping the guys a lot. For this, they were very grateful). It was definitely not an easy job.
We totally appreciated Universal Moving Company's help with our move. Their prices are truly the best and they do their work with excellence and diligence. We would not hesitate to recommend them to friends and family members who are looking for an affordable and efficient moving company.
Thank you so much, Vicki, Bruce and Universal Moving Company! read more