First Rate Movers Inc.

Moving & Storage
Ottawa ON K2P
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HomeStars  >  Moving & Storage in Ottawa  >  First Rate Movers Inc.  >  Not what I expected in full service move.
Private User
Private User
Private User reviews Ottawa, ON
2/10

Not what I expected in full service move.

Owner needs to be more involved with the quote and movers.
Full service......is what I wanted but got something different for a whopping 16k.....for 1 day move.
15 min drive to other home.
Came back looking for money for a tip as well.
Move on, would not recommend to anyone.
Left me frustrated and dissatisfied.
In the end still had to pack a Van full of my belongs that we're left behind.

Approximate cost of services:
$16,000.00
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Company Response

The only move we have done in the past several years that came anywhere close to $16,000 was this past May. Services were provided over 6 days, starting with a short-notice emergency clear-out of a garage workshop and moving those contents to our storage. This was followed by 3 days of packing over 200 boxes of household content. The 5th day involved a very large crew with multiple trucks to relocate the main content of the home and the items from our storage. Then we returned on Day 6 to provide unpacking services.
This was not a simple 1-day move as this person stated.

The owner of the company was in contact with this customer and the crew many times throughout the moving process and even visited the customer/crew in person on the first day.

As with all moving companies, we do not allow the crews to transport liquids, flammables, or perishables on the moving trucks. However, our packing contractor decided to use his own vehicle to transport liquids and flammables to help this customer and even moved an ATV that the customer did not include in the inventory of items to be moved.
The main part of the move on Day 5 was a very long moving day with the crew starting at 8:30am and finishing at 8pm. This included a 3.5 hour wait for the customer to obtain the keys to their new home.
Taking into consideration the key wait and additional time to pick-up items from our storage (not included in the original estimated move time), the crew completed the move in almost the exact time originally estimated. The only items left behind at the home were smaller miscellaneous/loose items that were not packed and couldn't just be thrown loose into the truck.

The crew did not come back looking for a tip. At the end of this very long day, the customer paid the bill and sent the crew on their way, with no tip, which is very unusual. Given that the move was being paid for by WSIB, it was conceivable that tipping the crew might have been overlooked. I would not usually mention it as it can be awkward, but given the circumstances, I decided to very politely remind the customer that the crew would typically receive a tip. The customer still chose not to tip, so our company tipped the crew for the hard day's work. Afterall, they were returning home to their families 3.5 hours late and missing dinner due to problems on the customer's end.

Our company went above and beyond to try to help this customer but they were still not satisfied. Every company ends up having to deal with unsatisfied customers at some point. We are lucky enough and our crews skilled enough to have only had a few of these out of roughly 15,000 customers and almost 20 years in business.