I always thought it was so exaggerated when I read that moving (especially international moves) was listed among the “Top 5 Most Stressful Life Events”…until I faced the logistics of a move overseas. Luckily, that stress was short-lived for us once we involved Taylor Moving and Storage, who were – I can earnestly say - perfect from start to finish.
Before we found out about Taylor M&S, we were having a lot of trouble with other moving companies that we had contacted for quotes. We heard inconsistent information, had prices mysteriously double, were quoted outrageous shipping times (up to one year!), and had companies simply stop replying. After about a month of this we thought we had found a company (Orbit International) that would…suffice. We weren’t impressed with them (they would frequently call us by other customer names, they would have to be reminded of our destination, and they would often slip in “unforeseen” charges), but they were one of the few viable options, so were all ready to move forward. At the last second, however, we thought to get one final quote from another company - just as a precaution - and that’s where Matt Czernikiewicz from Taylor Moving and Storage came in and changed everything.
He was prompt and professional, asking a lot of great questions and quickly setting up a house visit to offer an accurate quote. We thought – right before he arrived – that there was no way we were going to change companies so close to signing with Orbit, but after only a few minutes talking to Matt in person, it became clear that he REALLY knew what he was doing and that he had our best interests in mind. Even after the walkthrough Matt stayed over an hour with us to answer every single question we had (and we had a lot of them – sorry Matt!). He realized very quickly our particular needs for our move and didn’t try to oversell or pressure us into anything we weren’t comfortable with. What I also appreciated (that was sorely lacking from other companies) was that he didn’t promise any services or share any information that he wasn’t 100% certain about (so many other companies – especially Orbit – would agree to things up front and then call us days or months later to say ‘actually, we can’t offer you that service/price/etc. after all’). Because our situation was quite unique it required him to look into certain details and I liked that he was upfront about getting back to us the next day after talking with the overseas partners (and sure thing, he emailed the very next morning). He also took the time to get to know us – not just our budget and inventory. After that meeting he stayed in close contact and offered a VERY reasonable quote for the move – both in terms of the price and the transit time.
Now enters Linda Christie. You might ask: “What’s better than one representative who is attentive, friendly, and knowledgeable?” Two of them! Linda helped significantly with the administrative side of the move and between Matt and Linda, we probably have 150+ emails between us. We had a ton of questions about the logistics of the move and the insurance process, and both Linda and Matt would respond promptly (often within 5 minutes!) and in great detail. We were certainly not the biggest account they were dealing with (only an lcl container rather than a 4000sqft house), but they never made us feel like we were insignificant or less important than other customers. They also put up with lots of our smaller requests and somewhat negligible questions and we appreciated that they treated every inquiry seriously and respectfully. We were able to book the exact date and time we wanted for our move and were able to arrange for brief storage at the Taylor warehouse.
On move day, our assigned movers were scheduled to arrive between 8am and 9am and, sure thing, at 7:59am Bryan and John pulled into our driveway! This promptness was only the start of an immensely productive day. They got straight to work and we were really impressed with the speed AND care with which they were able to pack and secure our belongings – they had clearly done this many times before and worked well as a team. They were respectful and friendly (and quite funny!). I especially appreciated that Bryan took the extra time to reassure us throughout the process; it’s very hard to watch other people handle your things and he acknowledged that difficulty from his own experience moving and promised us that he treats every item as though it was his own (which really helped our stress levels that day!). Bryan and John did an excellent job documenting our shipment and explaining exactly what they were doing (and why) throughout the day. As they pulled out of the driveway (only 4 hours later!), we knew that our shipment was in good hands.
Finally, we were also impressed with the overseas partner that Taylor had connected us with at our destination. Often the local movers are great, but the foreign receiver has less than stellar reviews or communication. Mona from Team Relocations was another welcome addition to this group. Just like Linda, she was quick to respond with detailed answers for quite complicated questions (about customs, transit times, etc.).
Overall, Taylor Moving and Storage was the perfect choice for our move. I honesty can’t think of how the process could have gone more smoothly. Thank you Matt, Linda, Bryan, and John for your hard work (and for your continued support) on our move. I could go on and on about this great experience, but I just need to reaffirm that I HIGHLY recommend this company for your move. I’ve told all of my family, friends, and colleagues that they would be in excellent hands with Taylor. - Andrew M.
