BEWARE.
Lessons, mistakes and an egregious breach of ethics.
It’s not in my nature to write negative reviews, but if my experience helps even one person avoid what I went through, then some good will come of it.
• Lesson 1: Insist on a thorough walk-through and/or perform a full inventory
Do not rely on photos alone; I submitted comprehensive, multiple-angle photos to the moving coordinator of my small 312 sq. ft. studio apartment in advance — *upon arriving for the move, the crew foreman claimed items were not on the list when they were clearly present in the photos; if submission of photos was not considered adequate for an estimate, the coordinator should have indicated as such and I would have insisted on a walk-through.
*The crew foreman attempted to raise the estimate by 54% — from $3,600 to $6,300; after a heated back-and-forth (and calls to the coordinator assigned to the move), I still paid $1,400 more than the original estimate; for a senior living on Social Security, this was financially painful and felt exploitative.
• The breach of professionalism
When cleaning up at the end of the move, I found small chunks of glass on the floor where one of 3 tempered glass-and-metal work desks had been;
As we're settling the paperwork, I showed the green-tinted glass chunks to the foreman, clearly indicating they came from the desk—I asked him: “Who packed the desks?”—he said: "I packed them myself. When I get back to the warehouse this afternoon, I'll check the desks." I never heard back.
Then came the most egregious breach of all: “You know, you could’ve bought the desks new for what it’s costing you to move them.” After 20+ years with furniture I love, hearing that from the man who damaged it was rude and beyond unprofessional. Honesty and accountability would have gone a long way, but instead I got dismissal and disrespect.
• Lesson 2: Never leave movers unsupervised
The crew consisted of one foreman and two inexperienced trainees; this was essentially a training session conducted on my dime. Boxes were poorly labeled, and it became clear that unless you personally supervise every item packed and have your own system of labeling, you risk chaos at delivery as well as when you unpack the boxes, both of which happened.
To add insult to injury, upon unpacking I discovered several items missing — of low financial worth but high in sentimental value; I filed a claim (I waited several months, hoping the items would turn up), which was denied, citing their predictable boilerplate language they routinely leave in response to a review: "Your shipment was released under the Released Value Protection option at $0.60 per pound per article. This coverage limits recovery strictly to items identified as missing or damaged at delivery and does not provide for reimbursement of items not noted on the inventory as exceptions."
• Final thoughts
A move should mark a hopeful new chapter; instead, mine was stressful, expensive, and deeply disappointing. Solomon & Sons Relocation Services failed me with bail-and-switch hidden costs, careless packing, and a blatant lack of professionalism.
• Bottom line: AVOID.
(FYI: I'm not alone with my issues — negative reviews on Google, Consumer Affairs, BBB and Yelp repeat and support)
14. toukokuuta 2025
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