James Walker in South porcupine

Let's just say that I was afraid to post a review of this company because they knew where I lived. I have since moved again (paid way more for a real moving company and was happy I did) so I feel safer writing this. I want to make sure that nobody else makes the mistake of hiring this company. My movers were two sketchy guys who spent half of their time smoking in the truck with my belongings and talking to me about their gratuity. When we arrived at the destination, both movers sat in the truck with the doors locked talking on their cell phone to the boss. They rolled down the window, handed me the bill and demanded full payment in cash immediately. There were extra "stair charges", "distance to truck charges", "travel time charges", and "inter-city charges" -- understand, I don't mind if a quote deviates from the actual cost by 10%, but 100% is gouging. I spoke to their boss on the phone and he told me that they are instructed not to unload until they have received payment. So I paid the hostage fee. They backed the truck up on to the lawn of the new house (my jaw dropped) and got upset when I told them to stay on the street ("bang" went the truck as it came down off the curb). They unloaded the contents as fast as they possibly could. Dozens of items were broken or damaged; snapped chair legs, massive scratches on wood furniture, ripped fabric. The hardwood floor in the new house was damaged when they dragged heavy items across it. They asked for a gratuity, leered at the neighbours for a while, and then left in their beat-up unmarked truck.

My family had to relocate from Toronto to South Porcupine, ON (800 km). I had a bad experience with a moving company before, so I was reluctant to hire a moving company again; unfortunately, I had a 2 week old infant and doing everything myself was not practical. We checked the Better Business Bureau and the Canadian Association of Movers and solicited quotes from companies that seemed reliable. We also looked for reviews on-line and Tender Touch came out ahead in their proactive approach to addressing customer concerns. Their quote was higher than almost all the other companies (approximately $4000+hst compared to an average of $3000+hst). We thought "you get what you pay for" and went with Tender Touch. Most moving companies could not possibly stay in business if they did such a move for $3k: 3 days / 3 people / 800km / 8000 lbs, gas + truck + maintenance + rent, bills, parking, administrative staff + equipment + accommodations + meals... you do the maths. Small companies will gouge you by under-quoting to try to get your business, then refusing to unload until you pay the hidden charges. Worse, they try to cut their costs by not paying their staff well, not spending money on good equipment and supplies, and trying to cut corners by combining moves and other foolish logistical tricks (i.e. you can expect damaged or lost items, late delivery, rude and careless staff). Tender Touch didn't have any of these problems and their customer service representative was extremely clear in advance when explaining the costs and the timing of the move. The final price was almost exactly their quoted price, and the move went off perfectly without any damage or timing issues. I still wasn't happy paying out the money, but I can't argue that the results were worth it. They were honest, efficient, effective, and timely. Everyone's entitled to make money in order to stay in business, and these guys did a good job.