We hired Firemen movers for a move in the winter. The people within the company are very professional and very nice; they were able to provide a reasonable quote within a short time frame and that was greatly appreciated. I was excited to be working with them and trusted them implicitly (they're firemen after all!!). Lorne informed us that there would be 5 movers on the job and that it would take between 8-10 hours. On the day of the move, however, only 4 movers came and the job took a lot longer than expected (17 hours total). Unfortunately, one of the guys fell ill, so we were down to 3 movers and one guy got injured...really unfortunate. Another mover came later on (which was great) and we wrapped up in 17 hours. Things were damaged - light fixtures, furniture, walls, ceilings etc. I wasn't mortified by this as I know things like this happen when people move and especially when the movers are exhausted. We were compensated for some of the damaged goods (thankful for that) but the memory of it all still remains (not a good memory, unfortunately). It was all so chaotic. I've been thinking about what to write here for a very long time. I like this company, I really do and feel bad saying something negative but here's the bottom line: this is not a "moving" company in my humble opinion. This is a company who's hired some well built (and nice) firemen to move things. When a problem would arise, the guys really didn't know what to do. I'll give examples: our queen size mattress box couldn't fit up the stairs so, it was left in the living room. Our dresser couldn't fit up the stairs...it too was left in the living room. Not once did anyone "think" about how to get these items to their proper location; we had our handyman on site who was helping and he and my husband had to figure these things out. Both pieces were moved to their rightful locations by our handyman and my husband - and that was another out of pocket cost to our handyman (which is OK but he's not the moving company we hired). So, my disappointment rests in the fact that when I hire a company and pay a lot of money, I expect them to not only "do the job", I expect them to think while on the job and not just be mechanical about it. It's not OK for my things to get damaged. It's not OK for my dresser and mattress box to be left in the living room with an explanation of "well, what do you want, they don't fit up the stairs"...because they did fit up the stairs, you just have to think about how to get them up the stairs (which we did). It's not OK for a job to take 17 hours and for everyone involved to be frustrated, exhausted and at the end of their ropes. In the move, we also lost a big bag of our clothing - it just disappeared. No one could find it (and 5 month later still is missing). Can't blame the guys for this but..."sorry we can't find it"...(sigh). I have to say that there were a few things that were moved into my parents' home that evening and that experience was good and seamless (thank God).
It is for these reasons that I would not hire Firemen Movers again - I'm sad to say that because I really wanted to have a positive experience like so many others attested to on Homestars but this is my truth. Maybe it was the act of moving - I can't believe people do this all the time - or the moving company or both but this wasn't a good experience for me or my family. We'll be really hard pressed to even think of moving again.
On a happier note, the administrative team and owners are organized, easy to reach, easy to talk to and a real pleasure to deal with.