MOVE & TUNE INC

I contacted Move and Tune on approx. June 17, 2009 to ask about moving my piano to a relative's home. I was quoted a price by the company owner, Mr. Bob Cookman, of $200 to $250, depending on specifics of the move. We spoke for over half an hour during which time I gave him detailed information about the type and make of the piano, the number of stairs and the type of maneuvering that would need to be accomplished at both the pick-up site and the delivery site. Mr. Cookman told me he had been moving pianos for some 30 years and he had a complete understanding of the weight, the size, the number of people required to get the job done, and gave me the above mentioned price. I then contacted my relative and set a date that would work for delivery, then informed Mr. Cookman of the delivery address and the date and he scheduled the move for me to be accomplished on June 30, 2009. I called back several days later to confirm the pick-up date and time, and spoke to a woman/receptionist at Move and Tune who told me out of the blue that the delivery address was in a city that would necessitate charging me an extra $50 for delivery. I was taken aback since Mr. Cookman knew the city during our initial conversation but said nothing about it the additional fee. I affirmed with the receptionist that the total move cost would now be $250 and she said "yes, that's right". I contacted my family to be sure they would be ready to receive the piano on the scheduled move date and didn't think about it again until the move day came. I feel that some part of this is my own fault for not requiring Mr. Cookman to send me either a hard-copy or email confirmation of the price we had agreed upon. Nevertheless, that doesn't alter what occurred at the time of the move...

On June 30 three men showed up from Move and Tune and came into my home to move the piano. When the "lead" man saw the piano he began to behave as though he were "astonished" and had never seen a Steinway upright before. He said he was amazed at how large it was and then told me there was "no way!" they could do the job for $250, adding simply that they could do it for no less than $350. I was completely shocked as I had spoken to Bob about the make and type of the piano at great length during our initial conversation when he quoted the original $200 price. I was REALLY unhappy about this, so while they busied themselves getting it strapped up and outside, I called Move and Tune to ask what was going on. At first when the receptionist answered and I asked for Mr. Cookman I was told he was not in the store right then. I felt quite sure that he would remember me, our amicable conversation, and the price quoted to me. Then suddenly within seconds he suddenly "showed up" and began to speak to me on the phone. I asked him why the movers had given me an impromptu ultimatum to pay $350 or they'd just leave the piano here and let me get another company and asked whether he wanted to talk to the lead mover or not. I know now that both they and "Jolly Bob, the kindly, old businessman" were well aware that I was now under a time constraint and had made plans with others to accomodate the move on that day, so I was over a barrel and would not be able to make other arrangements. At any rate, when Mr. Cookman got on the phone while the workmen were here,  HE TOLD ME I WAS CRAZY TO THINK my piano could have been moved for the price we had discussed, he denied having ever quoted either $200 or $250 to me. Then when I asked if we could talk for a moment so he'd remember our conversations, he began to yell loudly into the phone that no, we could not as  he had no time for MY "NONSENSE". He proceeded to speak to me in a shrill tone, using PROFANE LANGUAGE AND TOLD ME TO TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT as he didn't care what I thought had been agreed or not. As far as he was concerned there was nothing to talk about. He swore fluently for another 2 or 3 sentences until I realized I HAD BEEN LIED TO and was now being defrauded and had no other option but to continue listening to him call me names and curse at me. I told him he might be hearing from me or my attorneys at some future time and then hung up the phone to stop the outpouring of filthy language. When the movers had the piano in their truck the lead man came back, took the check out of my hand, and walked away without a word. They snickered at my husband, then pulled out of the parking lot and drove away.

**My husband had taken two stairway railings off the outside cement steps leading to our condominium to accomodate the movers while they just stood there and watched him when they had first arrived, as if this work was HIS job to do for them. I have an issue with this as well. After the piano was loaded into their truck they made NO EFFORT to assist my husband in replacing the handrails and just watched him struggle to reinstall them as they stood in the back of their truck and joked amongst themselves. When they had the piano situated in the truck as they wanted it and finished their paperwork or whatever, they drove away without a word or a backward glance. We were both very angry and disappointed with the treatment we got from the movers, the hollered cursing, filthy language and manner in which Mr. Cookman spoke to me when he knew that we were not happy with being taken for more money they we had agreed in this underhanded unscrupulous way, and with the extra $100 that was suddenly demanded at the last minute.

Later the same day I called my family and learned that the piano had been dropped off to them and put inside their home without incident, and since have become aware that it was undamaged during the move and plays just fine. At least I didn't have to take them to court over that. Because the amount of the dispute was small enough and I am disabled, I did not take them to small claims court for this horrid interchange. You WILL however find my negative input listed with the Better Business Bureau.

Be very careful if you choose to do business with Move and Tune. It was a terrible experience and Move and Tune still owes me $320.

Moving of piano services, professional, good job, would use again, good service, nice folks.

Very good experience with the moving. Movers were on time and professional. They moved the piano without incident. We had a hard time getting in touch with the piano tuner. I think he tried to call several times, but he never left a message.

NICE PEOPLE. ASKED US QUESTIONS ABOUT HISTORY OF PIANO BECAUSE IT WAS TURN OF THE CENTURY. TOOK GREAT CARE TO SECURE AND LOAD AND UNLOAD WITH NO DAMAGE.