Stevens Moving & Storage of Detroit

I generally enjoyed working with Debbie Belt, the woman who did my estimate. But once the estimate was over it was difficult to get a response from her or anyone in the company via phone or email. They will eventually get back to you, but you have to keep trying to contact them and for your sake, I hope your concerns are not urgent.
The movers who actually picked up my boxes and things and stacked them in the truck were hired at each location both in Michigan and in Maine. They guys in MI were strong and burley and did a great job being gentle with my stuff. In Maine, that was not the case. The guys seemed to struggle with the load and I was somewhat concerned for their health and safety. The driver was a bit of a joker. He enjoyed pulling my leg. I thought he was kind of funny, but also kind of annoying because he wouldn't answer my questions directly. I asked newbie questions because I had never paid movers for an out of state move before and he should not have tried to lead me on or pull my leg just because he did this all the time and was looking for entertainment in a job that was old hat to him. I found that unprofessional. He didn't take the time to really explain all of the forms that I was signing and was annoyed when I wanted to take the time to read them. He also said that my boxes were not covered for damage because I had packed them myself. I specifically asked Debbie for insurance for my stuff and I paid extra for the amount I thought I needed. So when I was marking on the forms when the boxes were delivered which boxes were crushed upon their arrival in Maine and which were in good condition so that I could later file a claim if anything important or valuable was damaged, I was surprised that the driver was telling me not to bother because the stuff wouldn't be covered anyways.
Well, I haven't found anything major damaged yet. I lost a few dishes I packed poorly that broke, and a plastic tote that cracked. None of these items were important or valuable enough for me to feel like it was worth claiming them. So I have no idea if the insurance would have covered stuff I packed myself. Ask about this if you are packing your own thing. The BBB website claims on this company all seem to center around how hard it is to make insurance claims on broken items. I'm not convinced that it would be any easier with any other moving company, but I'm not sure.

We were granted a 2 day reprieve on moving out day because we were NOT ready. The wife is 100% disabled and we were just overwhelmed by the magnitude of this move. Fortunately the moving folks at Stevens allowed us a couple of more days to finish packing and boxing all our STUFF. We needed every minute of those two days. At 8 o'clock Wednesday morning, Bruce and his crew arrived with a semi-tractor/trailer and started loading. They finally finished loading about 7:30 that evening. They did an extraordinary job getting it all in that one trailer. Luckily, the unloading went much better than the loading. They were able to get everything into our garage and lean-to with little problem. They made a painful undertaking on our part much less painful. As much as I appreciate all their efforts, I hope and pray I will never have to take advantage of their services again. But if I do, you can bet I'll use Stevens again. They are a class outfit.

After a very pleasant initial from the salesperson, I was less than pleased with with the "move". It started when one of the workers broke a bottle of wine while moving items - all located in one room - and then hinted that I should clean it up myself (I did). It continued when the worker in charge spent 45 minutes talking on his cell phone while moving items. This was certainly a hindrance to his ability to move quickly and carefully, but it was nothing compared to the 37 minutes he took to stand outside the truck and discuss his personal business with whomever had called. And yes, this was most certainly time that was charged to me. I was moving furniture I had stored at my late mother's home in Waterford to my father's home in Troy; At best, these cities are 30 minutes apart in bad weather. It took the truck 48 minutes to approach the final destination and then it drove right past the house, even though I was standing on the porch - and then in the driveway - waiting for them. The moving itself was relatively professional, save for more phone calls and lapses in working, but the driver spent time at both houses explaining himself to me and trying to secure additional work as a handyman at a later date. My day ended with the truck driving away, only to return with extra items and the "correct" part of the bill (I had been given the part they needed for the company, apparently) 15 minutes later. The entire experience took hours longer - and many dollars more - than I had been quoted and I would never use this company again. Sorry, Angie's List folks.

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We were not happy with the company. We have a few pieces of furniture that were damaged. Later, we found out after we had asked for an experienced crew, we received inexperienced members. They also arrived late and did not finish packing our boxes as they said they would. The boxes they did pack were not packed or labeled correctly. We called to communicate our issues with the coordinator and they never contacted us back.

It went very well.

From the estimate to the wave goodbye, Stevens made what can be a very stressful day very easy on us.

Our estimator was running about 30 min late and called ahead to let us know. He spent @ 2 hours going over what we are moving, taking notes from room to room. At the end he quoted us what I considered a very fair price and we signed on the dotted line.

The guys (4 of them) were all very nice and very considerate. I could not have been more pleased with how they move our belonging out of our old house. Wrapping banisters and door jams, they really made sure that there was absolutely no damage while moving large pieces out of our house.

Moving in was even better! They fellas were equally careful to protect each surface that could come in contact with furniture on its way in. We had hardwood floors on the main floor refinished before we moved in. Great care was taken to make sure that no item was placed on the new floors without pads on the legs of chairs/tables/whatever. Items were placed exactly where they were asked to be placed. All beds and any other furniture that needed it was reassembled.

This may be my last move, but if I ever needed to, this company would be the first I would call.

It went extremely well both at the loading site and the unloading location. The driver and his assistants worked very hard and competently. The driver arrived when he said he would and immediately contacted me.

John Hopkins the estimator was punctual and professional. On my follow-up calls he responded promptly and had the patience to address my nervous questions. In the end we went over his estimate, however it was a guaranteed price and was met with no questions asked. We had a schedule for our house to be packed one day, and loaded on the truck the following day. The three individuals who did the packing were extremely diligent, and pleasant despite being given less boxes than they should've, and being at our house hours longer than they planned. The only damage was extremely minor, one glass as it was being packed, and something else so trivial that I can't remember. It seems that not everything can go exactly as planned with a move, and the difficult surprise for us came on the loading day. We were told the driver and loaders would be there at 8am. The two loaders arrived, but the driver did not arrive until 11am. He said he told his dispatcher it would be 11 and communication had lapsed from there. He apologized and got to work. The driver, Wille Jones, was absolutely fantastic. He held everything together with oversight of the loaders and a sense of humor to get us all through a long day. As we had to shuttle our belongings on a small truck to the big truck (due to a one lane bridge on our residential road), the day was longer then expected and at 8:30pm it was too dark to continue. I was extremely frustrated at that moment as I could not be back in the morning due to a work commitment, but I do believe it was unavoidable and was able to have family meet Willie for the last few things the following morning. Our belongings were promised to be delivered on Monday or Tuesday (loaded Wed/Thurs), and we received a call indicating they would be at our house Monday morning, which they were. Willie again did a great job keeping the loaders spirits high enough to do a good job throughout a long day. My disappointment with the three hour time communication on loading day, which resulted in the return the following day makes the overall rating a borderline A/B, however, things happen, and the people involved handled them well and were what made the move successful in my eyes in the end.

The estimator, Tom Caracostas, was personable, punctual and professional. His estimate of how much we had was realistic at 12 hours for a total cost of $2,290. We had just a few weeks to plan the move; luckily they could accommodate us for the date we wanted. Subsequently his office manager, Brenda, was the most frequent contact. After the estimate we decided to move a significant number of the boxes ourselves with a large panel van and 2 college kids. In advance, I told Tom that we wouldn't be using the full 12 hours estimated, which was fine with him, however we had to prepay the entire estimated amount of $2300 by credit card prior to the move, even though we would not need that many hours. The amount we paid was based on actual time used, which in the end was 8 hours plus the 1 hour travel time which is standard in the industry. The first two movers arrived on schedule on Saturday. The second two arrived within 20 minutes (one was a last minute subsitute). They worked professionally and with hustle to empty the house of furniture and remaining boxes (all heavy). This took about 1/2 the day. I provided Subway sandwiches at the new house, which they appreciated, and they spent the next 1/2 day unloading, putting furniture and boxes where we wanted them and setting up beds as requested. This was a better experience than our two other Detroit area moves (corporate relocations) done by Palmer Moving which, in our experience, has unmotivated and slow-moving workers. The team we had with Stevens was young and hard-working. A week later, when we had a concern about a missing item, it was handled well--the item turned up in one of the very last boxes unpacked in the basement. Notes: 1. Tom said wardrobes were available at no extra charge for local moves for the clothes closets. I dismissed the idea initially but as moving day approached it seemed like a good idea. Unfortunately, I did not tell him or Brenda that I wanted the wardrobes and they were not on the truck. My mistake. 2. Their estimate shows a "Customer's Estimate of Value" (based on weight) for which you are charged an insurance premium. In my case the total amount was $63,400 at a cost of $158. Be aware that this is a limit of how much the insurance company will pay in the event of a catastrophe. 3. The $600 refund for the four hours we saved by moving boxes ourselves, took several weeks to be processed. Overall it was a very good experience and I would recommend Stevens Van Line to my friends.

They did a wonderful job! They were both timely and efficient. They did the packing and moved us with delivery the next day. Not a single thing was damaged!

It went very well. There is one small box that is missing that I didn't realize when the delivery was made. They have not had any luck in locating it, but overall the experience was phenomenal. The price was less than what they had quoted.

Move went very well. Were flexible with me when I was not ready to have them load on move day. They delayed the date and loaded directly onto the truck with driver. Very considerate, wrapped furniture well to avoid damage. No damage noted. Compared to a previous move, this one was quite superior.

They have franchises that are named something else, even though the main company is Stevens Van Lines. The price was significant because the other prices were much higher. One was almost $10,000.00, and one was $7,500.00. This was the lowest quote out of three. They did a good job.

THEY SEEMED TO BE PROFESSIONAL AND FRIENDLY, BUT THEY ALL SEEMED TO BE PRETTY TIRED FROM A PREVIOUS MOVE THE DAY BEFORE. HOWEVER, ALL DID GO WELL, AS NOTHING WAS BROKEN OR MISSING.