Planes Moving & Storage Inc

Disappointing on several levels. The packers and movers didn't communicate with each other, so several large items, including artwork, were poorly packed. The movers damaged a number of items, including an antique credenza, and soiled carpeting during the move-in. Resolving the claims was painful - they refused to reimburse us for the credenza repair because I did it myself, likely saving them a big cost. Two friends used them at about the same time and also had damage problems. GET ANOTHER QUOTE!

We moved to Texas. They came from Cincinnati.They picked us up the first week of June and then unloaded us around the 17th or 18th of August.Their delivery person wanted to argue everything about if it was damaged. They split our delivery up into two shipments after being stored. So, it made it more difficult to keep track of things. Otherwise, they were okay. They were pretty responsive. They were punctual. The estimator was real professional, but the delivery people were not very good.

Joe and Tyler were the driver and partner on our move. They did a phenomenal job of packing, loading and delivering 20,000 pounds. Susan Geyer was the estimator and she is very professional and very thorough. There were numerous calls from their Customer Service team before, during and after the move to check on progress, satisfaction, etc. Planes provided a binding estimate for this move as it was a Corporate move and their estimate is easy to read. I highly recommend Planes!

Our letter to Planes executives is below; they never replied. Dear Mr. Planes, CEO Dear Mr. Sabatalo, President, I am writing because I felt it was very important that you know what is happening within your company. I am writing about our experience with Planes Moving. Imagine this being you and your family. We moved on Saturday, August 17, 2013 with your company. We had a very good experience with the initial evaluation by your salesman. He assured us that Planes would "take care of us". We were to have 2 packers on Friday, August 16th and 3 movers on Saturday August 17th. We have many valuable paintings; both oil and acrylic and all beautifully framed. The salesman pointed out on several occasions that special paper must be used for the paintings to be shipped properly in the summer heat in the moving trucks. We absolutely agreed since our artwork is precious to us. We were assured that Planes had professional packers and we agreed to have Planes pack a large portion of our valuable belongings. We were assigned a coordinator who took 45 minutes to review our moving information with me on the phone. More time than really needed to review a few details but she liked to talk and establish the importance of her job. I asked her about the special packing paper for the paintings and she guaranteed that we would have it just like our salesman did. We asked for boxes to start packing what we could ourselves. Due to the fact that I asked for boxes, the coordinator was now trying to change our packing date which we did not want to do at all. Our original plan which is what we wanted was to have 2 packers on Friday and 3 movers on Saturday. Over several conversations with her, she pushed us into having the movers pack and move on the same day. We were very uncomfortable with this. However, we were assured there would be 2 packers and 4 movers early Saturday morning and since we were paying an hourly charge the move would be done more quickly this way. Under a certain amount of uncomfortable duress, we agreed. After all, Planes is an experienced company, right? On the Saturday in question, 3 men showed up at our door and tell us that they have bad news. First, there are only 3 of them, and secondly they don't have the special wrap for our paintings. We ended up with 1 packer and only 2 movers when we were promised 2 packers and 4 movers if we agreed to packing and moving the same day. Many thanks to our coordinator! Her promise to save us money and time on moving was fabricated since she could not follow through. We were obviously very upset but HAD to move. My husband showed the father (in charge) what there was to pack, what was in the garage already packed, the newer boxes from last year?s packing which we wanted used before they used their boxes which we had to pay extra for. We showed them everything we needed moved. We showed them the washer and dryer, which they eventually forgot. During this ordeal of packing and moving and the chaos going on, I found my precious paintings STUFFED IN BOXES ONE ON TOP OF ANOTHER LIKE GARBAGE. THESE MEN WERE IN NO WAY "PROFESSIONAL PACKERS" TO TREAT delicate oil and acrylic ARTWORK LIKE THIS. They took a narrow mirror box and LITERALLY CRAMMED in the paintings, one box after another. My precious oil painting which goes over the fireplace is now rippled from the damage of packing and the heat in the truck. My frames are scratched and damaged. They moved us to our new home and forgot to pack our entire pantry, table and several lamps which they just left without explanation. Then we were told that they didn't have room on their truck for our washer and dryer which they totally forgot to make room for. And we had to pay for a second trip because of their negligence. They were instructed by us to make sure our paintings go in last, are moved quickly and therefore will come out first. They just took my paintings put them in near the front of the hot truck. The Nightmare continues... I drove to our new home waiting for the movers while my husband stayed at our old residence packing up the pantry, the lamps trying to move the table by himself which were left there with our washer and dryer. I was so upset over this total mess that I called Planes emergency number and talked to a VP who was "on duty" that weekend. I told him the movers "packed so poorly that they ruined my artwork; had to make another trip back to the residence to get the washer and dryer which they said WE HAD TO PAY FOR regardless of their incompetency. After the movers had their lunch, they showed up to my new home and were moving in loads of boxes. I was trying to figure out what was in each one to tell them where to put the boxes. I couldn't read the scribble on the few boxes that were labeled so I was opening up boxes and looking in them to see what was there SO I could then tell the movers where to put each box. When the father, in charge saw what I was doing, he abruptly told me that if I were opening boxes I would BE CHARGED for it. The movers couldn't take the time for me to see what was in them before dropping them off in the incorrect rooms. I was trying to find my tiffany lamp in the living room boxes and asked where my lamp was. The father literally ripped open the box on which I could not read his son's writing and shoved it into my face. I was shocked by his manners. I found him somewhat intimidating. He acted like he was angry the whole time and this made my husband and I uncomfortable. I actually wanted this whole ordeal to be over and wanted him out of my home. When the move was completed...We were charged for 10 hours of moving a small 2 bedroom apartment into a new home that we built. A huge amount of boxes were already previously packed by us. Most of our furniture was just newly purchased and already at the house so the movers didn't even have to move a great deal of furniture. We just did not have that much to move. Following the move, we received a call from our coordinator who said she was "looking into this matter". We waited and waited. My husband had to keep calling to find out the update on the reimbursement as well as filing a claim for damage of some artwork. Finally 7 days later, we were told that there is nothing that Planes is willing to do for us. We never heard from the VP again. He said he would take care of this situation, but he did nothing. I guess we are not important enough customers which is what the message is from Planes. I called Planes myself to write directly to you. I felt this whole situation needs to be addressed by people in charge of the company. I felt that you would want and need to know how your company is being run. When I called for your name and address, I was transferred to a VP of Customer Service. He did not remember me nor the emergency phone call on the day of our move nor did he remember declining to help us after assessing the situation. I informed him that I was writing to you. He then asked me, "what do you want from us?". I thought that was an interesting but very poor way to apologize. He offered his e-mail, asked me NOT to contact you and he indicated he would "see" what he could do once again. He was certainly no help on an emergency basis , why should he be of any service to us now? I feel you need to know about our experience. My husband and I have been put through a terrible ordeal from your company. We are greatly disappointed in the people who are out there representing Planes to us and to the community. We certainly would no longer recommend your company. My husband has used Planes frequently over the years in his company business and that is why he wanted Planes to personally move us into our newly built home. Imagine your family going through this experience with Planes and how you would feel. We feel this whole ordeal was disgraceful and extremely unprofessional.

Everything went very well. The movers were personable, showed up on time, and did a good job without causing any damage. The company had good follow up too.

I felt as though the truck provided by the company wasn't of sufficient size to complete the work. Specifically, they weren't able to fit a couple of items in the truck that we decided to bring with us at that last minute. Furthermore, the office staff and the salesman weren't very responsive when we called or had concerns. The moving crew, however, was very helpful and friendly, and it did a great job. They even helped us with a couple of tasks with which we were having some trouble like the assembly of an entertainment center.

Epilogue: Because of what I believed were failings of United Van Lines to perform fully the services promised by their representatives at Planes (agent in Cincinnati) and contracted, I ultimately contested a portion of the charges for service from Planes / United with my credit card company (thankfully I had used a credit card to pay). After arbitration with submissions from both me and United Van Lines; the credit card company sided fully with me, and awarded me the requested refund / back-charge amount (Without explanation, United Van Lines had awarded me a portion of what I requested after filing the dispute with the credit card company, ultimately the credit card company agreed the award should be the full amount I requested). I feel vindicated that I was in the right, and United in the wrong, as evidenced by an independent, third party review. These issues were separate from physical damages incurred to items in the shipment, which United has already reimbursed to me under terms of the paid insurance contract. In sum, because of both physical damages to items in the shipment, and what I believe were significant service issues, I was very displeased with this moving company, and would not recommend United Van Lines.

We decided to do the packing ourselves as the cost was out of our pocket. We got quotes from Several others, and did reference checks. Planes wasn't the cheapest but the price was fair and their references were outstanding. We had a tight timeline (2 weeks from contact to move), and every step of the way their staff went the extra mile for us. They provided the boxes at no additional cost, and their staff was extremely helpful in packing tips. The moving staff was amazing! Extremely professional, polite, competent and respectful of us and our things. It truly couldn't have been a better experience. Nothing was damaged during the move out or in, and not a single item was damaged or lost.

Moved my household from a very large home into a smaller home.

great service people office checked to see when they arrived. call back after to move to see if everything went alright. | |crew was great

They were excellent. They got my belongings from Cincinnati, OH to Rochester, NY with minimal issues. They even issued me a refund since I came my belongings came in under weight.

Cincinnati team was excellent. Very quick but careful and professional. Extremely friendly and worked as a team. The supervisor marked all my items efficiently and all arrived safely.

They were great. Everything arrived in one piece. They were efficient. They were organized as well. Their customer service was great.

They were really easy to work with. The crew was considerate, contentious, and very friendly. Everything was done in a timely manner!

Unfortunately one of the hottest days of the century.their rep oversold so sour expectations were probably too high.t little things like an oil stain on driveway took several calls nd weeks to clean. Moving is my mind is a nightmare and they made it sound like a dream

Very professional, no surprises. I would use them again.

It went very well. I would refer them to anybody.

A+ service. Diane always does an awesome job coordinates everything and get the workers to do their best job.

They were outstanding. They are very reputable. They did not damage anything and were very easy to work with. I would definitely use them again. I would rate them high overall including price because we did get other estimates and they were the best priced. They provide used boxes which were in great condition. It saves us a lot of money.

They gave us lots of free boxes like the used boxes. I drove over there and I filled my car up, we packed ourselves, and we moved in, and nothing broke, nothing was missing, and they were courteous on those ends. They were inexpensive enough. I am going to use them again.

They were recommended to us by a residential community that my mother lived in. They were very efficient and kept great communication by staying in contact with us by phone or email. They were very professional and friendly. I would recommend them.

It went very well. We had no problems with them. We had used them before and I'd use them again in the future.

Their service worked out well for us. They seemed the most economical.

There were a few things that were bothersome. They didn't take care with some things and there was a level of unprofessionalism during the move. They were okay but we would probably not use them again.

From: Sugar Serrato Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 10:54 AM To: Jeanie Dorich Subject: our moving experience Jeanie, Chad made it to our house on the first day of the two day promise. Chad was meticulous and professional. He did ask if we could skip the "bingo" since our belongings were the last on the truck. I was OK with that. The local man, Sam, was outstanding. I will definitely give them both a great survey once received. I have a big problem with the third guy Rick. I heard him use "h***" twice which is not only inappropriate at a customer's home but especially when there's a 4 year old child present. Sam was coming in the house with boxes piled on a dolly and would ask me where each and every box should go and I was more than happy to instruct him. I went to my garage and saw stacks of boxes piled up. Chad was working the truck so I went out to ask if that was part of their system.....pile them up in one location and then ask me to direct them. Chad said they only moved things once which I knew but I informed him that I didn't instruct anyone to put all of those things in the garage. He said Rick pointed out that those boxes all had "storage" written on them so they assumed they were for storage and should just go into the garage. I explained to Chad that "storage" was written on them from the front end of our move when we sold our house and put them in the storage units in OH. I said, "You know, the 'storage' units you unloaded." He looked at me with a knowing look and apologized. He said they would put them where I wanted them. So Chad and I started sorting. As we got a pile, Chad started taking them in the house. I sorted the rest. While I was doing the work, Rick walked my direction, got a phone call and decided to take the call. Chad did tell me that Sam noticed Rick dropping boxes anywhere when I wasn't readily available. Yet Sam took the time to call my name and ask. I believe what Sam is saying is true because I have found many boxes that obviously don't belong in a certain room. A few examples: a purple plastic bin with Dora the Explorer on it (pretty obvious it's a kids bin) was in the office. A clear plastic bin with clothes (clearly noticeable on the outside) was in the office. There were two boxes in a closet under the stairs yet I never asked anyone to put anything in that particular closet. There were many items stacked in the garage that weren't marked "storage" yet this was Rick's reasoning for putting them there. My husband and I are doing work we paid someone else to do. I don't think it would be inappropriate to expect a partial refund. Not only are we doing his work but we were kind enough to decline the "bingo" inventory process which in Chad's own words would save him a couple of hours. Regards, Sugar From: Jeanie Dorich To: Sugar Serrato Sent: Thu, March 11, 2010 10:26:00 AM Subject: RE: our moving experience thank you for taking the time to re-cap your experience. I am sorry that you were not completely satisfied with the delivery portion of our service. I have taken the liberty of forwarding your email to my supervisor, Ronda Duvall, and the Director of our department, Jim Baughman. I believe Ronda is working on a response to you as we speak. Thanks again. We will be in touch. Thank you, Jeanie Dorich, Relocation Counselor From: Sugar Serrato To: rrothring@planescompanies.com Sent: Mon, March 15, 2010 11:39:06 PM Subject: Fw: our moving experience Randy, Ronda did call me on Thursday afternoon. Her tone was professional. She thanked me for my e-mail and reassured me that she had/would contact the San Antonio office in regards to Rick. She continued to say that Planes was unwilling to reimburse me for the portion of work that wasn't performed nor could they send another crew at no charge to finish the job. But she'd be very willing to send another crew out at my expense. She couldn't do anything for me. I asked why and she really sent me to the brink when she started using "you" statements, such as "you" released them when the work wasn't complete, "you" signed the papers, "you" should have had them assemble the beds, "you" should have called someone at Planes while they were still there if you were dissatisfied. In regards, to signing papers that Chad asked me to sign, I did make a remark to Ronda about the "25 sheets of paper" that I should have read word for word. Honestly, no company can believe a customer is going to read what would probably take an attorney to decipher. This is where customers have faith in the company they're dealing with. Again, trusting anyone at Planes turned out to be an apparent mistake on my part. So what I got from Ronda is that I should have been a nasty, demanding customer that not only should be expected to perform a portion of the physical labor that I paid for but I should also have taken on a supervisory role in assuring all of the laborers were doing their jobs. I should have then put on my manager's hat and called into the office if they weren't performing up to par. Randy, if I had known all of this I would have asked to be put on the payroll and I most certainly wouldn't have paid Planes the additional money I did in comparison to the other quote I received. Our belongings were delivered Tues and on Fri as I was doing more unpacking and moving of my own belongings I've come across 3 more boxes in a downstairs bedroom closet that were clearly marked for rooms upstairs. Additionally, this is a guest room and another closet that I know I specifically did not ask anyone to put anything in. There was also a vacuum and steam cleaner just set inside the entry door. In the living room I stumbled across my daughter's bean bag that I'd been looking for and was clearly marked "play room". So not only has Rick caused us additional work but I'm struggling to find things that should be easily found since they are marked properly yet Rick just put them in random places. If what Ronda is telling me is all that a supposed reputable company like Planes is willing to offer than I have no choice but to express my consumer opinion on Angie's List, to the BBB and on social networking sites which reach far and wide. Perhaps Planes doesn't care who they upset because long distance moves probably won't bring many repeat customers but word of mouth to other potential customers can have an impact. After all, Angie's List and the BBB are how I found Planes and decided to make the initial call for a quote. From: Sugar Serrato Sent: Friday, March 26, 2010 12:14 AM To: Randy Rothring Subject: Fw: our moving experience Randy, It's been almost 2 weeks since my initial e-mail and since I haven't received a response I'd like to believe that you're working behind the scenes to make this right. I think offering to credit us 1/3 of the cost of labor of the destination rate would be fair since only 2 of the 3 Planes employees/contractors performed their duties to an acceptable extent. From: Randy Rothring To: Sugar Serrato Sent: Fri, March 26, 2010 3:07:29 PM Subject: RE: our moving experience Sugar, I forwarded your initial email to customer service higher ups, and they assured me they would look into it. I do not know if there is anything else they can do. I will have Jim Baughman contact you to discuss your concerns. If anything is going to happen he is the right person to talk to. Randy Rothring, Director of Residential Sales From: Sugar Serrato Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 4:59 PM To: Jim Baughman Cc: Randy Rothring Subject: Fw: our moving experience Jim, It's been more than a week now since Randy was going to ask you to contact me and two weeks before that went I sent my original request to Randy. At this time, I'm requesting a refund in the amount equal to 1/3 of the cost of labor at the destination (San Antonio) rate for work that was not performed by one of your three representatives. Regards, Sugar From: Jim Baughman To: Sugar Serrato Cc: Randy Rothring; Ronda Du Vall Sent: Wed, April 7, 2010 10:37:04 AM Subject: RE: our moving experience Sugar, Randy did, in fact, communicate with me regarding your move. Prior to that, I had remained in touch with your move throughout the relocation process. I had attempted to contact you by phone but couldn’t get through on the number that we had. Unfortunately there is no refund forthcoming. The delivery would not have been able to happen without the efforts of all three crew members. I know Ronda had explained the facts of the delivery process earlier. We performed as contracted to completion. Our position is unchanged. Regards, Jim From: Sugar Serrato Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2010 12:24 PM To: Jim Baughman Cc: Randy Rothring; Ronda Du Vall Subject: Re: our moving experience Jim, Are you certain you've read the correct file? You stated, "the delivery would not have been able to happen without the efforts of all three crew members". One of those crew members put minimal effort, in fact, put boxes in obscure places that have caused us additional work. Additionally, you stated, "we performed as contracted to completion". Another inaccurate statement. We contracted your company to move each of our belongings into the rooms specified. Yet Rick placed boxes upon boxes in a pile in our garage and put boxes in rooms and closets where they did not belong since he didn't ask for instruction or read the labels as applicable. If indeed your company performs to completion then Planes owes us a partial refund for services not performed. Sugar Wed, April 7, 2010 11:45:41 AM RE: our moving experience From: Jim Baughman To:Sugar Serrato Cc:Randy Rothring ; Ronda Du Vall Sugar, Yes, I have the correct file. Thanks for restating your feedback. I’ll add it to the file with your earlier comments. Regards, Jim