Mayflower AAA MOVING

This letter is to complain about the egregious and negligent service that AAA Moving provided during the moving process on July 26, July 28, and August 10, 2017 from Allentown, PA to Pittsburgh, PA and to recoup reimbursement for such damages. The most unexpected and flagrant errors were demonstrated by the amount of significant damage to our expensive and nostalgic belongings. The lack of communication, planning, preparation and professional behavior were quite evident within a short time after the team arrived at our house on July 26. On moving day, it was obvious even to our untrained eye that the truck that was sent was too small for all our belongings. The team did not apply any protective padding/covering to our floors and walls. As a result, there were numerous chips and deep scratches to out walls and floors. In fact, the gashes to the oak floors in our Allentown living room were so bad that the buyers of our home considered not closing after the walk-through. The process seemed very chaotic and unorganized which I expressed to Sandra Fisher in real-time. When Ted Greene came to our home for an estimate he said that the AAA team did not need to know which belongings were intended for storage or residence. Despite this, we labeled all storage boxes and furniture with bright, green stickers. We could see that items intended for storage and residence were not separated. It seemed as though the items were being haphazardly placed on the truck unprotected and in random configuration and unsecured. This was confirmed by the amount of damage to our belongings, and the observed packing condition and arrangement of the truck that arrived to our house and by the admission of the AAA moving staff. Houseplants were wrapped in shrink wrap and left on the truck for 10 days. There was a Ninja blender packed along with our Tiffany crystal glasses going to storage. There was a Fender guitar packed with our own yoga matt wrapped around it for protection. When the trucks left our house in Allentown there were random parts to our furniture found on our driveway, specifically screw cap covers to our reclaimed wood dining bench as well as large screws that were cracked. We felt that Ed, the team leader, was unprofessional. He remarked on multiple occasions how he “hates kids, that’s why I have cats,” in response to the presence of our two little children. He also seemed stressed out about the job and did not seem to have a sound method to complete this move. He was very condescending to the other employees. Many of them remarked how they dreaded working with him. Also, I offered the team some water and coffee. The team drank the entire case of water and left dozens of water bottles lying around the inside and outside of our house. On Thursday, July 27 we received at least two phone calls from the team on the road asking where to stay and how to get to our house. Keep in mind we were moving to a new unfamiliar city ourselves. This confirms the lack of foresight and professionalism. The most shocking part of this move came when our belongings were delivered to our Pittsburgh residence. AAA had to hire two per diem movers from a competing moving company. They pointed out to me that there wasn’t even a ramp in the truck to unload our belongings and how poor and unorganized the truck was packed. Once again no protective materials were used to guard against damage in the house. When I requested that blankets be placed to protect the wood floor all that was in the truck was a paint tarp. The two hired moving men commented on how they had never seen a moving truck packed the way ours was packed in all their years in the business. They could not believe that there was not an inventory list even though the AAA states that there would be one. They commented that they were embarrassed for “our moving industry” the way this move was conducted. They said that Ed “had no idea what he was doing” and that they had never been treated as unprofessional as they had that day in their careers. In fact, even after my new neighbors had given Ed beverages early in the morning he asked me to go out to the store to buy him more to drink while leaving my wife alone to help organize the chaos and watch over our small children. The most disturbing part of this process came when I gave Ed the tip for the entire crew. I watched as he tried to drive off without handing the two per diem men any money. They literally had to chase after him to ask for their deserved money. The men had to ask me how much I had given Ed. When they caught up with him he only handed them half of what was due. Upon further confrontation he eventually gave them correct amount. This scene was extremely uncomfortable to witness. The customer should not have to be placed in the middle of this. As a result, I felt compelled to give the per diem working additional gratuity. Over the three segments of the entire move I doled out $1100 in gratuities. It was brought to my attention that Jose only received $50 for the first two legs. This is deplorable and I request that Ed or the company pay Jose and whoever else was cheated by Ed. I expected a much higher level of service from you company and am extremely disappointed. This entire process has been extremely frustrating and emotionally taxing. Many of the items that were damaged have sentimental value. For example, a new desk blotter that my mother bought me as a gift for my first attending job as a surgeon was severely damaged. I have attached a list of items that were damaged. I have already sent numerous photos via email of the damaged items. I expect to be compensated for the damages. Even if the entire cost of the move was refunded I do not believe that would cover the extent of the damages. Since the move much of our damaged furniture has become unstable and thus pose a safety risk especially to our young children. For example, our coffee table which has a cracked wooden base that was left on the wet grass unprotected is about to collapse. Also the master bed’s metal frame that was warped and put together haphazardly with a cracked screw is also on the verge of collapsing. I expect to hear from AAA Moving within the next 30 days or I will be obliged to file complaints with the FMCSA, AMSA, and BBB. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

By far the most unprofessional and horrid moving experience I have ever had. I could write pages on how bad they were. They caused thousands of dollars of damage, were incredibly unorganzied and unprofessional, ruined lots of expensive and sentimal items, and took no responsibilty for the damage. The furniture was just thrown on the truck.I have many pictures but will post just one in which an expensive nightstand was left unprotected sitting on the sidewalk. Of course, it was chipped, but I was told that AAA did not do it. If you do use them, tip each mover individually since the foreman cheated his workers in front of my eyes, and do not chose the $0.01/lb insurance. Make them take an inventory since they will not do so if you take the cheaper insurance.

Excellent work. Communication between members of the crew could have been better. 1 Item was damaged because of lack of communication, but they took responsibility, and furniture was repaired at their cost. The repair vendor did outstanding work, too.

unknown

unknown

I had moved from Pennsylvania to Louisiana 22 months earlier. It was now time to move back, to the same address. 3 months prior to the most recent move, I called the move coordinator from the previous move, 22 months earlier. I asked for packers on the 29th, and movers on the 31st. This would give a whole day in between, for the estimator. The coordinator contracted with AAA moving in Baton Rouge to do the packing. AAA came to the house. They reviewed the contents and gave an estimate. All paperwork was signed. Arrangements for packing on the 29th were confirmed.

From previous experience, I had expected a series of email reminders. '6 Weeks before your move, you should be notifying periodicals of your change in address.' '4 weeks before your move, arrange to turn off your cable and utilities, etc.' As there was no contact from Mayflower, I called them. I gave them my name and information. I was told, "We have no record of you...I'm sorry, but you never called us...Perhaps it was another provider. We have the information from your move 22 months ago..." Fortunately, I kept the paperwork from AAA. I read them the job number.

"Oh yes, here it is. Well that's strange..." I was told they would have to scramble to make arrangements, they didn't know if it could be done, etc... This adds a lot of stress to a move. Upon inquiring, it seems the original coordinator was 'no longer with the company.' They sent am email confirmation which I could not open. Turns out, they had my name spelled wrong. I called them, and they corrected it. However, we find out later that they didn't include everything in the attachments on the second attempt.

The packers from AAA came on time, did a great job, and left. The estimator caller on the 30th at 2pm, and said he wanted to come over. He asked for the location. Once I told him where it was, he said he needed 2 hours to get there, and would be there around 4. (I would love to know why he didn't even know where he was going that afternoon.) He said he had to be done by 5. So with a three months notice, and a 24 hour window, he gives me one hour. I was at work at that time.

The movers come and put the stuff on a truck. I tell them that the delivery location has very tight turns, and a small truck will be needed for delivery. Please check google earth prior to sending the delivery truck. I am told, "Your delivery window is between the 3rd and the 8th. We will give you 24 notice prior to arrival." They call at 6pm on the 3rd, and say, "We will be there at 9 tomorrow morning." That's 15 hours notice. Not great when you are dealing with the cable hook up, the gas, the electric, etc.

That night, I get a frantic call from the coordinator at Mayflower. They realized the attachments did not include the credit card authorization. Can I please sign and return it? I tell them I can not, because they have my computer in their truck. Not to mention, the cable guy has not come yet, and I don't have internet. So Joyce from Mayflower suggests, "Can you ride around town, and see if you can find someone with a fax machine. Call me back, and I will fax it there. You can sign it, and fax it back. Realize, I am moving to a subdivision in Pennsylvania, not the middle of rural Wyoming. This a national company. This is the service at which they claim to be experts.

I tell Joyce, that I am sorry, but I am waiting for the gas guy, (its November, and some heat would be nice) and I cant 'drive around and look for someone with a fax machine.' I remind her that nothing Mayflower has done during this whole process has worked. I suggest that this falls into the category of "screw up on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part." Joyce tells me they will not deliver my belongings without the signed forms. I suggest that a representative of her company will be arriving at 9 am, directly to the house. I ask if he can obtain the critical signature. I am told this will not do. I then suggest that Mayflower should not hold my belongings hostage to get a signature they failed to obtain over the last 3 months. Joyce does not relent. So I drive to the computer store, make a new friend, use his computer, e sign Joyce's form, and return to the house to find a rude note from the gas company man.

Concurrently with the phone calls back and forth with Joyce, is the driver calling to ask what exit to use, where the one way street runs, etc. During the course of these calls, I tell both the coordinator Joyce, and the driver again, that the previous move to this address was done with a 53 foot truck. The truck could not make the corner in the subdivision. It got stuck when it crushed a sewer grate. I suggested a truck trailer smaller than 53 feet. The driver suggested a day cab on the truck, instead of the larger sleeper cab. Joyce reported that these requests were in the computer, and the dispatcher was aware.

The next morning, there is a sleeper cab towing a truck with large letters saying "Mayflower 53 foot." You can't make this up. The driver leaves the truck on the main road, and I drive him around the subdivision, past the still crushed gate from 22 months ago. The driver turns the truck on the main road. He backs into the subdivision. They unload on the street as they can't turn into the driveway.

When I call Joyce to ask about damage claims, she offers to mail me a form. I guess faxing and emailing are not important for that process.

So I find Mayflower has flawed record keeping, an inability to search their own data, poor internal communication among staff in the Stockertown office, trouble spelling, poor record and receipt keeping, an inability to calculate a 24 hour time interval, poor communication with dispatchers, poor responsiveness, a tendency to ransom your own belongings back to you, a poor understanding of how fax communication works, and just about the worst customer experience I can imagine. When you pack everything you own into a truck, and a stranger drives away with it, you feel alone and filled with trepidation. A moving company ought to know that, and have devised ways to get you through it. Mayflower is not there. Not even close.

unknown

The Packers arrived punctually on Friday June 27.  They used yellow stickers with a number range to identify which boxes they packed.

On Monday June 30, the Movers arrived.  Their job was to place stickers on all items and pack everything into the truck.  They made the mistake of also using yellow stickers and the same number range.  Mayflower policy is to use a different color sticker and number range for the packers and movers.   Why does this matter?  Now when I eventually receive my belongings, I will not be able to easily cross off the items on a bingo sheet coming into the door since I will have duplicate numbers and colors on our boxes.

My delivery date for my belongings was a liberal range of July 3 through July 14.  Plenty of time to get a driver to send my belongings to TN.  It is now July 18 and my belongings are still sitting in their Stockertown, PA warehouse with no driver available.

It is inexcusable for them to be accepting orders on shipments when they cannot deliver on their promise of delivery dates.  The HUGE expense and misery of being in an empty house for this long is intolerable.  I call daily to their headquarters and also the Stockertown, PA warehouse with no sign of a driver to bring us down our belongings.

I do not recommend these movers. Pat Larch, the COO of Mayflower needs to better understand the issues with AAA Moving and Storage.  

They were very professional, and timely. They gave us the estimate right away in the house.

They did a nice job on the front and back end and were very customer service oriented.

The service has been great so far. They have been very responsive.