Silicon Valley Moving & Storage

10 october 2017, 17:44

30 years of military move experience, by far the worst - primarily because of the poor behavior of the owner, Joe.  Here's my rundown:1. Scheduled same day pack/ship cross-country move through the DoD and sub-contracted by Arpin.  2 employees showed up at 8:20.  I asked where the moving truck was and they indicated that they were planning on shipping tomorrow.  I showed the paperwork which said same day and they called in.  They were told someone would "figure it out" and proceeded to start packing. 2. Led by Juan, the two gents that showed were great.  Thorough, friendly.  Tipped them at the end of the day as everyone should for those that do well for you!3. At some point in the AM, I asked Juan if they could help me carry down a treadmill from the upstairs bedroom and he said, "sure, no problem."  The thing wasn't being shipped and it was too heavy for my wife and I.4. At 4pm, another man showed up named "Joe" with his 6-8yr old son - a bit of research showed that he was the owner although he refused to tell me if he was or not.  5. Shortly after he arrived, he had words with his guys and then moved into the kitchen.  He briefly introduced himself and immediately told me that I needed to move the dining room table (not being moved) so that they could pack the rug.  He was technically polite but it was one of those moments where it was very apparent that he was frustrated.  He indicated that it was not their responsibility to move the dining room table to get at the rug but after confirming with the military transportation folks and Arpin, it was.  6.  After the "move the dining room" request and his obvious frustration, I commented that he needed to tread lightly in my house because I too was frustrated that it was obvious that they goofed by assuming that they would ship the next day, they were unprepared, that we were not going to get done in the near term and that I had a ton of stuff to do to get out of the house that night.  It was obvious to me that Joe was an unhappy confrontational type of person.  In my view, all things being equal, a business owner needs to work better on deescalating a situation where the customer obviously isn't happy. 7.  At this point, things started to go quickly in the house, lots of fast wrapping, etc.  So fast in fact that:- I had to remind them several times to pack items that were being cast aside- 2 live plants were packed but the fake plant was forgotten. - 1 missed closet with 2 bins and vacuum accessories- 1 shelf in one drawer - 1 knive set in the kitchen, 1 ceremonial flag- Joe refused to package my 2 high value bicycles although the AM supervisor said they would and I asked them in advance over the phone.  Instead Joe had them load them into his van - unpacked.  He was obligated to pack per DoD rules even though he said he wasn't getting paid to box them up (he was).  I had them remove the bikes and ultimately arranged to ship via another carrier (Metropolitan in Benicia) who packed them up nice and carefully.  - His 6-8yr old son was carrying boxes out.  UNACCEPTABLE and stopped when I told Joe to stop him.  8.  It was obvious to me that the assist on the treadmill wasn't going to happen, so I arranged with the neighbors to help.   As I was walking back into the house, Joe approached me and mentioned that they weren't going to be able to help.  I said, "no problem, got it arranged."  Later, he told me that the guys he sent over were in trouble because they shouldn't have agreed to assist - violates policy, etc, etc.  I confirmed with both Arpin and the DoD transportation office that I was perfectly okay with asking - they could always say no.  9.  When it looked like more items were being cast aside and after noticing that loose items were being placed in their van (bicyle pump, bike rack, etc), I went back in with the items, mentioned they were being treated like trash and to pack them.  This led to more confrontation with Joe about how he isn't taking care of my stuff, etc and then he said, "You know, you're one of those guys that just wants everything for free! You want us to move your dining room table.  You want us to move your treadmill."  On and on.  It was here that I asked for his supervisor, last name, etc and he refused to respond.  Overall - the worst experience I've ever had with an owner that doesn't appreciate the customer!  Joe could learn much from his personnel on customer service. Juan and his partner were awesome!  Joe said he was understaffed and overworked.  Okay, then don't take on the job or hire more folks - a symptom of skimping .  Working accountability with the DoD and Arpin to address this!  Don't use them.  Scared for my belongings!  Will post the results later.

review from yelp.com

10 october 2017, 17:44

They were recommended by our very professional apartment complex. They moved us locally in 2009. Packed some things (TV). I took care of packing the rest before hand.They were on time. Took 5 hours to pack and unload and set up the bed for us.We're moving again and we are planning to use them again.

review from yelp.com

10 october 2017, 17:44

I just bought a house and am currently shopping for a moving company.  I told the guy that I was going to get back to him because I had gotten a lower quote from another company and was still shopping around.  Next thing I know, another guy is on the phone telling me that all the other moving companies are scam artists and that I should go with them.  I told him I would get back to him and let him know.  Then he starts yelling at me telling me I called him for a quote and now won't even give him the time of day.  In reality, I was getting phone calls from my mortgage broker and dad regarding the sign off on my home purchase and that was a far more pressing issue than a moving quote.  And I did not call them, I requested a quote online, they called me. Being yelled at by the OWNER of a company certainly makes me very unlikely to EVER go with that company. Moving is stressful enough, being patronized as a patron is very uncool.  Considering they had a good BBB rating and positive feedback on here, I really might have gone with them, too.  Oh well, just goes to show that the old saying about flies and honey is true!

review from yelp.com

10 october 2017, 17:44

I used them a few weekends ago for my move and found them to be very professional, timely, and fast (which in the moving game when you pay by the hour is very important).  I got three guys to come out and move me at a great price.  They were very careful with all of my things and didn't break or scratch anything.  They wrapped all of my pictures in moving blankets and shrink wrapped everything else.  I was very impressed and will recommend them to others.  Thank you for the great job and professional service!!

review from yelp.com

10 october 2017, 17:44

WARNING DON'T HIRE SILICON VALLEY MOVING!!!! Cheri Childs (the owner) is incompetent and unethical.  Once she had my items in storage, she was very lazy about returning correspondence with me about getting those items back out of storage.  I would make a plan, email and call her about it, the day of the move would come, I would then finally get a hold of her and she would tell me that that date wouldn't work for her. So after my plans had been ruined a few times, I decided to hire another company and get my storage away from her.  Again she ignored that plan and had her people do the move (on a day which she had previously mentioned was impossible).  In frustration I agreed.  Upon asking for a quote several times, she would only give me a general number ($149 an hour).  During the day of that move, she ignored my previous days communication about how the storage unit wouldn't be open till 10am and told me her crew would be at the location at 915am.  When her crew arrived, she had forgot to inform them of the total items I had in storage, so they needed to go back to the their unit to pick up the remaining items.  In the end, the amount she charged was exorbitant and she refused to come down.  She had botched the job to pick up my items in an earlier move and I had negotiated a few months of free rent.  She then used that against me, as if she had done me a favor the first time around and wouldn't adjust the latest moves total cost.  Since she held some of my property hostage, I signed the receipt (under duress).  She ended up charging me $1269.69 to get my items out of her storage items, deliver some of them to a nearby friends house (a sofa, chair, ottoman, bed frame, and mattress) then deliver the remaining items a couple miles away at Public Storage.   I am currently paying more then double to have them at Public Storage versus having them at "Silicon Valley Moving and Storage," but at least Cheri Childs can not blackmail me anymore.  That makes the situation perfect for me.

review from yelp.com