Dear Larry,
I thought you might like to know why I find myself not only unable to
recommend your firm, Acrobat Removals, but to positively discourage
anyone from using your services.
My complaints start on the day your company packed up and moved the
contents of my house and garage.
If you remember you visited my house and gave me a quote for packing
part of the house and moving my goods to Sydney. I then, on Monday,
gave you a chance to revise your quote as I was unable to pack part of
the house that I said I would. So you had two chances to have a look
at the amount of goods to that had to be moved. On Monday you also
told me that the men would be able to complete the packing by 1 PM to
1:30 PM.
My problems started when I realised on Tuesday at around 12 that there
was no chance of your men completing by 1:30. This was unfortunate
since I had to leave shortly before 1 to ensure I could have my cat to
the cattery in Sydney before 4PM, leaving my partner Sonia to
supervise the completion of packing and loading.
Imagine how I felt when at around 2PM I received a phone call from an
upset and stressed partner who told me that your men had said they
woiuld not be able to fit everything on the truck and what of the
unloaded goods were a priority. I got this phone call while I was
driving through the Central Coast on the F3 in heavy traffic and rain
squalls.
Then when you arrived at the loading I thought there might be some light.
Imagine how my unhappiness increased when it was almost 4 PM when
Sonia told me that your men had finished but despite your assurance at
around 2:30 PM that they had not been able to load everything and she
was having to take some things to her mothers before she could at
last start the almost three hour drive to our hotel. It was at this
stage that your men asked me to change the arrival time at my new
Sydney home from the agreed and contracted time of 8:30 AM to 6:30 or
7 AM. You may understand my reluctance to shift it, though I did agree
to half an hour earlier.
My mood dropped even further when my tired and emotional partner
arrived at the hotel and broke down into tears after the stressful
afternoon she had coping with the unprofessional manner of your staff.
I thought it was impossible but I became even more unhappy when I
discovered that the six wheel trolley I bought a few weeks ago to make
it easier to re-organise before moving and after moving was one of the
things that had not been packed onto your truck.
Now my problems continue. Your men unloaded the truck.
While the packing and loading was going on I had stressed that it was
important that in Sydney I would need to be able to have the TV, the
Foxtel box, home theatre and their wiring by 12 as the Foxtel man was
arriving between 12 and 5. While the TvV and the boxes were unloaded
early it was after 11 and no sign of the wiring, which I had
personally disconnected, packed and placed in a bag on top of the two
boxes. It took me losing my temper before a 15 minute search unearthed
them.
When they were about 4/3 through unloading they started saying they
would not have enough room to put all the boxes. I suggested they
unload my dining room table and sideboard and put boxes on top of
them. I was told they were too far back and when I suggested they put
boxes on my verandah until they could be unloaded one of your men said
he couldn’t do that as he didn’t like putting things down and picking
them up again. The young man is lucky I didn’t say what I thought of
his reluctance and where he could put it.
It was around this time that I heard the other man make two rude
comments to my partner. Not a wise thing to do. Once again I bit my
tongue.
Now we come to my discoveries as I started to unpack last night and
today. One of your packers had carefully removed and collected into
one spot all the shelf pins from my four adjustable bookshelves. I am yet to find
them.
While the unloading was going on I said that my new garage downstairs
was to hold everything from the garage in Broadmeadow and everything
marked storage. I now have at least five boxes upstairs that should be
downstairs. While one of the men was unloading I saw him with a box
that contains my snare drum. I said, “that box you’ve got with ‘Tama’
written on the side needs to go in my study.” It is now half way back
in my garage.
I now have at least six boxes that came from my kitchen that are
marked with “Kitchen – bits and pieces” and one marked “Kitchen –
miscellaneous” with no more information than that such as what part of
the kitchen they came from or a clue to their possible contents. So
that I could have something to eat off I thought I would unpack a box
that was labelled “Kitchen – plates, bowls and glasses”, it contained
no bowls and only four glasses, the rest was plates. One of the two
boxes marked “Kitchen – pantry” contained a great deal of food and an
open bottle of ant poison (which wasn’t in the pantry in Newcastle
thrown into the top. Saucepans and their lids have been thrown into
boxes in any manner and without and wrapping or padding. All I can say
to that is that I haven’t found the copper bottomed large boiler my
mother paid $250 for when she gave it to me for the my last birthday
before she died but heaven help you if there is so much as a scratch
or a ding on it – I expect to pass it along to my daughter just as my
father passed on to me the high quality, copper bottom saucepans now
almost forty years old your employees threw around with abandon.
Fortunately, apart from a loose handle I fixed with a screwdriver, the
ones I have found so far are no worse off. I guess your employees are
lucky my father bought quality cookware.
So that is why I cannot recommend your company and why I will not be
using them to move the goods I have in storage in Newcastle to Sydney.
I should also advise you that a copy of this letter is being posted to
my weblog and on my Facebook page. You may if you wish reply but I am
afraid I find myself totally unable to listen to any excuses or
argument – if you can come up with a solution to the problems I now
find myself in that means I can avoid an extra trip back to Newcastle,
an hour or two shifting boxes from upstairs to down, hours attempting
to organize my new kitchen without a clue and returns to me the $50 I
spent today on a new trolley (not as good as the one sitting back in
Newcastle) and new shelf pins so I could do some organising and
unpacking then I am willing to listen.
Yours,
Tony Williams
UPDATE
I sent this last week and have yet to receive any reply.
I have since discovered further examples of damage due to haste and unprofessional packing. Despite being assured that pictures would be wrapped I’ve found many unwrapped glass covere…d photos shoved into boxes. The person who disassembled an Elfa draw frame bent two out of six cross bars. A roll of vintage Apple posters was shoved down so hard into a box it crumpled all of them and tore two – the box was then closed down on them so hard the other end was crumpled – the list goes on.
Feel free to spread my letter as far and wide as possible.
The Macintosh Guy 