08/25/09

Excellent Choice for a move!

by MargaretM

We moved our 3 bedroom house and garage recently. A! Alstate movers came at the promised time and the two men assigned to move us were wonderful! I have never seen two men work so hard! We were in our new house 6 hours later.

We moved a number of antiques, and they took excellent care of this furniture. At our new house, Items were placed where we requested.

I am totally pleased with this company and with the excellent service we received. Bravo to Pedro and Julio.

Thank you so much!

• Pros: Best Movers in Houston
• Cons: None

07/15/09

About average experience

by liamachton

I booked a move for a small 1BR apartment, then decided I needed to add packing services as well since I had a fractured leg. Every time I called, the lady that answered the phone was just not very personable. First impressions matter. On the morning I expected the packers to show up, my phone rang an hour earlier than expected, with a crew from Allstate asking me for directions. They called back several times (ever hear of Mapquest? I'm at a major intersection) and finally made it to my complex.

When they finally got there, I thought it was strange it was two men in a large moving truck. Sure enough, they came in, saw that nothing was packed and asked, "Uhh, what are we moving today?" "Er, we're packing today, not moving. The move is tomorrow." Yep, the moving crew got the day wrong and rousted me from bed at 7am. Two hours later, the actual packing crew showed up.

The packers were fast, but I noticed that (as I was paying by the box), some tiny items, like shot glasses, were wrapped in wads of packing paper large enough to protect the Crown Jewels. Pretty sure had they used actual foam glass sheaths, I would've ended up with about 5-10 fewer boxes. Despite all this packing, one of a set of two Harrods bone china teacups from England never made it to my new home. Broken or lost, it was just not with the other one. Very sad to lose such a nice travel memento.

Also missing after a full unpacking at my new home (other than the $15 Harrods cup): large blue Sports Authority gym mat ($30), used Panasonic bikini shaver ($30 - who in the world would want this??), and one small makeup mirror ($10). I actually needed the mat for some physical therapy for my leg and had to go buy another one. When I left a message with Allstate asking about the mat, received no return call of any kind. Have had to go replace all the items, except for the Harrods cup, which I obviously can't buy in Houston. So, did I really save money on this move?

I have no idea where the items "went" - I can only speculate. The smaller items may have walked out with the packing crew, and the larger items may have failed to have been packed (in which case the movers would've had to grab them the next day). All I know is that a full apartment walk-thru after the move showed no trace of anything, and they're not at the new home. One thing I later noticed is there was no item/box count for what went INTO the truck, so I had nothing to check off when the items came OUT of the truck. I'd previously been provided that on other moves.

Such a shame after all these good recommendations, but I've got to warn others to keep a hawk-eye on your crew. Easier said than done when they work in more than one room at the same time.

The moving crew was efficient, but they were a 3-man team and not the 2-man team I'd originally agreed upon. Higher hourly rate. I think they probably were done quicker, but it felt a bit dodgy to have this sprung on me the day-of, as the original crew (that was confused the day before) couldn't make it. On the plus side, they did a decent job wrapping up mirrors and large pieces of furniture so that there was no major damage. Only minor damage on some of the smaller items.

Bottom line: A few too many snafus to call this an easy move. Would think long and hard about rehiring them if I didn't have a better option.

• Pros: Fast
• Cons: Disorganized, Lost some items

07/14/09

1st Rate Movers

by catm63

I’d like to express how pleased we were with A-1 Allstate Movers and its employees. The staff and movers worked hard and steady to complete our move as promised in less than one day. The movers were pleasant and agreeable to work with. Not one request was denied, and they were unfazed by every hurdle which arose, which included taking apart our very large, very expensive, french antique bedroom set. Hopefully we will not need the services of a moving company in the near future, but if we do, it will certainly be Allstate Movers. In the meantime, we will happily recommend A-1 Allstate Movers highly to anyone we know who needs a top notch moving company.

• Pros: Quick, careful, honest, & efficient