Perfect View Landscaping

***'s mother, ***, had phoned to ask me to come to her home to do an estimate for her move to [redacted] While I was finishing her survey, [redacted] dropped by and was introduced to me She explained that she also would be moving and wondered if I had time to do a survey for her move It was late afternoon, but I responded that I would be happy to do this [redacted] took me through her home quickly and we did an inventory of what she felt would be moving There were a couple of places (the attic in the ceiling and a couple of outside rooms in the rear of the house) that were inaccessible I asked her to give me an educated guess as to what they would move from these areas, explaining that her move, unlike her mother's was an intrastate move, which meant that the final cost would be based on the ACTUAL weight that was shipped and actual services rendered so it would be better to estimate high rather than provide a low estimate since she would be paying based on ACTUAL weight shippedShe said that she understood that they would be paying based on the actual weightShe didn't remember how much was in these areas but did her best to give me an idea There were significantly more items shipped than what we had listed on the inventory so the weight increased which caused the cost to increaseHer home was adjacent to her mother's home but access to it was on another street Her mother's home clearly required a shuttle because it was uphill and windy ***'s driveway seemed more level and I felt that a tractor trailer would be able to get up her driveway or at the very least, park on the street in front of her home My mistake was that I should have driven around to the driveway to make sure that the road was accessible but I assumed that it wouldn't be a problem I was wrong The driver who was assigned to move them had a tractor trailer with low belly boxes This made it so that he couldn't make it up the driveway without bottoming out He tried to park on the street and was told by the police that he had to moveThe driver had to rent a small truck and shuttle all of ***'s belongings to the tractor trailer so he explained that there would be a shuttle charge.With this information, they started to argue and continued bickering throughout the move One of their disputes involved the packing [redacted] told me that in order to save money, they would do all of their own packing When the driver arrived, she had lamps with attached lamp shades and expected him to take them as they were She stated that I had told her that they would do this That was absolutely untrue! I mentioned that EVERYTHING had to be in boxes for the driver to take it The driver told her that he knew that this is not something that I would say and it infuriated her I truly think that they were overwhelmed with the amount of packing and couldn't get it doneAfter this, [redacted] ordered the driver off of her property and phoned our office to say that she didn't want him on her property The driver then stayed in the trailer and loaded her shipment as it was brought down in the shuttle trucks He did not sleep in the truck nor did he leave her residence of his own accord.It is unfortunate that there was a huge personality conflict between the two of them which made the move more stressful than it needed to be I think the conflict stemmed from the fact that her belongings needed to be shuttled and normally this is an additional cost[redacted] stated that the driver said that he hasn't spoken to me in months The driver isn't supposed to speak with me, he reports to his dispatcher who is hired to supervise the men, which is why the dispatcher attempted to handle this situation After the driver loaded her shipment, I was off for a few days but, when I returned, I phoned ***, who complained about being charged for the shuttle and the additional weight I acknowledged my responsibility in not checking out her street and told her that I would send a refund of $1,(the cost of the shuttle) to her Meanwhile, we paid the driver to do the shuttleShe inquired about the additional weight and I told her that both weights were obtained from a certified weight scale, not affiliated with our company, and I had explained that if her shipment weighed more, she would be paying for the ACTUAL weight.A couple of weeks ago, I received a call from ***'s husband who stated that they had several items broken and wanted to file a claim As I have already mentioned, they packed their own belongings When she told me that they planned to do this, I told her that, if they did this, these boxes would be marked PBO (packed by owner/contents unknown) and, if there was damage, the movers would not be responsible unless the outside of the boxes were damaged and they noted it on delivery She seemed to understand but was trying to save money.Additionally, they sold their home without having another place to move into so they were going to store their belongings in a warehouse that was owned by someone her husband knew or worked with During my visit to their residence, I told [redacted] that, if she did this, they needed to be present at delivery and would need to check everything off and indicate on the inventories if there was anything damaged When a customer delivers into self storage, the mover's liability ends simply because the customer can move things around numerous times in an attempt to access things that they need while in storage Also, we were not the company that delivered their belongings out of storage If they had done what I told them to do, which is to check all of the furniture over at delivery, and noted it on the inventories, their valuation would have covered it Since they didn't note any damage and their belongings was delivered by another party, we are not responsible for any damageThe fact that PBO's and shipments delivered into self storage are not covered, is not our company's rule, this pertains to EVERY moving company Had we packed the breakables, we would have been responsible because it is our job to make sure that items are packed properly to prevent damage Additionally, if this shipment was placed in an Allied facility, we would have been responsible because no one else would have touched their furniture.The driver tried to accommodate them by paying for additional labor at destination because [redacted] did not want him involved However, with the additional labor, there should have been no reason that her husband had to work other than him wanting to get them out of there and get it over with I asked the driver why he would stack boxes when he was asked not to He said that they had rented a unit which was too small to accommodate their belongings and the movers were trying to fit it all in so that they wouldn't have to rent another unit As it was, there was an overflow so they needed to rent another unit anyway.Everyone got off to a bad start and I don't think that there was a recovery The driver that was assigned to this shipment is knowledgeable and has worked for several major movers but his PR skills weren't at their best He has a low claims ratio and knows how to protect the customers belongings but is rather gruff in how he addresses people Because of this, he is no longer employed by our company.We tried to be fair in assuming responsibility for the additional cost of the shuttle but I cannot refund money for the weight that was shipped How the cost was calculated was explained at the time of the estimate and there were significantly more items than she had indicated were going.If you have any questions regarding this, please feel free to contact me.Best Regards,Mary

To Whom It May Concern:We first met Mr& Mrs*** when they dropped by our officeThey were in the area and stopped by to ask questions about movingAfter speaking with them, they asked our sales consultant, Luke Z***, to set up an appointment for our partner in New Jersey to meet
with them to take an inventory of the items that they would like to be moved to Pittsburgh.After Luke received the inventory, he worked up an estimate based on the items that they indicated would be moved and the services that they said they would requireLuke was told that many things were being left behind and would be either gotten rid of or placed in a self-storage unit where other items were stored in New JerseyThey also said that they would pack everything into boxes and our driver and crew would just load and deliver everything.After the New Jersey consultant had visited their residence, because of the size of their shipment, it was determined that two tractor trailers would be needed to move their belongingsAfter Mr*** received the estimate, he told Luke that they had decided to scale back and to send him an estimate based on the cost of shipping an approximate amount of weight that would fill one trailerLuke did this cautiously telling Mr*** that the cost of the move is based on actual weight and some items are small but heavyMr*** told us to proceed with sending one trailer.When Roy, our driver, arrived, everything was in disarray and very little was packedHe took “the unauthorized photos” to show me that he wasn’t exaggerating, and that they were not prepared for this moveThey had 3,books in book cases that weren’t going but wanted him to remove the books so that he could move the bookcasesNormally, the driver charges a labor charge for this because if something isn't going, he’s not supposed to handle itBut Roy, being the kind person that he is, did this without charge to help while they were still packingHe removed the books and stacked them on the floorMrs*** was unhappy about him putting the books on the floor, but they wrere neatly stacked and there was no other place to put them.Whenever we move a home that fills a tractor trailer, it only takes an experienced driver and crew one day to loadBecause the ***'s were not ready, it took Roy three days!!! We offered to pack for them so that it would go quickly, but they didn’t want to pay for packingWe also offered to reschedule their move, but they didn’t want to do this eitherOn the third day, we told them that either we would have to finish the packing or Roy would have to load what they had packedHe couldn’t wait around until they finished packing the remainderThe furniture was already loaded, and he was paying a crew to stand around while they packedBecause Roy was already committed to another move (since this should never have taken three days), he had to leave.Mrs*** phoned Luke complaining that Roy walked off the job, but he didn’t have a choice; they weren’t readyHe did as much as he couldLuke tried to explain, but Mrs*** didn’t want to hear itShe wanted the remainder of what had not been packed, picked up and moved.Luke phoned all of our partners in the area, who were overbooked during this time of the year, but finally found one, who would pick up her shipment for $This was the cost to have it picked up and brought to their warehouseThe ***’s would never have incurred this added cost if they would have been prepared for their moveThey agreed to this charge, and we set it upWhile this portion of the shipment remained at the warehouse, they were not charged for storageWe ended up having to dispatch a second truck to New Jersey to pick up this portion, which certainly would not have fit in the first trailer because they sent more than a trailer load.There were a number of reasons why the costs for their move increased; when our driver arrived in Pittsburgh, they hadn't purchased a homeSo everything had to be placed in storage, so there were storage, warehouse handling and cartage (which is the delivery charge for moving the customer's belongs from storage to their new home)Luke saved them almost $3,by converting this to a local delivery rather than charging long distance cartageAdditionally, they moved more than a trailer load so the second shipment added to the cost of their moveThis included not only the local pickup charge, but the long distance move to PittsburghOnce again, we saved the ***’s money by having this portion registered as an overflow (part of their original shipment) instead of two separate moves.Mrs*** does not want to take responsibility for the increased costs but, if she had everything ready for the driver, as she initially said she would, none of this would have occurredIt’s a case of poor prior planning all the way - moving before having a residence to go to, which required storage and not being packed prior to the driver’s arrival.We are a good, reputable company, and I am very proud of the people who represent my companyI will not allow the ***’s to cast dispersions on them.Everything that they were charged, were justifiable charges for the work that they approvedWe do not owe them any refund, because they were not preparedI am enclosing a copy of the photos that Roy sent meI want to ask if you feel they were ready for this move? Certainly they were notThe majority of drivers would have walked when they saw this residenceThey were very lucky that Roy patiently stayed and did all that he could to assist while he was there.I’d like to post these photos on social media and get a consensus from drivers and other companies as to what they would have done under these same circumstancesIf Mrs*** continues to defame my company and/or staff, I may have to do this for backup.Best Regards,Mary ***

[redacted]'s mother, [redacted], had phoned to ask me to come to her home to do an estimate for her move to [redacted].  While I was finishing her survey, [redacted] dropped by and was introduced to me.  She explained that she also would be moving and wondered if I had time to do a survey for her move....

 It was late afternoon, but I responded that I would be happy to do this.  [redacted] took me through her home quickly and we did an inventory of what she felt would be moving.  There were a couple of places (the attic in the ceiling and a couple of outside rooms in the rear of the house) that were inaccessible.  I asked her to give me an educated guess as to what they would move from these areas, explaining that her move, unlike her mother's was an intrastate move, which meant that the final cost would be based on the ACTUAL weight that was shipped and actual services rendered so it would be better to estimate high rather than provide a low estimate since she would be paying based on ACTUAL weight shipped. She said that she understood that they would be paying based on the actual weight. She didn't remember how much was in these areas but did her best to give me an idea.  There were significantly more items shipped than what we had listed on the inventory so the weight increased which caused the cost to increaseHer home was adjacent to her mother's home but access to it was on another street.  Her mother's home clearly required a shuttle because it was uphill and windy.  [redacted]'s driveway seemed more level and I felt that a tractor trailer would be able to get up her driveway or at the very least, park on the street in front of her home.  My mistake was that I should have driven around to the driveway to make sure that the road was accessible but I assumed that it wouldn't be a problem.  I was wrong.  The driver who was assigned to move them had a tractor trailer with low belly boxes.  This made it so that he couldn't make it up the driveway without bottoming out.  He tried to park on the street and was told by the police that he had to move. The driver had to rent a small truck and shuttle all of [redacted]'s belongings to the tractor trailer so he explained that there would be a shuttle charge.With this information, they started to argue and continued bickering throughout the move.  One of their disputes involved the packing.  [redacted] told me that in order to save money, they would do all of their own packing.  When the driver arrived, she had lamps with attached lamp shades and expected him to take them as they were.  She stated that I had told her that they would do this.  That was absolutely untrue!  I mentioned that EVERYTHING had to be in boxes for the driver to take it.  The driver told her that he knew that this is not something that I would say and it infuriated her.  I truly think that they were overwhelmed with the amount of packing and couldn't get it done. After this, [redacted] ordered the driver off of her property and phoned our office to say that she didn't want him on her property.  The driver then stayed in the trailer and loaded her shipment as it was brought down in the shuttle trucks.  He did not sleep in the truck nor did he leave her residence of his own accord.It is unfortunate that there was a huge personality conflict between the two of them which made the move more stressful than it needed to be.  I think the conflict stemmed from the fact that her belongings needed to be shuttled and normally this is an additional cost.[redacted] stated that the driver said that he hasn't spoken to me in months.  The driver isn't supposed to speak with me, he reports to his dispatcher who is hired to supervise the men, which is why the dispatcher attempted to handle this situation.  After the driver loaded her shipment, I was off for a few days but, when I returned, I phoned [redacted], who complained about being charged for the shuttle and the additional weight.  I acknowledged my responsibility in not checking out her street and told her that I would send a refund of $1,300 (the cost of the shuttle) to her.  Meanwhile, we paid the driver to do the shuttle. She inquired about the additional weight and I told her that both weights were obtained from a certified weight scale, not affiliated with our company, and I had explained that if her shipment weighed more, she would be paying for the ACTUAL weight.A couple of weeks ago, I received a call from [redacted]'s husband who stated that they had several items broken and wanted to file a claim.  As I have already mentioned, they packed their own belongings.  When she told me that they planned to do this, I told her that, if they did this, these boxes would be marked PBO (packed by owner/contents unknown) and, if there was damage, the movers would not be responsible unless the outside of the boxes were damaged and they noted it on delivery.  She seemed to understand but was trying to save money.Additionally, they sold their home without having another place to move into so they were going to store their belongings in a warehouse that was owned by someone her husband knew or worked with.  During my visit to their residence, I told [redacted] that, if she did this, they needed to be present at delivery and would need to check everything off and indicate on the inventories if there was anything damaged.  When a customer delivers into self storage, the mover's liability ends simply because the customer can move things around numerous times in an attempt to access things that they need while in storage.  Also, we were not the company that delivered their belongings out of storage.  If they had done what I told them to do, which is to check all of the furniture over at delivery, and noted it on the inventories, their valuation would have covered it.  Since they didn't note any damage and their belongings was delivered by another party, we are not responsible for any damage. The fact that PBO's and shipments delivered into self storage are not covered, is not our company's rule, this pertains to EVERY moving company.  Had we packed the breakables, we would have been responsible because it is our job to make sure that items are packed properly to prevent damage.  Additionally, if this shipment was placed in an Allied facility, we would have been responsible because no one else would have touched their furniture.The driver tried to accommodate them by paying for additional labor at destination because [redacted] did not want him involved.  However, with the additional labor, there should have been no reason that her husband had to work other than him wanting to get them out of there and get it over with.  I asked the driver why he would stack boxes when he was asked not to.  He said that they had rented a unit which was too small to accommodate their belongings and the movers were trying to fit it all in so that they wouldn't have to rent another unit.  As it was, there was an overflow so they needed to rent another unit anyway.Everyone got off to a bad start and I don't think that there was a recovery.  The driver that was assigned to this shipment is knowledgeable and has worked for several major movers but his PR skills weren't at their best.  He has a low claims ratio and knows how to protect the customers belongings but is rather gruff in how he addresses people.  Because of this, he is no longer employed by our company.We tried to be fair in assuming responsibility for the additional cost of the shuttle but I cannot refund money for the weight that was shipped.  How the cost was calculated was explained at the time of the estimate and there were significantly more items than she had indicated were going.If you have any questions regarding this, please feel free to contact me.Best Regards,Mary

First of all, let me say that Roy, the [redacted]'s driver, has a 4.86 (out of a possible 5.0, with 5 being excellent) quality rating by customers.  With a rating that is this high, it indicates that a majority of his customers are totally satisfied with their moves. He is a kind and caring driver, who goes up and beyond what a normal driver will do to satisfy his customers, even at his own expense.The [redacted]s were absolutely unprepared for this move.  If you view the photos, you will see that there are items strewn everywhere.  They had loose items that the crew was told, were not to be moved, but the furniture underneath was to be moved.  If you look at the bookcases, you will see that I am not lying.  One example of this is that all of the books inside of the bookcases were to be left behind, but the bookcases were to be shipped.  They fully expected the driver and crew to unload the books and take the furniture, which most drivers would not do---you are supposed to have everything that you want shipped, ready to be moved.  It is not the drivers job to move things that you don't want shipped.  Photos don't lie---this is why she objected to Roy taking the pictures because there would be documentation of what he was telling the office.She did not have 300 dish packs and if need be, I can produce inventories to prove that I am telling the truth.  Nothing was neat and numbered---it was everywhere! Every driver has a schedule based on the amount of time that it normally takes a driver and crew to pack and load a shipment.  Since we were not supposed to pack their shipment, a 53 foot trailer should have taken an experienced driver and crew 1-2 days to load, maximum.  Then, they are scheduled to another shipment.  As it was, because the [redacted]'s were not ready for the move, he was behind schedule a day.  He saw that they were in trouble and ended up assisting with the packing at NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE.  Still, they expected him to stay a fourth day, while they completed the packing of other items that they hoped to ship.  After the second day, he was losing money, paying for labor to assist with their move, in order to help the customer.  Did they thank him---NO!  Any other driver would have seen the conditions and would have left in the beginning, Roy stayed to get as much loaded as was ready to be moved and then, he had to leave because of other commitments.  He couldn't stay additional days to accommodate them packing the remainder of their belongings.His truck had 29,400 pounds on it.  After they completed the packing of the remainder of their belongings, they phoned Luke, their sales rep, to complain about this being left behind.  Never was anyone rude or perjorative to the [redacted]s.  We tried to explain why the move unfolded as it did (basically because they were not ready to be moved) and she didn't like the explanation.  Their move occurred at the busiest time of year.  Luke explained to them that we had a truck in the area that would be able to pick the remainder of their shipment up at no additional charge but it would have to be done on the specific dates that the truck was in their area.  They did not want it done in this time frame but required a later date (to give them time to pack up the balance).  Luke phoned at least 20 agencies to assist and was finally able to get a company to agree to pick the balance up but would charge $888 to do this.  Luke went back to the [redacted]'s, explained that since they would not allow our truck to pick up the balance, when they were in the area, the agent there could do this and hold the shipment until we had a truck in the area but there would be an additional charge of $888 for the local pick up and to hold their shipment.  They agreed to this and we set it up.As for never receiving a "thank you" for being awarded their move, again, this is not true.  If Mrs. [redacted] goes through her paperwork, when all of the documents were set for their signature, the cover letter expresses gratitude that they selected our company.  Everyone from this company was polite and tried to be helpful to the [redacted]s.  Never did anyone use profanity or treat them with disrespect.  On the other hand, Mrs. [redacted] was very rude and disrespectful when she visited our office after they directed us to place their shipment into storage at our facility.  After speaking to one of my employees who had lived in NJ, she asked how she could stand to work for a "[redacted]" like me.  And, in front of the entire office of my employees, she called me "a [redacted]" Now, she will probably say that this is a lie but I can produce live witnesses, who will swear, under oath that this is the truth.  What she did was illegal and comes under the heading of defamation of character.  I have never done anything to deserve this type of behavior! Her language was unbecoming and showed a lack of class.Lastly, I want to mention that the Revdex.com is the third agency that this woman has gone to.  Everyone has been able to assess the situation and have closed their files because we did nothing wrong.  I am sorry that they were dissatisfied with their move but there are some situations that are a "Catch 22" and you won't win no matter what limits you go to.All the best,Mary * J[redacted]Allegheny Valley Transfer Co, [redacted]

This is our response to AVT's rebuttal in response to our complaint to the Revdex.com. We reject their response.We put our trust in Allegheny Valley Transfer, a Pittsburgh-based [redacted] affiliate mover. However, once the driver left our home giving us 1 hour's notice, failing to fully load the 53' van we contracted,  nothing but extreme stress & unanticipated expense followed for us.*Things were not in a disarray as indicated. We had a 3 storey narrow townhouse.There were 300 plus dishpacks, neatly lined up & numbered. Roy's 2 helpers commented on the professionally packed boxes. *The unauthorized photos Roy took were of loose boxes & books we were donating to Goodwill. We even have receipts to prove this! These loose items were never intended to go on the van to Pittsburgh. Yet, these superfluous items were mistaken as inventory & labeling us "unprepared".*Ms. J[redacted]s comments are based solely on her feedback from Roy, not on actual onsite observations. After all, since Roy left the job before completion, he needed to create an alibi.*Roy & his 2 men worked continuously for 3 days loading the van with our furniture & dishpacks. They never had free time, except to eat the lunches & snacks we bought them. So they were never idle or standing around waiting as indicated.*If they worked non-stop, how could the van possibly be loaded in 1 day? Keep in mind, dishpacks & furniture had to be moved from 3 storeys of the townhouse. Additionally, it should be noted, there were 15 steps from the street to our front door.*Roy never mentioned rescheduling the move. After his inventory & household walk-through, he proceeded with the aid of his 2 men, to load the van. No one was ever idle; they worked non-stop. That's why what happened next is shocking!*On the third day of loading, at 4:00pm on Sunday,  Roy advised us he was leaving  He gave us no prior indications , only saying he had to return to Pittsburgh to unload our stuff & get ready for his next move. He offered the telephone number of one of his buddy's in Pittsburgh, another mover, who could finish our job at our additional expense.*We were absolutely shocked because our contract read "load till full" & there was still room on the van for additional household items & our clothing.*When Luke Z[redacted] our AVT representative, offered us a New Jersey-based [redacted] affiliate to complete the move & bring the remainder of our belongings that Roy left behind to Pittsburgh, he assured us there would be no additional cost. *That's why, when we went to AVT's office in West Mifflin to pay our bill,with a required bank check, we were held hostage. The "free" move from the New Jersey [redacted] affiliate was now $888, even though the driver arrived 1 week later & refused to take the remainder of the load or our clothing.*Everybody got paid but we got short-changed:$24,193.44...........AVT        188.00...........[redacted] affiliate NJ        795.75..........Dynamic Crating        325.00......... A & T Custom Crates        188.00..........Extra hour to put bed                                  together==========$25,690.19 & still no clothing or rest of                          our household effectsThis the the total we paid.*We got stuck moving to Pittsburgh without our clothes, coats & shoes. We had to outlay several thousands of dollars to put the clothing & the rest of our belongings in storage, renting a van to transport them to storage while. making several trips back & forth. The only clothes we have are the clothes that squeezed into 2 suitcases in our car.*This disconnect delayed our move to Pittsburgh & cost us a bundle. We assumed that AVT would complete the contracted move so we could vacate our house in NJ.*AVT knew from they get-go that Roy would be bringing the load to their onsite storage in West Mifflin till we found a suitable residence. AVT made profit on every aspect of our move, yet they never treated us as valued customers. They only could find complaints about us & were unreasonably  critical in their judgements.*We have moved several times, all with major van lines, & never did we experience such lack of consideration, respect, or customer consideration.*AVT never even said "thank you" for our business. They only utter negative, pejorative remarks. That speaks volumes![redacted]