A Day In Hell...

...would be better than what happened during my move.

I'm not even sure when to start. My shoulders are locked up and ache, and my pecs are sore. Will have to see if heat helps at all. Also need to see the massage therapist and the chiropractor. It's been too long.

I was scheduled for a move at 11 a.m. At 11, no truck, so I call. They will be there between 11 and 12. Ok, no prob. 12 comes along, still no truck. I call back. A woman tells me they have broken down and are running 2 hours late. Great . So I wait 2 hours. Still no truck. I call again at 1 p.m. She says that the truck could have arrived anytime between 11 and 12, so I need to wait another hour until 2. So I wait. Still no truck. I call again and a man answers and tells me no, no one's broken down, they are just running late. He gives me the driver's cell phone number and tell me to call them. (What the heck?!?)

I call the driver and he says that his men hadn't eaten that day so that has to be done first. They will arrive around 4. He also needed my address. Evidently, even though I had scheduled this, the driver knew nothing about any of it until I called. Hence, no address and no contract.

At 3:30 they called and said they were on their way. They arrived about 3:45, five hours late.

Well, the driver - his accent and light skin tell me he's probably Israeli - took one look at Abby in her cage and said they can't take live animals in the back of the truck...I needed to remove Abby and break down the cage, which, as you all know, is completely impossible. I offered to waive any rights to damage if anything happened. He kept saying no but I was very insistent and eventually he called his boss and got clearance for me to waive those rights.

And oh yes, I was told there would only be two people, so I assumed there would be room for me in the cab of the truck. Nope. They brought 3 people so the cab was full. I would have to take the bus and pay them while they waited for me. I offered to ride in the back of the truck and waive any right to damages from that, too, but they said no. (I'm just going across town, people!) I finally had to call the building owner, who offered to come and pick me up and lead the way to the new place. (The movers didn't know that either.)

The main guy, the driver, was very argumentative. Every box was another reason to argue about why they couldn't take it. They insisted on having everything boxed up tight as if we were driving cross-country. I was criticized for not being ready and not taping the boxes correctly. I was criticized for some boxes not having lids and "We can't take it if it doesn't have a lid."

Money was another argument. I was quoted one price on the phone - $278 as the minimum. I figured we could move in the minimum amount of time. I took out $440 just to be plenty safe. Well, the price now skyrockets because we've got 3 men, tape for the boxes, boxes to box stuff that doesn't have lids and such. I tell him I only have $400. He argues for a while longer but figures $400 is better than the full amount by credit card, and takes the offer. I hold back $40 for myself to buy necessary stuff until the holiday is over and I get settled and learn where to shop and such.

They were fast, but fairly careless and the driver spent more time arguing with me than working. For example, parking is impossible in my neighborhood so he said he could either double park and have me pay the ticket if they got one, or park legally further down the street and pay for the extra time it would take to walk back and forth. He said the ticket would be cheaper so I told him to go ahead and double park.

The whole thing was a fiasco. I have never seen a more insolent and argumentative mover, especially when I'm giving him $400 in cash for just a few hours' work. The entire thing was one long argument from start to finish.