Royal Moving & Storage

Bottom line? Over half of my furniture and appliances arrived damaged or missing parts, some of it a total loss. There were no reported accidents, vandalism, or acts of God in transit, so I can only assume Royal Moving & Storage either simply couldn't be bothered to take care of my stuff, or they have very low standards for care. Probably both.

I'll offer criticisms of their business, but first, just look at the numbers. They have very little financial incentive to do the job right. Their base liability is 60 cents on the pound per damaged item. That means for a 100 pound item, you'd get compensated $60 (assuming the claims outfit finds the damage is significant and was their fault). So, even if it's ten items in question, compensation amounts to a small percentage on a move they've charged thousands for--and they have their own insurance so they're not paying out of pocket. But for you, that $60 is quite probably not going to touch the total replacemnent cost of your item. That doesnt even include the time and cost of finding a suitable replacement, costs of shipping and handling and installation, the hassle of doing without the piece while it's being replaced, and so on. Now consider that many items will have a higher replacement cost/weight ratio (your designer name table may be worth hundreds but weigh only 40 pounds, so you'll get $24).

Could be that's industry standard. And yes, you can pay RM&S more to insure the items at a higher level. Maybe you have home owner's or renter's insurance that covers stuff damaged in transit (many policies don't). Does any of that buy you peace of mind knowing they have a relatively poor track record (as of this writing, < 3.5 stars on Google reviews)? Chances are, unless you don't mind losing your stuff, you'll want to think twice about moving with these guys. Why gamble when you want security?

An actual example: I paid extra $$$ to have my television wrapped according to their standards so it would be covered in case of loss. Even then, this TV was damaged, a total loss. Maybe I'll get $30. An added cruelty, they managed to ruin the wall hanging mount.

Now, for criticisms. As other reviewers have said, the initial estimate means nothing. On moving day, when it was far too late to change plans, the price jumped 50%. How? The cost of the move is a function of the volume of all your goods once they're on the truck (NOT their weight!). Because these movers are paid by the hour, they have no incentive to take the time to pack that truck as you might, like a Tetris puzzle made of finest china. My mover told me my stuff was bulkier than estimated, so I decided to leave several larger pieces out. It didn't change the bottom line. I asked him to consider packing things more tightly. He said not to worry, the space on the truck is reserved based on the estimate, and we had room. How did we have room, within the estimate, but the cost shot up 50%?

(Cue the business rep who offers the red herring that the cost of a move also depends on how many stairs they have to climb, the distance of the move, etc. It's irrelevant: all such factors are known costs when the estimate is made.).

The truck they used to pick my stuff up? A Penske rental, NOT a company vehicle. You think they'll treat a rental with anywhere near the care and pride they'd show a company-owned vehicle? Nah, it's sketch.

The moving guys themselves? RM&S insists they screen all of their movers (background checks & drug tests) and train them. That makes for great brochures, and it may be true of a certain cadre of their movers, but it's not 100% accurate. Their movers are free to bring in whomever they want for assistance. As near as I can tell they rely on a loose network of associates, virtually unknown to HQ. One guy was simply paid out of pocket. Another mover lamented that many of his crew had no clue how to protect themselves by lifting properly, avoiding falling objects rather than trying catch them, etc.

Do yourself a favor and consider selling your stuff before trusting any of it to this fly by night company.

Service was good and and helpful. Will use this company again in the future. Scott did a great job

Good moving company.They are very helpful and very careful with your furniture.l recommend them to anybody.Thank you

Good experience very professional

Do not use this company. The office are sweet to talk to, yet the drivers and communication on arrival is so rancid - they left us high and dry 15 minutes before pick up and they already were a day late. They made it my fiancés problem after we paid for a flight out. I am appalled at the blase attitude.