accuracy of online reviews

[mstanton]

Help! I've had two estimates from companies recommended on this website and the estimators both seemed great. But when I checked the reviews online, there were LOTS of bad reviews- especially on yelp. I know there are always going to be people who complain, but the number of bad reviews for companies that seem to be legitimate and good companies makes me wary. Does anyone have thoughts or suggestions. FYI the companies were Hilldrup moving and storage, an agent for United Van Lines and Bayshore moving and storage, an agent for Allied Van Lines.

Thanks!

[Jeff.Walker]

All three of the companies you mentioned are endorsed here. You can read what that means by following our article What makes an Endorsed mover “Endorsed”?. Essentially, our endorsed movers go through a rigorous background check in order to be endorsed.

A couple other things to keep in mind:
1. Van Lines don't have a vested interest in scamming you. They want your repeat business, and more importantly they want you to tell their friends how well they did.
2. They tend to get more complaints because they do far more moves than the average company. If you're seeing even 10 complaints from United Van Lines or Allied, you have to remember that they are performing 15,000+ moves per year, so those comlaints you talk about probably represent less than 1% of all the moves they do. That's a pretty good ratio in anyone's book.


If you're still concerned, you can always step your companies through our article "How to Find a Reputable Moving Company".

Hope this helps.

[BillAdams]

This is a battle that the movers cannot win.
I find that as a consumer, I will no doubt have to decide whether the reviews I read are fake (usually the good ones), or written by the rogue scorned customer.
In the moving business, it is not typical for a happy customer to take time away from unpacking and settling into their new home to take the time to write an amazing review on their mover. When moves are done perfectly, the mover will receive no Online written review from the happy customer. The customer takes delivery and goes on with their lives.
When people move, they are stressed, and when things don't go exactly as expected, they can go straight to the Internet and tell their story. Their story, with embellishment, and anger, wanting to cause great harm to the movers's reputation.
I've seen a lot in my 31 years in the business. This I can say is true: things can get damaged when moved, and delays can occur. And with all the perfect moves that a mover completes, there will be some moves that fall short. Good movers will certainly want to make it right with their customers if given the chance.
Jeff said it best - consider the number of moves a company handles annually vs. the number of complaints Online.
Interview the movers you are considering, and chose the one you are most comfortable with, always purchase their Full Value Protection, and if you have a good experience, please consider posting your compliments Online for all to see .

[BigLeeCalif]

Very good responses Jeff and Bill.

One point you made Jeff, that I think a lot of people overlook is that Van Lines, and any legitimate business relies on repeat business and word of mouth...

Scammers are quite the opposite. They know that they will only get one shot, so they try to fleece as much as they can, and then move to the next victim.

I remember when I first became affiliated with movingscam.com in 2003; scammers would just shut down, and pop up in a new suit under a different name. It got so bad that we knew scammers by name...

And Jeff, you were spot on in saying Hilldrup and Bayshore are quality agents.