I’ve quoted the reviews exactly as they were written but have omitted some off-topic passages, such as where people were complaining about how crazy-making the moving process is. Where possible, I’ve given the link to the original thread at the bottom of the post so people can go back to it if they want. Occasionally I've added an "Editor's Note" at the bottom of a review in which I comment on something that the person has written.
In the interest of full disclosure:- MovingScam is receiving a referral fee or donation from Broadway Express for every move with BE that is booked from the website. For a long time, Tim Walker (founder of the website) resisted taking such fees, but it became obvious that consumers' voluntary donations would never cover the costs involved in running the website. We hope that readers will understand that we would never enter into such arrangements with any company that Tim was not completely convinced was ethical. The other companies that MovingScam is receiving referral fees from are Broadway Express, the international moving companies recommended on the International Moves sticky, the full-service movers Moovers, Inc., All Star Moving, Joyce Van Lines, and STS Movers, the auto transporters Coast to Coast Auto Transport and Golden Key Express, and the auto transport broker ProStar at www.shipmycar.com. In the spring of 2010, Tim added Atlas SmartMove to the list of endorsed companies.
At the suggestion of a reader ("peterpqa"), at the beginning of each review I've categorized the reviewer's opinion of BE as "recommended" - "neutral" - or "not recommended." The "not recommended" (bad) reviews are #12, #112, #267, and #269. The "neutral" reviews are #21, #98, #105, #122, #134, #136, #162, #223, #277, #287, and #317.
You’ll notice that in the early reviews, people booked through Movex and BE was assigned as their carrier. In early 2004 they started booking through BE directly. We don’t have nearly as much information on the early moves as we have on the later ones, and the moves booked through Movex may show higher prices than BE would have charged if it had booked the move directly, although that isn’t always the case.
Also, we know that many more people used BE than are represented here, but they didn’t report back to us. I always try to round them up so we will have a record, but sometimes people change their email addresses when they move and we lose track of them. About 20% of the reviews included here are follow-ons from earlier posts and about 80% were solicited by me using customers' email addresses supplied by Broadway Express. Reviewers #20, #71, and #218 comment on this. I wrote only to people who told BE that they had heard about it through MovingScam or Epinions.
I hope this will be helpful to people trying to decide how to move. Any comments or suggestions for improvement are very welcome. A detailed FAQ sheet on BE and ABF (with photos) is at http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1771
COMMON-SENSE POINTERS FOR MOVING WITH BROADWAY EXPRESS:
* Follow up phone conversations with a confirming email.
* Don't skimp on the space you reserve in the trailer.
* Be flexible and don't schedule things too tightly.
* Talk with your driver a couple of days before your move.
* Call your driver every couple of days after pickup.
* Make sure that you can be reached by phone.
* Be mindful of truck access issues.
* Note that drivers often can’t predict their exact arrival times.
* Understand that you are moving with a freight company.
* When the truck arrives, inspect and measure the available space.
* Have all your packing finished before the truck arrives.
* Be very careful while working in or around the trailer.
* Follow up phone conversations with a confirming email. Get the names of the people you talk with on the phone at BE, and send them a follow-up email summarizing the points discussed and asking for a reply that confirms or corrects your understanding. For example, you may think you heard a BE customer service rep say that you will be able to purchase extra space in the trailer if you need it, but in fact the reps can never be absolutely sure of this.
* Don't skimp on the space you reserve in the trailer. Many problems occur when customers don’t reserve enough feet. If there is no more space available, items may have to be left behind, mailed, or crammed into the trailer with insufficient padding around them, possibly resulting in damage. Even if there is space available, later customers may be inconvenienced when there is no space left for their things on the trailer and another truck has to be assigned, causing delays all down the line.
* Be flexible and don’t schedule things too tightly. Ask yourself what would happen if the driver arrived a few hours or a day later than scheduled or wanted to deliver a day or two earlier than scheduled, and have a backup plan. Be sensible--if you schedule a pickup for the exact day that you have to be out of your old residence, or a delivery for the exact day that your new residence becomes available, you are tempting fate.
* Talk with your driver a couple of days before your move to find out things such as the following:
- whether the driver is willing to help load and unload. Occasionally a driver will not want to do so, for example if he is older or injured or will be arriving tired;
- whether there will be as much space left on the trailer as you have reserved, and whether there will be extra space in case you need it (if not, you should plan how you will cope with the situation);
- how many pads (moving blankets) will be available to you;
- how many dollies are on the trailer, and what type (e.g. appliance dolly, flat dolly, hand truck) so that you can obtain those items if you need them;
- whether the trailer is equipped with a liftgate, if you need it;
- if you are loading a vehicle, whether the driver is aware of this and whether he has the split ramp needed to load it. If he does not, or even if he does and you have a low-clearance vehicle, you may have to hire a rollback flatbed tow truck to load your car, so you should determine what towing company you are going to call if you need to. (If you have a high-clearance vehicle and the driver does not have a split ramp on the trailer, BE will usually reimburse you for the cost of the tow truck, so keep your receipts.)
- the approximate time when the driver will arrive (but see below).
If you haven’t heard from the driver two days before your scheduled pickup, call the BE office to let them know. (Remember that they are closed on weekends.)
* Call your driver every couple of days after pickup. But remember that too many phone calls can be difficult for drivers to handle when they are driving, so they may let calls go to voice mail during the day. Also, keep time zones in mind. Most drivers go to sleep early so they can get on the road very early. If the driver does not return your call within a reasonable amount of time, call BE to ask them to contact the driver directly.
* Make sure that you can be reached by phone. Some people have had problems when they disconnected their regular phone service, or their cell phone service cut out, or they didn’t check their messages frequently enough. It’s a good idea to give the driver and BE at least two contact phone numbers, not just one.
* Be mindful of truck access issues. The BE trucks cannot pick up and deliver where there are narrow streets, tight turns, low bridges, and low overhanging branches that could damage the roof. Help the driver by having a good route in mind. If possible, drive it yourself to check for hazards and note the mileage at various landmarks so you can give the driver accurate directions. Notice whether large 70- to 80-foot tractor trailers are being driven on that route. If you think the BE truck will not be able to access your residence directly, arrange for a smaller vehicle in advance to shuttle your things to and from the trailer. Discuss parking with your local police department and get the proper permits if necessary, or block off five car lengths with your vehicles and your friends’ vehicles so the BE driver will have room to park.
* Note that drivers often can’t predict their exact arrival times, so if you hire workers to help load or unload you should find out what their policy is on charging for waiting time or coming back later if necessary. If your driver arrives substantially later than he said he would and you have to pay workers to wait, keep receipts to show what you paid. BE occasionally reimburses customers for this but each case is reviewed on an individual basis. If the driver arrives late because he ran into a traffic jam or was given bad directions by a customer, that is different from his arriving late because he overslept, for example. Drivers sometimes arrive late through no fault of their own because customers scheduled for pickup or delivery on the same day take longer than expected to load or unload their goods.
*Understand that you are moving with a freight company and not with a full-service household mover, even though many BE drivers have also worked as household movers. All of the trailers will have at least one door in the side to make loading easy, but some are freight trailers where the floor is level from front to back and some are drop-deck household trailers where the floor dips down between the front and rear wheels. Also, although the driver can usually be hired to help load and unload, the level of service you get may not be the same as with a fancy household mover. Just as you wouldn’t expect to buy a Lexus for the price of a Corolla, you should have realistic expectations about what and who you will get for your money. But if you’re unhappy with something the driver does or doesn’t do, say something. Unless you speak up the driver won't know what you want. For example, tell the driver if you want him to help load or unload and he is just standing there. Tell the driver if his hourly fee or his minimum number of hours makes him too expensive for you to hire. He may be willing to make an adjustment downward.
* When the truck arrives, inspect and measure the available space before loading your shipment. Have a camera available with plenty of film or storage to document anything that seems problematic, for example a hole in the roof or too few moving pads. If the truck has less space available than you reserved or is in less than ideal condition, make a note of it on the Bill of Lading that the driver will ask you to sign. (BE will refund any money that you have paid for space that is not available on loading day.)
* Have all your packing finished before the truck arrives so that you can be out at the truck supervising the entire loading process. Then if there are items that you are especially concerned about, you can ask the driver or your loaders to take special care with them. You can also observe how they are wrapped and loaded and if there is damage you will have a pretty good idea who caused it. Remember that you—not the driver or BE—are responsible for any breakage, scratches, rubs, and dents that may occur during your move. Only if there is catastrophic damage or negligent damage such as water damage from a roof leak is BE responsible.
* Be very careful while working in or around the trailer. Among the possible hazards are falling off the trailer, falling off the ramp, and getting hit by the end of a cargo beam or a sheet of plywood being carried by someone else. Be alert.
; had fairly major problems with driver's attitude (same driver as in review #10); BE gave $$ refund