A Smooth, Timely, and Professional Experience
Brian and Alana
Submitted this review about
Forward Van Lines
Review made Live: 2/18/2016 1:17:00 PM
From start to finish, we had great personalized attention from Forward, especially from Roei (dispatch manager, pronounced “Roy”), who informed us our file was on his desk from the week before packing day to well beyond unpacking/dropoff day. He proved this to be the case, by promptly responding to emails and messages late at night or early in the morning. We did a full-pack and long-distance move from Miami Beach to central Virginia, from the 29th floor of a high-rise condo complex to a 3-story house at the bottom of a steep hill on a cul-de-sac. So there were substantial logistical challenges (using a mid-sized truck instead of a standard 18-wheeler in order to better access the loading area of our condo and new home, working within the confines of the building's service elevator restrictions, moving everything down and packing the truck efficiently, a long-distance drive, unpacking while snowing, trekking things up several flights of steep stairs with large armoires and mattresses); the guys managed quite well all things considered. There was only minimal and incidental damage - a few scuffs that were easily fixed with furniture marker, a shelf and chair leg that were broken but repaired to our satisfaction in their warehouse and delivered back to us free of charge within two weeks.
We did experience a few issues stemming from poor packing by one particular individual in Miami that led to disorganization and missing items on the delievery end but the delivery-day manager (Alex) and Roei both offered accommodations that were satisfactory - e.g. offering to come back and install the missing feet from our huge dresser when they were found in a completely unrelated box several days later (Roei stated he would even send someone out to do it weeks later if needed; and go to Home Depot or Lowes to replace any missing hardware).
We were particularly impressed by the professionalism and obvious expertise of Vincent (packing day manager), Alex (delivery/unpacking day manager), and Jennings (driver/packer/unpacker). There were two semi-local guys contracted to help on delivery day who could have done a better job securing screws on end tables and beds but Alex and Jennings were more than willing to spend extra time fixing those mistakes as soon as they were pointed out. On the administration side, Guy came out and spent several hours providing us with a detailed, guaranteed quote and Gina is the point person to get things done when calling in before your move. Both are professional, efficient, and friendly.
Bottom line: Moving all of one's earthly belongings is always a headache--there will be glitches--but if you are a reasonable individual who understands this then any issues can be easily and quickly addressed with the Forward team. Communication is key. They are probably not the cheapest option (and readily admit to this), but as with many choices in life, you often get what you pay for. There was not a single request/item we asked them to address that was not done immediately with an "absolutely, sir" or "yes, ma'am." Furthermore, the additional follow-up by Roei personally post-move was unusual and a pleasant surprise. He seemed to be genuinely conerned about our repairs and settlement/unpacking process (even the weather). We wholeheartedly recommend their services to anyone undertaking a long-distance, substantial move and would certainly employ them again in the future.
