Emerald Moving and Storage

Emerald Moving did a wonderful job of moving my mom’s things from Eugene to Issaquah, WA. Absolutely nothing was broken or marred. My mother has many antique pieces and they were well packed and, if necessary, re-​assembled. The delivery was right on schedule and the movers were professional and went out of their way to make sure things were placed where we wanted them. The price was straight-​forward and easily transacted. Thanks!

Our experience with Emerald Moving consisted of one mishap after another. Taken individually, they could be seen as part of the expected turmoil related to moving, but when viewed as a collection, they indicated a pattern of poor management and dubious business practices. We feel most duped by the owner who stood in our kitchen and basically said: ‘we’re going to make this easy for you.’ Since he never returned any of my numerous written and verbal requests to discuss the our complaints, what follows is an open letter to him and a strong warning to anyone considering using Emerald Moving. Under NO circumstances would we recommend using them, there are other options in town we wish we would have taken advantage of.
Dear Owner, I would have gladly given the following criticism had you decided to return my calls, but since you didn’t, I’ve decided to take you up on your request to «leave a review on Unilocal after your move.» Thanks for the good idea!
We find it terribly dishonest that you promised extra guys to help unpack at our destination. I had personally explained to you that unpacking day had to occur on a tight timeline. I had to return to Eugene that afternoon to work and was wiling to pay for extra movers. When I arrived at our destination, only 2 unpackers were standing there. When I asked them where the others were… they laughed at me. They said there was never a plan for «extra» help. Did they ever tell you that I personally spent SEVEN hours helping them unload? They actually thanked ME for helping THEM. Just so you know, I didn’t help to be friendly, I did it because you left me in a bind. Thanks.

We also think it was poor form on your part to conveniently NOT MENTION the 3% surcharge for using a credit card when sitting in our kitchen personally going over the details of the move. I didn’t learn about it until standing on the curb at my destination when presented with the bill. How do you leave out that information out in an age when people pay for everything with a credit card, especially very expensive moving costs? Frankly, your foreman didn’t seem too comfortable with the task – I imagine I’m not the first one to have been ruffled by that little «surprise.»
By the way, did your staff ever forward you the picture I sent of a box containing home theater equipment just thrown in there? Did they mention we think that same mover also almost let our two indoor-​only cats run out the front door? This was despite a huge sign asking them to stay out of the cat room. The sign was so big and so clear that your foreman later commented (his words, not mine), «I learned today that one of my guys doesn’t really read English that well.»
Our damaged goods claim. You could have handled it better. For example, if your staff tells us they’ll respond by the end of the day, they might want to do it. Or at least by the next day. Or the day after that.
Instead, we continually had to call/​email only to be told OVER AND OVER AGAIN «we’ll get right back to you.» This went on for almost a month. Honestly, the value of the items wasn’t that much and we submitted the claim mainly because we paid ~$ 500 for ‘extra’ insurance. Our thought proces: we paid for insurance, a few things were damaged during the move, might as well submit a claim. Had you or your office actually communicated more effectively, we would have accepted your decision (whatever it was) and moved on. The fact that our requests for a decision or information about the process were continually ignored (or put off) is what fueled our persistence. Ironically the ONLY time your office actually contacted us on their own was the day we filed a dispute of charges with our credit card company. This was based on your failure to address the damage caused by your team during the move. Ultimately, you won that battle on a technicality. Good for you… but was it at the expense of your integrity?
In conclusion, I know much of what I report here is a version of «he said, she said». But at the end of the day, had you actually cared enough to provide good, honest customer service, much of this could have been avoided. The fact that you personally came to our home to book the move, yet could never find the time to help manage our complaints — over the period of a month — indicates to us that you simply didn’t care once you had our money. So in good faith, we CANNOT recommend your moving company; our experience with you only added to the stress and chaos of one of life’s major events. Thank you for your attention.

Emerald managed to squeeze me into their schedule mid-​August after another local moving company «lost» record of my move. They partially packed and moved me. Everything was done quickly and with extreme care. Royce, the lead in both the packing and moving, was one of the most careful movers I’ve ever dealt with, in addition to being an incredibly polite and professional person. He managed to get a very large, awkward bureau into a small back bedroom of my new home with no scrapes, bangs, or even sounds! Bravo!

Emerald Moving did an amazing job in our move. I was moving my father from Portland to Eugene. His belongings included several large pieces of furniture and a piano. Working with Sandy in the main office went very smoothly. She had excellent follow up and was available for questions whenever necessary. The two movers that she sent, Tam and Philipe, were amazing — patient, kind, prompt and flexible. They arrived as scheduled and worked with both facilities (my father was moving from one independent living situation to another) very professionally. When they arrived for the delivery they were very patient with us as we tried to decide exactly where everything should go. Everything arrived in great shape and they were very neat and cleaned everything up before they left. Can’t say enough about how great our experience was with Emerald Moving.

Ive had the same experience as others who have used this company for storage. Management is inaccessible and terrible at record keeping, billing, communication and competency in storing goods. I recently picked up my contents that have been in two storage pods for about 7 years. It took months to get them to allow me access — finally just threatened and said I was coming. They had done the packing of the pods. My two expensive leather sofas were ruined. The sofa had been stored in the bottom of the pod with much piled on top. No moving blankets were used on it or the loveseat piled on top — seat to seat with no storage barrier. Both were covered with some kind of mildew. They tried to clean the leather with water and refused to accept responsibility for their inadequate packing. I was given storage rate for the issue (60 cents per pound, their assessment, $ 90). Tow ruined sofas after paying faithfully for over 7 years. Stay away!

We needed appliances delivered into a new-​construction house (with no driveway), and when the appliance company refused, we called Emerald. They came out, built a ramp, and got it done. When we moved in a month later, we hired them again. They were professional, hardworking, and had a great attitude about hauling our stuff up 28 steps! I highly recommend them.

My family and I have hired Emerald Moving at least five times in different capacities and under many different circumstances. They have always been professional, great to work with, and careful with our belongings. I have a piano that they have moved for me three times now and as a musician who treats her instruments like extended family members, I trust Emerald completely. You mess with my piano, you mess with me. Scott, in particular, is awesome! Emerald is helping us move once again this month and I’m happy to be giving them my business.

We used Emerald Movers for a cross-​town move in November 2013 and we were very satisfied with the service. I booked the job over the phone and after giving details of the move (how many rooms, size of the home, etc.) I was told that they would have one driver and one helper come out for 5 hours. I was a little skeptical that that would get the job done. I was told that they could stay longer if needs be, but that the price quoted would increase for every 20 minutes over the scheduled time. I was glad to know this ahead of time but hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
It didn’t.
The two guys who came out were fast, respectful (although the helper seemed to have a stomach issue and stopped up the toilet at our old house and new house… but hey, at least he was housebroken and knew how to use a plunger), and took care to lay drop cloths and wall protection. They moved everything in (and a pretty tight staircase) without so much as a scratch — pretty impressive. They assembled beds and helped to neatly place garage items where I asked them to. They took just one break, for about 20 minutes and finished the job in about 4 hours and 52 minutes.
At the end of the move-​in, the price (about $ 500) was exactly what I was quoted and had budgeted for.
Don’t plan on moving again anytime soon but, if/​when we do, I’ll be calling Emerald again.

I have used these guys twice now.
The first time was in 2013 when I moved From California to Eugene, OR, I had them come out and help me unload my truck. They sent out two guys and we got everything unloaded in a little over an hour. The guys were friendly, professional and took great care with my stuff.
The second time was when I moved from Eugene, OR to Vancouver, WA. This time Tan came out and gave me an estimate. On moving day 4 guys showed up on time and loaded the truck. Two guys drove the truck to Vancouver and unloaded. Same professional service as my first experience with them. The final bill came in under the estimate, and I just received a thank you note in the mail from them.
I am very pleased with the service from this company, and highly recommend them.

These reviews are so wrong!
We were ahead of schedule on our move, so we wanted to move our big furniture on a Monday, last minute (we had an appt with another company later in the week). Despite being pretty much fully booked, Emerald Moving was able to get me three movers each with an equipment dolly.
They arrived a full hour early, and since I only asked for 2 movers, they only charged me for two.
They were quick, efficient, and even had experience with the same model desk and couch that I had. Since it was a short move, I did not have many things boxed, but instead was just taking handfuls of things. They were completely fine with doing that, and helped me with the little stuff, even though I just wanted help with the heavy stuff.
Being the only moving company willing to help me on a last minute move, as well as actually being kind, courteous, and punctual, I will certainly recommend this company (and only this company!) to friends and family in the future.

The actual employees that do the moving are okay. Management sucks. Missed appointments. Shady deals. Poor communication regarding the frequent screwups with billing while goods are in storage, billing issues and complaints about service. Final blow was when my household goods were moved to my new residence and there was an obviously active rodent infestation that ruined a lot of my clothing. No response to messages concerning complaints.
Hinky outfit. Would not recommend.

Bad news here and I am speaking from multiple services.
Last June, I needed to move and decided to hire movers.
Two guys came over and the lead guy was completely psychotic. He was loud and mean to the other guy that he was working with. He was relatively tolerable the first half of the day but when we got to my new place, he was yelling and screaming and really disturbing the peace.
Finally, when all was said and done, you could just tell this guy was so heated and he pretty much expected a tip!
Seriously dude?
I had a few things stored on site at Emerald and they told me I had to give them a couple days notice before coming to get my stuff. Totally fair.
I would give them anywhere between 2 days and a weeks notice and they would never let me get my stuff! They would tell me that no one was available or it just wasn’t a good time etc.
Well, finally, I called one week in advance and they had a thousand more excuses. We let them know that this is what you call blackmail (as I still had to pay for it) and they handed it over immediately! Funny.
The customer service here is awful, the lady that works the desk is a fruit loop and could never give the right information.
I would advise anyone to steer clear of this place. It’s a bad business.