Gentle Transitions

I had a hard enough time finding the right community for my aging mom and dad; the last thing I wanted to deal with was the actual downsize and moving. (My parents spent 30 years in the same house… um, can you say «STUFF»?)
Basically, Gentle Transitions sends out a Move Manager that met with my mom and I, and told us how it worked. They did a custom floor plan of the unit my parents were moving to which helped mom & dad decide what furniture would fit, and what their new home would feel like. What’s really nice is that the move manager we met during the consultation was there for EVERY STEP of the move. That gave my mom a sense of stability and peace of mind. (It also meant I didn’t have to be there for every step of the process — WOO HOO! Not saying I don’t love my parents but this was so hard as it is and with Gentle Transitions I dind’t have to stress as much and it made it easier for my parents.) Also, their staff was so patient when it came to working with my parents. Literally the move manager treated my mom and dad like they were her own.
They basically did everything: they sorted my parents stuff, patiently worked with mom to decide what to keep and sell, what to pack and move, they did little things too, like turning off the cable and utilities so I didn’t have to – AMAZING… Okay so that’s all good and dandy, they can pack and downsize and help. but wait for the best part… THEN, they did the move. they call it «move day». That morning I took my folks out to breakfast and a museum, then around 1:00 we showed up at the community… and everything was moved in. I’m talking pictures hung on the walls. EVERYTHING. Unbelievable. I’m serious. I mean, my mom and dad’s bed was made. WOW!
I’m serious, this is not an overstatement: I would not have been able to move my parents without Gentle Transitions.
Bravo!

THE BIG BUM-​RUSH! BEWARE!
It has taken me over a year to write this because it has been so traumatic, but I wanted Gentle Transitions to know how I was treated by them contributed to a nightmare of a move and I would never recommend them, as the scars of the move are with me still.
There were others that contributed to the problematic move, but this is just GG’s part.
Basically as I see it, they wouldn’t pack me up unless I had had a plane ticket, because they wanted to make sure they would get their money, even though they would have gotten paid one way or another as I had to move somewhere so I had to be packed up.
I was forced to make a big decision to move 1200 miles away when I wasn’t sure about it just to get the packing going. The girls who helped with the move were nice enough, but the packing was terrible and I didn’t know it until I tried to find my stuff.
As I found out later, Instead of packing kitchen items or office items together, they just packed so that everything would fit in whatever boxes, then labeled them, so things I could have left in storage I had to bring into the new apartment and go through everything and repack. Needless to say, I’m still surrounded by boxes a year later and who knows what is in the boxes in the garage.
They packed a bottle of liquid laundry detergent in a dresser drawer (!!!) with my clothes in it!??) and it opened and spilled all over the dresser ruining the outside finish, let alone the mess it caused inside.
In addition, when Greg first came over to assess what had to be moved, the very first thing I showed him were things that had accumulated on the patio, — boxes and outdoor storage chests, things that needed to be gone through. During the packing I didn’t have a chance to go through any of it, so when he was finished packing the inside of the house he started leaving and I insisted he had to take care of that as well. He said «we don’t take care of that stuff» and had another outside crew come in to haul it off and I know he didn’t recycle any of it, though that’s what I had wanted all along. I didn’t get a chance to recycle any of my goods, electronics, plastics, anything, so I felt pretty angry about all that too.
I felt bum-​rushed by Greg Gunderson (BMOC) the owner because he wanted his money, and it instigated one of the worst years of my life. Gentle indeed. Greg was initially disarming and «understanding» during a time of very high stress for me, but it was a racket: a bum-​rush nonetheless. He knew I had doubts about leaving and kept insisting I get a plane ticket and I felt increasing pressure to make that move.
All I can say is Greg, you really fucked me over and my life has been devastated for over a year now. In that year, I lived in 3 sub-​standard housing units surrounded by boxes containing who knows what because I was desperate to get out of the motel I was forced to live in and I will never forgive you. What a hypocrite.
You should call yourselves Greedy Transitions.
What goes around comes around.
UPDATE:
This company responded to me and now that response is gone, so I am concluding that it was done with the collusion of Unilocal and the responder GT. One star for you Unilocal that’s all you’re getting. I will screenshot this because it will probably disappear too.

We moved my mom into an assisted living facility with the amazing help of the Lydia and gentle transitions. This was really the most wonderful moving experience I have ever been a part of. Lydia packed up the entire house with a smile on her face and incredible patience and when we got to the other side it was completely unpacked and as if we had always been living there. There is no other way to the move as far as I’m concerned.

Just wanted to let you know what an amazing job Leann and Sharon did for us.
We were moving my mother-​in-​law from Independent Living to Assisted Living at University Village in Thousand Oaks.
She has been living in a 2 bedroom apartment and had to downsize to a studio apartment. We were extremely worried because she had an amazing amount of «stuff» that needed to be moved.
From the moment we met Leann we realized we were in good hands. Her professionalism and care was superb and she actually managed to assure us that she could «make it work».
Well she certainly did… with the help of Sharon and the moving team they pulled off a monumental achievement! Making all the stuff fit and more importantly… making it feel like home!
I will certainly be recommending your company to anyone who needs such professionalism and just wanted you to know what a terrific team you have working for you.
Thank you for everything.

My 91 year old mother moved from one retirement community to another in the same town recently. Gentle Transitions moved her and they were the best experience we’ve had out of 4 moves. Each time my mother moved previously, we were told the service provided a complete move-​in experience, including hanging pictures, etc. Gentle Transitions was the first service to truly provide a COMPLETE move-​in experience, including unpacking every box, putting away every item (while consulting mom to make sure it was in the right place), hanging her pictures, placing her nick-​knacks out, and connecting the TVs and printer and computer. When they left, there was nothing to do but sit and enjoy the new apartment. I can’t say enough positive about Barb, Rozanne & Andrea. These 3 women were a God-​send to my mother. What an amazing experience. I would use them again in a heartbeat. And to top it off, the 3 of there were kind and gracious to my mother who has difficulty making decisions. They kept a positive and upbeat demeanor the whole 10 hours they worked to complete the apartment to my mother’s satisfaction. I have only the highest recommendation for this company. You will not be disappointed!

Greg and his professional team make moves seem almost effortless. They help with floor plans, packing, unpacking, picture hanging and stress reduction. Recently used them with a last minute move that was supposed to be done by family but stuff happened and they stepped in in the eleventh hour to save the day.

Moved my mother & father today, from one senior facility to another.
Idk, but after personally doing 4+ moves in the last 18 months, I have to say, Nancy & Tracy from Gentle Transitions, were organized and efficient. Movers were awesome as well. No damage and went out of their way to load additional things into my personal truck to bring home. I did do some packing of small items and valuables prior to the move, and will be returning those items to my parents tomorrow.
You do need to be specific with the quote as for the charges. My new facility, gave us a move in credit, which did not include the moving truck fees (GT hires an outside company to do the physical move), although I do plan to ask my new facility about that. I suppose getting the move in credit was a much better deal. My credit was for $ 2500 (for two room, packed, unpacked, complete setup), and the quote ended up half of that. Plus the $ 500 (oop) for the moving truck.
At this point, I may just be over moving people on my own, but after removing the valuables, I was very comfortable, and very thankful for the help.

The Gentle Transitions web site says they are «a nationally recognized pioneer in the delicate art of senior relocation.» But, according to our experience, their primary skill is in ripping off seniors who do not know any better. I called to engage them in the moving of my 90-​yr old mother. In my initial call, they said that, for a 1-​bedroom or studio apartment with a minimum of furniture, they would charge a maximum of $ 500 for their services and $ 500 for the movers. We agreed to have them come out and help and, after two visits, they announced that JUST THEIR SERVICES