Bay State Moving Company

I found Bay State Moving Company on
to move our two properties into a third over a combined distance of 5.5 miles in 2008.
I have given this company one star predominantly because of what they did to my Steinway grand piano…
Before choosing Bay State, I was repeatedly assured by them that they are a professional moving company with a ton of experience, particularly with my piano. My recollection is that «insured» was their backing.
I had never used a mover for an entire property, but in hindsight there were huge red flags with Bay State.
First, after detailing over the phone the work requested, I had to call three times to get a written estimate (While reasonable ($ 1,405), the damage that was done to my piano was not at all worth the savings.)
They were late arriving. They could not get the addresses correct. They could not sort out which property was a walk-​up and which had an elevator despite being told seven times. They’re paid by the hour, so the sense you got was they were milking it somewhat (understandable given the lower cost).
THE PIANO: When you get a new Steinway M piano delivered by M. Steinert’s movers, it can take literally 14 minutes, curb to condo. They wear gloves and booties, never touch the finish with bare hands, reassemble with precision, and treat the instrument with great care. This is what I expected from Bay State.
However, in actuality, Bay State took an hour alone just to prepare the piano for shipment. They struck off legs with rubber mallets (!!), took off the cover the same way, bent pins, kept the keyboard cover closed by wedging plastic in it taking off the finish, and took their grimy hands and smeared them all over the case leaving water damage.
This would be like someone taking a mallet to your prized dining room table, then picking it up with grimy, wet hands. Think water stains x1000.
As this was occurring, I was freaking out inside and they could tell. I said, «You know you’re not supposed to put your bare hands on the case?» As the mallet struck the wood, I was assured nothing bad was happening to my piano.
They didn’t know what they were doing with the instrument. As they wheeled the piano off the truck at the final destination, the piano teetered on tiny dollies, nearly smashing sideways on to the sidewalk.
The rest of the move went well, although, we had moved most everything else ourselves and had only left large items that needed a truck for Bay State like an entertainment center, beds, and sofa.
To their credit, it was pouring out and they did shrink wrap everything before taking it outside. Meanwhile, however, even though shrink wrap was in our estimate, the lead mover said, «We’re not going to charge you extra for shrink wrap.» Similarly, when the same mover saw the digital piano (which amounted to two separate pieces that I could move in my little Honda myself), he said, «that’s supposed to be an additional charge.» I told him I’d move it myself then. He said, «We’ll move it and won’t charge you for it, but we’re supposed to charge you.» Getting the picture? Not particularly intelligent.
And the only damage to the other items was a big hand print on a Ligne-​Roset, light-​yellow-​colored sofa. We still don’t know why they took off the shrink wrap before placing the sofa in its room.
Further damage occurred when they tried to reassemble the piano.
If I had been more experienced at this, at the moment that the first strike of the mallet hit the piano, I would have told them to stop what they were doing and not touch it ever again. I would have been better off, hands down.
Turns out their «insurance» is .50 per pound — be sure to read the fine print of their contract. If they had left the instrument in splinters, the payout would have been around $ 375. Adding additional insurance appears to be very expensive — using M. Steinert’s approved movers would be far more cost effective and professional.
They didn’t know how to put the pedals back on, not that I wanted them to try anyway.
I had to call my tuner to finish properly reassembling the instrument.
Reluctantly, I tipped them. These weren’t bad guys — just really low-​end, untrained movers. They required most of the payment in cash.
To repair their damage, I had these additional expenses:
$ 35 emergency piano tuner visit
$ 95 upholstery cleaner
$ 800 piano reconditioning to repair gouges, marred finish, bent pins
I wrote them via certified mail to try to reclaim the additional expenses.
They called weeks later saying they’d try to fix the damage themselves.
Bay State? Touch my piano again? RIGHT.
The additional $ 930 became a big fee to enjoy never having anything to do with Bay State Moving Company again.
So, bottom line: If you need someone to move your not-​so-​special belongings, they’re effectively a Joe Schmo outfit that you’ll be okay with. A valuable instrument? NO!