J. W. Cole & Sons, Inc.

We have finally unpacked the last of the boxes and I am pleased to report that we did not find any damage on a full trailer-load move. During my career as a Corporate Transportation Manager, I have negotiated a number of corporate relocations for myself and other senior level managers. I can almost ...

We have finally unpacked the last of the boxes and I am pleased to report that we did not find any damage on a full trailer-load move. During my career as a Corporate Transportation Manager, I have negotiated a number of corporate relocations for myself and other senior level managers. I can almost always count on a certain amount of breakage, nicks or dings on furniture items. I also know that I drove the movers crazy by stressing over my antiques and electronic items, and past negative experiences with other major moving companies who promised perfection and delivered mediocrity. Somehow you patiently convinced me that you and your team at JBL Moving & Storage could make good on your promise of a flawless move at a competitive rate and you delivered! Prior to moving day, December 2005, you personally kept in contact to insure that we had the supplies we required to pack our household goods and that we were on schedule for the arranged pick-up date. The van operator, Ken Bourque, called a couple of days prior to pickup to introduce himself and confirm directions to our house. Ken and the team leader, Joe, and the other packers were at our home bright and early on moving day. The packers were cheerful and patient with our questions and concerns and carefully blanketwrapped and loaded each time. I was in awe at how effortlessly the guys carried heavy oak furniture and our 80-inch big screen from upstairs to downstairs without damaging the walls or the furniture. They worked with a minimum of breaks and only a half-hour lunch, when the van operator offered them an hour. Although we were blessed with California sunshine on the day we moved, the unload in Ohio was handled just as professionally in light drizzle and 35-degree weather. On both ends, the van operator ensured that padding and runners protected the staircase and carpet. Bottom line, we will forever be in your debt. Please pass along our gratitude to Joe, his professional packers and the other office staff who supported our move. If you should ever require our assistance to convince a skeptical customer of your excellent service, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Three weeks ago I was frustrated, and anxiously anticipating a nightmare from Atlas "sometime" on Saturday, June 20th. What actually happened was nothing short of miraculous. A lot of things had gone wrong during the process to coordinate the move for our 90-year-old mother from Anaheim, CA to ...

Three weeks ago I was frustrated, and anxiously anticipating a nightmare from Atlas "sometime" on Saturday, June 20th. What actually happened was nothing short of miraculous. A lot of things had gone wrong during the process to coordinate the move for our 90-year-old mother from Anaheim, CA to Poulsbo, WA. The biggest problem was the lack of communication along the way. A number of details were missing. The final detail of not getting a call within the promised 24 hours in advance of the delivery was almost the deal breaker. Were it not for Paul answering the phone at the Anaheim warehouse, just as he was ready to leave for the day on Friday, June 19th, and giving me the phone number in Tacoma, WA. And were it not for Sandy answering the phone late on Friday evening, and going to great lengths to track down a delivery time from the dispatcher in Tacoma, I would have been out of luck. Thank you both for being there and helping me with a desperate situation. There was a trail of miscommunication right from the start. We had two pick-up locations and there were to be two delivery locations. The original contract was set up that way because my mother's items were being moved both from her home and from her assisted living apartment in Anaheim. These items were to be delivered to her assisted living apartment here in Washing State and to a nearby storage unit. The confusion happened when I was told that the deliveries had to go to locations that could accommodate a large 80' moving truck. The storage unit could not accommodate the truck, so we needed to cancel that part of the delivery order, and I was left with the idea of being alone in a parking lot with a pile of things that needed to go to storage unit. How to get them there and who would do all the lifting and moving? I have a bad back, and right before the delivery date had a major painful flare up. No one bothered to let me know that a smaller truck would ultimately be used, and making both deliveries was no problem. I could have been saved a lot of stress and sleepless nights. Besides this mix up, both loads that were picked up in Anaheim we intermixed. They were to be kept separate, with the things from the house going into storage, and the things from the apartment going into the apartment here. Everything was off loaded into the Anaheim warehouse and crated all together, how ever it would fit. You can imagine the puzzle of trying to sort things out as they were unloaded at the first delivery location. One other frustration came during the actual packing process. There were three men quickly packing and loading up the van. My sister, Deanna Butterfield, at the Anaheim locations was trying to oversee things. The men worked too fast, they were eager to get to another job, for Deanna to supervise everything and consequently there was a wake of problems that occurred. The person(s) who unhooked the washing machine in the garage, opened up the garage door (without checking with Deanna), and loaded it into the moving van, did not add it to the inventory documents, and soon the entire team drove away from the premises. They left behind a leaking water pipe where the washer had been and a broken garage door opener. Deanna had to have a repair person come out to get the door down and secured, and she had to get the water pipe closed off, before she could leave to drive up to Washington. The final issue was that one of the packers had used a bathroom without asking, and left a bowel movement mess because the toilet was not flushing, without letting Deanna know. Had he politely asked, he could have used another bathroom and saved Deanna from finding an unwanted surprise. On the plus side, although Laura Patrick, from the Anaheim office, was out on medical leave, she made herself available to me via email. She was a huge source of help and information, and encouragement. I am immensely grateful to her. Laura was the one constant I could count on amongst the many phone calls that were never returned by others in the Anaheim office. If it hadn't been for her understanding the situation and making every effort to help straighten things out, I don't know what I would have done. Laura via email arranged for the two deliveries to be made and the payment amount was adjusted to accommodate the change. Then on delivery day, in walked Rebecca Benfield and her team. They were on time, even 10 minutes early, and they were ready to make the move happen. They listened to the predicament we were in needing to separate out the load, some things for the apartment, and some things going to storage. They had not gotten the memo about the two delivery locations, but no problem. It was a painstaking procedure to unload all of the crates and sort things out, but I never heard a word of complaint. Rebecca, Rico Pader and Deshawn Moore were professional, polite, and patient with our 90-year-old mom. The senior living facility employees even noticed how nice they were to everyone whose paths they crossed. They were efficient, and long suffering, during a long, hot day. Rebecca and her team were the redeeming factor in making a difficult experience turn out positive. The load came through complete (even the missing washing machine showed up) and in good condition. [We did notice later than an artificial ficus tree had the top broken out of it. However, I watched the team unload it here and I'm sure the damage had to have happened at the Anaheim end, when things were off loaded and then crated. We didn't notice the shortened tree until the dust had settled after the move.] They left the site clean and free of damage. Rebecca took a particular interest in my mom and whatever Mom wanted, Rebecca made it happen. Rebecca was so very kind to Mom, helped her figure out where to place her furniture, arranged and re-arranged things, so they would fit in her small space. She genuinely cared for her. Rebecca and her team were awesome. They truly went the extra mile for us. They made a stressful process less hectic. Although the moving team was efficient, they never indicated that they were in a hurry to move on. They took as much time as was needed to finish the job satisfactorily. Many, many thanks to each one of the team. They were absolutely a blessing to us. They are an excellent example of the kind of employees who make a company successful.