The Idiot of the Week Award for this week goes to Fast Traxx movers. B and I purchased a used television armoire on Craigslist. My mom and I went to examine the armoire, and we found it to be in pretty good shape. The doors opened and slid back, the drawer worked, the backing was attached, and it held a 32 inch TV. The molding was loose on top, and the piece had some dings/scratches. However, for the price, I loved it and decided to buy it.
Unfortunately, the piece is HUGE, meaning that B and I couldn't carry it or move it in her Santa Fe. So, I decided to call Fast Traxx moving, as they advertise on CL all the time. The price was reasonable, and they were recommended by Angies' List - usually a decently safe bet. Plus, I didn't think that much could go wrong, as it's ONE piece of furniture. Boy was I wrong!
The movers arrived with the armoire, and eventually maneuvered it into the apartment. I noticed the doors were detached, but I figured that was just for the moving process. I asked them about the doors, and they then slyly stated, "oh, one of the doors fell off while we were moving it, but the sellers said it should pop right back in" or something similar. We then attached one door without any problems, but the other door wouldn't attach no matter what we tried. In fact, some random parts kept falling out of the hinges, which definitely seemed odd to me. I questioned the movers again, and they then said that the seller said this was normal and that I should call them for advice. Because I figured they were being truthful and that the seller would have advice for putting the door back on, I wrote them a check, with a decent tip, and sent them on their way. Big mistake (sidenote - I need to learn to not trust people so easily - it was probably obvious that they broke the door at this point, but I accempted their explanation - doh).
After the movers left, I called the seller, who almost laughed when I told her what they had said. She said that the idiots didn't tie the doors shut or take them off (even though both she and her boyfriend told them to do so) before they turned the armoire on its side and that as a result, the doors flew open and one fell off. I then closely examined the hinge and could see instantly that she was telling the truth - the hinges were REALLY bent and that's why the pieces were falling out. I immediately called the movers, who conveniently didn't pick up, and left a pretty forceful message stating that I didn't appreciate their lying to my face and that I expected them to return my check. I was upset that they broke the armoire, but I was more upset that they had lied to my face. Absolutely ridiculous.
Poor B and I then had to spend the rest of the day attempting to fix the door (as what good does a TV armoire do if the doors don't work - the whole point is to hide the TV!). After several trips to Home Depot and Rockler Woodworking, we couldn't find matching hinges, so we tried to jerry-rig a solution with smaller hinges and wood putty (parts that weren't exactly cheap). That didn't work, and poor B had to chisel out the wood putty before it completely set. After that failure, we gave up for the night, but I continued to scour the internet for matching hinges. I finally found something and emailed the local Rockler manager, who responded on Monday that he thought he could help us (PS - Rockler is a great store - very helpful personnel. I highly recommend it. They even gave us our money back for the wood putty and small hinges, as it was their recommendation.). B went over to Rockler later that week and voila, we had working hinges and a working door again. Nice!
Unfortunately, Fast Traxx's idiocy didn't end with the doors. As we set up our TV equipment, we also discovered that they managed to rip the particle board backing off the back of the armoire, and I think they damaged the drawer as well. Plus, the TV shelf wasn't as strong as it should have been. At this point, B and I didn't know what to do, as we had already spent more money than we had planned. We aren't very handy, and we had no idea how to fix a piece of furniture. We knew we could fix the molding and the particle board, but that was about it. Luckily, B had a moment of brilliance and decided to ask Gordy, her landlord, if he would look at it. He said sure, and after a couple of hours of his time, we have a functional armoire! He only charged us for the hardware, about $10. We keep pestering him to tell us what we owe him for his labor, but he just shrugs it off. What a great guy!
Anyway, while we are thrilled with the armoire now, the point of this entry is to tell folks to avoid Fast Traxx. I understand that furniture can be damaged during moves, but lying about what happened is COMPLETELY unacceptable. I was so angry that I actually decided to write an email demanding my money back, and I wrote it from my work account. I've never done that before - meaning that I've never used my position as an attorney to receive fair results, if writing an email can even be called that. I felt weird about it, but I'm not sure why, as I only asked for fairness. Even if I wasn't an attorney, I would have taken those jokers to small claims court, as they seriously damaged the furniture and then lied about their actions. And, who knows if they even noticed my signature - probably not. I need to get over feeling bad about demanding fairness, honesty, and good customer service. Seriously.
In Fast Traxx's defense, they did return the check after my emails. That was decent. Regardless, they still receive the idiot of the week award, and I definitely advise against using their services. Pay a little more for good, honest movers, and you won't have to spend money and a week repairing broken furniture! :)
Unfortunately, the piece is HUGE, meaning that B and I couldn't carry it or move it in her Santa Fe. So, I decided to call Fast Traxx moving, as they advertise on CL all the time. The price was reasonable, and they were recommended by Angies' List - usually a decently safe bet. Plus, I didn't think that much could go wrong, as it's ONE piece of furniture. Boy was I wrong!
The movers arrived with the armoire, and eventually maneuvered it into the apartment. I noticed the doors were detached, but I figured that was just for the moving process. I asked them about the doors, and they then slyly stated, "oh, one of the doors fell off while we were moving it, but the sellers said it should pop right back in" or something similar. We then attached one door without any problems, but the other door wouldn't attach no matter what we tried. In fact, some random parts kept falling out of the hinges, which definitely seemed odd to me. I questioned the movers again, and they then said that the seller said this was normal and that I should call them for advice. Because I figured they were being truthful and that the seller would have advice for putting the door back on, I wrote them a check, with a decent tip, and sent them on their way. Big mistake (sidenote - I need to learn to not trust people so easily - it was probably obvious that they broke the door at this point, but I accempted their explanation - doh).
After the movers left, I called the seller, who almost laughed when I told her what they had said. She said that the idiots didn't tie the doors shut or take them off (even though both she and her boyfriend told them to do so) before they turned the armoire on its side and that as a result, the doors flew open and one fell off. I then closely examined the hinge and could see instantly that she was telling the truth - the hinges were REALLY bent and that's why the pieces were falling out. I immediately called the movers, who conveniently didn't pick up, and left a pretty forceful message stating that I didn't appreciate their lying to my face and that I expected them to return my check. I was upset that they broke the armoire, but I was more upset that they had lied to my face. Absolutely ridiculous.
Poor B and I then had to spend the rest of the day attempting to fix the door (as what good does a TV armoire do if the doors don't work - the whole point is to hide the TV!). After several trips to Home Depot and Rockler Woodworking, we couldn't find matching hinges, so we tried to jerry-rig a solution with smaller hinges and wood putty (parts that weren't exactly cheap). That didn't work, and poor B had to chisel out the wood putty before it completely set. After that failure, we gave up for the night, but I continued to scour the internet for matching hinges. I finally found something and emailed the local Rockler manager, who responded on Monday that he thought he could help us (PS - Rockler is a great store - very helpful personnel. I highly recommend it. They even gave us our money back for the wood putty and small hinges, as it was their recommendation.). B went over to Rockler later that week and voila, we had working hinges and a working door again. Nice!
Unfortunately, Fast Traxx's idiocy didn't end with the doors. As we set up our TV equipment, we also discovered that they managed to rip the particle board backing off the back of the armoire, and I think they damaged the drawer as well. Plus, the TV shelf wasn't as strong as it should have been. At this point, B and I didn't know what to do, as we had already spent more money than we had planned. We aren't very handy, and we had no idea how to fix a piece of furniture. We knew we could fix the molding and the particle board, but that was about it. Luckily, B had a moment of brilliance and decided to ask Gordy, her landlord, if he would look at it. He said sure, and after a couple of hours of his time, we have a functional armoire! He only charged us for the hardware, about $10. We keep pestering him to tell us what we owe him for his labor, but he just shrugs it off. What a great guy!
Anyway, while we are thrilled with the armoire now, the point of this entry is to tell folks to avoid Fast Traxx. I understand that furniture can be damaged during moves, but lying about what happened is COMPLETELY unacceptable. I was so angry that I actually decided to write an email demanding my money back, and I wrote it from my work account. I've never done that before - meaning that I've never used my position as an attorney to receive fair results, if writing an email can even be called that. I felt weird about it, but I'm not sure why, as I only asked for fairness. Even if I wasn't an attorney, I would have taken those jokers to small claims court, as they seriously damaged the furniture and then lied about their actions. And, who knows if they even noticed my signature - probably not. I need to get over feeling bad about demanding fairness, honesty, and good customer service. Seriously.
In Fast Traxx's defense, they did return the check after my emails. That was decent. Regardless, they still receive the idiot of the week award, and I definitely advise against using their services. Pay a little more for good, honest movers, and you won't have to spend money and a week repairing broken furniture! :)
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