Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Do all national piano movers have bad reviews?

Hi all, this is my first post and apologies if it's the wrong forum. I am facing a cross-country move from Texas to Virginia for a job. I am almost scared to take the job because I don't want my instruments damaged! I have a baby grand Baldwin, a single manual harpsichord, a Wurlitzer double manual organ (the kind with pull-out pedals), and an antique reed pump organ with full hutch above (removable). Plus an upright I'm leaving behind. Well, needless to say this is a big job and some of these are priceless family pieces.

I have read these forums and see some suggestions. Modern Piano Moving, Walter Piano Transport. The site also has ads by Sterling Van Lines whose website says they are experienced in piano moving nationwide. I also found a site Bushell Piano Movers. My problem is that on Yelp, these companies have some excellent, and some horrendous reviews. Are all moving companies like that? With mixed reviews? I mean some of the reviews are perfect, whereas others say they absolutely ruined their instruments beyond repair. I can't find any with only good reviews, or mostly good reviews. They are all mixed good and terrible. Music is my life, and I'm afraid a bad moving experience will ruin my life. Thanks for any advice.

Amy

Contact some of the good dealers on this site for good advice.
I suggest Steve Cohen, Rich Galassini, or Keith D. Kerman.

Remember online reviews are often not helpful and some are fake. When I try to find a good restaurant in NYC virtually all of them have some very negative reviews. When I try to evaluate computer security software I get fairly different lists of the top ten depending on which rating site I go to.

I think it's important to take into account that a lot of people take to online reviews when they're in a fit of rage. Every piano mover with enough volume has mishaps and it's important that you ask them for their insurance information and to provide references.

I got a brand new B shipped from greater Dallas to Seattle in the summer heat. They stored it for weeks in Albuquerque in between. This was discussed in advance, they were insured, and they showed up as promised with my instrument looking and sounding just fine.

I know it can be a harrowing experience, but if you do your homework offline as well as online, you can get a greater picture of the situation. Best of luck with your move!

Perhaps you need to calibrate Yelp reviewers. Pick some businesses that you like and read the reviews on Yelp. Do all the reviewers also like the business as much as you do? Or do you find bad reviews that seem out of place?

For your particular move I would suggest Walter Transport. They have both broad and deep experience.

Thanks, I am just worried about their overall 1 star rating. Modern fares a little better but also has a lot of 1 star reviews.

I would suggest that it's not enough just to ask, "Are you insured?" "Oh, yeah, of course." "Ok, then."

Talk to your own carrier. They may want information about the mover's insurer, and a policy number. They can then tell you if the coverage is adequate, and whether you may want to purchase a rider on your own policy, in case of the worst.

Since you are moving heirloom pieces whose value is not only in the dollar amount required to repair or replace, it won't be possible to bring your exposure down to zero. Still, it is something.

You might ask the top candidates suggested to you by knowledgeable folk, to look your instruments over and give you a quote. This could give you an opportunity to evaluate the carriers, based on a face-to-face with their reps.

And then, having done all that you can, it's time to spin the Wheel of Fortune.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Is it really the function of heirloom keyboards to be an albatross around your neck, preventing you from living your own life in the present?

You might also remember that moving pianos long distances around the globe is the rule these days, not the exception. It is very well possible to make a successful move.

Good luck to you.

When I shopped for a mover, I asked about their liability insurance and coverage and made sure that my piano was not going to be insured by pound (weight)! This practically doubled some of the quotes but I need the piano to be insured at full value for my peace of mind.

i used walter transport to move a yamaha c7 from LA to Chicago, and it went fine, although they hand off to a local mover and don't deliver door to door themselves. the local mover they used for my piano was a little sketchy on my big piano but in the end they got the job done with no problems.

modern piano delivers door to door themselves, no hand-offs. when contemplating how to move my CFIIIS from memphis to chicago i was going to use them, but the dealer delivered instead and did a fabulous job.

I won't use Keyboard Carriage anymore. Have never had a problem with Walter or Modern. You will need a good excellent local mover for assist with Walter.

Hi Amy,

I have the exact same question that you had! I found a piano that I really like in Colorado but need to have it moved to NY. And all recommended piano movers (Modern Piano, Walter, Keyboard Carriage, etc.) have horrible Yelp reviews of damaging the instruments. My question for you is: which company did you end up using and how was the experience? Would appreciate your help.

Caffree

You do have to be careful! I have heard horror stories about customer piano moves. I have personally used both keyboard carriage and Walters and haven't had any issues. I prefer Walters when they can move it to where it needs to be.

I think it is a bit of a mixed bag, usually those that have bad experiences complain more than people with good experiences heap praise. That being said, there are some really bad horror stories out there as well.

We used North American Van Lines to move all our stuff including our upright piano from Texas to Louisiana and eventually back again. No issues at all, and the piano actually was almost still in tune after the moves.

Like others have said, take online ratings with a grain of salt. People can pay for online reviews, both positive for themselves and negative for others. There's a whole industry built on that and fake likes on YouTube. Getting actual people's experiences through threads like this is a good start.

Her is another suggestion, Amy. As a piano technician I have had many a customer ask me about moving their piano across country. They are typically doing a whole house move. The first thing I tell them is to not trust the general moving company, even when it is one of the big names. Have an experienced full time professional piano mover load the piano and other instruments onto the cross country movers truck, properly packing and securing them. Confirm that your items will not be transferred to another truck en route. Have another professional piano mover unload and set up at the other end.

Make sure with all three movers that the items are fully insured, and ask for that in writing from them. Have an itemized valuation of each attached as part of your agreement.

For your further safety, have a piano technician inspect the instrument as close after delivery as possible.

All of this may seem excessive. But if things are damaged, it will not be.

With movers, there is a built in disincentive to not pay. Like the rest of us, the more claims they make, the more expensive their insurance becomes. And there is too little honor in the business.

When you have that many pianos, how about renting a truck? Having a local piano dealer load the truck for you. Make the drive yourself and then hire another local piano dealer to help you unload.

Might be more expensive but piano's will never leave your side.

If you are addressing Amy, as it appears you are, her post dates from almost four years ago. She has probably "moved on," as it were!

Regards,

I fell for that myself, for all we know she is still looking for a mover.

“Four years ago”??
I think we all moved on a little since.....
Norbert😆🤠

Or could provide a positive or negative recommendation on one!

I'd love to hear more about her collection of instruments, and how the move went!

You probably won't, Retsacnal; she posted twice on this thread in July, 2015; hasn't been heard from since on Piano World.

Regards,