Pain and Suffering

 So, much has happened here in the past two days. I will be changing my blog to a different name soon, but, in the meantime .....

The internet is available through the electric company. Sounded strange to me, too. The wiring and hook ups were already in place, so no one had to come out. HeWho knows everything said we already had a router that should work. It didn't. The only way to get online was to sit in a corner near the actual hook-up and plug in manually. I wasn't thrilled about that set up. At the end of a long day, the last thing I want to do is sit in an uncomfortable chair and contort myself to be able to see the screen on my laptop.

Tuesday was not a day we could leave and go get a new router. Tuesday was the day the movers were bringing the truck filled with our belongings. I was supposed to be in my own bed Tuesday night. Monday the driver of the truck holding our stuff called to verify his arrival and such. He mentioned that he was driving a 53' semi. HeWho had made all the arrangements had made quite clear to the person putting this move together that a large truck would NOT make it down the sloping driveway on the side of this mountain. I know he did because I heard him, and the broker discuss this on the phone. He was assured that a 26' truck would be in use. Having already made two trips with loads of various belongings, the 26' truck would hold everything.

Based on everything the broker was told he quoted an estimate of $8,000. This was to include loading, dismantling the furniture as necessary and putting those pieces back together and moving all the boxes and other stuff as directed by the owner (me, that would be me). The movers came a day early to load, were in such a hurry that they forgot some things entirely and left one leg and a mattress support from my bed laying on the floor of the bedroom.

I was not happy with the service at all. I was even less happy when they called to say that we had gone over the cubic feet reserved and that bill was now over $10,000. The stuff still fit within the confines of the 26' truck. The crew that loaded took our belongings to Chicago and off loaded it onto another truck. This would be the 53' semi. I am assuming they were putting another load on with ours. Certainly their prerogative, as long as they keep in mind that our stuff would have to be off loaded to a 26' truck for delivery.

Delivery was set up for the Friday after the loading. One week. We arrived on Thursday. Movers called and delayed delivery until Saturday through Tuesday. We were okay with that since we had the flatbed trailer and the very full RV to unload. I made the unload area for the movers accessible and worked around it as I unloaded stuff. I made a rule to never go out and come back in empty handed. HeWho immediately broke my rule, preferring to make several trips for one item, then forgetting it because he saw something else and focused on that and would bring that single item in and go back for the original item he was supposed to be bringing.

HeWho can be quite entertaining, if predictable. When the call came Monday that our belongings were in a semi and the driver told him it would be an additional $1500 to put in a Uhaul and bring it to us, that temper that is so hard to ignite flashed bright! He called the moving company and yelled at them for a while, then the broker and left a message that was not nice. Nothing to do but to go get another money order or not get MY BED! 

The driver gave HeWho an address to meet him and give him the money BEFORE they would even consider offloading the truck. I get it, they didn't want to be ripped off, but neither did I. HeWho got lost and it took him an hour and a half to find them. He uses the GPS and sometimes if defies logic, but he will follow it no matter what.

When he finally found them (having passed the very place they were in his efforts to locate them), they were stuck in the mud, making the guy who owned that particular Uhaul place quite unhappy and then insisted that HeWho bring both money orders, which he did much to his wife's dismay. 

Then we waited and waited. It was a lovely day in with temps in the 50's. I was going to secure the canines in their yard and Martha, the boy cat in the bathroom while they unloaded. The temperature drops dramatically as the sun sets. This is when two men and a Uhaul show up.  No careful placing items where I told them to, it was a rush to dump the stuff as fast as they could. 

When they finally go to my bed, I presented them with the forgotten parts. Nowhere could they find the other 5 legs to my bed. The one man who spoke English told me he was sorry and suggested we simply put the bed on the floor. I vetoed that idea right away. It is an adjustable bed. The motors that raise the head and foot of the bed could not just sit on the floor. I had remained relatively calm until then. I went a little crazy then. I wanted MY BED! I have been sleeping on the edge of the queen bed with barely enough room to lay on one side, much less my back. 

I told the nice young man from Russia just how disappointed I was to have spent almost $12000 for a service that was shoddy at best. The estimate was way off, then to have to pay extra for their mistake was bad enough, but the fact that I was not going to be in MY BED was more than I could take!! And, furthermore, I am retired and have lots of time on my hands. I will be calling that moving company EVERY day, three times a day, until I get MY BED.

I really love that bed. I was so unhappy to have to set this queen bed back up and crawl into it with the 4 dogs and the fat cat. I think they should refund that $1500 I had to pay because someone failed to pay attention to detail and do their job. I also think they should have to pay the cost of replacing the parts to my bed. AND ... pain and suffering!