Pickens-Kane Moving & Storage Co. – An Agent Of Allied Van Lines

I have moved many times and have always dreaded it and have had some bad experiences in the past. This all changed with Pickens-​Kane. From the initial walk through with Jennifer (who is AWESOME — she even estimated the inventory of boxes and materials I would need down to the exact box size for everything!)
The packing guys arrived on time and were so careful, professional and quick!
I moved 1,800 miles to a remote location and they gave me a delivery window and arrived even earlier than expected. They kept in constant contact throughout the process.
After delivery was completed by Mark with local help. Again, careful, professional and quick.
Not one thing was missing, not one thing was damaged.
A PERFECT MOVE!!! These guys rock!

Pickens-​Kane packed our goods for both an international move and domestic storage. Coordination of all aspects of the move — packing, storage, logistics went smoothly and professionally. The coordination team, drivers and packers were friendly, punctual, polite and completed the work as committed. Our goods were packed and handled well and received without damage. We have moved domestically and internationally many times and I would recommend Pickens-​Kane services to friends and family.

I used Pickens-​Kane & Allied to move across the country, and I found the experience so-​so overall. Here’s the breakdown:
PROs:
–Good service. The moving consultant, Chris Lidge, was friendly and gave good advice. The coordinators and actual movers were nice as well.
–They did not lose any of our stuff.
CONs:
–They had some coordination issues during the busy summer season. They had to postpone the scheduled move-​out date the day before. This threw a wrench in our plans, including meeting up with friends to say goodbyes. The bigger issue was their struggle finding the cross country driver. It seemed like the communication between them and the main drivers was mediocre at best. Our stuff sat in a warehouse for over a week, and while they ultimately delivered on the last day of the 2-​week window, it came with a fair bit of anxiety regarding where our stuff was, etc.
–A couple of furniture pieces came to the destination damaged. Ultimately, it wasn’t worth paying the deductible to make any claims.
–The most expensive moving company of all the options we considered.
Overall, it is not a moving disaster story, but I’m just not sure it was worth the price. For the premium amount we paid over other options, I was expecting more. I might just go with the cheaper cubes the next time around.

Find another mover. Friendly on the front end when they are courting your business. After some antiques were wrapped by their movers (a glass cabinet in which they left unattached shelves to smash the original leaded glass), transported across country, and then revealed to be broken, they pointed the finger at Allied. Insurance through Allied is not related to Pickens-​Kane etc etc etc. In short, like most cross-​country movers, this one lives up to the bad reputation. PS — Representative from Pickens-​Kane offered $ 200 to remove my review. No wonder they have so many 5-​star reviews.

Totally disorganized operation. We were quoted for the delivery of two small pieces of furniture from about 5 miles away and was told there was a one hour minimum. Fine, we said. The delivery itself took less than 10 minutes and they charged us for 3 hours. Called them up as soon as we got the bill, was transferred around to various people who all promised to call us back but nobody ever did. We called them back about 6 or 7 more times subsequent to that over a period of almost 3 months, each time someone promised to speak to someone in charge and call us back but nobody ever did. We finally talked to a guy who asked us to pay the full bill and then he promised to come by to our house to reimburse us the difference in cash. What??? What the hell is going on over there?

Used these guys for both my residential and commercial move last month. For both moves they sent out a salesperson to estimate how long it would take to move us. On the residential move, it did end up costing us significantly more than we were quoted but nothing was broken or damaged. They also stored our stuff for two nights while we were closing on our properties. These guys may be a bit more expensive than other moving companies but they are professional and careful — what you always hope for in movers!

I’ve worked with Pickens Kane for many years now and can truly say they are one of the best around. Family owned and operated with a great staff. For any home or commercial moving need, I send all my friends to Pickens Kane.

I just have to say Chris Lidge is an all around pro! Great guy. He was the one who made us choose Allied-​Pickens and Kane in the end. It was more expensive by $ 1000, but well worth it! And most moving companies low ball you, since they really have no idea what you really have and then surprise you at the end with the real total. Where Allied comes out to look at what you are moving and gives you a stone clad quote! Chris did that for us.
Also, I did do a poll on Facebook to see what moving company had the best track record with my friends, and Allied came up again and again. I couldn’t have been happier.
The moving crew was outstanding as well. They were very nice, personable, quick and just kept going. We were doing a cross country move, from Chicago to Portland, which can be VERY stressful. And they got here in 5 days (we were given a 2 week window, when every other company gave us a 3 week window)!
I highly, highly recommend Pickens and Kane for ANY move!

The movers themselves were fine, but the back office and sales people were a disappointment. We hired them for a cross-​country move. The delivery window was set and agreed upon 40 days before the move, yet the furniture was delivered over a week late from the latest delivery date (2 weeks from the pickup date). I was told that I changed the move date — which was a lie. I was told the truck broke down — lie. Throughout, it felt as though our furniture was a hostage. We pulled off back-​to-​back-​to-​back closings and everything went perfect except the moving process.
It seems from the other reviews if you’re doing a local move they are fine, but out-​of-​state I think you should consider another company. What I can’t get over the the misleading statements as to why the delivery was late. I’m a big boy… just tell me the truth (which we got from the delivery driver).
Shame on you Pickens-​Kane, shame on you!

So easy to work with — I had one coordinator (with a direct number) who handled my entire move. I had to keep pushing my delivery date back and they were very accommodating. The movers themselves were careful, too. Just under 2,000 miles and not so much as a chip in a martini glass! I’ll definitely use them again.

Pickens Kane and Allied 1: Moving Customer 0
If I could give these folks 0 stars I would. About 3 years ago I used them for a cross country move, they packed my belongings and I was pretty pleased with everything when it was loaded onto the truck. When I got to my new home I opened a black box where I had put some of my most expensive purses. When I opened the box it was filled with my sheets. Not one bag was in there. I called Pickens Kane and was then sent to Allied’s grievance line, where I was second guessed every step of the way. The woman I dealt with had the nerve to infer that maybe I was lying about having the bags in the first place. Pickens Kane would not even apologize for what happened.
At the end of the day I got nothing not one penny, but a whole lot of headaches. Although my losses would probably have totaled over 2,000 dollars, I chose not to pursue the matter any further because I had a new incredibly stressful job and the appeals process was daunting. I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau which went nowhere and even though it’s almost 3 years later, I am still fuming about this.
I did learn a lot about selecting a moving company and also how nasty the moving business can be. The moving industry might be one of the few places where if something goes wrong it’s the clients fault. And thanks to our patchwork of state laws, the customer has not rights especially with interstate moves. I thought going with a company that was affiliated with what is supposed to be a reputable national company would be the way to go. I realize now I probably should have gone with a small company with a good reputation.

I didn’t use them for my move because they were incredibly rude on the phone and gave me a ridiculously high price quote. After berating me that I did not calling sooner for «the BUSIEST week of the year» the man I spoke with on the phone quoted me a time of 5 hours to move one bedroom less than 2 miles. This was at least 1 ½ hours more than any other quote I’d received & I wanted to make sure he didn’t think it was a full one br apartment, so I said «It’s just one bedroom, not an apartment – no kitchen or living room. Do think it’s going to take that long?» The response? «YES, ACTUALLY I DO!» Since their quote was almost double from the second *highest* quote I received (& more than my monthly rent) I used a different company. And it took them 2 hours flat for the entire move.

For all of my job’s document storage needs, Pickens Kane has been there. An absolutely wonderful staff works at the warehouse. When I worked a project that required me going up there, they were respectful and nice guys. The people that drop off the records are always quick and friendly. Bonus: Brenda of the records storage department is one of the most pleasant people I’ve ever had to speak with and she remembers me by name, which really makes you feel good when you sometimes feel like a number.

these guys were great. they took great care of our stuff… wrapped everything in blankets and/​or plastic. they were really friendly and SO quick! this move (from a 4 BR house to another 4 BR house 40 minutes away) was way faster than our previous move which was just from a 1 BR apt to a house just 15 minutes away!!! they were super-​friendly and even made sure to ask us where we wanted everything. really great service for a good price.