Designed To Move MI, LLC

I had a good experience with Designed to move. I scheduled the move over the phone with Jim. He gave me an estimate of the time and cost it would take. On the day of the move the guys showed up on time and completed on time & within the quoted price. Thanks for making my move quick and stress free.

I wish I could give 0 stars. This was back in 2014. Designed to Move canceled on us after I called to find out why they were an hour late. James told me that he found out a few days before that his driver had an «emergency» and couldn’t make it. James apparently tried to get a substitute driver, but was unable to find one. He never called us to give us a heads up and didn’t bother doing so the day of until I called him to find out where why they were over an hour late. We had to scramble to find other movers that day and it was a nightmare. Just move on to a different movers unless you want to get screwed over by Designed to Move.
James/​Jim commented and said he didn’t remember. It was in October 2014 (so not 2 years ago). I have the e-​mails to prove it. We’re moving again and your awful experience reminded me that others should know how bad of an experience we had, just like others have commented in their reviews.

My Mother Anna couldn’t say enough good things about Jason! The three movers worked hard for hours, they valued our antiques as their own and made the move simple. Thanks Guys!

If I could give zero stars I would. This experience was terrible all around. The movers were and hour and a half late due to weather. Rain in Michigan does not constitute an hour and a half delay. And I had to call to get that answer…15 minutes after my scheduled appointment time. Nobody called to let me know.
Then they scratched my freshly painted walls trying to move things into my basement. When they told me my sofa wouldn’t fit I instructed them not to move it. Well they tried anyway and tore up my walls. And the response I got was «sorry about your walls». There goes a $ 6,000 paint job.
When I called the owner he tried to blame it on me and told me that they warned me my sofa wouldn’t fit. When I sent him pictures of the damage I got no response. So, if the owner doesn’t care why would the movers?
Oh, and the movers were blasting rap music from their truck at 10am while loading it. Really professional.
I wouldn’t use these guys for anything in the future.

Awful. Let me start from the end — I was humiliated today when D2M’s owner, Jim/​James, instructed his employee to call the police on me after they delivered my family’s belongings. We’ve used five professional moving companies in the past, and I’ve never encountered anything like this.
It all began well. Jim was responsive to my request for an estimate, and provided a quote over the phone to help my wife and three small kids (4y, 2y, 11mos) complete a local move in Bloomfield, inclusive of 2 weeks of storage. While I had debated using PODS and hiring D2M to help load, Jim convinced me that D2M’s moving and storage would actually be more cost effective. We had a call prior to the move and he confirmed that his crew would bring boxes and complete partial packing on the day of the move.
We scheduled the initial partial pack and load for a Friday. Jim sent a confirmation message the week prior. I took the day off from work and my wife made arrangements to have our kids out of the house (not an easy task with nap schedules). The crew, led by Paris, called and arrived around the indicated start time. However, this is where things began to go wrong. Near immediately, Paris told me that their truck was not large enough and they would need to do two runs back to their warehouse. He also let me know that they brought no boxes with them. After finishing loading the truck at 11am, Paris told me that they would run back to the warehouse and return to finish the second load. He told me that he would call on the way. A few hours passed and no word. I tried calling/​texting/​emailing Jim and got not response. At around 4pm Paris TEXTED to tell me that they would not be coming back and would need to return on Sunday. I burnt a vacation day to be home for the move.
They returned Sunday morning, again with no boxes. Paris used my duct tape to seal boxes I provided, and packed things in our empty laundry baskets. They literally carried some of our clothes/​shoes/​belongings out wrapped in packing blankets, telling me that the items would be boxed upon return to the warehouse. The crew loaded quickly — maybe a bit too quickly, as they left items behind in the kitchen.
I spoke with Jim that Monday, sharing my disappointment with the scheduling and lack of preparedness to complete the packing. He took zero accountability for the mishap, blaming his employees and the fact that he had been out of town without cell phone access for the weekend. He insisted the second half of the move would be better. After noticing an additional charge on my credit card (not specified or pre-​empted by Jim), I called him to inquire. He informed me that it was the storage charge — 60% higher than initial storage quote. I paid nearly $ 1700 for the load and storage.
The second half of the move took place today. Jim informed me that the crew would be here by noon. We spoke at 11am, and he updated to say it would be closer to 12:30pm. At 1:15pm, Jim didn’t take my call, but called back after I texted «We’ll need to have a discussion about payment after your guys unload. Don’t charge my credit card». The crew showed up 2+ hours late and short one crew member. At the onset, the guys noted that the rate would need to be adjusted.
At the end of the unload, there were a few items damaged and missing. The crew also informed me that our belongings had never been crated in storage (D2M refers to these as «vaults»), despite Jim having told me that the 60% increase in storage charge was due to our things requiring additional vaults. I let the crew know I would not sign off on the final paperwork/​payment until discussing with Jim. Once on the phone, Jim refused to make any adjustments and suggested I was making a «power play» now that my things had been delivered. After telling him I wouldn’t pay until the bill was adjusted he told me he would call the police and file a small claims case in court before making an adjustment. He then instructed his crew lead to call the police. His crew were embarrassed, as they agreed an adjustment was needed. As we spoke on the phone to the police, I received a notice from AMEX that Jim had charged my card for nearly $ 1200!
The police did nothing more than instruct the crew to have Jim file a small claims case. They did however tell me that if he charged my card without authorization then he committed fraud.
I’ve filed the claim with AMEX and am waiting for the charge to post before going back.
I’m willing to pay once Jim acknowledges the damage, missing items, crew size and time cost appropriately in the bill.
The crew was nice. But, I would absolutely not recommend D2M based on my dealings with Jim (a sentiment echoed in others’ reviews).
After unboxing this evening, my wife and I discovered parts missing for ours and our 4 and 2 year old daughters’ beds — we’re all sleeping on the floor tonight until I can go get parts tomorrow.

We used them quite awhile ago but my husband and I were so impressed. They were efficient and professional! We will definitely use them again if we need to move.

Great job and got the job done properly! Very reasonable too! I had to one from a cluttered apartment to our first house and this company came in and took care of business. Very professional and would recommend to anyone.

The moving crew was great. Used to move stuff out of my house for sale so that I could stage the remainder, and then used them a week later to move the rest of the items. The moving team was pleasant, easy to work with, and communicated about time for travel, etc.
I would recommend that inquiring about their services might best be started by email. James will answer calls promptly, but he is often not at his computer and will have to then get back with you. And things fall through the cracks when that happens. So, confirm appointments etc. I had a good experience, but I was glad that I’d made the extra effort to confirm for my own peace of mind.

Still giving this a 1-​star due to James incompetence at scheduling. BUT the movers themselves were very very good.
If you have nothing but time in your hands and can wait 5 hours past the scheduled time, then I’d recommend this company based on the movers alone. I feel bad for them in the fact they likely catch a ton of flak from dissatisfied customers because their boss can’t get scheduling figured out. We made sure to tip them very well.

I cannot emphasize how unbelievably BAD my experience with Designed to Move was. Or rather, I should say, my experience «continues to be,» because they still have not made the situation right and compensated me for damages. I still have not received the paltry insurance check that they promised me months ago.
1) They don’t care about your things
2) They take zero accountability for their actions
3) They operate on the premise that you will be too disheartened to pursue any compensation for their awful work
Josh and Andre packed our apartment, but were terrible. They omitted items like we were going to come back to them later, and also were combined items very haphazardly, without enough packing material. Who leaves all of the clothes in a giant dresser when moving it across the country? Who packs wine glasses with three books of CD’s? My attempts to point out which items were fragile and important did not help matters. As Josh said himself, «I could care less about the stuff that I’m packing. That’s what makes me a good mover.» Nice one, buddy.
On moving day, the truck showed up four hours late because the rental company didn’t have a truck ready. To my horror NONE of the furniture was wrapped in blankets before it was being moved. I brought this up to the team and they told me it was normal, but I have done 2 out-​of-​state moves before and I know that this is a terrible idea.
Well, when they got here it was revealed that EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF FURNITURE THAT I OWN now has a special blend of dents, scratches, and nicks on it. My parents’ dining set from the 1960s, my wife’s grandmother’s chest from South Africa, my custom music furniture, all were deeply damaged. Not one piece of furniture came through unscathed. This didn’t happen from the unloading, because I watched it. It happened because the packing and loading services that D2M provided were horribly poor. I paid them for work that they were incredibly bad at. In the unpackers words, «this truck was not packed for a cross-​country move. It was packed as an in-​city move.» Getting to a new place and discovering that your most prized possessions are damaged is a deeply violating feeling. I will never forget it.
More importantly, now the internet won’t forget it, either.

I hired designed to move when I moved about a week ago and they did a great job. The night before my move they called to let me know they would be running a little late in the morning due to a move they were finishing up, which I was very happy about to get a heads up. About 30 mins after they started, 2 other guys showed up to help them and said they had another move after mine they had to be on time for. So I got 2 extra movers for free, which made the move super fast and made me very happy!
I gave 4 stars opposed to 5 just because I had trouble getting a confirmation in writing/​email before the move of my booking, and it just seemed unprofessional. Otherwise, great company and experience.

We were very pleased with this company! They arrived 30m late but called in advance to give us a heads up. Took very good care of our things and were cooperative with having multiple pickup locations. Their prices were modest and the Unilocal deal knocked $ 30 off of our bill.
Please remember to tip your movers!

I’m posting this for my 82 year old Mom. Designed to Move moved furniture out of an apartment into my Mother’s house this February and did an outstanding job! They even hauled an old couch out to the curb for her.
Thanks guys!

We used Designed to Move for our move to Berkley. Mike, Brian, and Ken were great, friendly and professional. Everything went super fast and easy. Definitely exceeded expectations. I would recommend them wholeheartedly.

Jim did refund us the full amount as covered by insurance. The movers worked hard but the overall experience could have been much better coordinated/​executed.

I purchased the Living Social deal in November for my December 15^th move, just 1.5 miles down the road. The crew, led by Paris, was great and they moved everything quickly and efficiently during a huge snowstorm, managing to get everything moved within the two hours I had purchased. I tipped each mover well because of their professionalism and hustle.
One item did get damaged; Paris was wheeling a heavy antique bookcase by himself and it fell, causing the top shelf to break off. The damage was repairable and he noted on the bill (he quoted $ 0.60 per pound, the piece was about 50lbs) that I would be reimbursed $ 30 by the company. Months later I cannot get Brian (of the Roseville location) to return an email and have contacted Living Social to have them escalate the issue. It may not be thousands of dollars but management should still have the courtesy to follow up. Totally disappointed with the lack of professionalism by management, I would have liked to give a great rating because the movers were professional and helpful, even in a snowstorm.
Also, I have used several moving companies before and have always gotten estimates; maybe because of the Living Social they didn’t bother. From the other reviews it sounds like these guys usually wing it, which worked out in my case as I was only moving a small apartment’s worth of stuff into a small house nearby, but take note if you have a household to move. And heaven help you if anything gets damaged (which is very common in moves) — looks like you’re on your own.
*Edit*
I was contacted by James of Designed to Move after writing this review and reaching out to Living Social for their help. I was reimbursed for the damage and he explained that it was a clerical oversight; I appreciated finally hearing back from someone at the company. Even though the movers were great guys I would not use this company again.

We never used a moving company before and while I was looking for one this was the only one with good reviews. We were very happy with Andre and John. They got the move done in the time expected, and worked quickly and efficiently. A couple things got banged up but we weren’t too worried about it. Thumbs up

As much as I wanted to give Designed to Move a good review, I’m unable to after the way that they handled our issues following the move.
Designed to Move helped us with our move over two months ago in early July. Despite having our move scheduled weeks in advance, the company called us the day before to let us know that they’d have to move our 8:00 AM time slot to a 1:00 PM start time. I informed them that this would be okay, but explained that I had dinner plans scheduled in the evening. The company assured me that the move would be wrapped up in time and that I’d be able to make my prior obligations.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case. The movers showed up two hours after the new start time, forcing us to cancel our dinner plans that we had scheduled weeks in advance. The company offered us a small discount to compensate for the inconvenience, but it still didn’t make up for the fact that we were given no advance notice of the company’s scheduling and timing issues.
Additionally, Designed to Move actually increased the price at which we were originally quoted just days before the move. They took it upon themselves to add another mover to the job, which increased the hourly rate that we were billed. I’m confused about why we weren’t originally quoted with this number of movers, but it seems like it was a way to bait and switch us by presenting a low price initially.
When the movers did finally arrive, they came unprepared with no tools. Luckily, I had a few tools on hand that they were able to use to disassemble our furniture. However, the movers forgot to bring my tools to the new house, which led to them leaving all of our furniture completely unassembled. We had to sleep on our mattress on the floor and have our guests do the same. The following day, we were forced to drive all the way back to our old house, retrieve our tools, then come home to assemble everything that they should have put together.
The biggest issue that we had was in regards to the care of our belongings. We had quite a few items damaged during the move. Our grill cover was torn and our brand new grill was left with a large dent in the stainless steel. I didn’t notice this until after the movers left because I assumed they would have been honest and informed me of the damages. Our bar table was also seemingly dragged across the ground, as there were major areas where the finish was scraped off. Designed to Move did ship me a new grill cover, but did nothing to cover the other damages.
Additionally, our microfiber couch was torn while being moved out of our basement. I tried numerous times to contact James from Designed to Move about this. After finally getting back to me, he informed me that there was nothing they could do and that the couch «shouldn’t have been moved out of the basement» because we installed a drop ceiling after it was brought in. What wasn’t mentioned was the fact that the movers actually removed the drop ceiling to get it out of the basement, so it was moved out with the same obstacles that it was moved in. Additionally, the ceiling wasn’t even the cause of the tear; it was the door at the top of the stairs.
Despite all of these issues, we still took very good care of the movers during the move because we assumed that the problems would be accounted for. We provided generous tips to each mover, bought them pizza and beverages, and provided them with anything else they asked for.
I attempted to contact James numerous times after our move to reconcile some of the damaged items. He has not responded to any of my calls, texts, or emails for over a month. The last we spoke, he informed me that he would find someone who could assist with repairing our couch, but he has ignored all of my attempts of contact and never provided us with a reference. I emailed James over a week ago outlining all of these issues and asking if he planned to help, but received no response.
I’m incredibly disappointed with my experience with this company. While I thought the movers were kind and down-​to-​earth, I feel that the company’s handling of our issues shows a great deal of unprofessionalism. I’m disheartened that I have to write this review in the first place, since I thought James would have done his best to make these issues right. It has been over a month and he has avoided contact with me at all costs.
I’m sure that many others have had great experiences with this company, but I am not one of them. I know that contacting the company is a lost cause at this point, so I am left with writing this review as my only option to warn others of their negligent business practices. Do not hire Designed to Move for your moving needs if reliability, carefulness, or professionalism are important to you. I’d be happy to answer any questions that anyone may have about my experience.
Edit: James contacted me after I wrote this review and sent me a check to cover the cost for repairing the damaged couch.

Terrific moving company!
Ben, who booked my move, continued to keep in contact up until move date with confirmations, appliance donation pick-​up, which I’ll tell you about later and a morning call letting me know that Bryan and Anthony (B&A) were on their way. Speaking of B&A, they were consummate professionals, hard and smart workers and understood everything from the perspective of the customer. That is the way all business should provide service. They pointed out a barely noticeable dent/​press into the wall by my armoire during the move which anyone else would hope the customer wouldn’t notice… I hadn’t…it was that imperceptible. However, having Bryan point it out pointed to their honesty and ethics.
My son and daughter-​in-​law had used a competitor just weeks earlier and thought they were happy with them until they experienced my move using Bryan and Anthony through Designed to Move. They thought I had made the better choice.
One of their best features is their help and offer to deliver my old appliances to a donation company. They loaded my old washer/​dryer and basement refrigerator and delivered it to St. Vincent de Paul. There were going to leave it on the truck and deliver after my move but ended up booking another job after mine. Ben was trying to arrange pick up of the appliances prior to my move which was not only done but I was not charged for this. Good for Designed to Move and their contribution to the needy of the world.
My recommendation of their company comes with the highest opinion on my part.

I HATE moving. Then the weirdest thing happened… After some price checking and reading Unilocaling, I called Ben at Designed To Move and scheduled a time to have all the hoardy stuff from my moms storage unit crammed into my basement. He was super polite and informative and had really fast availability. Two days later I met Brian and Jared at the unit. They charge by the hour so naturally I thought these boys would be taking there time, but no, they were litterally running up and down the ramp. They did a better job organizing all this stuff in my basement than I thought possible and to top it all off, they looked like Zach Morris and AC Slater. Babe central.
Yesterday was a fun and productive day and now, I LOVE moving. If youre reading this, YOU should definitely hire this outfit for your next move and for sure put in a request for the dream team, Brian and Jared.
Thanks, guys!