Glad to hear that you had a good experience with them! I like to recommend them to anyone who needs a mover in Chicago; they have done a good job for me multiple times.

Just so you all know the other side of the story ...

My experience with Joey's Movers was awful!! I had two moves with them during a home renovation, during which they packed my belongings, stored them and moved me back in. First, the actual charges were double the estimate. To make matters worse, several pieces of furniture were damaged, including Asian antiques, and two pieces of pottery purchased internationally were destroyed. Understanding that "things happen" during a move, I simply submitted a claim under the insurance that I'd purchased with Joey's, requesting that they repair the furniture and reimburse me for the items damaged beyond repair. Though the office staff promised multiple times to send a repairman out and deliver a reimbursement check, in five months NOTHING WAS EVER DONE.

The quality of a business should be judged not only on their conduct when everything goes according to plan, but also how the business stands behind their product/service. I believe Joey's fails miserably with respect to the latter.

The worst part: mine was not an isolated occurrence. Another person in my office used them shortly after me and had a similar disappointing experience. There are tons of reputable, reasonably priced movers in Chicago. I wouldn't recommend settling for one of the worst, in my opinion.

chicagoesq: thanks for the other side. do you have any other recommended moving companies that have not failed miserably? this is a touchy topic and hard to find a solid company, since everyone's experiences seem to be so isolated and varied...

Having a first time-slot of the day rather than taking one later in the day generally gets you a better experience with movers.

I've used Joey's on several moves over the years (without the packing service, packed myself) and that was the key, at least for my experience.

In response to Heather's last post: though I don't have personal experience with them, I've heard excellent reviews of Golan's from at least three people, including for moving difficult items like a piano. For interstate or long-haul moves, I've used Graebel and Wheaton with success.

I can certainly second, third, and fourth Golan's. They were recommended to me for my first move and I've used them three times now. Total breakage for three moves... two wine glasses, and I think those were my fault. They've been fast and on-time. Just watch them (like any mover) with the materials. If it's not boxed... they'll box it for you, but you pay for all the boxes and tape. They guys created this amazing corrugated oragami box for my 200lb TV. Another suggestion for any move, assuming you'll have someplace to store them later... buy those Rubbermaid plastic bins instead of cardboard boxes. They're about $1-2 more ea than buying boxes, and hold a LOT more weight... and can be used 100x over for storage, future moves, and even your friends' moves!

hmmm...too good to be true? I just got a quote from Joeys and it was around $168/hour. Did they raise their rates from all the new business via AT?