NorthStar Moving Company

You know a company has got to be REALLY good or REALLY bad for me to review them WITHOUT actually using their services. But service is a HUGE chunk of one's experience -- and while I can't comment on the actual movers, I did want to add this review regarding their customer service -- or in this case, customer service to a non-customer.

For an upcoming move, my usual movers are unable to help me due to the condition of their trucks. I'm a little flabbergasted about that (I mean...after all the business I have sent you over the last five years, you'd think you could afford a decent truck), but in any case, I'm left with no choice but to find new movers.

The second place I called was NorthStar. Ultimately, I'm unable to use NorthStar because they're already booked up for the date I have to move.

That said, even after she knew the date I required was not available for them, and despite knowing that helping me would result in basically $0 for them in the near future, Lynn answered my questions re: how much this move might cost, breaking down costs for me and then even added that she'd be happy to contact some other companies to find me a reputable mover.

Of course, in the sea of movers and suddenly having lost my favorite movers, I gratefully accepted her offer.

"And if you have any questions about other quotes or need advice about your move, feel free to call me. I'm here all day!" VERBATIM, that's what she said.

If I didn't know any better, I'd think that I accidentally called Zappos Customer Service. It's not often you find a company who wants to take care of you even when they know there is little chance of this person being a paying customer this year.

Fast forward one hour, and I get a call from a moving company who has my information, moving details and offers me a quote. Whether or not I go with this other company or not remains to be seen, but it does say a lot about the level of service at NorthStar.

Thanks, Lynn, for taking care of me!

Great, efficient and professional service. They had good communication and arrived promptly on time at pickup and delivery locations. Israel, Cristobal and Eulalio were the workers who helped us with our move and I would recommend them.

Eliezar was a really great mover at our finishing place and had amazing mover in our starting location. The people are very careful in their entire process. Everything came in great condition. We had one minor box that may have been misplaced, but the customer service after the fact was very careful and helped us through entire process. We always got immediate responses and care from North Star!

We moved from San Francisco to Oakland 3 weeks ago and use NorthStart. Our team (Carlos, Eujenio, and Roberto) were AMAZING. The process from the quote to the packing and the move were perfect. They were so fast and efficient, and they had to go up 3 flights of stairs with all of our stuff. Everything was in perfect condition after the move. Finally, when they moved our couch in Carlos showed us that we were missing the center leg (from a previous move), helping us to solve a mystery we had about the couch sagging.

We would highly recommend them for your move.

We didn't end up moving with NorthStar, but we did have a guy come to give us an estimate and wow, he was absolutely ridiculous and wasted everyone's time.

What kind of moving professional looks at a closet of bags and suitcases and says "So we need about 10 boxes", when the client had just said, "we are using all these bags to pack stuff"? Or looks at the empty cabinets and shelves (we had packed everything) and says "25 boxes"? What are we moving - air? Our guest bedroom has a bed, mattress, a desk and chair - all of which I said we are leaving for tenants, and there are 10 packed and sealed boxes in the closet. He looks at this room and he says "so, 25-30 boxes?". Either this guy doesn't listen or is just dumb, both being red flags for us.

He went on to say this was the MOST stuff he's ever seen in all the houses he's moved. I highly doubt that, considering that we've only lived here a short time and all our stuff fit in a single 26 foot truck, with room to spare. We don't have those closets or garages that are stacked to the roof with boxes.

The quote was equivalent to that of buying a new car. There are plenty of more professional, better priced and more affordable moving companies out there. Not a fan. Do better.

I moved from California to Germany several months ago and wanted to reassure those of you with big moves still ahead that you can worry a little less if you choose NorthStar. I trusted this company to move everything I own across a continent and an ocean, and I'm somehow still amazed that it all arrived, safe and sound, nothing lost, nothing broken, and with no unpleasant surprises. Avner Yonai and his colleague Eileen Clark were responsible for this international move, and Avner answered every question I had, following up personally when necessary. These are friendly, approachable, professional folks who seem to love what they do and couldn't possibly take it more seriously. Now that I am settled in, I wanted to thank them again and send a shout-out to anyone worried about whether their move will go well :)

Some tips:

Take the video chat estimate very seriously. Let them know exactly what you'll be shipping.

Stay involved in the entire process. It's pretty interesting anyway, and you'll know what's going on at all times.

Be careful unpacking! Everything is so carefully wrapped that it seems the most damage can be done trying to get things out.

Tip the movers. They work very hard for hours, and they don't seem interested in snacks and beverages. I wish I'd asked ahead of time what their favorite snacks were.

Wishing you all the best!

I just moved from Fremont, CA, this month and Lotem put me in touch with John Honacher who came and did a firm estimate on my belongings. John is so professional, knowledgeable, and helpful to work with during my packing process to the final day of the move. Without John's help I don't think I could have gotten to Arizona! I would give John and his moving crew headed by Isael 10 Stars if possible. Israel and his guys were so helpful, efficient, careful, and kind. They made my moving day so much easier than I anticipated. I would use NorthStar Moving in the Bay Area again if I could. My auto correct changed Isael's name! So sorry Isael!

We recently used NorthStar movers for a local household move. The initial stages of the experience were all very positive & professional: cost estimate/quote, insurance, confirmation and moving-day arrival. Plus, the moving team was friendly, on-time and careful with our furniture and large items.

However, I do have a few complaints that really soured us on NorthStar. The moving team was extremely messy -- messy when using our bathrooms, messy with leaving scraps of tape and packing materials on the floor, and messy with how they packed and unpacked our smaller items. I had to spend quite a bit of time cleaning up after them, and I continue to find items that are broken or poorly packed in boxes.

So, overall, I think the administrative side of NorthStar is good, but the crews of movers need more training and a lot more professionalism. I'm not sure I can recommend Northstar. We've had better experiences with other companies.

Isael, Cristobal, Eulalio and Jorge helped move my husbands grandmother move and they were fantastic. They were early, professional, and incredibly efficient. They moved quickly while taking the utmost care of her things which we appreciated so much. Amazing work and excellent value!!

We moved across town with NorthStar Moving, and they were very professional and punctual.
Lotem explained everything I needed to know and answered all my questions, and the moving team were very nice.
I requested they would re-assemble our dining table as it was wobbly, and they did exactly as I explained - no questions asked and no trying to explain to me that this is the way the table is. They were fast and great.
There was a small issue that turned out to be not an issue (we made a mistake), but Wendy at customer service was great and prompt with responses.
Would recommend :-)

The good:
I heard about this moving company through YouTuber Jenn Im. This was my first time hiring movers. I am glad I did because the summers are hot and my pregnancy made it hard to move heavy things. I hired Northstar to move the contents of my 2 bedroom apartment from SoCal to a storage site in NorCal. The total cost was a little over $4k. First, you do a virtual inspection where an agent counts all of your items and calculates how much it would cost. They wrap your items with plastic wrap for you and include boxes without extra cost. They also assemble/disassemble without an added cost. They wrap couches and furniture in blankets to bring to your destination but it costs $10/each if you want to keep it. I ended up keeping 16 of them for an extra $160. I tipped each mover/driver $30-50 each for their hard work. The process to unload my stuff into the storage unit only took 1 hour and they were able to stack & fit everything into a 10' x 10' unit. I was thrilled I was able to save money on the storage site by downgrading from my original 10' x 14'.

The bad:
The process to move the stuff out took longer than I expected. I stayed around the whole time because I had nowhere else to go but it took around 5 hours (we had 2 king beds, 2 dressers, 3 nightstands, dining table, 6 chairs, 2 stools, 1 office chair, art, mirrors, a 6-piece sectional couch, shelf, and around 8 boxes of random things).

The interesting:
You have to pay by cash or money order. You pay the 1st half during the move out and then the remainder during the shipment of the stuff. You can get a re-estimate during the shipment to your final destination if the materials during the virtual tour/quote differed from what was actually taken.