WS
William Southard
May 6, 2026
I had requested quotes from four companies. I picked Pink Zebra because they were the only company to offer to come to the home and do a consultation. I was quoted less than $2000 for a move of my three bedroom townhouse with a finished basement to an exact unit in the same HOA a few hundred yards away.
Two days before, I was called to see if they could come and help “stage” for the move. I agreed. I had told them I didn’t need too much help with actual packing and needed help with the furniture as I have a pickup and we are moving just around the corner. They were insistent that they help pack as that’s what they’re hired for.
The packing was left to be desired. Items I had in storage totes were written on (instead of using tape or a label) and now are permanently marked with what was once in them. Items were taped up to keep components together, only for them to be damaged when the tape was removed during unpacking, and there were quite a few dents or gouges in my furniture.
Prior to moving in, I had a local painting company repaint our entire home, figuring that hiring professional movers would keep the walls unscathed was an error in my judgment. By the time things were done, the upper and lower stairwells were covered in dents, scratches, and scuffs. We had also witnessed movers drop a recliner on the wood floor leaving a gouge.
Aside from the chaos that ensued, I had begun to notice how long things were taking. While there was one point where I was told there would be added time for how complex our bed was to disassemble and reassemble, a quote of 6 hours turned into a chaotic day and 10 hours. My spouse and I even bought lunch for the crew, and no time was even taken off for a lunch break.
When it came time to settle up, I was presented an invoice of $4950! After I could see again, I asked how to settle all the damages, and the manager began to get huffy with me. Saying the gouge in the floor could be from anyone before they did (even though the two movers who did it knew we saw it and even suggested it could be “buffed out”) and that the wall and item damage was insignificant at first. With some pushback, he agreed to follow up with me early the next week and go from there.
When we connected, I had itemized the damages incurred by the moving company, which included more damaged items as we unpacked, including my new TV stand being gouged from when they used a dolly to move it on its end without any protection. They agreed to a $500 refund, which they issued.
I had tried contacting corporate. Using the numbers they had on the web site, the voicemail greetings had nothing to indicate it was Pink Zebra. I had to call another franchise in Oakland County to even find a number to call. Finally, a callback was received only to be told that the Ann Arbor franchise is independently owned and operated and that there wasn’t much they could do but to try to put me in touch with the franchise owner.
Finally - I got a call from him. I explained the whole scenario and my concerns of how a moving company could make a home visit to prepare a quote and be so vastly off. This was even with selling some items that were not even present for the move at the time it was quoted. He went as far as asking “what is it you want me to do” and at that point, I knew it was over.
They required two trucks to move a few hundred yards from a 2700 sq ft townhouse to another with the same size and floor plan, yet when I moved from 40 mins away, that company was able to do it in one truck, with less people, and at half the cost. They provided me a bait of a quote for it to turn into what it became.
Beware.