Unless it's a 1bedroom apartment don't accept less than 3 guys. Anything heavy really benefits from multiple people. Get three quotes for the job, talking to someone on the phone for each quote. Ask questions during the phone call. Ask about the company and the service they provide, treat it like a short interview. Select the company that sounds the most professional, unless their price is exorbitant compared to the other two.

When the crew arrives, let the leader of the crew know you'll tip cash for good service.

We moved recently, and admittedly lucked out getting a good mover, but the main difference that made me pick the one we did was that they were going to use their own truck and crew. We only talked to 2 companies, and the other one, despite owning their own trucks, for an out of town move was going to subcontract to someone, under which circumstances all bets are off as happened to the OP.

When I moved I just assumed there would be problems with the movers because it seems like that kind of industry. Turns out we got a great crew, no tricks or gimmicks, and no damage to anything. It actually felt weird seeing how "normal" something like that could be, when you almost expect something like what the OP got.

When my wife and I moved, we packed up the house over several weeks, decided what went, and what would be left.

We then rented the U-Haul recommended for a 3 bedroom apartment, picked two random Mexican volunteers, and paid them more than they asked for, for a very long day. It worked well.

But this did require having been well-organized before they came, having already found fragile stuff, and having our plan for how to protect those things.