How to Find a Great Moving Company

When the Spirit Moves You 

By Scott Boone

Image courtesy of Scott's Discount Movers

Are you moving or getting ready to move? Most of us will move at one point in our lives or another. Every year, millions of people move in the US. There is a lot of speculation as to how many people move and why, but it goes without saying, lots of moving is taking place. An article I read by David Bancroft Avrick called; How Many People Move Each Year – and Who Are They? , gives us a little insight.  If we look at the US Census Bureau data, we see that, out of their database of 282,556,000 people, around 40,093,000 moved. That’s a little more than 14% of the US population annually. Of the 40 million plus that moved; 23,468,000 moved within the same county, another 7,728,000 moved to a different county within the same state. Still another 7,628,000 moved to a different state, and finally 1,269,000 moved to a different country. That’s a lot of moving. But the question remains, how do you find a great moving company?

When it comes to moving your home or business, you want to make sure you find a crew that is as concerned with preserving your precious memories as you are.   The number one complaint filed against movers has to do with breakage.  The main reason for this is it’s all too common for moving companies to hire day laborers to fill out their crew.  Of course, finding out that a prized possession has been damaged after the fact is not going to give you much comfort.  Before you sign on the dotted line with any moving company, there are a number of questions you need to ask.

How much insurance does your mover carry?

Some moving companies only carry the minimum amount of insurance coverage required by law.  Since uninsured goods that are damaged will only be reimbursed at the rate of 60 cents per pound, you could be out a lot of money if that $3,000 Smart TV gets damaged in the move and the mover has inadequate insurance.  (Also, a moving company that insures your belongings should not charge extra for this coverage.)

Image courtesy of Scott's Discount Movers

Customer service should NOT be job #2.

Moving is stressful at the best of times, and the last thing you need is to wonder where the crew is before or during a move.  You need to ask your mover who is going to be in charge of your move and how you are supposed to contact them if the need arises.  Additionally, a top notch moving company should always contact you both during and after the job is done to let you know what’s what, as well as to get your feedback.

Interview the people involved in your move.

Find out if the company performs background checks on their crew.  Ask them their hiring policies and how seasoned their crews are. Does the company hire day laborers to augment their crews or do they only rely on their own staff?  It’s all too common for busy moving companies to overbook their schedule.  This requires them to come up with additional crew that has little or no experience in the moving business.  This is not the company you want moving your family heirlooms.

Never take a mover’s word regarding their reputation.

Image courtesy of Scott's Discount Movers

There are those movers that talk the talk and don’t walk the walk.  You need to do your due diligence to check out any potential movers.  Sure, the company might have been in business for decades, but that doesn’t mean that your crew is.  More importantly, you want to hear what actual customers say about the company and the crew.  The Internet is the best way to check out any moving company.  Simply Google “Company Name Complaints” and see what pops up.  Make sure you scour the company website for testimonial videos.  Written testimonials are all too easy to fake.  Also, look for online reviews, noting how many positive and negative reviews they have.  If a company has little or no reviews, this could mean they only recently started their business, or even worse, they may have changed names hoping to leave a lot of complaints behind.

The best way to find a capable mover is to ask for a referral.

Before you start pointing and clicking your way through the search engines or going to Angie’s List for a mover recommendation, you might be better served by asking a friend, neighbor, family member or coworker for a referral.  That is always a better way to go rather than relying on the biggest companies with the highest advertising budgets.  By asking someone you know and trust to tell you who they hired the last time they moved is a much better way to go.

Being in the business, I get a lot of my business from referrals and repeat customers.  They know that I will move heaven and Earth to get their move done on time and on budget.  They also know that I only work with a seasoned staff and that I treat my customers like family.  Last but not least, I have developed standards that result in satisfied customers.

I look for four things before I can say that a move is successful:

1. 1. Safety for both my crew and the customer
2. 2. Customer Service – the customer comes first
3. 3. Timeliness – the move needs to be done in an efficient and timely manner
4. 4. No Damage or Breakage of any kind to any items or establishment

If we can complete a move with those four things, I call it a success.  More importantly, our customers think so too.  When you consider that my company does between 500-700 moves per year, that is no small feat.

The next time the spirit moves you, and you are looking for a reliable, affordable mover in North Florida, give me a call at 904-705-9999 or check out our website at www.scottsdiscountmovers.com

With over 4,000 moves, Scott's Discount Movers  has handled moves of all sizes, including local and cross country. If you are looking to move your home or office, you can depend on Scott's Discount Movers to provide a stress-free relocation.