Choosing movers is not an easy task as everyone knows, not only because of the trust you must have to trust complete estrangers with your belongings but also because of the bad name some companies have given to the moving industry.
But the moving companies are not the only ones to blame, there are some people that also take advantage of the situation to make a quick buck or simply to use the services for free. Yes we understand that the last words are a little hush, but they are true non the less.
We are going to talk about some mistake people make when choosing movers!
As a moving company East Coast Boston Movers understand that budgeting is a very important part of moving, However is is not the most important.
The reason why money can not be the most important part of hiring a moving company is simple, It is because there is no moving company that can give 100% accurate estimates regardless of how many years they have been in business and there are several factors that come to play.
Of course most of this affect only local moving services the most, which is what we will talk about.
For example:
- Every move is different
East Coast Boston Movers understand this concept very well. after all we have been movers for over 25 years. A good example of the concept above is that some move can have the same two bedroom apartment and some will just have much more than others, some people like to save their goods for longer than others, also some people are extremely organized and some people are just not or do not have the time, and this is okay, but when it comes to local moving every little thing adds time and since local moving is based on an hourly rate, time is money. Before hiring a mover there are a few thing you have to ask yourself :
- why do I need the movers?
If you just hire movers to take your goods from your place them on a truck or vise versa , anyone can do that. But professional movers will cover your goods in moving pads and packed them in the truck in such a way it is not likely anything will happened to your furniture, they will make sure the property is secure while moving the furniture among other things.
- How long would it take me to do the move?
East Coast Boston Movers understand that time is money and we recommend people the most effective group of people base on what we are told over the phone or what we see on an an in-home estimate. Most people would just hear the hourly rate for x number of movers and the truck and automatically assume that the one with less movers is better for their pocket, and nothing can be further from the truth, Although less movers has a lower hourly rate, having less movers will always result in more time performing the move which in turn cost you more money and more time. Of course if you have a room or less to move your go to should be always two movers and a truck because there is a minimum of 3 hours per job at East Coast Boston Movers
- Am I capable of doing it?
East Coast Boston Movers understand that if you are not busy and have a few friends that can help you move that is always going to be the cheapest way of doing it. Just keep in mind that you and your friends are not movers, there for you will most likely not have the necessary tools to make a move as efficient as a mover can, also keep in mind that driving a moving truck it is not like driving a car, and if you are renting an apartment on a third or fourth floor walk up the physical challenges are very hard to endure as well as taking a high risk of damaging someone else property.
- How much I care about my goods and property?
East Coast Boston Movers understand that some people value their goods more than others and if you are one of the people that values your goods and your property hiring movers is the way to go. A moving company will take the stress away from thinking what if, how can I and if it brakes. Any reputable moving company will focused their efforts to make sure that your goods gets from point A to point B safe and sound, but that does take time, after all there are movers moving your home or apartment, not machines. East Coast Boston Movers also provides you with 100% satisfaction guaranteed. And in case of any accident your goods are cover by our $.60 cents per lbs per article valuation.
- Not every client takes the time to give an accurate inventory
In a local move the inventory that you will be moving it is not the most important thing, This is due to the fact that all charges are based on an hourly rate plus any packing materials used to complete your move plus fuel surcharge and any other additional services needed by the client, such as storage, overnight storage, trash disposal, hoisting etc.
Although the inventory is not the most important thing to budget your move, it plays a very important role because the moving company will be able to offer you the most efficient way to complete your move, in other words the moving company will be able to tell you the client, how many movers you will need to make your move in the shortest time possible. Of course there are other variables such as what floor you are moving from and to, how far the movers have to walk among others. Please note that you are the person who lives in the apartment and telling or not telling the movers what you have to move it is only going to affect you. I am saying this because I get lots of phone call of people telling me that there is no way that they need that many movers, or I only need two movers but the only thing I see on my end is a one bedroom apartment with no inventory. After I listen to that statement I explain why we offer that number of movers and I let people know that I can give them what they want (as long as is not a 3rd floor walk up to a 5th floor walk up, We are also humans and do not want to kill our movers) as long as they know it is just going to take longer there for it will cost them more and this is why the inventory is important.
- Must clients will not schedule an in-home estimate due to their busy schedule
East Coast Boston Movers offers free in-home estimates to all clients, this services is specially helpful because allow us to go to your property and see first hand what it is you are moving and what will not be moving according with the client. Most companies offer this service however most people don’t want it because it takes time away from their routine, which is completely fine as long as you are not thinking of a cost of the moving services or if you only have a one bedroom apartment to move. At East Coast Boston Movers we offer every client with a 3 bedroom apartment and up an in-home estimate so that we know that the estimate that we give is as closed as possible to the real number, which avoid misunderstanding at the end of the move or conversations that I used to have in previous companies I used to work at, where the client says I am not a mover, you should be the expert, why did I had to pay more than the estimated amount? As I said earlier, no moving company can provide you with a 100% accurate estimate, but if they come to your home and you show them everything you can be sure it will be very closed.
- There are always challenges to overcome such as long walks, lots of stairs, packing services not mentioned, no truck parking, Elevator restrictions among others.
As a moving company, we encounter challenges every single day, The challenges we encounter are the ones must clients will not see or prepare for before the move day, Every reputable moving company will overcome every challenge they face, The downside to that is that 99% of the time it end up costing you more money. Here is what I am referring to, If you live in an apartment building that takes you 10-15 minutes to walk from your car to the front door of your unit, that means it is a long walk, You walk that time every day 3 or 4 times a day in average you do not notice it because you mind an body is used to it. Just thing about the time that it takes you to walk to your car is the same time that the movers will have to walk to the moving truck with your furniture on a dolly, since the movers are humans with two legs and no wheels on their feet you will have to take that in consideration when you are moving because the time that they take it is time that you are being billed for. The stairs are another part that increases your labor time, most moving company will give you an estimate based on first floor to first floor move even if you live on a fifth floor walk up, the movers will move your things up to that floor but now your estimate is definitely go up, because there is no possible way to make a move to a first floor in the same time that it would to to move to a fifth floor walk up. The estimate will go up about 3% per floor on average. Same thing happens with elevator buildings, Although it is easier on the movers to load an elevator and push a button, it usually takes longer depending on building restrictions, such as sharing the elevator with other tenants, is the elevator reserved for the movers only, the window of time given to use the elevator among others. All of this place a role on your estimate, in average a move with elevator will increase your estimate by 10%.
- Packing Supplies
Another thing that some people just assume is the cost of materials, I have been in the moving industry for about 25 years and I understand that there might be some companies that will include all the packing supplies with their move for free, do not assume this is the case with all companies. This is the reason why, in 25 years of experience as a mover, manager I have not meet any company that does it.
What could happen and this I have seen, is that the moving company will give you a higher hourly rate based on the amount of boxes they thing are needed for your move and make a profit and then the packing supplies are going to be included, again NOT Free!. The reason why it would not make sense to include packing supplies for free is simply because they cost money to whoever buys them, the moving company does not go to home depot and as for boxes and expect them to be free, Home depot, Lowes, U-Haul have some of the cheapest rates for packing supplies simply because they used them to advertised their brand at the same time they are making a profit. The reason why moving companies charges a different rate for packing supplies is not because of the supplies themselves, but because the company is bringing them to you making it more convenient for the clients who did not have time to purchased the supplies, or did not have a vehicle, or simply did not want to go and busy them.