How do I find movers / laborers in Madison, WI?

June 25, 2009 2:28 PM

Moving to Madison, WI and need some unloading help...

I'm hiring a "professional" moving service to load me up in DC because I want to be sure the truck is packed up right. But when I get to Madison, I think I just need an extra hand or two. I don't need someone with a truck.

Is craigslist the go-to source for moving labor? I've scanned the Madison labor/moving page and there are a handful of people looking for general labor work. I presume hiring someone from craigslist is a better idea than picking up day laborers at Home Depot. Am I wrong? Is there another place to look?

Also, my lease begins on August 15th, which I'm told is the same day that all campus-area leases start. Anything I should worry about?

Thanks!

posted by mullacc to grab bag (9 answers total)

Any local moving company will provide a couple of movers to help you unload your truck. Expect to pay $90 an hour or so. I prefer to go with a larger moving company because if they break something, it'll be easier to get money out of a company rather than some random dude on craigslist. I use Move Tastic! in Chicago.
posted by nitsuj at 2:35 PM on June 25, 2009

I live in Madison (welcome to town!) and know people who have used craigslist for things like this. Maybe I just haven't noticed it, but I don't think Madison has as many day laborers outside places like home depot as other towns I've been to.

As far as the August 15th issue.....I'm assuming your apartment is somewhere in the general vicinity of downtown or campus (most of the August 15th leases are) All of the students move out of their old places and into new places on the 15th. So all this means for you, is that everyone on earth is double-parked with moving trucks and the streets are trashed for a few days with all the move-out garbage. If you are moving into an area where lots of college students live or somewhere with limited parking, just know that it's going to be hectic and hard to drive. If you live where college students do and have the option of moving in on like the 17th, it will be much easier.....but moving on the 15th is doable, just frustrating.
posted by mjcon at 3:11 PM on June 25, 2009

I'm using this website to help me find loaders/unloaders locally when I move this August. It provides all the costs up front for many local small moving companies as well as providing lots and lots of reviews by customers. You can tell which movers care by reading the reviews of satisfied customers and noticing which companies respond to neutral/negative reviews. I also like that it shows you how many moves each company has completed through the website and that it sorts everyone by price. I've known other people who have hired unloaders from this website and it worked out well for them.
posted by theantikitty at 3:40 PM on June 25, 2009

theantikitty: I came across that website earlier, but I was very suspicious of it. The first few options on the DC side had a couple hundred reviews and an average of 4.5-5 stars. That seems like a huge red flag to me. But I hadn't noticed the "responses" that you mention...it's interesting to see that, especially when you scroll down to some of the lower-rated movers.
posted by mullacc at 4:09 PM on June 25, 2009

I came here to say that I've used movinghelp.com twice, although I did hire the same guy each time. (What can I say? He did a good job the first time!) I particularly liked the way the funds are held in escrow until the guys show up and finish the job. You hand over the payment code when it's finished. Reading through the responses from the companies was helpful too - Maybe it's just me, but when the owner "TALK'S LIKE THI'S" then perhaps I should hire the next guy on the list. ;)
posted by WowLookStars at 5:00 PM on June 25, 2009

The UW Student Job Center website is a free place to post employment ads. I don't know if they do one day gigs but it is a good place to find student labor, or at least it was like 5 years ago.
posted by ChrisHartley at 7:03 PM on June 25, 2009

I'd second the student Job Center link, or just look on Craigslist.

If you're going to a particular academic department at UW, maybe you could ask them to post a notice advertising compensation on their student listservs or departmental bulletin boards. Cash is nice, of course, but copious amounts of beer and pizza work well here, especially if it's GOOD beer, like New Glarus, and GOOD pizza, like Ian's or a Glass Nickel Fetalicious!

Hell, I'm always looking for a couple extra bucks, but I'm not sure if I'll be moving myself. But welcome to the neighborhood either way :)
posted by Madamina at 7:14 PM on June 25, 2009

8/15 is a nightmare downtown. If you can put off the move for a few days your life will be much easier.
posted by I love You at 5:32 AM on June 26, 2009

Thanks everyone. I'm going to wait until Monday the 17th to move in, so hopefully it won't be crazy. Not sure yet if I'll use a real moving service or someone from craigslist, but the movinghelp.com seems to be the way to go if I want a "pro."
posted by mullacc at 9:23 PM on June 26, 2009