Need recommendations for moving companies in the southern US
May 9, 2011 7:38 AM Subscribe
I'd like recommendations for reliable & affordable moving companies for my grandparents, who are moving from central Florida to Little Rock, Arkansas. My grandmother can maybe manage packing the dishes and the clothes, but everything else will have to be done by the moving company. My grandfather cannot help at all. They have an average amount of furniture for a 2 bedroom.
Just to clarify, what you're really looking for isn't just a moving company; a standard moving company is just going to show up, pick up packed boxes and furniture, and get those boxes to your new place. What you want is basically a move manager. This is actually a growing niche market as people get older; the trade org is the National Association of Senior Move Managers, and if your grandparents really need that much help at both ends of the move, you're probably going to need 2 or 3 businesses: Packers and unpackers, and a moving company to get the stuff from Point A to Point B. One of the move managers may also be a moving company, or you may end up hiring them separately. Generally, move management has a lot more to it than just packing - for example, two major services are helping re-plan a layout for a new apartment to help with the transition, and working with seniors to decide what to keep/get rid of, since many are downsizing, and arranging the distribution/disposal of the excess. If you don't need that kind of thing - if all you need is physical help packing/unpacking - it'll be much cheaper, or the move manager may end up just being a contact point who puts you in touch with someone who's cheaper for your limited needs.
Two important ones: One, this stuff is not cheap. You can make it cheaper if you don't need a lot of planning help, but since a moving company generally doesn't pack, it'll be a much bigger total bill than just moving a 2-bedroom apartment.
Second, by way of disclaimer, I have a family connection to this stuff - my aunt was an early trailblazer in the industry and is a founder of the NASMM. This also means that I'm possibly less aware than I might be of cheaper, just-pack-my-stuff options, since the usual customer wants, and is paying for, a much more extensive set of assistance.
posted by Tomorrowful at 7:53 AM on May 9, 2011
Two important ones: One, this stuff is not cheap. You can make it cheaper if you don't need a lot of planning help, but since a moving company generally doesn't pack, it'll be a much bigger total bill than just moving a 2-bedroom apartment.
Second, by way of disclaimer, I have a family connection to this stuff - my aunt was an early trailblazer in the industry and is a founder of the NASMM. This also means that I'm possibly less aware than I might be of cheaper, just-pack-my-stuff options, since the usual customer wants, and is paying for, a much more extensive set of assistance.
posted by Tomorrowful at 7:53 AM on May 9, 2011
I've moved cross-country a bunch of times, for work and personal reasons. The way that worked best for me was to call the national moving company's local franchises (Allied, Bekins, etc.). They will send a rep to eyeball the house and contents, and will give you an estimate for packing and moving. You want to make sure that they understand that they will be packing (this might be known as full-service to the rep). Get at least 3 estimates, and make sure the reps know that you're getting multiple estimates. Then use the web to look at reviews, and pick the cheapest/best of the three. Cheapest does not always = worst service, btw. Certain times of year are cheaper than others (school year start/end is the most expensive, as that's when corporate moves occur). Also ask for a guaranteed cost (i.e., a not-to-exceed-by number). In every single case in my experience the rep under-estimated the weight, but I have a lot of books so YMMV. The movers will send a crew a day or so before the move with packing materials, put everything in boxes and tag every item, then on the day of the move they'll load it up on the truck and take it to a local warehouse. At this point you'll get an exhaustive inventory, with the condition of the items before the move marked. The next day the long-haul driver picks up the truck and drives it to the destination warehouse. On delivery day another local crew takes the truck to the end destination and unloads. I've never had them unpack the boxes, but I bet that's a service too. On delivery your originating inventory will be checked against the delivery inventory.
If you have less than a truckload then they'll try and mix your stuff with someone else's partial truckload. This can be a pain 'cause it adds to the pickup/transit/delivery delay.
If you choose not to have them pack it then they won't insure it. In my experience the cost of packing was nominal and paid for itself 'cause they insured the load. They also tend to err on the side of caution when packing fragile items 'cause they pretty much self-insure, so expect a glass to have multiple layers. Your recycling bin will be full for a couple of weeks after you move from the unpacking :-). I've found that they are also more careful loading the truck when they've taken responsibility. Them packing also ensures that all the boxes are regular size, so you get a better "pack" in the truck and there's less movement, which is what leads to breakage.
You typically have 30 days to report any breakage. They'll leave you a form, you mark it up with the inventory number and send it in. If its small they'll just send you a check, if its substantial they'll send someone out to review.
posted by Runes at 8:29 AM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
If you have less than a truckload then they'll try and mix your stuff with someone else's partial truckload. This can be a pain 'cause it adds to the pickup/transit/delivery delay.
If you choose not to have them pack it then they won't insure it. In my experience the cost of packing was nominal and paid for itself 'cause they insured the load. They also tend to err on the side of caution when packing fragile items 'cause they pretty much self-insure, so expect a glass to have multiple layers. Your recycling bin will be full for a couple of weeks after you move from the unpacking :-). I've found that they are also more careful loading the truck when they've taken responsibility. Them packing also ensures that all the boxes are regular size, so you get a better "pack" in the truck and there's less movement, which is what leads to breakage.
You typically have 30 days to report any breakage. They'll leave you a form, you mark it up with the inventory number and send it in. If its small they'll just send you a check, if its substantial they'll send someone out to review.
posted by Runes at 8:29 AM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
We just moved from WA to CA, and we had the moving company pack and unpack for us. We didn't hire a "move manager" (I've never even heard that term, and I've moved with the movers packing us more than once) -- we just hired a regular moving company we found via recommendations on Movingscam. They did a fantastic job (but since you're not looking for a company in Seattle, a rec there won't help you). Runes' explanation matches my experience, with the exception of the fact that we *did* have them unpack at the other end, and it was a huge help. The biggest thing was that it meant all the boxes and packing materials were out of the way. The cost of packing wasn't a whole lot in the big picture, and unpacking was downright cheap IMHO.
One thing to be aware of is that they seem to not like if if you pack some stuff and they pack some -- they said they won't insure it if they didn't pack it. Or maybe it's just that they wouldn't insure it the same way, I'm not sure -- we didn't spend a lot of time discussing the details of that since we didn't want to do any of the packing anyway. But I suspect that if you're having them do any packing at all, they'll want to do all of it, and I also doubt that doing a little bit of it yourself would save all that much money.
posted by sharding at 9:39 AM on May 9, 2011
One thing to be aware of is that they seem to not like if if you pack some stuff and they pack some -- they said they won't insure it if they didn't pack it. Or maybe it's just that they wouldn't insure it the same way, I'm not sure -- we didn't spend a lot of time discussing the details of that since we didn't want to do any of the packing anyway. But I suspect that if you're having them do any packing at all, they'll want to do all of it, and I also doubt that doing a little bit of it yourself would save all that much money.
posted by sharding at 9:39 AM on May 9, 2011
One thing I forgot to mention. The cost to the supplier (i.e., the movers) is in the weight, not in the volume. In other words, a semi full of packing peanuts costs less to move than a semi full of books. And I bet you've never seen a "volume station" on the side of the freeway, but seen many "weigh stations". The only items you should be quoted on by the box is in the packing materials. So if your quote references either cubic volume or number of boxes as the cost factor then this is a sure sign of a scam. I can't stress this strongly enough. The only time this may not be the case is with the "container" moving systems where you pay by the container, I'm not familiar with those.
A reputable company will also give you a not-to-exceed-by quote. This may be more expensive than their base quote, but in every single instance I'm familiar with the final weight was greater than the estimated and that cost per pound can add up. You're basically making a bet with the professionals that you think your stuff weighs less than they think it does.
posted by Runes at 10:15 AM on May 9, 2011
A reputable company will also give you a not-to-exceed-by quote. This may be more expensive than their base quote, but in every single instance I'm familiar with the final weight was greater than the estimated and that cost per pound can add up. You're basically making a bet with the professionals that you think your stuff weighs less than they think it does.
posted by Runes at 10:15 AM on May 9, 2011
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posted by knile at 7:46 AM on May 9, 2011