Planning a move make your move easier; part of the preparation is to do the research into how moving a company’s credentials, referrals, licenses, and reputation overall. Once you have selected your moving company, it is helpful to think about some of how you can interact with them so that if they were filling out a review about you, it would receive a five-star rating. Treating people as you would like to be treated is always a good approach, but here are some specific ways which will leave your moving crew thinking of you with appreciation.
Sort, Organize, Pack, And Label in Advance
From a financial standpoint, you certainly don’t want a team of movers to make your move easier standing around while you frantically shove that last closet full of clothing into a box. Time is money, of course, but when a team is prepared to meet a certain schedule to move on to the next project, irritation with the customer may cause a certain level of grumpiness on the part of the moving team. As much as possible, your part of the sorting, organizing, donating, packing and labeling should be done before Moving Day Minus One.
Only those items which are actually going to be moved should be awaiting the arrival of the movers. It should be easy for the movers to identify and prioritize the loading of the items so that unloading and unpacking is relatively easy.
Of course, if you elect to have everything done by the movers, you only need to get rid of the things you don’t plan to move to your new location. They will do everything safely, efficiently and surprisingly affordably.
Move Fragile and Valuable Small Items In Your Vehicle
Sometimes items that are valuable and breakable cause stress simply because they are not replaceable. Maybe you have jewelry pieces with sentimental value or electronic devices which you wouldn’t want to have to replace.
If you would prefer, pack and transport such items directly so that the movers need not worry about loss or damage. While they always take precautions to avoid such events during a move, things can happen which are outside their control. Rather than spend time worrying about losing Great Grandad’s gold watch, place the pieces in your own vehicle and reduce worry and angst. This allows the movers to focus on the heavy items which must be moved.
Provide The Essentials
Whether your move schedule lasts for a few hours or for several days, certain things are essential to the health and comfort of your moving team. A clean and well-stocked bathroom should be designated for the use of the moving team. Hot coffee is the fuel many people operate on, so you should plan to have plenty of hot coffee available to the moving team at all times.
They will enjoy your place’s atmosphere more and work better because of it. In hot weather, you may not want to run air conditioning or an HVAC system in the house, but you can ensure that there are fans to move hot air around. In the winter months, a small space heater may benefit the movers who have cold hands and are in and out of the house while moving items to the moving truck.
Be punctual
If your moving team is due to arrive at 8 am on the morning of the move, don’t keep them waiting while you finish your morning shower and cup of coffee. The team will already know how much they need to do in order to gain a good report on their reviews.
You would rightly criticize a team that kept you waiting for 45 minutes while they discussed last night’s ball game. There is also a risk of damage or injuries when a team of movers is rushing a bit, just to make up for lost time that you created. Lack of punctuality can extend across an entire moving project because of what may seem a minor five minute interruption to the moving schedule.
Offer Appropriate Refreshments
The physical demands on the moving team cam be significant. During the warm months, they may work up a real sweat. If the weather is cold, muscles can get stiff and hands and faces can experience wind chafing. You might want to think about providing cold drinks on a hot day, just to show them that you are aware of their hard work and efforts. If you want to take the refreshments to the next level, you could provide energy bars or similar snack foods.
In cold weather, coffee is welcomed by many people, but you could also provide tea, hot soup or cocoa. Of course, feeding or providing drinks may lead to clean-up and packing issues that could cause some extra effort on your part, but your movers would certainly be aware that you are looking out for their comfort and that they are appreciated. A light lunch could even be delivered if that is in your approach to refreshments for the crew.
Make them feel comfortable
Meet your team at the door and treat them as welcome guests in your home. Courtesy, smiles, polite and professional oral interactions are important, each team member needs to feel recognized for their work and efforts. Since most companies provide their workers with name tags, you can make an effort to remember their names and how they behaved. This is not as a check list of character faults, but a way of showing that you recognize each member of the team as an individual.
Communicate
A reputable moving company will let their team know what is required at your house, but there may be some confusion which you can help to resolve. If you sense that there are some things happening which need to be addressed, keep an open communication mode in order to forestall errors which may cause loss or delay.
Communication is a two-way street. If you build a rapport with the moving team they will be able to approach you and voice any concerns which they may have. If you have an origin agent, you may want to get them involved in the discussions, so that any challenges are resolved early and with understanding on both sides.
Let The Movers Do What They Do Best
If your pre-planning and packing has been done correctly, you should not need to be the project director. No one likes to be micro-managed. At best, you are likely to be in the way of movers coming and going. At worst, you may cause time and money delays which will impact your own pocketbook.
Chances are good that the movers that you spent time researching and checking know what they are doing better than you do. You can seriously cause harm if you try to ‘help’ with certain items. Limit your help to the work that is done before Moving Day to keep things on schedule.
Your moving team was hired for a specific reason: to take the physical requirements of the move off of your shoulders. Don’t try to take back the physical side of the project. You can be available, but not in the way of the movers.
You can tell the movers if there are a few items which you need to explain, but otherwise, stay out of the way of the hard-working team of professionals
Tip Well
Since moving teams are paid by the company, most do not expect that you will offer a tip. If you do so, it is a recognition that you felt their work performance is above and beyond what would be expected. If you believe that the work done on your moving project exceeds expectations, a financial gesture is certainly appreciated. The amount and manner of the tip will depend on the local environment, as well as the performance of the people who provided the extra effort.
Provide Feedback
Even if you don’t feel comfortable providing a tip to your long distance moving crew, you can make note of work performance by members of the team and write a testimonial, and a letter of appreciation and send it to the company.
Feedback is not only beneficial to the company to help it to grow, it also helps the specific employees to be recognized for their labor. Maybe the person is in line for a promotion, or is looking to pad out his or her resume. Specific words of recognition can go a long way.
Five star rankings on some of the major search engines are a fact of life for businesses today living in an online economy, but many people don’t take the time to make and post a positive recognition for the work done in the moving industry. Reputation management is a fact of life for businesses across the entire industry. Specific remarks to go with 5-star rankings mean more than just a star.
