An experienced mover can make the entire moving process
a breeze. It is very critical to choose the right
company, though. You wouldn't want to trust your
hard-earned possessions in the hands of just about
anyone. The right company should offer a combination of
reliability, service, price, convenience, and expertise.
Define your needs first
Moving companies
offer a range of options-full service, self service,
relocation service, interstate moving, local moving,
truck rental, and more. Ask the following questions:
How much budget
can I allocate?
Will I need a full service
provider or do I have adequate labor supply to
manage the move myself?
Will it suffice to just rent
a moving truck?
How far is my destination?
Will the mover provide a one-way service?
Undertake research
Lookup the yellow pages, surf the Web, and call
friends and associates to ask for
recommendations. If you know someone who has
moved recently, talk to them about their
experience. Based on your research, you should
come up with a list of service providers.
Don’t take their word
Do some reference checks and call
transportation authorities
and BBB (Better Business Bureau) to do some more
research about the company.
Based on the above steps, you should be able to narrow
down your options to one or two service providers to
choose from.
Call Them
It is now time to start calling the service
providers. Create a spreadsheet to facilitate
comparison of prices, services, options, pros
and cons, location, accessibility, etc. for each
company. This should help you narrow down your
choices to a few providers.
Don't hesitate to
ask tough questions:
Since how many years has your business been in
existence?
Is your company licensed/certified?
Do you offer inter-state services?
What are the costs?
Tell me something about your drivers and
movers?
What additional features do you offer?
Get the point? Now prepare your own list of
questions.
Prepare a list of what-I-want-from-my-mover
questions. Once you have completed this
preliminary process you should have a fair idea
about the type of moving company you will need.
