How to Find & Hire Reliable and Reputable Movers
Looking for Moving Help?
Whether you’re moving down the street or across the country, you need a reliable and professional service that you can trust.
This guide covers all the screening questions you need to ask and what types of licenses and insurance a mover should have. It’ll also cover how to prepare you home for movers, what they are responsible for and what it should cost. You’ll learn how to avoid moving scams or hiring incompetent services.
If you have decided to hire professionals to move you and your family, recommendations are a wonderful way to find a moving company. The best way is through our professional movers directory, complete with background checked and screened professionals. While there are many to choose from, there are a few things to keep in mind as you are looking for prospective moving companies.
Hiring Movers
Before you start looking into moving professionals
Am I moving in the same city, state or across state lines? Where you move dictates who oversees the moving company you’ll use. Any state-to-state move is governed by the U.S. Department of Transportation while in-state moves only need to meet state guidelines, which can be much looser. We’ll get into why this is important below
Solved! How Much to Tip Movers
Enlisting the help of a moving company for your upcoming relocation? Find how much to tip the movers for hauling your prized possessions to your new house or apartmen
nderstand that tipping isn’t always necessary. The question isn’t always, “How much do you tip movers?” but rather, “Do we tip the movers?” Before moving day, call the company to verify that it accepts tips. If their policy prevents tipping, consider showing gratitude by supplying food or non-alcoholic refreshments to your moving crew instead; this is particularly welcome when a move falls on a hot day or overlaps meal times. You can also skip tipping if gratuity was included in the moving cost—a practice adopted by some moving companies for long-distance moves. Finally, tipping is unnecessary if the process was excessively delayed, your property or belongings were damaged, or you otherwise received poor service.
Budget for a larger tip. In the case of a job well done, you might extend more than the $10/$20 tipping guideline mentioned above to reward the movers who greatly exceed your expectations. Say, for example, that one mover completed a two-man job on schedule; you may want to adjust the minimum tip to $15 to $20 per four-hour interval to reward him for doing double duty. Other scenarios that call for an increased tip include completing a move well in advance of the quoted schedule and agreeing to disassemble or reassemble furniture
Decrease the tip for sub-par service. Sometimes a relocation may be successful, but the homeowner is displeased with certain aspects of the service (poor communication, late arrival without explanation, aggressive handling of delicate items, etc.). In this case, unsatisfied customers can offer a tip below the stated guideline.
Increase gratuity for movers who navigate considerable obstacles or haul heavy cargo. Heavy possessions like pianos or armoires—as well as architectural obstacles such as steep property lots, narrow or winding staircases, or multiple flights of stairs—can make your move significantly more taxing for movers. If the crew must take on extremely labor-intensive work, consider providing an extra incentive by adjusting your tip to anywhere between $20 to $50 per mover per four-hour interval. Follow the same guideline if movers must enlist special equipment, like cranes or furniture lifts, to get the job done.
Tips For Unloading A Moving Truck In An Apartment Complex
Unloading a moving truck in an apartment complex is no easy task. You can’t pull up in the driveway and begin unloading things. And many times, you have stairs, neighbors and other obstacles to contend with. Here are a few tips you should follow when unloading a moving truck to help make the process a little bit easier.
Find Out Where You Can Park the Moving Truck
Ask the management office before your moving date where you will be able to park the moving truck to unload it. Some complexes have spots for unloading and loading moving trucks. Others require you to reserve spots the night before. Yet others don’t have any space and require you to park on the street outside of the complex. Figuring out where to park when unloading your truck can be stressful, so figure this out before your moving day
Measure the Stairs
When you are moving into or out of an apartment complex, measure the width of the stairs, the height of any handrails and the amount of space you’ll have around curves. This can be helpful when carrying large items, such as couches or mattresses. The last thing you want to do is begin carrying a mattress sideways only to realize it won’t fit around the curve. Then you have to go back down the stairs, carry the mattress in a different position and start all over. Know the dimensions and how you have to carry each item from the beginning.
Be Mindful of Neighbors
Lastly, when you are moving into an apartment complex, be mindful of your neighbors. Many complexes have hours during which you can and can’t move. Find these hours out and move only during them. If the complex doesn’t have set hours, try to avoid moving too early or too late as you may disturb sleeping neighbors, which isn’t the best first impression. Also, children may be playing in the complex so always be on the lookout for them and try to work around them the best you can.
Moving can be a stressful time in anyone’s life and can be physically demanding. If you want to make things a bit easier on you and your body
Barge Loading and Unloading: How to Choose the Right Company
Whether shipping via barge is something your company does frequently or infrequently, it’s always important that you partner with the right company for barge loading and unloading. After all, your materials are your company’s asset, and you want to be sure that you’re putting them in the hands of someone you can trust. If you are looking to ship your materials via barge, the following tips will help you choose the right company to work with
BE SURE THEY CAN HANDLE YOUR MATERIALS.
First thing’s first. Before you can partner with a barge logistics company, you need to be sure they can handle your materials. Some companies specialize in dry cargo while other specialize in liquid cargo, project cargo, or even chemical-based materials that require special handling. When you choose a company that can safely and efficiently load and unload your specific materials from a barge, you will be able to keep your materials moving in a timely fashion.
PAY ATTENTION TO LOCATION.
When moving material by barge, you want to eliminate as much double handling as possible. This is why it’s a good idea to choose a barge loading and unloading company that has locations in the right areas. Try to find companies that are close to your company locations or areas where you move a lot of product. Not only will this allow you to save time on your shipments, but you can also prevent contamination of materials by using the same company.
ENSURE THEY HAVE THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT.
Your materials or your barges may require special equipment in order to load and unload successfully. When choosing a company to partner with, be sure they have the right equipment. If you have materials ready to load onto a barge, but the company doesn’t have the right equipment to get the load done, you’ll be wasting precious time and money trying to find a replacement
FIND OUT WHAT THEY COST.
Barge loading and unloading services are going to vary in cost. When looking for the right company, make sure you have a solid picture of your budget and find a company that will work within that budget. Keep in mind that it’s not always the best option to go with the company that has the lowest price. This could be a red flag that they’re not entirely equipped to handle your shipment properly. Instead, find out the cost and what’s included, and then make your choice based on the information you find.
Moving Tips
Whether this is your first move or you’re a seasoned expert… moving is stressful. While the hope would be that everything goes off without a hitch, we’ve combed service members and their families far and wide to compile some of the Top Tips to help you out.
During a move you are going to need paperwork more often than you ever dreamed possible. Put together a brightly colored binder with sleeve protectors that contain copies of your orders, birth certificates, social security cards, mortgage documents, rental agreements, etc. It will make you feel even more organized than you already are
You could inventory everything you own—27 forks, 12, knives, 6 spoons, 182 sippy cups. Or you could fling open your cabinets and take pictures of what you own. You can do the whole house in about an hour. If you need to make a claim, a photo is hard to dispute.
Was the dent in the wall before or after the movers arrived? If you ask the movers, that was always there… use your camera or cell phone to video the walls, floors, appliances, etc. so you’ll have digital proof of the condition of the home before they arrived. Be sure to pop on the TV or other appliances to show they are in working order too… when your washing machine shows up at the new place and doesn’t have any dents but no longer works this video becomes your proof! Once everything is out and looks good, go ahead and delete it to free up any space.
Packers have a habit of grabbing whatever small items are in a drawer and haphazardly putting them in boxes. When you get to your new place, you have to resort everything as well as unpack it. Save yourself some time by dumping anything small and already sorted into giant ziplocks. Think silverware, spices, kitchen utensils, markers, pencils, toy bins.