Relocating Across Town Or Across The Country: Tips For Finding A Quality Moving Company
According to the financial magazine, Kiplinger, it can cost the average American family with a three-bedroom home as much as $8000 to move all their belongings cross-country. If you've decided to opt for the convenience of hiring professional movers, you might not be sure what qualities to look for. Don't get stuck with a company that doesn't meet your needs, budgets and expectations. Instead, look for these qualities:
Top-Notch Customer Service
From the initial phone call to inquire about pricing to meeting a salesman or the movers themselves, always look for a company that is friendly, courteous and attentive to your needs throughout the entire process.
However, it's sometimes difficult to gauge a company's customer service from a short phone call or meeting with a sales representative whose job it is to create a stellar first impression. In addition to trusting your gut, here are a few bad customer service red flags:
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How Was the Wait? – Were you left waiting for what seemed like hours during any of the process? If the moving company keeps you waiting, they really aren't eager to secure your business, so it's best to move on.
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Is the Company Unreachable? – One red flag you should watch for is a company that doesn't offer 24-hour customer service. In addition, if you never receive a call back answering a question, or worse, no one picks up in the first place, it's time to keep looking.
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Lodge a Complaint – Finally, if you really want to gauge a company's customer service, lodge a seemingly minor complaint. If the representative isn't courteous or willing to do whatever it takes to make you happy, this isn't the right company for you .
Flexible, Personalized Pricing
For some families, "moving" is an event worthy of a fleet of moving trucks and months of preparation and packing. For others, "moving" can mean loading a few belongings into the back of a small truck and hitting the road.
If the moving company doesn't offer a variety of packages and pricing options, continue the search.
Keep looking until you find a moving company that will not only work with you to find a price you can actually afford, but also offers a variety of services at competitive prices. For example, many moving companies offer different pricing "tiers" based on a number of factors, such as the distance of your move and the total weight of your belongings.
How's the Equipment?
Imagine spending weeks carefully packing your most prized possessions into boxes, only to have the movers show up in an unkempt truck that looks like something out of a horror movie.
While researching various moving companies in your area, don't be afraid to ask about their equipment and what type of materials they use. Look for an organization that is glad to show you their fleet of trucks and the high-quality packaging and moving materials they offer. The trucks should be designed for moving furniture, boxes and other household belongings. In addition, look for a company that also provides their workers with the latest, quality equipment that allows them to move your items safely and efficiently.
Remember, this is your stuff they're moving and if you don't feel comfortable with the state of a company's equipment, you might wind up regretting your choice.
Finding a reputable moving company might seem like another responsibility to add to your ever-increasing chore list. However, taking a few extra days or even weeks to research and find a company that offers competitive, flexible pricing, quality equipment and excellent customer service is definitely worth the additional time and expense! Click here for more info.