If the time has come to make a move, chances are you’re currently on the lookout for a reliable moving company. Whether you’re moving a home, office, or any other property, you want to opt for a service provider that will take your moving headaches away, and not add to them.
Moving can be tricky and time-consuming. You need to make sure that the company you choose is trustworthy and reputable (since they will be in possession of your belongings for some time), affordable (since you will probably be looking to economize things during the move), and easily available for hire.
In this guide, we’re going to be taking a look at the factors and aspects that you need to be careful of when hiring a moving company. We’ll look at all of them in detail so that you understand everything thoroughly.
Factors to Keep in Mind When Hiring a Moving Company
1. Experience
Experience is something that you have to check when hiring just about any company or person for pretty much any purpose. And the same goes for hiring a mover.
When it comes to checking how experienced a company is, the number of years isn’t the only indicator you should look at. If a company has been in the biz for ten years, it should have several happy clients and completed projects commensurate to it.
It is particularly for this reason that many businesses mention all three of these things on their websites.
Ideally, you should hire a moving company that has at least 4 – 5 years of experience, along with a proportionate number of happy clients (more about that in the next heading).
To find out how experienced a moving firm is, there are different things that you can do. You can try:
- Checking their website;
- Visiting their premises and asking them directly;
- Giving them a phone call for the same purpose.
2. Checking our their User Experience and Testimonials
A company that’s been around for a long time should have plenty of positive reviews to match their experience.
If a company with four years of experience has a higher customer satisfaction percentage than a company with six years of experience, the former would be (and should be) the go-to choice.
Now, to find out how many people are satisfied with a particular firm, you need to look at customer reviews and testimonials.
There are basically two types of testimonials that you can find for a business.
- The first type of reviews and testimonials are those that a company puts on the website itself. In other words, the company displays user reviews to show its expertise to website visitors.
- The other type of reviews and testimonials are those that you can find on third-party impartial sources like Google, G2, and so on.
It is generally more advisable to check the second type of testimonial, since they are not filtered and sugar-coated by the firm itself. Since they’re published on third-party sources, they are up for display in all their honesty, be they bitter or otherwise.
Here are some websites that you can visit to find out what the customers of a particular firm have to say about it:
- TrustRadius
- G2
- Citysearch
Depending on your particular region, there could be some other specific websites/apps that you can use for this purpose. You can utilize any of those if you like, as long as they are reputable.
What types of reviews are good reviews?
This is a pretty important question that you’d probably have in mind by now.
Generally, for a moving business, a rating or an average score of 4.5/5 is considered to be ideal. If you’re in a crunch, and you don’t have a lot of choices, you can compromise and go down to a 4/5 company.
But no lower than that.
3. Bona Fides and Certification
If you’re in an area that requires (by law) for a moving company to have certain certifications and licensing, you should ensure that the company you’re hiring is in the green.
You should firstly do some research on your own to find out the type of certifications that are typically required by a mover in your area. Then, you should contact the mover themselves and inquire about their certification/licensing in detail.
If the moving company in question happens to have a website, then you should be able to find the relevant information there.
Here are a few licenses that moving companies can usually be required to possess:
- CDL (Commercial Driver’s License)
- DOT (Department of Transportation) Number
- Business Operating License
And so on.
4. Region Availability
Of course, it’s no good hiring a moving company if it’s not available in your region. Moving firms have a larger operating radius than other businesses (due to the simple fact that they have to provide inter-city/inter-state moving services).
But nevertheless, before you get a quote or take any other step, you should clearly establish whether the company operates in your area or not.
5. Service Availability
Moving companies exist in abundance just about everywhere. Since they all share a common purpose, i.e., moving stuff from one place to the other, there are different supplementary services that the companies provide in a bid to make themselves stand out from the rest.
For example, a particular company may offer to not only move, but also pack and arrange all the belongings beforehand. Another company may offer free storage space to their customers. The list goes on and on.
When picking a moving company, you should look for one that provides the services that you need in particular. For example, suppose you’re looking to move in from another city or state, and you need to hold your belongings in storage before transferring them to the new location. In this sort of case, you should look for a company that offers this service.
As a brief overview, here are some services that moving services typically provide to their customers:
Packing/Unpacking | This service involves the movers packing your belongings themselves and then unpacking them at the destination, thus saving you the hassle. |
Packing Materials | Instead of looking for packing materials yourself, you can utilize this service to let the movers choose the best materials and use them on their own. |
Storage Space | This is also something we’ve described above. In this service, the company essentially gives the customer a storage unit on their premises. The storage unit can be free for some time, or it can be a paid amenity from the start. |
Assembling/ Disassembling | This service can come in handy if there happens to be any object(s), like pieces of furniture, that have to be expertly assembled and reassembled. You can let the movers do it all rather than hire a separate expert for the same job. |
Cleaning Services | Opting for a company with this service can be useful if you want to leave your old place clean before moving out, or if you want your new place to be spick and span before moving in. |
6. Pricing
A good moving company is an affordable moving company.
After ensuring all the factors mentioned above, the very last thing that you need to check is the quote. Getting a quote is usually the penultimate step of the whole process, after which the service is either acquired or abandoned.
In the quote, you will be able to see the total costs associated with the moving service itself, as well as the other supplementary services.
There are some companies that give an initial quote that is somewhat affordable and reasonably priced. However, once the service is all done and delivered, they slap on a few more charges for things like gas or tolls, etc.
So, to make sure that there is total transparency in the quoting process, you should clarify the total costs right from the get-go.
After that, if the price matches your budget, you can go right ahead and finalize the deal.
FAQs
How do I choose a reliable mover?
You can choose a reliable mover by checking their experience, expertise, client testimonials, certifications, and the array of provided services.
Should you negotiate with movers?
Yes. If the quote is a bit beyond your spending capacity, it can be a good idea to negotiate a little and get the movers to agree to something that works for both you and them.
What should I take with me before the moving company arrives?
You should move your valuables as well as essential belongings that you would need for spending a night at your new place. This could involve things like your mobile phone, laptop, wallet, toiletries, clothes, and the like.
Final Words
Choosing a good moving company can be tricky, but not if you know what you have to look for.
In the guide above, we have mentioned some of the main aspects and factors that you should be careful of when selecting your movers.
In a lot of cases, information germane to the aforementioned process is provided on the company’s website.
If the moving company you’ve got your eyes set on ticks all the boxes, then you can pull the trigger. Otherwise, keep searching until you find the service provider that won’t just do the job, but will do the job right.
