How To Choose a Moving Company
When the talk of hiring a moving service for a commercial or residential project, it is always important to make sure that you are hiring the best and most qualified team to do the job. The day of the move can be stressful enough as the emotional, physical, and spiritual aspects of relocation come to bare. Recently, the Better Business Bureau received over 5,000 complaints related to moving companies. Most of these incidents were related to items being lost or stolen during or after the transportation of items. Also, many complaints were rooted in estimated charges not being honored or untimely arrivals. Hopefully this passage will give you some insight into what thing to look for when searching for the perfect team to do the job. Taking the time to filter through all of the viable candidates will not only save large amounts of time on moving day, but it could save you hundreds in cash as well. In a best case scenario, vet all of the moving companies in question before choosing the one that fits into your schedule and lifestyle the best. Lets take a look at how to choose the right moving service near me.
First, watch out for anything alarming when it comes to a moving company. These red flags and alarm bells should go up if the mover wants full payment up front. This tactic is often the predecessor of a moving scam and this could indicate that it is not a business at all. Also, take inventory of how the mover behaves on the phone, in person, or with their crew. If the team in question does not seem competent or experienced, or has trouble answering basic relocation questions, it would be wise to find a more experienced provider. Another red flag that is important to be cognizant of is if the movers show up in a rented van or truck. Most reputable and reliable teams own their own equipment.
Next, check available media outsources that can give more insight to the business you are qualifying. This step in invaluable because it allows the consumer to see a snapshot of how the business behaved and executed on the job with other customers in the past. Finding a business that is at a minimum, listed with the BBB is a good step in the right direction for finding a good mover. It is even better if that business is BBB accredited.
A simple yet challenging step in finding a mover is to look for referrals. This can be done in many different mediums such as asking friends and family, or referring to phone books, and business listings. A great resource for getting a moving company referral is through the real estate agent or broker that you might be working with. Often times, these agents have extensive connections with reputable movers in the area. You can also reference our list of awesome Prescott Movers that serve Prescott along with our company.
This rule is the most important rule in this list. Ensure that the moving team is licensed and insured. Acquire the U.S. DOT number for state to state moves. This will prove two things to you as a consumer, the first being the legitimacy of the business to execute interstate moves, and that they are an insured entity. There are many resources on the web for you to use to file a claim against an unsavory mover but this is a very important aspect of a domestic team. Not only does it protect your items in the event of misuse or loss, but it also nods to the fact that the company takes precaution to cover their assets as much to protect yours.
A further quality check might include referencing the businesses address and website to verify that it has a real base of location. Pull up google and type in the business name and see if there is an address associated with the name. A real mover will most likely be based locally and have a property that holds equipment and vehicles.
Finally, do not stop at one estimate, ask at least four different movers for a quote and tell them you would like it to be an in-person estimate. An in-person quote will allow the estimator to fully calculate the cost by seeing the bigger items, as well as overall volume and square footage of the space being relocated.
