My furniture won’t fit up the stairs, now what?

What do you do when the furniture will not fit up the stair case?

Island homes often steal floor space from the staircases, so shore living means we have to hoist sofas or dressers to a top floor. Usually we can do this with ropes and a very experienced crew but sometimes a crane is brought in.

We work with the owner and the crane company to schedule an exact time for the lift. Cranes are charged by the hour so we can’t waste the clients money. If I’m on top of my game, the crane is there for less than 30 minutes since we only need it for truly huge items.

One client needed a hot-tub lifted from the roof (an amazing view while soaking) . Once it was on the ground, we took over and brought it to the new house where it went on the back deck. (not as amazing a view)

Faith can move mountains, for everything else there is BD Movers!

Teardowns on LBI

What is the biggest jump in moves at this time of year?  Remodeling and tear-downs on Long Beach Island.  I think we are involved with 30ish moves that have us loading PODS or moving the contents to a local self storage.

Part of our discussion on every job is how many containers will they need or what size unit at storage. Do they need climate control? Does this area of the island flood in storms?

Usually we pack the contents such as lamps, pictures, dishes but we also pack the mattresses and cover all the furniture with paper pads or blankets.

Do they have furniture they want donated? We have contacts at the local charities for that. We are active in “Move for Hunger” and every house gets a collection box for donated food. On moving day we gather it up and deliver it our food banks.

In the spring we are active moving everyone back into the new rebuilt home.

Faith can move mountains, for everything else there is BD Movers!(tm)

 

Moving requests over the years

These are some of the true requests (in spirit if not in word) I have gotten over the years:

• Can you move the aquarium with water and fish? No

• Can I leave the food in my refrigerator and freezer? No

• Can I leave the clothes in the dressers? Yes

• Can you move my mother before the ambulance comes? NO!

• Can I help load the truck? No, you can’t come on the truck but you can move your furniture and boxes to the driveway if you want.

• Can I drive with you? No

• Can you move my pets in the truck? no

• How about my plants? Usually no, but if there is floor space and we are moving a short distance, OK

• Do I have to pack in boxes, can I use trash bags? OK for soft items like blankets, not OK for lamps.

• Are you married and would you like to meet my granddaughter? Yes and No

• Can I leave my items on the truck till I close on the other house? Yes if it’s overnight, no if it’s longer.

• part 2 of that question is why? Because once your stuff is on my truck, I am out of work.

• part 3 of that question is but so and so mover will let me. He must have not work for his trucks and you might ask why that is. (January and February are the exceptions to this answer, all movers have trucks that can store for a day or two)

• Can you stop at my brothers, storage, or ex-wife’s? Yes

• Will you move gas, oil, propane, chemicals or my foul, putrid compost bin? NO

What is your moving request?

Faith can move mountains, for everything else there is BD Movers ™

It’s Spring so movers are in the news

I always meet spring with mixed emotions. For movers it means the phones will start to ring a little more, people will be moving more, remodeling and construction means I’ll be moving people into storage or PODS more. But I also know the news stations and papers will have their yearly report on “bad movers” The reports are mostly welcome.They report  what I report all the time here. Some though, will focus on the scams and paint a picture of my industry as all bad.
We all know my company is unique, but I have to admit that most of the movers in my area are good also. We are mostly guys just trying to pay our bills. We all live in the towns we service, our kids go to the local schools. We do not want a confrontation at the WAWA or at school plays because we stole, damaged or did anything wrong. I want to walk these streets and have only friends where I go. I think most movers are the same.

Faith can move mountains, for everything else there is BD Movers (TM)

BTW- Want to know what movers do? You can follow me on twitter now (it’s everywhere, get used to it) at  http://twitter.com/njmovingguy

Open letter to NJ Movers

Here are my latest deep thoughts on the lead services. I realized the other day I am paying for the opportunity to compete with hundreds (?) of other movers in a market that demands the winner has the lowest price to get attention. (I was promised, like you, that the leads only go to 3 to 5 movers. Our experience shows this must be a lie.) I do not think anyone in our association has a problem competing with any other member on the “streets”. But email quotes are different; they do not see your professionalism, trucks, or references. They do not see you arrive on time and prepared for your estimate. They do not see you believe in your product. They only see price.
It has been explained to me that I can just quote a price and see what happens. They are fishing for a price; why not throw some bait in the water also? I see how that might work, but it still removes the things that make my company and your company unique. We become generic. Generic will always have little value.
So here is what I have decided, I am dropping the last couple of lead services I have tried. I am tired of paying for the chance to undercut a mover not even in my state. I admit I am not very good at competing with hundreds of emails. I am looking to promote my company in unique ways. The mantra to the business community has been that “branding” is the only way to thrive/survive, if that is true, then this must be seen as the complete opposite.

Faith can move moutains… foreverything else there is BD Movers!

Patti’s Prom Project

On another note. BD Movers has been supporting Patti’s Prom Project this past month. I help in collecting used gowns and dresses and they are then donated to a young women that would otherwise not have one. If you are in Ocean County, call us and I will arrange to pick up the dress. The event takes place on the 28th of March, here in Forked River, NJ. Robin Bahr has been a promoter of the event and has brought much energy to the project. If you do not know Robin, she is a great realtor in Ocean County. If you had to choose a realtor, she most definitely would be on your short list. Pattie Romano has also been a great help to the effort, you may know her from her radio show on WOBM. Laura Giannotta is also one of the dynamos involved, she is very involved in our community and a great realtor as well. I am sure there are others involved, but these realtors have been my contacts. Today I heard they have over 1000 prom dresses! My company is donating a Limo to the grand prize winner. ( Thanks to a Barter arrangement, paybacks are …)

I look forward to seeing all my readership there!

Faith can move mountains, for everything else there is BD Movers. ™

The number 1 question to ask your mover

You know to ask for the licence number and you better ask about liability insurance. What else? The number question on the phone should be “will you come out to give me an estimate?” You want reality , not guesses and lies. You want a mover that will take responsibility for your move. The only way he/she can do that is to see what you have. Don’t complain to me that it’s inconvenient or you think it is a waste of time because so many movers will quote on the phone. MAKE THEM BE RESPONSIBLE!
I bet at work there are tasks you must do to be proficient at what you do. Would your boss allow you to “call it in”? You are the boss on moving day, do not let them call it in.
Let’s say you made a couple of movers come the house. What are the most important questions now?

• Is this price firm or is approximate?
• What might change the price? (long carries, shuttles, weight, extra packing are all usual extra cost)
• Will you provide me with a copy of your insurance and License number.
• Are you a member of the BBB. (Is it them or the Vanline they represent?)
• Will you guarantee a pickup date and delivery date?
• Am I the only customer on the truck?
• What payments will you accept? (certified check and credit cards are the norm)
• Will you guarantee no damage?  (trick question, accidents happen so what do they do if something is damaged?)

Follow these few guidelines and you will weed out 90% of the bad movers out there.

Faith can move mountains, for everything else there is BD Movers!

5 reasons to hire a licensed professional mover

Stop thinking you can move your house on your own. (well, you might be able to but it ain’t easy). This is why you want to consider a mover.

• A mover will complete your move in hours, not days. I have been watching a house on my block move themselves this week. They are on day 3 of shuttle runs with a uhaul truck. If we do the math on fuel, rental, sandwiches and fraying friendships, how much did they save? If we assume that every man and women if worth at least minimum wage, then they have lost money.
• A mover can often be cheaper than doing yourself. (See our 1st example) I recently compared the charges for a rental truck to Florida from Manahawkin NJ. We were the same price as the do it yourself option but we did the lifting and loading.
• A licensed mover will have insurance. They will repair their mistakes. You will not repair the dents and scratches.
• A mover can get that armoire into the upstairs bedroom. You might, but in the process your hurt yourself , the furniture and the house.
• I will go home at the end of the job. Your friends and family will sit around and eat you out of house and home.

Faith can move mountains.. for everything else there is BD Movers! ™

Out of State Moves

At BD Movers we do out of state movers as well as local moving. The Carolina’s and Florida are the most popular but recently the action seems to be to the adjoining states, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New York. The reason is often so they can keep friends, and jobs but avoid our high taxes and high housing cost. If you hire a mover for this, we are going to charge you by weight and mileage. You can’t do a thing about the distance but you can control the weight by getting rid of stuff at this end. Here are some suggestions;

• Donate. Call your local charity to donate the items you no longer need. In Ocean County we have Habitat for Humanity in Manahawkin and one in Toms River. They will pick up the donated items, use them or sell them, and give you a tax receipt. Everyone benefits. Freecycle is a web site where you can list items for donation and people will come and get them.  Your local church often knows of families that need furniture and appliances. We accept non-perishable food stuffs on moving day and we take them to a local food bank.
• Recycle. Do not put it to the curb! Your neighbors will be annoyed and it is wasteful. In Ocean County most, if not every, township has an excellent recycling center for paper,plastic, clothes. In Forked River, ours will also take oil, paint, tires, batteries, electronics and cardboard.
• Call a hauler. I recommend Cleanoutservice here in Manahawkin. Joe is a great guy but I refer him because he will responsibly get rid of the things he picks up, Florescent light bulbs go to one place, metal to another, and so on. Email him at  cleanoutservice@yahoo.com
• Offer it to the new owners. They may need a bedroom set for the extra room, or they may need the left over paint for touch ups.

Never move the garden bricks, the fireplace wood, the old encylapedias, the freezer your grandparents gave you for the garage. The movers will charge you more than they are worth. Save some money, and help some people at the same time.