questions to ask your professional movers
What are the greatest things in life? Probably the ones that you earn with your hard work while on the other hand, they make your life happier, prettier and easier. Getting yourself a new home is definitely one of the things that has the biggest impact on the course of your life.
However, while buying or renting yourself a new house or apartment you are overwhelmed with joy and pride, and you are not even aware of the challenges and troubles that the actual process of moving can bring. Moving is a significant undertaking and can be extremely stressful. Especially if you’re moving by yourself, without the help of local movers. This is why many people choose to hire professional, full-service local movers to manage and transport their belongings.
Professional movers can ease and simplify the transition from your old home to the new one. Additionally, they offer services like packing, unpacking, disassembly, reassembly, and even storage. Not only are they experienced, hard-working and skilled individuals, but they are also friendly and trustworthy people who care about your well-being and peace of mind during the process.
Moving to a new home means making a lot of decisions in a very short amount of time. From selecting the best supplies to choosing the right move date, the number of to-dos can become downright overwhelming. The most important relocation decision also happens to be the hardest: choosing the right local movers. Unfortunately, whatever it is you need help with, there are so many frauds and scams nowadays that you really have to be careful and attentive to who you give your money and trust to.
When it comes to local movers, it is easier than ever to find the affordable movers who will promise to do everything the way you expect them to before you sign the contract and the moving day comes, but in reality, they are only after easy money and trusting them without exploring and asking them about the things that you would like to know would be a huge mistake on your side.
Of course, there are plenty of serious, professional local movers who will make your life so much easier and simpler in the next couple of months. However, knowing how to separate the wheat from the chaff is something that really requires your time and effort. That is why our local movers decided to share with you some of the important things that you should ask your local movers about.
If your local movers have the right answer to every one of these questions, congrats, you have found trustworthy furniture movers with whom you can be at ease. However, if your local movers hesitate or avoid answers to certain questions, you should keep searching until you really find the local movers that can meet your expectations and wishes.
Get comfy and stay with us as our local movers share with you some pro tips about things that you should ask your professional movers and the answers that you should expect to get if you have found reliable and professional local movers to work with. Let’s jump right into it.
Are you licensed professional movers?
First things first, you should be sure that the local movers you are choosing to trust with everything you have are really who they represent themselves to be. Checking if the local movers you have chosen are licensed is something that can’t be overlooked. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is a government agency that regulates commercial vehicle operations to guarantee safety for companies and consumers alike.
Though FMCSA accreditation doesn’t necessarily guarantee that local movers will give you fair prices or top-notch service, it does indicate that certain furniture movers are not just a front for a scam. Since any company can say it’s properly accredited, even if it isn’t true, we recommend you check this one for yourself too and see whether your local movers tell the truth.
What kind of services can you provide me with?
The type of move, the size, and the distance will determine which local movers are best suited for your relocation. You will need to decide whether you are seeking a few extra hands to assist you, or if you will need full-service professional movers that come in, pack your stuff, transport it, and unload it. Remember to keep in mind, the more services or time you need, the more expensive the move will be.
Even though hiring local movers is more expensive than moving on your own, you should really invest some money into making your move as smooth and efficient as possible, and hiring local movers to provide you with the kind of service you need help with is the best thing you can do for your future relocation. That is why explaining your specific situation, as well as, your goals and needs to your local movers will help you determine what kind of service you need and choose the local movers who can offer you the best deal.
What is the type of insurance that you offer?
Local movers are by law required to offer Replacement Value Protection as the standard liability coverage. This type of coverage makes sure that your furniture movers are only liable to reimburse you for lost or damaged items at a rate of 60 cents per pound per article. This implies that if damage occurs to your 20-pound flat-screen while in transit, your local movers will only pay you $12. Be sure to ask for the insurance options, the worth of coverage, and the extra cost.
Many local movers offer Full Value Protection for an added fee, which provides coverage for the full value of replacing or repairing a damaged or lost item. Even though when you really find local movers who are professional and experienced chances of your belongings getting damaged or broken along the way are minimal, paying an extra couple of bucks to make sure that you are covered is always a good idea.
Can you show me some recommendations and give me some references?
Satisfied customers or awards for service are quite a significant indication of reliability and high quality. Read online reviews of your chosen company – you will know if the local movers overpromised, underdelivered, and overcharged their customers. You should have collected enough credentials concerning your local movers before you decide to take the next step and avoid wasting your time and energy on people who cannot meet your expectations and who had not provided their customers with the proper service before.
Does this company provide binding estimates?
Local movers may give you an estimate designed to entice you with a low price. Unless that estimate is binding, your furniture movers could very well increase your price later on. Some professional movers are notorious for increasing their prices on moving day, long after it’s too late for you to find a different option. You can avoid this situation by working with local movers that provide binding estimates.
Binding estimates ensure that your price will not increase as long as your move goes as planned and you don’t add anything to your inventory at the last minute. Of course, there are also trustworthy local movers that don’t offer binding estimates, so you should not necessarily be deterred by this, but you should be aware of it.
What is your policy for cancellation?
If there is an emergency case or unexpected situation, you may decide to cancel or postpone your move. There are many things that can happen and finding out about your local movers’ policy when it comes to cancellation is something that you should definitely have in mind. A lot of local movers will not charge extra for cancellation or rescheduling, but it is always nice to ask before making a reservation. It is also nice to provide as much as possible advance notice, especially if you decide to move on another date as against earlier reschedule to make it easy for the professional movers to accommodate your request.
What do you consider extra services?
The answer will vary for different local movers so make this part explicit – what about packing services, shuttle services, road charges, long carry fees, parking issues, storage-in-transit fees, warehouse handling and fuel charges, fees for disassembly of furniture pieces, or handling awkward objects, etc.
Discuss all these matters with your professional movers and try to avoid as many of these charges as you can with proper preparation (packing items yourself, reserving elevators and parking spots, creating a floor plan, getting your new home ready, whatever you can). Remember to ask your local movers if they charge extra for travel time to and from your house, too.
Do you background check your employees?
With a full-service move, strangers will come to your house, go through your things, pack them up, load them into a truck, and drive away with them. That can be a pretty scary situation if you ask us. While it will probably never be completely comfortable, you can make it a lot less stressful by asking your local movers if they background check their employees.
Background checks help professional movers weed out potential employees who have been fired from other companies for theft or damages. They also check employees’ permanent records to make sure they don’t have burglary charges or major drug offenses. This process ensures that local movers that come to your doorstep are the people you can trust into your home. If the local movers don’t background check their moving crews, we recommend steering clear.
Do you charge a deposit?
Some local movers may require a deposit if your move is extremely large. This is because it will require the local movers to tie up multiple moving days and resources. But, for most regular-sized moves, your furniture movers should not require a deposit. Trustworthy local movers for regular-sized moves should not demand a large deposit before your move. But it all depends on how large the deposit is, some furniture movers always require a very small deposit and that is ok.
However, most local movers bill you once the job is done. If your local movers are asking for a hefty deposit upfront, then you might want to reconsider using them. Also, when you have paid nothing or a small amount in advance, you have much more control over the professional movers’ delivery timeframe. Payment will incentivize the local movers to deliver your belongings as soon as possible.
How do you handle loss and damage claims?
We have already talked about moving coverage, but there is another side to it. Before you can get reimbursed for damaged or lost belongings, you need to contact your local movers and go through their claims process. Ask your customer service rep what the claims process is like so you know what your recourse is in case something breaks or goes missing en route. You should also check your local movers’ customer reviews to get answers to this question. If multiple customers complain that they didn’t get reimbursed, consider hiring different local movers.
Make a list of questions to ask your local movers when you call or meet with them. After you have obtained satisfactory answers, you are a bit closer to selecting the best local moving company for your move. We assure you that if you listen to our local movers and ask the right questions, you will surely find yourself great furniture movers to handle your relocation and make this process a lot easier and simpler for you.
Top Pasadena Movers are some of the best local movers and if you are moving in this area, you should definitely get in touch and find out first-hand what the answers that you should expect your local movers to give you are. Local movers from Top Pasadena Movers will be more than glad to help you with any concerns or doubts you might have, as well as, more than ready to overcome every challenge that can arise on the way. Good luck!