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Very few people understand just how difficult it is to operate in the moving industry. Having worked with a lot of moving companies, here are just a few reasons
by rcarrigan87 9y ago
Very few people understand just how difficult it is to operate in the moving industry. Having worked with a lot of moving companies, here are just a few reasons:
-In terms of stress, moving ranks just under death and divorce. Movers joke that half their job is carrying furniture, the other half is therapist.
-1 in 5 moves involves some kind of claim. This isn't because movers are careless, it's just the nature of moving furniture. Damage is a part of moving. Considering customers are already stressed, layer on some damage and things get really fun.
-Margins are slim. Most people assume movers are "making out like bandits" charging hundreds or thousands of dollars. The reality is most well run moving companies operate on 15-20% profit margin.
-The industry is cut throat. Bait-and-switch has become the standard sales approach.[0] This is due to a number of factors including deregulation(debatable), uneducated consumers, and the internet (movers are on the cutting edge of fake review schemes. We track a few companies who change their name every Summer.)
-The industry is also trying to deal with millennials who tend to move more frequently but have much less stuff to move. These small moves are harder to turn a profit on. Also, household goods drivers are a dying breed putting further pressure on the long distance moving industry.
[0]https://www.movebuddha.com/blog/2017-summer-moving-scams/ https://www.movebuddha.com/blog/2017-summer-moving-scams/
- nihonde 9y agoI moved several times in Japan. Extreme care was taken in each case to correctly estimate the work, itemize the inventory and note existing damage, to secure the home, elevator, and common areas against new damage, and to obtain necessary approvals from building and local officials. The price was quite low — about USD$1,500 to move a four bedroom household to a two bedroom penthouse condo in a city three hours’ drive away, including removal, transport, and installation of four AC units. No tips allowed. There are even movers who specialize in overnight moves where great care is taken to be as silent as possible. After seeing this in action as a customer, I think the level of service elsewhere is quite low and providers have set very low expectations for themselves.
- ggg9990 9y agoJapan is such an outlier in so many things, especially things involving care and precision, that I don't think it's reasonable to assume that things elsewhere can be similar. 6-year-olds take the subway alone in Japan, and it would be great if we could do that in the US, but most places, we can't.
- nihonde 9y agoA lot of that difference is attributable to setting high standards and holding yourself accountable to them.
- TillE 9y agoIt's fairly common to see small children out on their own in German cities too. I'd suggest that the US is frequently the outlier in many things, and of course it's easy to see them as normal if you've only ever lived there.
- stevekemp 9y agoIn Finland it's extremely common for 5 year olds to walking and cycling (on the pavements) to school, and back. (Both those things occur even in winter, where the temperatures might reach -25 degrees for a couple of weeks of the year.)
- Larrikin 9y agoElementary kids travel in packs, often without adults, but almost never alone. A large reason this isn't allowed in the US is because of helicopter parents who insist it's impossible to teach this skill to children and report parents who try to give teach their kids independence.
- dreamcompiler 9y agoThat's true today in the US, but it was common as late as the 70s for 6-year-olds to walk to school alone here.
- mlevental 9y ago15-20% margins is by no means slim.
- santoshalper 9y agoIt's not grocery store thin, but it's not making out like a bandit either. It's pretty middle of the road.
- mcbits 9y agoThat would be about 2x the average of margins across all industries, but I also doubt it's accurate for the moving business. http://www.aei.org/publication/the-public-thinks-the-average-company-makes-a-36-profit-margin-which-is-about-5x-too-high/ http://www.aei.org/publication/the-public-thinks-the-average...
- ensignavenger 9y agoThe OP did not state if that was gross profit margin or net profit margin, or operating margin, which makes a huge difference.
- CPLX 9y ago> In terms of stress, moving ranks just under death and divorce Even more accurately, moving generally accompanies these events, and other painful life disruptions. Meeting someone in the process of moving is often to meet someone on one of the worst days of their lives. Source: worked at a U-Haul rental counter throughout high school
- nunez 9y ago15-20% margin is a lot better than I thought it would be given the incredible amount of competition.