4 ms·

Any tips on hiring movers?

hx8 1y ago
Unless it's a 1bedroom apartment don't accept less than 3 guys. Anything heavy really benefits from multiple people. Get three quotes for the job, talking to someone on the phone for each quote. Ask questions during the phone call. Ask about the company and the service they provide, treat it like a short interview. Select the company that sounds the most professional, unless their price is exorbitant compared to the other two. When the crew arrives, let the leader of the crew know you'll tip cash for good service.
- Mbwagava 1y ago
  Letting them know you'll tip cash is the best advice here. The movers will treat your stuff better and stuff won't go missing (although I have no reason to think this is specifically a concern, I do understand the paranoia).
  - neilv 1y ago
    > and stuff won't go missing (although I have no reason to think this is specifically a concern [..]. I once hired a moving company that was a bit scammy. I lost a nice component stereo system that they secretly took. I later learned that other people had trouble with that same company "forgetting things on the truck". It seemed to be one of their tactics to enforce scam pricing while they had you over a barrel. If you still didn't buckle on the spot, they'd secretly take away obvious valuables, and hold them hostage until they could extract more money. (They were based in Providence, RI, shortly before "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Plunder_Dome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Plunder_Dome", when the FBI cleaned up some local government institutionalized corruption. Occasionally, talking with someone who'd also lived there in that period, I'll hear an anecdote about crossing paths with mob-lite connected people. My favorite was someone whose apartment was burglarized, and their nice landlord told them he'd take care of it, and that they should temporarily be away from the apartment at a specific time; they come back after, and their belongings had been returned. I say mob-lite, because it's not tommy-guns and broken kneecaps, but there did seem to be an alternative system of rules by which some played, distinct from the law, and there was just a faint background awareness of that. Other than that, Providence was a nice place, and presumably is even nicer after the FBI cleaned up some corruption.)
- apparent 1y ago
  I moved a 3-bdrm house with 3 guys. Not sure why you'd say it's necessary to have more. It takes more time, of course, but if you're paying by the man-hour, that doesn't change the price. You definitely need 2-3 to wrap/move couches, but there weren't any items that would have benefited from 4 or more. It's just more parallel processing, which is nice but not critical IMO.
  - hx8 1y ago
    I said "not less than 3". I've seen companies bid 2 people for 2/3bedroom moves. When it comes to the heaviest stuff, 2 is not enough to do the job cleanly.
- nkrisc 1y ago
  100% let them know about a cash tip, be generous too. They're handling all your stuff, if you want them to treat it right they've got to be incentivized to do so. It's a hard job. If it was easy money everyone would be doing it. When you do tip, give each guy their share directly. Also buy a bunch of gatorade and water or other drinks and put it in a cooler with ice and tell them to help themselves to it, especially if it's at all warm where you are. Finally, don't be a hard ass and don't let them walk over you either. Don't get on their case about stuff that actually doesn't matter, and be firm where it does matter. You're paying them to do a job, but they're more likely to respect you and your stuff more if you don't treat them like crap (like some people undoubtedly do - they've told me).
  - hx8 1y ago
    > Also buy a bunch of gatorade and water or other drinks and put it in a cooler with ice and tell them to help themselves to it, especially if it's at all warm where you are. Yeah I'm going to be stealing this tip next time
btilly 1y ago
When my wife and I moved, we packed up the house over several weeks, decided what went, and what would be left. We then rented the U-Haul recommended for a 3 bedroom apartment, picked two random Mexican volunteers, and paid them more than they asked for, for a very long day. It worked well. But this did require having been well-organized before they came, having already found fragile stuff, and having our plan for how to protect those things.
- fooker 1y ago
  > over several weeks This is the reason people go with movers. A professional crew will do this in a morning.
  - saagarjha 1y ago
    The several weeks gives you a chance to sort through things and throw them out.
  - datavirtue 1y ago
    Chances of a professional crew actually arriving? Nil.
  - btilly 1y ago
    We were downsizing from a house to an apartment. A professional crew absolutely cannot, for example, make decisions such as which books can't be kept because we're moving to a smaller space.
andy99 1y ago
We moved recently, and admittedly lucked out getting a good mover, but the main difference that made me pick the one we did was that they were going to use their own truck and crew. We only talked to 2 companies, and the other one, despite owning their own trucks, for an out of town move was going to subcontract to someone, under which circumstances all bets are off as happened to the OP. When I moved I just assumed there would be problems with the movers because it seems like that kind of industry. Turns out we got a great crew, no tricks or gimmicks, and no damage to anything. It actually felt weird seeing how "normal" something like that could be, when you almost expect something like what the OP got.

hx8 1y ago

Unless it's a 1bedroom apartment don't accept less than 3 guys. Anything heavy really benefits from multiple people. Get three quotes for the job, talking to someone on the phone for each quote. Ask questions during the phone call. Ask about the company and the service they provide, treat it like a short interview. Select the company that sounds the most professional, unless their price is exorbitant compared to the other two. When the crew arrives, let the leader of the crew know you'll tip cash for good service.

Mbwagava 1y ago
Letting them know you'll tip cash is the best advice here. The movers will treat your stuff better and stuff won't go missing (although I have no reason to think this is specifically a concern, I do understand the paranoia).
- neilv 1y ago
  > and stuff won't go missing (although I have no reason to think this is specifically a concern [..]. I once hired a moving company that was a bit scammy. I lost a nice component stereo system that they secretly took. I later learned that other people had trouble with that same company "forgetting things on the truck". It seemed to be one of their tactics to enforce scam pricing while they had you over a barrel. If you still didn't buckle on the spot, they'd secretly take away obvious valuables, and hold them hostage until they could extract more money. (They were based in Providence, RI, shortly before "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Plunder_Dome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Plunder_Dome", when the FBI cleaned up some local government institutionalized corruption. Occasionally, talking with someone who'd also lived there in that period, I'll hear an anecdote about crossing paths with mob-lite connected people. My favorite was someone whose apartment was burglarized, and their nice landlord told them he'd take care of it, and that they should temporarily be away from the apartment at a specific time; they come back after, and their belongings had been returned. I say mob-lite, because it's not tommy-guns and broken kneecaps, but there did seem to be an alternative system of rules by which some played, distinct from the law, and there was just a faint background awareness of that. Other than that, Providence was a nice place, and presumably is even nicer after the FBI cleaned up some corruption.)
apparent 1y ago
I moved a 3-bdrm house with 3 guys. Not sure why you'd say it's necessary to have more. It takes more time, of course, but if you're paying by the man-hour, that doesn't change the price. You definitely need 2-3 to wrap/move couches, but there weren't any items that would have benefited from 4 or more. It's just more parallel processing, which is nice but not critical IMO.
- hx8 1y ago
  I said "not less than 3". I've seen companies bid 2 people for 2/3bedroom moves. When it comes to the heaviest stuff, 2 is not enough to do the job cleanly.
nkrisc 1y ago
100% let them know about a cash tip, be generous too. They're handling all your stuff, if you want them to treat it right they've got to be incentivized to do so. It's a hard job. If it was easy money everyone would be doing it. When you do tip, give each guy their share directly. Also buy a bunch of gatorade and water or other drinks and put it in a cooler with ice and tell them to help themselves to it, especially if it's at all warm where you are. Finally, don't be a hard ass and don't let them walk over you either. Don't get on their case about stuff that actually doesn't matter, and be firm where it does matter. You're paying them to do a job, but they're more likely to respect you and your stuff more if you don't treat them like crap (like some people undoubtedly do - they've told me).
- hx8 1y ago
  > Also buy a bunch of gatorade and water or other drinks and put it in a cooler with ice and tell them to help themselves to it, especially if it's at all warm where you are. Yeah I'm going to be stealing this tip next time

btilly 1y ago

When my wife and I moved, we packed up the house over several weeks, decided what went, and what would be left. We then rented the U-Haul recommended for a 3 bedroom apartment, picked two random Mexican volunteers, and paid them more than they asked for, for a very long day. It worked well. But this did require having been well-organized before they came, having already found fragile stuff, and having our plan for how to protect those things.

fooker 1y ago
> over several weeks This is the reason people go with movers. A professional crew will do this in a morning.
- saagarjha 1y ago
  The several weeks gives you a chance to sort through things and throw them out.
- datavirtue 1y ago
  Chances of a professional crew actually arriving? Nil.
- btilly 1y ago
  We were downsizing from a house to an apartment. A professional crew absolutely cannot, for example, make decisions such as which books can't be kept because we're moving to a smaller space.

andy99 1y ago

We moved recently, and admittedly lucked out getting a good mover, but the main difference that made me pick the one we did was that they were going to use their own truck and crew. We only talked to 2 companies, and the other one, despite owning their own trucks, for an out of town move was going to subcontract to someone, under which circumstances all bets are off as happened to the OP. When I moved I just assumed there would be problems with the movers because it seems like that kind of industry. Turns out we got a great crew, no tricks or gimmicks, and no damage to anything. It actually felt weird seeing how "normal" something like that could be, when you almost expect something like what the OP got.