As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/
Options
First time using movers
Kyougu
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey all,
Moving this weekend to a new apt, and its the first time I'm opting to use movers.
What's the etiquette with movers? Just stay back and let them do their stuff? Help out?
Also how much do I tip?
I actually don't have much stuff. Just a couch, an entertainment center my tv (though I may take that in my car for safety) and bed, among with a few packed boxes of clothing/kitchen stuff.
Moving this weekend to a new apt, and its the first time I'm opting to use movers.
What's the etiquette with movers? Just stay back and let them do their stuff? Help out?
Also how much do I tip?
I actually don't have much stuff. Just a couch, an entertainment center my tv (though I may take that in my car for safety) and bed, among with a few packed boxes of clothing/kitchen stuff.
0
Posts
I'm in the military so every 2 to 3 years my whole house gets packed and moved around the world. So moving across town shouldn't come with as many dangers of destruction of your stuff, but better safe then sorry.
You can help them, but I would keep it to packing boxes. They might have liability issues with you putting stuff in their truck. I usually buy a pizza for them if they are interested.
― John Quincy Adams
Offer water/refreshments and all that throughout the day.
Label all the boxes and furniture for all the rooms they go in.
No last minute packing, everything should be ready to go when they get there.
Keep boxes light, and label them if they're heavy (books and your lead ingots).
Always be nearby if they have any questions.
Be ready to go when the movers get there. That means your bed is dissembled and ready to move and your entertainment center isn't loaded up with your games and what not. Have a clear plan for what you want them to do and make sure you have access to all the places you will be going.
Both times I had movers, I made sure to have some Gatorade or water on hand and offered them a drink. The last time It was a bigger move and took most of the day, so I bought them lunch at a sandwich shop.
As for tip, i'm not sure what your cost is. But make sure you give the cash in a way that is divisible by the movers present. So don't hand 1 of the 3 guys a $50 dollar bill. better to give them 3 $20's so they don't have to go make change.
Most moving companies charge a handling fee for TVs so if can unmount and move your tv by yourself, it'll save you 60 or 70 bucks.
... also a lot less risk of, "Oh, sorry, while your truck was traveling across Bumfuckistan, Middle-of-nowhere, one of the boxes 'fell off the truck' and had to be repacked. No idea why it was the one with all of your electronics in it. No idea where they are, either. Also, please ignore the grass in your wardrobe boxes."
Also, I've got a table that movers have broken, like, three times now - the bar linking the legs is now mostly made up of steel reinforcements.
To reiterate the good points:
Have your stuff boxed and ready to go with labels for which room it's going in in the new place.
Stay out of the way; you're paying them to move the boxes around, so let them move the boxes around.
Medium boxes are the best; small boxes for books is a good idea. Label the heavy boxes.
Your movers might be willing to do the bed disassembly as part of the move; if so, make sure they securely tape all your hardware to the frame / otherwise secure it.
More generally, know beforehand which services (taking TVs off walls and reinstalling at destination, packing, bed disassembly, etc.) are included or not included in your rate.
Offer drinks - especially water. They may bring their own cooler with them, and refuse, but you should at least offer.
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
If you pack stuff up yourself and something breaks in transit, they might not cover the damage.
I haven't run into that before, but that's a good point.
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
-Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
Cannot stress this enough. When I was a kid my Nintendo was stolen by movers.
sketchy outfits will just quote you a fee and then charge you exorbitantly over that fee when the move is almost done, basically holding your stuff hostage.
if they're just folks you found on craigslist...i've had good experiences and bad. definitely take pics of your stuff and keep track of it all in some way. you're taking some risk if the mover isn't licensed and bonded.
steam | Dokkan: 868846562
Having just done this yesterday - at least in CA, most of the places we talked to did insurance by weight, not by item value. So insurance would cover something like $0.60 / lb. So while I agree that they'll usually know better how to pack things (particularly wrapping furniture), if there's things you really care about and want to pack extra carefully, I'd do it yourself.
Also, you should check what's covered by your renter's insurance policy - that's likely to have better coverage in terms of both damage and theft than whatever the moving company has.
This is generally true, though it also just depends on how long you want it to take. Ours were perfectly happy to help disassemble things, because it's $50/hr/person they're getting paid to unscrew Ikea furniture as opposed to lugging heavy items around. But if you have nothing packed, don't expect it to be a 2-3 hour thing.
Moving was relatively painless. I had ice cold water bottles for the movers (gotta love the texas humid summers) and I tipped them 20 each since they took my old bed and bed frame to the dumpster and they really busted their asses and got the move done in two hours.
Settled into my apt, now just gotta decorate.