"How to choose a professional moving company”
It is not easy to choose a reliable moving company; it could be very stressful process, since there’re so many fly-by-night, so called “moving companies” that pray on naive customers to rip them off. We will try to cover all the aspects of choosing a professional moving company and hopefully give you a peace of mind about your upcoming move.
It is not a secret that our country is in recession and God knows when things will start to get better. That is why consumers, just like you, trying to save money on everything. Some prefer to get involved in a moving process by themselves with a little help from their family and friends, others choose to hire day labor and rent a truck to ease the process.
We should start by telling you, that hiring a professional moving company in Los Angeles should not be more expensive then doing it yourself. You can always go with huge well-known national company, which you have seen on TV or bill boards, but be ready to pay premium price for your move. While your moving bill will be much higher, the service most likely will be just as you would expected. So if you have money and looking to move just pick up the phone and schedule an on-sight estimate. You should keep in mind, that only big companies offer an on-sight estimate and usually for pretty large long distance moves.
If you have decided to move from Glendale to Pasadena, for example, that would be considered a local move, since it’s less than 100 miles. First thing you should do is to find out about local moving companies that do business in your area. It may come to you as a surprise, but in a big city like Los Angeles you would find hundreds of local listings on the internet and in yellow pages. Local moving companies always try to compete for your business, that kind of competition does a very good service to you, as a client. You can be sure that your local moving companies will deliver the same level of professional moving service, as nationwide giants. Also that competition drives the prices lower and gives you control over your moving budget.
If you are looking for a mover on the internet, you should keep in mind, that many of the websites online do not offer real moving services. When you look at the screen and see “FREE QUOTE” on every page that’s a red flag number one. If you can’t find contact information with company’s address in your area or phone number with local area code, that’s a red flag number two. If a website only shows you generic information about moving and doesn’t have a logo or a name, that would be a third flag.
In most cases websites and companies like that are just lead providers. When you enter your personal information such as name, address and phone number, that company will turn around and sell that information to dozens of companies. The bad thing is that not only your private info will be shared with someone you may not want to be affiliated, but the fact that you will get hundreds of calls from every possible moving company in the area. Professional telemarketers and sales people will bother you day and night. Keep in mind that your contact info was sold which will make your moving quote more expensive.
You have to stay in control of your moving process and get real moving quotes from 3-4 local movers. When you come across a real moving company, just call their toll free or local number and ask for their mover’s license number. In general, if a company licensed, it’s a professional organization, that you can trust. The next step is to check their name with Better Business Bureau (bbb.com). Just type in the name of the company or their phone number and you will get a detailed review with a grade. It is safe to say that if a company has A or B rating with 3 or 4 years in business, than you have found a professional, reputable mover.
It is also helpful to search for customer’s reviews of this mover. You can find many websites, blogs and forums with millions of customer’s reviews just about everything. The point is to collect as much information as you can, to make an informative decision. It may seem like a lot of work and time, but in reality, it won’t take you longer than an hour. When you are finished, you will have 3-4 moving quotes from real movers that you’ve spoken on the phone and checked out online.
Choose wisely, start with the lowest quote and weigh pros and cons of that company, then do the same for the other 3 company. The company has to have its own trucks and permanent movers, it has to have an office with warehouse and customer support available to you via website or phone. Try to stay away from people who rent u-haul trucks and hire day labor off the street.
Always remember that you are paying customer and should get professional service without any problems or hustle.
