Monthly Archives: October 2015

Why, when and how of writing a moving review

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Selecting a reputed moving company is probably the biggest decision to make during a move. By writing an honest and factual review of your movers, you’re helping millions of people just like you to choose a better moving company. Whether your review is positive or negative, it should always be genuine valuable information that helps the consumers to make a right decision. Moving review is mutually beneficial to both the consumers and moving companies that work hard service your moves.

Valuable reasons to write moving company’s reviews :

Moving review let you to take informed decision :

A genuine and information packed moving review doesn’t gain anything for the reviewer, but does help others make an informed decision. The best online reviews give you information about the professionalism of the crew and whether or not the packed boxes reached their final destination safely. Moving review let you know what to expect from the movers, since consumers have reasonable expectations regarding the scope of the moving company’s work.

It helps local small business movers :

The well known branded moving companies need not want any advertisements and promotions; they simply get hired based on their credentials. Local and small movers may not get hired, unless they are backed up with plenty of positive reviews. If you’re satisfied with the service of a lesser-known company, you can favor them by writing glowing positive review, so that their dedication and hard work will be rewarded with more business.

You can identify careless workers :

If you come across multiple negative reviews about a moving company, then that company is prone to a culture of carelessness. Keep in mind that there is no use in completing a move, if your belongings are damaged or disappeared during the moving process. Moving review informs you how well the moving company responds to damage and missing items.

Moving review help you get the best quote :

Finding a moving company at a reasonable cost is a daunting task. Moving review helps you in finding a cost efficient mover with excellent sense of customer service. Hiring company based on cost alone, may save you couple of bucks but safety of your belongings is ensured only by good professional moving company.

Moving reviews prevent scams :

If you’re choosing a mover based on their own website then you’re more likely to get scammed. Checking the moving company’s ratings in reputed transportation sites will prevent you from scam movers. You can bring more business to the deserving good moving company with powerful positive feedbacks and drive the bad ones out of business.

How to write a good moving review :

Approximate your information :

Don’t be super specific in giving your personal information, this way you can ensure your personal safety. Include approximate date, time and location of your move.

Mention about customer service :

Give clear idea to the reader about the effectiveness of their service. Do not forget to highlight the special qualities of your movers. Also, mention that whether your movers are courteous, loyal, helpful and answering your questions or gruff and rude.

Special mention to the punctuality :

Moving review should include how your movers handled the unavoidable situations such as traffic and unexpected weather condition, were your belongings shipped on time and do they maintain punctuality for all their appointments including estimate, moving day and delivery.

Notify the extra payment :

Let your readers know whether your move is within the estimated budget or you were subjected to any extra payment. By writing this issue, you can save number of consumers from fake movers. If you encountered any unusual procedure or unexpected elements, mention that also.

Rank your mover :

Assess your moving company based on satisfaction of their job service. Do not hesitate to recommend good moving companies to others.

Write the original fact :

In spite of all positive reviews, if you had a terrible experience with a high end moving company then you need to be bold enough to address it in your review. If you also felt that a dull company with negative reviews changed their state and doing good job, encourage them with positive feedback and suggest them to others.

Avoid derogatory language :

Though you witnessed tough situation with your movers, do not use derogatory language to describe your frustration on them. Resist your urge to use too many exclamation points or using profanity words as this may get you a disrespectful impression, despite of your true facts.

Employ detailed information :

Simply writing “good company” or “did great job” has no effect. Try to give detail information about the moving company’s involvement towards the work. When you’re posting your review, avoid spelling mistakes as the silly spelling and grammatical errors will make your narrative less serious.

Judge the situation :

Before writing anything ill about the movers, first judge whether it was an unavoidable accident or truly caused by moving crew’s neglect and carelessness. Movers have to overcome lot of difficulties and hurdles to gain good name, so it is not fair to judge them based on one single unpleasant event.

Give your own experience :

You can write review, only if you have been the customer of the moving company you are reviewing. Do not post reviews for your friend’s and neighbor’s experience, since you have to take full responsibility for what you’re writing as review content.

Take time :

A customer’s feedback is extremely valuable for a moving company. Their service gets improved based on public opinion only. So, take enough time to write moving review. Make sure that your information is crisp because readers do not engage in reading lengthy paragraphs.

Be forgiving :

If the moving company apologizes for their mistake and offer you reimbursement, accept it and call it a day. In an event of any unfortunate moving experience post your negative review only once; do not tempt to get into any nasty back-and–forth over the online review boards.

The moving review helps you to a greater extent, if you don’t have any personal recommendations for selecting moving companies.

Moving tips for local moves

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Whether you move across a country or across a street, moving is always a daunting task. Even, the Employee Relocation Council reported that relocation is considered to be the third most stressful life event. Lack of proper planning is the prime cause of moving stress. Here are few tips to save money and time when you’re moving locally.
Plan ahead :
Start the moving preparation as far in advance as you can, since it is time consuming and detailed process. In order to make your move ultimately simple and less hectic, activities such as, changing over your utilities, acquiring packing supplies must be done beforehand. Reserve the professional movers as soon as possible because last minute booking will result in unavailability of the movers and also you should pay a pretty steep price.
Concentrate on wise packing :
Spent ample of time in carefully packing your items, keep in mind that it is overwhelming to pack up the entire things in your home or apartment in one or two days, so pack well in advance. Before you start packing quickly sort through your belonging and unload the seldom or never used stuffs. The garage sale will fetch you some instant cash and eliminate the hassle of packing unwanted items. Ask for pre-used boxes from your movers and in case if you are doing the packing by yourself rent the plastic crates and moving supplies, instead of buying new one, this way, the money can be saved to greater extent. The safety of your breakables is ensured by padding it with bubble wraps.
Rental truck :
If you are relocating by DIY approach then you need a rental truck to shift your belongings. The rental truck companies charge you based on the mileage, if your move is short, you may save money by booking trucks that offer you cheaper rental rate. Be aware of the company’s insurance policies and what it actually covers, since, most of the companies offer you reimbursement with high deductibility and only covers certain types of damage. For instance, roof damage is quite common but it is often left out. By reserving the truck far in advance, you can ensure the truck availability and you can also choose your own convenient pick up and drop dates. While loading the items, first load the furniture and then heaviest boxes, thirdly load the breakable items so that during unloading process the breakables are unloaded first without getting damaged. Hire the truck based on the volume of the goods, renting smaller truck and making multiple trips makes you to end up with additional charges.

Label the belongings :
Labeling the boxes informatively helps you to keep track of your stuff. The hassle after the move can be eliminated by simply writing the room names on the boxes with marker so that it is easy for you to unpack the items and place it in appropriate place. Instead of manual labeling, the boxes can be labeled electronically by using mobile inventory software. The home inventory tools mobile app helps you to maintain a detailed database of your stuff. The encoded labeling with QR codes is another useful method. Since, it is annoying to fit the entire inventory on the label and you may also feel discomfort able to expose the content of your box, if it contains expensive items, in such cases the QR code labeling is a decent solution.

Look for helpers :
The moving can be miserable experience if you do it alone. Getting help from friends and neighbors makes the move much easier and faster. If you have enough friends, schedule your friends in shifts and get your work done, do not commit your friends to a full day of physical labor. For a local move, instead of hiring movers, getting help from friends and neighbors is a wise choice. Taking photos of the connections of your home appliances helps you to easily install it in your new home since these photos give you a detailed description about how the wires are connected.

Keep your essentials handy :
During peak season move, you may arrive quickly than your belongings, so keep your essentials such as spare dress, toiletries etc within easy access. In order to ensure the safety of your laptop, it is always advisable to transport it along with you, this way you can minimize the risk of getting it damaged or stolen during the move.

Cut down the boxes :
Trashing the unwanted items makes the packing process easy and it also reduce the number of card board boxes. The professional movers charge by volume of your goods, purging your possessions helps you to save money. Moving is the great time to unload the unneeded furniture, sell it on Craigslist. Do not forget to make a prior visit to your new residence before the move to ensure that the furniture properly fits into your new home to avoid unnecessary frustrations.

Prepare moving checklists :
A stress free moving can be experienced by preparing a checklist that covers every aspect of your move. Check list helps you to carry out the moving process in a well organized manner and the risk of missing things is greatly minimized.

Hire professional movers :
DIY approach or involving friends in moving process may save your money but the safe move is provided only by the professional movers. The unfortunate injuries during the moving process can be eliminated by hiring professional movers because they have undergone rigorous training on moving process and they stick to moving ethics. Do online research and find out the suitable movers, who fits into your budget. The selection process can be made much easier by getting referrals. Before choosing the moving company, get quotes at least from five companies, in this way you can hire a cost effective movers. Once you select your moving company sign a contract with them and the agreement should list all the needed supplies, number of trucks, total cost and the total number of boxes you are loading inside the truck etc. While signing the contract ensure that you sign a filled agreement without any blanks, to avoid the moving scams.

Invaluable moving tips for college students

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The moving experience can be both exciting and stress full for a college student. It is quite challenging for students to leave behind the comforts of home in favor of a cramped dorm room. With organized packing and a support team to help with the move, the hectic moving process can be made simple. Here are few tips that help the students to set up their new living space with minimal stress and hassles.

Do not over pack :

Keep in mind that the dorm room is a small living space and you can’t stuff everything you bring, so keep your packing simple. Pack your belongings in suit cases or sealed cartons, since, it can be moved easily and quickly. To avoid unnecessary frustrations, do not bring loose belongings. During the peak season move, the shipped belongings may not be immediately available, it is wise to pack the essentials in a separate box and bring it with you, instead of shipping. Label your boxes with your name and address both inside and outside, this way you can reduce the possibilities of getting your box missed or mixed up with other’s belongings. If you want to bring some furniture, opt for bean bags and small disassembling type chairs. While packing electronic items, pad it with bubble wrap to protect it from damage. In order to make unpacking easier, pack the similar items together. The over sized boxes are hassle to carry, so don’t get yourself into trouble by over packing.

Shipping of the goods :

Hire reputed shipping agent and insure the goods before shipping, signing contract helps you to avoid the moving scams. Ensure that the company is offering reasonable quote and do not forget to mention it in the contract. Unless you’re moving overseas, the most inexpensive method to get your stuff from home to college dorm room is rental cars. This self serving move is highly cost effective, since, you’re not paying for any movers and you are reducing your work load by getting help from friends and neighbors.

Keep tools handy :

Being prepared with tools and other helpful extras such as screws, screw drivers, hammers, nails etc, will help you to set up loft for your bed or assemble furniture. You can also make simple repairs by using these handy tools. Keep in mind that the comforts of home are not available in dorm room, keeping the useful tools within access will smoothen your move-in process.

Consider the weather :

Before your move be aware of the prevailing weather conditions of your new living space and pack the seasonal clothing accordingly. If you have chosen a late fall move then the climate will be very cool, packing light weight sweaters, long sleeved shirts and jackets helps you to get rid from the feel of shivering.

Toiletries and bedding :

The toiletries are very essential wherever you go, since; you start your day with toiletries such as tooth paste, brush, soap, shampoo etc. your mom is not going to do your laundry anymore, so pack yourself with enough detergents. It is good to pack both toiletries and bedding far in advance. Your day ends with bedding, so it must also be given paramount importance. Accompanying blanket, linens, mattress cover and pillow will give you feel-home comfortable.

Avoid hazardous materials :

Do not pack hazardous materials that are flammable such as kerosene, gas lamps, immersion coils and open coiled appliances. These items catches fire easily, you’re safety is ensured by prohibiting these harmful materials.

First- aid kit :

The first aid kit containing band-aids, pain reliever’s helps you lot when you’re outside your home. Untreated small wounds will end up with severe pain; keeping first aid kit handy favors immediate medication to injuries.

Resist shopping :

Instead of prior shopping, it is best to shop with your roommates after your move. Advance shopping will end up with stocking up on the necessities that you won’t need. When you shop with your roommates, you can split the cost and buy things, which are actually needed. Making prior visit to your dorm room, give you an idea what should be brought and what should not be brought, this way you can save both money and time.

Move-In day :

For a peaceful moving experience, plan your move on mid-week date, avoid weekend move, when everyone else will be moving for a vacation. In order to protect yourself from the scorching heat, opt for early morning or evening move. Your college may offer limited dollies, bringing your own dolly, makes the transport job simple and save you from long waiting times. Since, most of the moving happens in summer, follow a strategy for unloading. Ensure that you load the temperature sensitive items last, so that you can unload it first.

Give preference to utility services :

Setting up the essential utilities such as phone, cable and internet before the moving day, helps you to get rid from unwanted last minute frustrations.

Look for discounts :

Several stationary and grocery shops, moving companies and restaurants offer discounts for students. It is wise to carry your college I.D wherever you go and make use of these offers. Sort out your belongings and find the items that you seldom used and opt for a garage sale or yard sale, which fetch you instant cash. As a student save money whenever and wherever you can, this way you can ensure that your expense do not exceed your planned budget.

Organize your activities :

Once you moved in, first and foremost thing you want to do is decoration. Make sure that you give more preference for arranging your couches, beds and closets, instead of hanging posters and pictures. Develop a floor plan of your apartment or dorm room, before arranging your furniture, so that you need not break your head, to get them rightly placed. Placing the big items in the appropriate place, before the fun stuff goes on walls and shelves, makes your living place clean and tidy.

By following the above guidelines you can eliminate the stress and hassles of moving and make your successful moving experience a memorable one.

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