A 7-Step Plan for Hiring a Professional Moving Company

Have you started looking at professional moving companies? This is a big decision for your family’s upcoming move which means you need to your due diligence before making a decision. Along with asking around for referrals and getting estimates from your top contenders, you’ll need to research their credentials and make sure they don’t have any complaints against their brand. Take a look at this 7-step guide that will make it easy for you to hire a professional moving company.

Research and get referrals

Begin by doing your research for local moving companies and talking to friends, real estate agents, coworkers, and relatives about their recommendation for moving companies in the area. You can check online listings or the phone book near your home to find out who might be able to help in the area.

Since you’ll need them to come to the home in the near future to give you an estimate, you won’t want to work with someone too far away. It may surprise you that some of the well-known brands or big-name companies are not always going to be the best option and that local businesses are often a better choice.

Talk to Moving Companies

Now that you have some names that you’ve been referred to or had good reviews online, it’s time to start talking to these companies and do your initial screening. Talk to each of your recommended movers and look at their reviews online to see what others have to say about their experience.

Call the Better Business Bureau for your final choices to see if there is anything you need to be aware of. You may want to check websites like movingscam.com to see if any companies have been blacklisted from consumer complaints.

Get an estimate from the final choices

Now that you’ve narrowed it down to a couple of choices, you’ll want to collect estimates from your top choices. For moves out of state, you’ll need to find out if the company will give you a written offer with a capped amount that they promise not to exceed. That way you can at least count on a capped amount that you won’t go over in paying for your move. The final costs of a move are typically more than the estimate and non-binding estimates are legal, but a binding not-to-exceed cap is better.

How the estimate should go

Once you have your estimates, you’ll want to understand how the process works. You’ll need to make sure you have everything from the closets to the attic that you’ll need to be handled on moving day. On moving day, if the movers believe you have more than what was on the estimate, they may try to challenge the estimate and have you to pay more unless you can prove that your estimate covered the correct amount.

This would also be the time to discuss if there will be elevators, stairs, a long distance from the curb, or other details that will affect the move. Make sure to collect the company information, references, and license numbers at this time.

Research final choices

Now you’ll want to compare the bids, and you’ll want to do some research on your final choices from there. While one may be offering a better rate, they may not have been in business as long as another company. Make sure they are incorporated in your state and look through searchable databases of business on the internet. Make sure you review their moving credentials and reviews!

Choose your moving crew

Now it’s time to make your selection. Select a mover that you feel confident about and confirm the details of the move once you’ve called.

Make sure you have an inventory

Lastly, you’ll want to get a written copy of the inventory list on moving day. Make sure they have directions to your home and a good phone number to reach them.

These are the 7 steps you’ll need to hire a professional moving company for your upcoming move. Contact The Professionals Moving Specialists for your Chicago move!

Make Sure you Don't Get Scammed by a Moving Company

Have you ever heard of people getting scammed by their moving company? You don’t want to find yourself in this nightmare. Moving is already a stressful time and you want a professional moving company that you can count on.

Most companies would try to help make the process a smooth one, but you may come across a company that is out to scam you. Watch out for cheap ads on Craigslist, book a company early and thoughtfully, and be sure you know what to do in the event that you are in a bad situation like this. Take a look at some ways to avoid being scammed on your upcoming move.

Warning signs to watch for

A good place to start is to make sure you are as organized and rested as possible, in order to avoid being taken advantage of while you’re feeling frazzled and vulnerable. Look for warning signs and be on guard for the possibility that they come up.

Look out for deals that are too good to be true, such as a Craiglist offer that sells moving services for way too cheap. Many times a scam will occur when the price is offered too low and then a contingency comes up causing a price increase, such as stairs or a long loading route. When you have to make an agreement verbally rather than on paper, you may find yourself fighting with the movers at your destination with your belongings being withheld from you without further payment.

How to spot a winner of a company

Avoid any signs of a bad moving company and trust professional movers with a great reputation in town or online. Look for online reviews with great credibility and positive feedback, while being realistic if you think a company looks too good to be true with a perfect rating.

When you choose a company that seems trustworthy, call them for information on handling your upcoming moving. You should get to work with a moving coordinator or a manager that will oversee the move. While some issues could come up that can’t be avoided, your move coordinator should be your point person to help when an unforeseeable situation comes up.

Having a coordinator means that someone is being updated when an issue pops up, such as not having a key to get into the new home or furniture not fitting through the door. If a company offers this service, you can likely feel at ease, while one that doesn’t offer this service should make you remain watchful for any red flags.

Tips for prevention

While being scammed by a moving company can happen to anyone, it’s helpful to take a few precautions. Along with seeking out a company with good reviews and a great reputation in town, watching out for offers too good to be true, and considering avoiding any companies that don’t provide moving coordinators, consider booking early when there are still many choices available to you. You won’t fall for deals too good to be true and you’ll have time to build a relationship with a company before it’s time to move.

If you get a bad feeling from a company or find communication is lacking, it may be time to look for someone else. Does the company live up to promises, such as getting you a timely estimate and contacting you when they said they would? If you hire this company, remember that they will be handling your precious belongings and you’re trusting them with the safety and efficiency of the process.

While you may have to pay a deposit for the move, watch out for companies that ask for full payment in advance or a really large deposit. A small deposit lost by moving to a new company is worth it if you feel uncomfortable with a company, but a large deposit or full payment would show signs of a company not worth dealing with.

If you find yourself in a scamming situation, make sure you have a manager’s name and contact information that you can reach if something goes wrong. Sign a contract that lists the minimum value protection for you the customer, and a way to declare the value of your items. Then if something were to happen, you could take them to court with documented proof, as well as talk to the Better Business Bureau. Of course, a social media blasting will make this company look bad and will warn others to avoid them.

Don’t get scammed by a moving company if you can avoid it; use these tips to know what to look for.

What to Expect when Using a Professional Packing Service

Whenever you move, it involved packing and unpacking everything you own. This may seem like a very tedious task and your time may be better spent doing other things. Often, it will even require taking time off from work to get the packing done. If you don't like the idea of packing up your entire home and unpacking it when you arrive, you do have the option of hiring a professional packing service. This type of service will come in and do all the packing for you. They will even take apart furniture and other items. Then, when your things arrive at the new home, the packing service will actually unpack everything for you.

Should you Hire a Professional Packing Service?

Not all moves require a professional packing service and there are times when this type of service comes in handy more than others. Here are a few guidelines to help you decide if you need a packing service:

If you're moving a longer distance, it's a good idea to hire a packing service. The long drive can be very exhausting and it's even worse after spending days packing everything up.

When you need to move a large home or office, a packing service should be used. Any home with more than 2 bedrooms will take a very long time to get packed up.

Those with a number of obligations or needing to work during the move should also consider hiring a packing service. The money spent on the service may be worth it when it comes to the time you will save.

If the move will include a number of valuable items, antiques or other collectible items, you may want to have a professional do the packing. This will ensure everything it packed properly and you won't have to worry about anything arriving damaged.

All of these situations, along with anytime you cannot physically handle the packing, a professional packing service should be considered.

How Long will it Take for the Service to Pack you Home?

The number of time needed to pack up your home and get it ready to be moved to your new locations depends on the size of your home and the number of people packing. Some of the averages are:

• Under 1,000 Square Feet - 4 to 6 hours for two people or 2-3 hours for four people.

• 1,500 to 2,000 Square Feet - 13 to 16 hours for two people, 7 to 9 hours for four people or 4 to 5 hours for six people.

• 2,500 to 3,000 Square Feet - 21 to 25 hours for two people, 11 to 14 hours for four people or 7 to 9 hours for six people.

• 4,000 square feet or larger - 36 to 40 hours for 2 people, 19 to 22 people for four people or 12 to 16 hours for six people

With the help of a professional packing service, the job will be done faster than you could imagine. They will also make sure everything is packed correctly and there will be enough workers on site to make the process go much smoother and quicker.

Some of the other things you can expect from a professional packing service include:

• Creation of a full moving inventory

• Use of the right boxes and packing materials

• Proper packing and labeling of fragile and valuable items

• And More!

It all starts with a professional, on-site estimate for the total cost of packing your home. If you want to save time and enjoy the fact that you won't have to do any packing or unpacking, hiring a professional packing services the best choice you can make.

How Much Does it Cost to Move an Office? Part 2

(Part 2 of a two-part series. Read Part 1.)

Since there’s so much information to cover about the cost to move an office, we split this post into two parts. We already covered the challenges of an office move and the elements you should consider in the costs. In part two, we will look at the actual costs for moving an office.

Breakdown of office relocation costs estimator

Now that you have a sense of the elements that will affect your pricing, it’s important to understand a breakdown of these potential costs. Not all of these costs will apply to your move, but many could apply to it.

• When you’re moving about 1,500 square feet of office space, your pricing could range from as low as $750 to as high as $4,500 depending on the materials, disassembly, and furniture.

• The packing and moving of a 3,000 square foot space would likely start at around $1,500 and range up to $9,000 depending on your files and furniture.

• A 10,000 square foot space would likely start at $5,000 and range up to $30,000 due to numerous employees and workstations. Consider about $50 -$250 per employee.

You’ll have additional costs for a moving consultant, long carries and shuttling boxes through elevators, packing and moving cable, data lines, and computer or phone cables, and you’ll want to tip your moving crew.  New furniture could cost $200-$2,000 per employee, computers ranging from $300-$3,000 per employee, and phone systems anywhere from $100 to $1,000.

You could also look at the expenses as it costing about $1-$2 per square foot for an office move or around $.75 per square foot for packing your office. Determine if you want a crew to pack up your office outside of business hours to save from losing out on your own operations or if you’d rather have your office staff pack their offices up during working hours which could affect your business income.

Best advice before your move

The best advice before your upcoming office move is to spend a great deal of time planning this out. You’ll need to work with a professional moving team early to make sure everything is prepared for well before moving day.

Not only do you need to work with the movers now, but you should work with internet service providers on your transfers, contractors like plumbing and cable to get you all setup, and talking to any of your staff members about expectations for the upcoming move.

You also need to prepare financially for such a big ordeal. On the lower end, you could be spending $5,000 on a small business move and up to $10,000 if your business has up to 30 people. If you wait too long to plan your move, you could end up with unexpected charges for last minute planning like expedited shipping, weekend labor rates, after-hour assistance, redoing jobs that were rushed the first time, and more.

Your cable or internet provider could charge you a rush for transferring services in such a hurry or contractors you hire to set up services in the new location could charge for rushed labor. You can’t go without plumbing, electric, internet, or other important services, so you would definitely pay whatever it takes to get things setup which could cause you a huge bill in the end.

The alternative would be shutting down the business for a few days which could cost you hundreds or thousands in unhappy or lost clients. It’s important to plan ahead to avoid any major costs like these or others that you haven’t even considered for trying to do everything at the last minute.

You’ll likely want to hire a professional mover in Chicago to handle the disassemble and reassemble of your furniture equipment, customized packing and crating, the moving of computers and servers, and other individual needs that will be worth every penny when your business is back up and running without missing a beat.

We are an experienced moving company and are used to clients that need their offices moved and special crating for extra protection of their gear. We can handle moving that large office copier, using a sanitized truck fleet to keep your belongings protected, and will help you with the logistics and scheduling with ease.

Don’t fear your upcoming office move.  Hire a great moving team, plan out the details, and look forward to a bigger and better, or smaller and simpler office space!

Hire Professional Movers

How Much Does it Cost to Move an Office? Part 1

When you have to pack up your business because you’re going to be relocating your operations, it can feel like a daunting task. Not only do you have to consider how to go about packing, moving, and unpacking, but you’re likely trying to keep operations up and running during this time. You need to be able to keep your business running smoothly while you’re moving your office, but it’s already a stressful time to try to keep everything straight and get through this tiring process. With the right, professional moving team, it really doesn’t have to be so hard on you after all.

The best place to start is to look at the costs of moving your office, in order to plan accordingly for your upcoming needs. Take a look at a breakdown of the costs from what type of office you’ll need to how much help you’ll need to bring in versus how much of your staff can handle, and more.

Why are office moves a challenge?

Movers with experience would tell you that moving even the smallest of businesses can be a pain for a business owner, staff members, and others involved. They are necessary because they are often leading to larger spaces that can accommodate more staffers and the potential to grow, but in some cases they are needed for a business that needs to downsize.

Regardless of the reason, moving an office can disrupt the workflow, make it challenging to keep everything straight, and can make unpacking tedious for a business that just wants to get settled and back to work. If you’re moving to something bigger and better, just keep in mind the end goal of having more space, a better location, or the ability to expand your business.

What elements should I expect in costs?

When it comes to the cost of the move, you’ll have to consider the expense of the new place, outsourcing help, the potential of new purchases in equipment and furniture, as well as any costs in lost business during the move.

When it comes to your new space, rather than thinking of your company in terms of the general size of your operations, you should think in terms of workstations needed to accommodate your staff. Many companies have workers handling things from home, workers that travel, and others that work part-time and share desks. Consider how many workstations would need disassembled and reassembled, or if you need to purchase new furniture from desks to chairs, a dinette for the breakroom to chairs for a waiting room.

Have you looked into the internet and cable you currently use vs. what a new space you like can support? If you are going to have to go with a different network, you may have costs with early termination fees and start-up fees unless you can do an easy transfer.

Consider if you’ll need to spend more for an office with a conference room for meetings and a server room for your internet needs. You’ll also likely want to transfer your existing equipment, unless there is no choice than purchase new hardware. If you plan to upgrade your equipment, you may want to make sure that is all handled before moving day.

Don’t forget about hiring a professional moving team. You’ll likely be able to get some of your staff to help out with some of the easier tasks, but some offices may need a team to disassemble, reassemble, pack, and unpack your office. Unless you have a team member that can set up physically move your equipment and set up workstations, consider hiring a professional to avoid potential damage or delays.

continue reading part 2