Monthly Archives: November 2019

Tipping & Treating Your Movers

Moving isn’t a particularly technical or complicated task. After all, how many of us, at one point or another, have moved our own home or office contents ourselves, filling our trunks and backseats over and over and taking ride after ride to our new location? But is can be tedious, it can be extremely time-consuming, and items can and do break or get damaged in transit—especially today’s newfangled gadgets and large or fragile electronics.

So there’s still a strong argument to be made for hiring professional movers to conduct your move: to get you from point A to point B safely, properly, punctually, and reliably. And if you’re moving a great distance away, you’ll no doubt want the know-how and expertise that only professionals can provide.

When you’re ready to book, plan for, and budget your move, there are three steps you can take to select the company best suited for your specific move and then reward them for a job well done.

  1. Picking the right moving crew. You’ll be entrusting all your valuable belongings, not to a logo or a website page, but to actual people who will be handling and delivering your goods. So you want movers who will handle with care and be responsive to your needs.
  • Gather recommendations from friends, coworkers, and local real estate agents.
  • Do research online, confirming a company’s U.S. DOT number on the website of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and checking references and reviews.
  • Be selective and zero in: If you need interim storage, does the company offer that? If you want your car shipped too, does the company move autos? If you’re an avid mountain biker, do they have experience properly shipping expensive sporting equipment? If you own a valuable art collection, is special insurance available for that?
  • Get multiple estimates from your narrowed-down list of moving companies and assess the “right fit” with them: Is everyone you interact with courteous and professional? Does the company supply its policies in writing? Did the assessor give you adequate time and attention and answer all your questions? Use your own judgment when judging the best choice.
  • Get a written copy of your inventory list.
  • Give explicit directions to your new home if any navigation is tricky.
  • Exchange phone numbers so you can communicate with your crew during the move.
  1. Tipping your movers. Movers are as much a part of the service industry as restaurant wait staff or bellhops or hairdressers, so they should be treated with the same etiquette when they do a good job. But how much should you tip and when? As with any other service provider, you should tip based on a combination of job performance and cost of the job. There’s no firm rule as to how much, but consider how much the safe and intact delivery of your worldly possessions matters to you. If your movers were careful, punctual, helpful, and friendly, adequately express your gratitude for that. Exceptional workers appreciate acknowledgment of their exceptional customer service and work all the harder for it. Oh, and keep in mind that the crew that loads you might not be the same crew that unloads you across the country, so you may need to plan for two different rounds of tipping. Here are just a few sites where you can get an idea of current guidelines:
  1. Treat your movers to refreshments. Moving an entire household is hard, backbreaking work. Especially in extreme temperatures, especially when stairs are involved. So be prepared with an adequate supply of cold bottled water, soft drinks, and/or sports drinks on hand. If loading/unloading time is lengthy, it’s acceptable to provide lunch for the movers. They might not take you up on it, but they’ll certainly welcome the offer. Just be sure to ask them what they’d prefer—sure, pizza seems like a great idea, but you might be the tenth client to order that for them this month! One more strong suggestion: Don’t offer your movers beer when they’re done. As kind as it sounds, most legitimate moving companies have strict rules against alcohol on the job and in the trucks. Keep everyone and everything safe by sticking to nonalcoholic beverages.

Call BB&D Moving today to learn more about how we can help you throughout the entire moving process, from planning, budgeting, and packing to storage, delivery, and setup.

BB&D Moving Services
301-573-5447 (MD)  |  571-375-2826 (VA)  |  786-409-4799 (FL)  |  bbdmoving.com/