You've Got to Move It Move It

Friday was moving day to our new house. Here’s a breakdown.

Preamble:
Back in February I started looking for movers. I did some searches online, but having never moved locally up here, I didn’t know who might be good, who might be overpriced, etc. I asked around at work and I got a few recommendations. Several people recommended Gentle Giant, who are always rated the highest in the area. Another woman recommended Special Forces Moving, as she just used them the previous summer. She found out about this company from another woman at work whose boyfriend used to work for them. She passed along some info from him that basically said Gentle Giant is good but way overpriced, and really the moving company is only as good as the crew moving you. You could pay very little and get lucky and get a great crew, or pay a lot and get a crap crew. Considering all the local movers we’ve used in the past, this rang very true to me. We’ve gotten stuck with some lazy bums but also been lucky to get some great movers. Sometimes it’s just a crap shoot.

So I had about 5 movers that I decided to get quotes on. Gentle Giant were easily the highest – almost twice as much as the lowest quote – and they quoted me at an 8-9 hour day. This seemed way too high, as in MD we’d get moved in 4-5 hours usually. I thought 5-6 would make more sense. I asked the woman, “If I’m paying by the hour, what’s the incentive for the move to get done faster?” She hemmed and hawed but really didn’t give me a straight answer. I decided they wouldn’t be the best option.

When I talked to the guy at Special Forces, he was very candid and straightforward with me – and almost came off as a little desperate. He mentioned that all their workers are employed full-time by him – no temps that he picked up at the Home Depot parking lot that morning. Unfortunately with the downturn in the housing market, they’ve hit some hard times with their business and in fact he’s had to layoff some of his workers AND sell his trucks. This seemed strange to me, but he had a good point: “A truck is a truck; what does it matter what it says on the side?” Special Forces had the lowest price as well, and considering the high recommendation that the woman at work gave me, we booked them for Friday, 3/20.

So last Wednesday, 2 days prior to the move, I called to get it all confirmed. I had to leave a message, and the guy called me back later in the day. I had originally asked for the movers to get there as early as possible on Friday, and we had agreed to 8 am. When he called back he asked if we could move the time to around 10 am, as he was “having problems getting the truck that early”. I now started to think that maybe hiring a moving company with their own trucks isn’t such a bad idea after all. The 10 am pickup time was worrisome, as I had booked FIOS to stop by the house between 1 and 4 to hook up the TV and internet. I told him if 10 am was the best, that was fine, but I was going to have to move things around, etc. He said he appreciated it, and that “he’d see us in the morning.” I said, “you mean Friday morning”. He said, “Aren’t we moving you tomorrow, Thursday?” “Uh, no, we had agreed to Friday, 3/20”. “Well…that would have been a surprise if we showed up tomorrow!” I confirmed that they could still show up at 8am on Friday, and he said sure. I’m really worried about these guys now, if they can’t even get their dates right. I even went back to double check the email he sent to me, and it definitely said 3/20. I was starting to get very worried about this move.

Friday:
6:30 am: We get up and start getting our final packing details organized. We’re all ready by 7:30 am, so we sit around to wait for the truck. Unfortunately our internet was turned off already, so I have no idea who won the previous night’s NCAA hoops games, or what’s going to happen in the Champions League draw. Sage settles down with a book, I sit and moan.

8:10 am: Why are movers never on time? In the 10 or so times we’ve moved in my life, I can’t remember one time where they showed up even within a half hour of when they said they would. These guys seem to be really hurting for work, you’d think they’d bend over backwards to show up when you ask.

8:20 am: I finally found an unsecured wireless network I can hook up to, but the connectivity is horrible. I do see that Arsenal get a relatively easy game with Villareal, so maybe the day is looking up.

8:25 am: With still no movers in sight, I decide to call to make sure they didn’t get their wires crossed and decide to show up at 10 am today. Unfortunately I only get their voice mail. I leave a message and hope that someone calls me back soon.

8:50 am: The truck finally shows up. The guy tells me he tried to call and it wouldn’t go through. I said, did you try calling my cell or house? He said cell – but it turns out he had the wrong number. Anyway, they introduced themselves as Mike, David and Addai, and they all had huge smiles and gregarious personalities, and they immediately started right in.

9:30 am: Whoa. These guys just started and haven’t stopped. Within 20 minutes all the boxes from the house were in the truck. It’s 30 degrees out and they’re down to t-shirts and are completely sweated thru. Now that’s a work ethic.

9:50 am: They take their first break. “We haven’t even been here an hour”, Mike says. “What?” says Addai? “We’re making record time!” I couldn’t agree more, considering how empty the house is getting.

10:15 am: The only things left inside the house are the 2 TVs, the desk, and the dining room table. The garage is still half full, but still – this is amazing how fast and organized they’re doing.

10:50 am: The truck is completely packed and we’re leaving the house. All packed up in 2 hours! The truck is loaded to the gills, and they actually had to leave the lawn mower behind. This isn’t a big deal because a) it has gas in it so they’re technically not supposed to take it anyway, and b) I’ll be back next weekend to clean up the yard, so I can pick it up then. The guys say they’re going to stop for lunch and will meet us at the house. We head out behind them, and on the way David calls me. He asks if I know how much they should be charging me. Now, isn’t that a great question. I told him how much I was quoted, and he thought that sounded correct, so that’s good. Then he has a second question, which is can we pay in cash. The owner had told me I could write a check with no problem, but David says that the owner is out of town, and he’d like to pay the Mike and Addai today if he could. So it’s not a big deal, I was passing the bank on the way anyway, so I stop to get a wad of dough. (And immediately after I fold it up and put it in my pocket, I have an urge to head straight to Foxwoods. I know – I have a problem.

11:20 am. We pull into our street and they’re already backing into the driveway! They say nothing looked good food-wise, so they just decided to head straight over to the house. The begin to unload immediately, and they’re extremely organized. We always have every box labeled, but even so, in the past movers have been known to simply drop boxes off the first place they find. These guys organize everything at the end of the truck by room and then take them there. The only big glitch during the unloading was with our old couch that was going into the basement. The stairs to the basement turn 90 degrees at the bottom, and the ceiling is very low own there. At one point they had the thing stuck at about a 70 degree angle, and they said they thought they could get it down, but would need to “apply some pressure”, and that it was “up to the homeowner”. I said apply away, and all it took was a small shove, and the sofa was through. There were some small scratches, but nothing major.

1:00 pm: And they’re done! In 4 hours they got the truck packed, moved, and unloaded, and had a smile on their faces almost the entire time. They mentioned a couple times that we were really organized, which other movers have told us before, so I know that helps. But still, they never dawdled during the move, really only took that 1 break when they were loading, and when they were done they made sure to ask if there was any furniture, boxes, etc, they wanted us to move around before they left.

So if you’re looking for inexpensive but hard working movers in the Boston area, Special Forces are the way to go. Thanks Mike, Dave and Addai!