Moving Leads Providers

So you are looking for a moving company and if you’re not a dinosaur you will most likely turn to the internet for assistance. As most of you are familiar with the layout of search engine pages, you know that you will find the paid advertisers listings on the top and right hand side of the page, followed by the local listings below filtered to your specific area (they will usually include an address and map) and finally at the bottom you will find what’s called the organic listings. 

 

This article focuses on the paid advertisements, the ones that will provide you with free moving quotes from several moving companies. These types of advertisements are called moving leads and they are created by big marketing companies that advertise all over the internet and sell your information to moving companies in your area.  Moving companies will pay anywhere from $5-$20 per lead. You are asked to fill out some information including your name, telephone, email address, city moving from and to and the size of move whether it’s an apartment or house. Your information is then sent to 5-10 different moving companies. At first glance it sounds great because in your mind you may be thinking that someone has done all the guess work for you as far as ensuring you are getting quotes from legitimate companies but that’s often not the case. A lot of these lead providers do not filter who they sell the leads to, after all they just want to make money. So you could essentially receive quotes from companies that have an F rating with the BBB, have a lot of bad reviews online or even worse do not have an up to date moving license. 

 

A few minutes later you get your first call from a moving company, they sound nice and eager to provide you with a quote. You go through the quote process and they tell you the price. They try to put some sales pressure on you to book now but you want to get a few more quotes to compare with. So from there on, your phone is blowing up with calls from all these moving companies. You may take a few of these calls but at some point you will feel as though you are being harassed. I’ve heard of customers getting 40-50 calls a day. Some companies won’t stop until they get you live on the phone. The sales people may start to sound rude and will try to pressure you to book now.

 

So if you’re a busy person (who isn’t?) and don’t want to spend hours on the phone, you may want to reconsider before clicking on these types of ads. It’s better to put yourself in control of the situation and select 3-4 moving companies from the local listing portion of the search results. Good luck and I hope I’ve provided some helpful information!

Hourly Rate vs. Flat Rate

One would assume that flat rates always win because you know exactly how much you will pay, no surprises, etc.  But that’s not the company in moving. You see, moving companies have succeeded in making something so simple to be so complicated. Is a flat rate price bad? No, there are legitimate flat rate companies out there that make the moving process easier, take for example the legendary Flat Rate of NYC – they actually give their customers a real flat rate price and it is the final price, no less no more.  Albeit, it’s a very expensive price but rightly so, it has to be. A flat rate price needs to account for every possible scenario that may affect the time it takes to complete a move. Some customer are willing to pay more so that they don’t have to deal with a hassle, but they need to understand that a real flat rate price will always be more expensive than an hourly rate estimate because it’s just an estimate. As mentioned earlier, moving companies have found a way to make it complicated what with hidden charges and complicated contracts. They have found a way to give a cheap flat rate price and then tack on added fees for all sorts of things. In this case, an hourly rate company would be better to go with. Hourly rate estimates will typically account for things such as number of workers, fuel, materials needed, tolls, etc.  Take for example a short 2-hour move quoted a $225 by an hourly rate company. After paying workers and fuel, the company is left with approximately $120 and after paying taxes, only $85. With a flat rate company, assuming they gave a lower price than the hourly rate company, they will most likely be losing money based on these factors. If for any reason the move takes longer, due to traffic or the elevator not being reserved, the company will not make any profit and will soon be out of business. So how do these flat rate companies do it? The answer is pretty simple but tricky:

1) Hire day laborers and cheap labor

2) Only accept payment in cash, avoid paying taxes

3) Rush through the job without paying attention to details

4) Hidden charges

5) Complicated contract

Regarding #5, the company may offer to move your 1-bedroom apartment for $120, but they will give you a limited list of items that can be moved at that price, no exceptions.  Any additional items will cost you more. Also things like long carry walks, stairs, elevator usage, tolls, etc will cost you extra and in the end you will wind up paying the same if not more than the hourly rate company.  So in conclusion, is a flat rate company better than an hourly rate company? The answer is, do your research. The most important advice is to check out the company’s rating with the Better Business Bureau. There are good and bad companies of both types. For example, if you get a few quotes from both flat rate and hourly rate companies, and you find that the flat rate quotes are cheaper, it’s best to skip it, the price will most likely go up. As a rule of thumb: a flat rate price should be higher than an hourly rate estimate.

 

Dallas movers 

Houston movers

Fort worth movers

Austin movers



 

 

Moving broker scam

Watch Out!!!

One of the most common selling tactics in the moving industry has to do withDallas movingcompanies taking advantage of and victimizing customers by putting them under high pressure situations. When you contact companies for a quote, you sometimes don’t know who you are speaking to, it may be a moving company or it could be a broker. In this article, I will focus on brokers.

 Moving brokers are the biggest scam in the moving industry, never book with a broker!  A broker is a company that sells a service (in this case a moving service) to a customer and then turns around and sells that job to a moving company to do. Did you ever wonder why a broker’s estimate is so much cheaper than a moving company’s estimate? How can a broker be cheaper and still make a profit? 

I have been in this industry for 13 years now and have never worked with a broker for one reason - brokers give low ball prices to customers to get the business and the only way for a moving company to make a profit is to raise the price! That’s just not my business practice. Brokers put the customer under high pressure to book now, they make them pay a deposit (usually 50% of the estimate upfront)and then they sell your job to any moving company who’s willing to buy it. The customer is left not knowing who the moving company is that will show up, and the broker doesn’t care if the moving company has a lot of complaints with the BBB or lots of horror stories online - their main goal is to sell! Now since the job was sold at such a low price to the customer, and after the broker takes their share of the money, the moving company that services the move has no other option but to raise the price on you. It’s guaranteed that you will pay more than the estimate quoted. And if you’re lucky, the moving company will even show up! I have heard endless stories from customers who booked with a broker and then the moving company either doesn’t show up or cancels the move completely!

Do yourself a favor – if you somehow figured out that you are dealing with a broker, put your sneakers on and run! Think about this scenario:  you submit your information on a website where you will get quotes from 5-7 moving companies. These companies will contact you and compete for your business. You will most likely be overwhelmed from the volume of phone calls. Oftentimes, customers are just looking based on the cheapest price (which is the worst thing to do when looking for a mover by the way). You speak to a sales person that sounds super nice and helpful but they tell you that you need to book now in order to take advantage of the price. You are happy to book because you think you are getting a good deal and then you give a deposit. On move day, the moving truck appears with a different name from the company you booked with. They have you sign a moving service contract and then something called a “revised written estimate”. Then they tell you ‘Ah excuse me sir/ma’am, you have more items here than what’s on the list so it’s going to be another $1400 to complete this move and for us to get started on this move, we will need you to sign here’. At this point you feel sick to your stomach because you did not budget for double the cost, and in a few hours you have a flight to catch, so what do you do? You pay double the estimate knowing you had no other choice.

Yes, this happens every day to good, hardworking people. People that the only thing they wanted to do was to save some cash. There are some ways to save, just not with a broker. If you want to save, use a true, local moving company. Local moving companies are much cheaper, and if you research right you will find a reputable one to move you for a great price. Compare prices of top rated local moving companies and have them compete with each other!  Now that’s a smart shopper. Don’t fall for low ball estimates!

We have a large list of brokers that identify themselves as movers – feel free to email us the name and we might be able to tell you if they are in fact a moving company or a broker. And of course if you decide to us, you will be contracted with a real moving company!


Dallas movers
Houston movers
Fort worth movers
Austin movers

List of 9 Do follow blogs - no Comment moderation

I searched all over and couldn't find a list of do follow blogs without moderation so here is the first one.
1)http://soc.sme.sk/show.php?id=27#discuss
2)http://www.kabobfest.com/2011/04/al-jazeera-mum-on-syrian-uprising.html?replytocom=154172
3)http://www.blogtendancemode.com/la-mode-tendances-181-mode-fashion-Maquillage-Lili-Rouge.html#comment36919
4)http://www.brickunderground.com/
5)http://redhookflicks.com/2012/08/28/we-are-a-go-tonight-at-valentino-pier/#comment-2382
6)http://blog.mofuse.com/2013/04/11/mobile-website-search-simple-tip-1/#more-5064
7)http://www.webdesigncrate.com/coding/how-to-set-a-youtube-video-as-your-website-background#comment-1399
8)http://www.prensadefrente.org/pdfb2/index.php/fot/2010/04/25/p5576?blog=17&p=5576&c=1&page=1&more=1&tb=1&pb=1&disp=single

The last one is my blog, all I ask in return is for you to link to my blog-
9)http://thefinestmovers.blogspot.com/2013/06/how-much-should-i-tip-my-movers.html


Houston movers
Dallas movers
Fort worth movers

How much should I tip my movers?

I have read dozens of blogs about moving but none ever mention how much to tip your movers so if you’re moving soon and don’t know how much to tip, please read on!

 

As an owners of a moving company and former mover, I have to say that tipping is customary, not mandatory and should be based on your satisfaction.  If you are not happy with your movers, you don’t have to tip them. If you can’t afford to tip as much, its okay - any gratitude will be welcome. Avoid tipping under $10 and please no loose change!

 

Long Distance Movers:  The industry average is 10% of your move cost at pickup and 5% at delivery. The tip should be split evenly between all the movers. If your move is extremely expensive, say around $15,000 you are not expected to tip the full 10% at pickup ($1500) and then another 5% at delivery ($750). A tip of $800-$1000 at the pickup and then $400-$600 at the delivery will be generous enough. If you do tip the full 10% at pickup, you will probably gain yourself some new best friends J .  The reason why you should split the tip between pickup and delivery is because more than likely the crew that does your pickup will not be the same crew that delivers. So if you only tip after the move, the pickup crew will never see their tip portion.

 

Local Movers:  Tips for local moves should be reflective of how hard the move is. For a small job with a bill of around the $200, a proper tip would be $15-$20 per mover. If your move has flights of stairs or a long carry walk, the movers would be working harder and longer, so it would be appropriate to tip more. 
For an all day move (7+ hours), an appropriate tip would be $50 per mover on the low end and $100 on the higher end.

 

Another way to calculate mover tips would be to base it on the amount of hours worked. A good rule of them is $5-$10 per mover per hour. For example, a 2-hour move with 2 movers would be $10-$20 per mover.  Another example: a 5-hour move with 3 movers would be $25-$50 per mover.

 

If you are thinking about buying the movers lunch and providing cold drinks, that is great and highly appreciated especially on a hot, sunny day.

 

Don’t tip your movers at the beginning of the move – it will not make them do a better job. Let them work for it! It’s a great feeling to finish a job and get a tip. Also, don’t give the full tip money to the job foreman. If you can, it’s best to give the tip individually to the movers, in this way they will know that the tip is being split fairly. It will also give them the opportunity to thank you for your generosity. 

 

Again, tipping is customary but not mandatory –Thank you and have a good move.

Don’t get scammed

By: Jerry Zaf

A little about me and what I’m trying to achieve with my blog.

I started my involvement in the moving industry 9 years ago. I worked for a moving company located in the Bronx, NY. I was a helper for about a year and was then worked my way up to local foreman, long distance driver and ended as a semi trailer driver. 

You can say that I have went through all the stages of moving and now for the last 5 years, I am the owner of my own moving company. I met my wife when I moved her, and built my house from moving salaries.

While working in the moving industry I have seen many things, particularly the way moving companies deal with customers. I have seen the good and I have seen the bad, but I have always kept my ways straight and honest. I have witnessed customers getting ripped off, sometimes so badly that they are crying and begging for a break. I have seen people getting overcharged thousands of dollars and were still happy and even tipped the movers (very strange huh?). When I opened my moving company, my vision and philosophy was that I am going to make a difference in the industry, but I quickly discovered that making a difference is not that easy. I found myself competing for the business with companies that low ball the customers and get the business by telling lies. I also found out that it is almost impossible to convince a potential customer that the quote that they got is not real, and that they will end paying so much more. But the low price is a powerful weapon and that is the way the companies get you! Part of my fight is this writing this blog, and trying to explain and educate my customers and anyone that is moving, particularly long distance.

By now my company has relocated thousands of families. I cannot say that they were all perfect and smooth but I can tell you that at least 90% of my customers will use me for their next move.

There are no perfect moving companies but there are some that try to do the right thing while others are just here to make money by any means.

You don’t have to be another victim of the moving industry, all you have to do is research to avoid the problems, just be open minded don’t focus only on price.

My next blog will be about national movers vs. local movers

Moving? Weight or Volume?

Weight or Volume?
By: Jerry Zaf

Anyone that has ever experienced a long distance move out of state knows that a moving company will calculate the cost of you move either by weight (pounds) or volume (cubic feet). 

Just to give you some background information, about 10 + years ago, the only way to moving companies calculated the cost of a long distance move was based on the total volume loaded or cubic feet. Many customers were taken advantage of  by moving companies who basically "stole" extra space on the truck and charged the customer more by making their load seem a lot bigger than what it really was. Moving companies preyed on the customer's trust by either poorly stacking the job or in some extreme cases added a lot empty boxes to the load to make it appear larger. Unfortunately some companies still operate this way and these unethical practices can cost the customer thousands of dollars.

In order to make the calculation process more honest, the American Moving & Storage Association (AMSA) came up with the idea of calcuating the moving cost based on weight. The idea is simple: weigh the truck empty, load the customer's belongings, weigh the truck after and voila the actual weight is calculated. Or so you think! Moving companies found a way to beat the system here too by again taking advantage of the customer's trust. They would often come to the customer's house with almost empty fuel tanks and then before going to the final weighing, would fuel up the tanks. Full fuel tanks can add 200-300 pounds. Sometimes they would even have all the movers stay on the truck at the final weighing adding again more weight to the truck and more weight to the customer's bill. 

So, what is the best way to go: weight or volume???

I'm afraid to report that neither one is better than the other. But you can avoid being scammed by being involved in the process every step of the way. If you go by cubic feet, don't be afraid to watch the movers loading the truck, check it out, watch how they stack it. If they see that you are keeping a watchful eye, they will less likely look to pull a fast one one you. If going by weight, make sure you go to the weigh station before and after. Ask questions, let them know that you know what you're talking about!

And as always, do your research! Check out DOT information and BBB information on these companies! 

My next post will touch upon why some companies feel the need to cheat to make it.

http://www.houstonfinestmovers.com
http://www.dallasfinestmovers.com

 http://www.fortworthfinestmovers.com
 

Moving - not that simple

In my blog I will explain about local and long distance moving,  Avoiding bad movers smart ways to research your movers, how to save on your move without risking the quality and will be happy to answer any quoins that any one will like to ask, so let’s start with the most interesting moving topic and that’s is Price!

Ok how much should we pay for a move? No one want to be taken to the cleaner, regardless if you are poor or reach, so how do you avoid paying way to much without risking dealing with bad movers? Aha! that’s is the quotation because that is how bad movers get you, they will give you the price you want to pay,  it’s too good to pass, so you forget the research aspect, and just go with them. As a mover sometimes we get calls from customers that asking for a quote, and when we give them the quote they say wow! That’s way more than my other quote,  and when I hear the price of the quote that they got I can see clearly that the price does not make since, the price it will hardly cover the fuel, and most of the times when we explains that to that person they usually don’t get convinced, and I can only guess how there move ends.
The first thing in choosing a mover is the elimination process, if the price sound to low it’s probably a scam, if  you get 3 quotes(witch is not enough in moving you should get at list 4-5 quotes)and one is $100 and the others are $200 you know that the cheaper one might be fake! Today trucks that use diesel make about 6 mile per gallon and a gallon is about $3.80, and let say the movers need to get to you and back every 6 miles will cost them $3.8 means that if they drive 40 miles the fuel will cost them $25, so let say if your job will take 5 hours and you have 2 movers and the company pays them(avg pay for a foreman is $12-$15 per hour and helper $10-$13 per hour)the cost for the company will be $165 so if you get an offer to move you for $150 or even $165 it does not make since! Company need to make some profit, the right price for this move will be more like $380-$450, don’t forget companies pay drive time for the movers and need to pay taxes insurances and many other expanses.
So first lesson is get at least 4-5 quotes, if one or more is way low just let it go, you can kind of try to make your calculation how much the move will cost to know if the quote that you got can be real.
Choosing the right movers