By: Jeff Walker
Most of our quick tips have had to do with what to pack for your move. Over the course of the last few months, we’ve received word from several people who’ve packed items in their load, that they would have been a lot happier if they hadn’t packed those items. So what do we need or want to leave off the truck on moving day? Here’s some ideas about what not to pack.
In a previous article we discussed a move kit. A move kit is a box that you should pack into your car, suitcase (on a plane) or place into whatever mode of transportation is getting you to your new home. This should not be loaded into your moving van. Your move kit contains essential items in the event the moving truck doesn’t get to your new home exactly on the day it was scheduled to arrive. This happens more often than you might think. Logistics (making sure that things and trucks get to where they need to be on time) is a tricky business and it’s easy for a logistics manager to under budget time. The real problem isn’t so much with the logistics manager, he knows pretty closely how long it should take to get the moving van from one place to another, and your load may not be the only one on the truck. What they can’t see is the future. The unforeseen things that happen while on the road such as weather, traffic jams and other occurrences that may slow down your load in reaching your new home. So make sure you pack your move kit and that it moves with you.
In addition to essential items you might need while waiting for your household goods, things like towels, soap, detergent, shampoo and etc. you might want to take stock of any medications you’ve been prescribed. Make sure you have enough packed to extend well beyond the delivery date of your household goods. Moving is a stressful event in your life, the last thing you want to do is add to the stress by worrying about whether or not you’ll survive the trip because you didn’t bring more than a three day supply of your heart medicine!
The papers you get from your mover are incredibly important. Not only do they contain the contract between you and your moving company (the bill of lading), they also contain paperwork that tells you what recourse you have if something goes wrong (see: Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move at the government’s consumer website) and how to go about handling the situation. It’s an all too common mistake that consumers pack their paperwork and it goes off with the truck after loading. Instead, make sure it gets packed with your move kit and stays with you until the move is complete. This way, if something does go wrong, you should be able to figure out why and who to contact.
The last item that should be pointed out is a common misunderstanding as to how the system work. Often time’s people assume that their sales person is their point of contact throughout the entire move. While this may be true for some moving companies and will vary by company and branch, this isn’t true all the time. Keep in mind that the salesperson’s job is to bring in new business. They want nothing more than to bring in your business and hand it off to the next person in the chain so that they can get back to bringing in new business. We won’t debate here whether this is the right or wrong way to handle your customers, every business owner has a differing view on this point. What this means to you, is that you should make sure you take the time to find out from your salesperson if they will be your contact throughout your move, or if there is another, better person to contact if things aren’t going as planned.
Keeping these key points in mind will help improve the chances of the success of your move, take the stress level down a notch while you’re waiting on your goods to arrive.
Related:
What To Look For On Your Bill Of Lading
