The art of spelling your name.

Now, I can understand some frustration with having to spell your seemingly simple name to people over the phone. Yes Smith is very easy but when you have other people spelling it Smythe it isn't simple.

I can't begin to tell you how many people get offended (and condescending) when I ask them to spell both their first and last name. Street names are even worse with designers tweaking the spelling or making two words be one word. It wouldn't bother me so much if I wasn't setting them up as a new patient.

Thats right, people are getting upset at me for making sure their medical records are right.

Then we have people that call in to set/check appointments that tell me a different name then what was entered. Don't say Bob if you registered under Robert. And for the love of all don't say 'oh I don't know why I set this up with that name. I never go with it. No I want to leave the file as is.' this does not make lives easy. The same goes for when you use a nick name in place of your proper one.

I can't tell you how offended one patient was when I asked them to spell their last name that seemed to consist of only z,c,s&y's. It' just blows my mind.

Same Old Change

Well.... After having switched from the moving world to the realm of a doctors office I have found that people are still the same.

Case in point, the doctors do have a life out side of treating patients. They do have families that they want to spend time with and while they do take good care of themselves they do get sick and need time off. Watching our doctors work when they should rest is the most heart breaking thing.

Also, we can not pull them out of surgery just because you have one little question. Would you like it if they were pulled away from you during your appointment? No, you wouldn't like that. Please don't do this to others.

But! It is only a few that do this. Most people are just happy to get in and out. Then there are a few that bring us goodies. I hate to say it but people that bring little treats like coffee or cookies are so awesome.

I will say this though, if you are very nice and understanding when things are thought to scheduled, being nice and understanding will keep you on the receptionists mind. This means that even thought there is no call list, if you were super understanding they might remember you and call you up if an opening happens. THIS DOES NOT MEAN IT WILL HAPPEN!!! The receptionists get a lot of calls and names with thoughs calls. It just helps them help you.

I will expand on this stuff more later. :3

Social Services and Moving With Them

All I can truly say is good luck to you.

From what I can gather from the people who have come in, the way it is supposed to work is Social Service Workers will give their clients a list of moving and /or storage companies that have worked with them in the past. The client then must get three estimates from them and then the Social worker will pick one company and contact that company to authorize the move. Then the company moves the client and then gets paid.

What actually happens can vary, but my experience is that there is an unfortunate amount of Social workers that do not care about their clients. 

What we see is someone will come in saying 'so&so said to come here' we go ok, get information and when asked for contact info on so&so 'oh, they are not my Social Worker, I was just told to say that'. We give them the estimate in a sealed envelope. If it's moving they are told that the Social Worker needs to contact us in certain amount of time or the move will not happen. Client says ok and they leave. The most common ending is that we never hear from Social Services or the client again. Or we might get a call from the client wonder were their movers are and then we have to explain that we were not contacted by their Social Worker so the move is not happening. Que angry ranting at us and threats of BBB and so on until we are hung up on. On the rare occasion the Social Worker will call us and set things up, but again this is rare.

There is also an amazing amount of people that take advantage of the Social Services system. Due to this my company has tired to set rules & guidlines for who/how Social Services sends their clients to us.

We even tried to find out if there was a way we could fax in their clients bills to them each month instead of the hit or miss method of their clients bringing in the late bills. They never bothered returning our calls and we gave up after a few months of trying to reach them.

Explaining how things work to the client can sometimes work but not always. Most are emergancy moves and refuse to listen when we tell them that we are booked. It can get ugly and extreamly uncomphortable.

But the very worst thing that can happen(if they even contact us) is when a Social Worker does not like our prices and they try to force us to change our policy. They will imply that Social Services will stop using our company and if that does not work they will send their client after us.

Yes, some very poorly skilled Social Workers will enrage their clients and tell them to call us because the Social worker does not like our rates. I really wish I knew what they thought they would gain by alienating a company like this. I have been screamed at but clients with out any idea of why they were calling only to hear "Social Services told me to call".

I don't know why anyone would think that that is a proper way to get a company to work with you. My company has started keeping notes on what Social Workers we have worked with in the past. We have one that we will not do business with because he was so inconsiderate to us (and his client, she reported him to his supervisor and got a new Social Worker). Another woman is border line being on that list but we think due to her Social Services has stopped sending people to us for estimates.

Again, for any of you that need to use their services, I wish you the best of luck. But with how my area is treated you should be careful that they do not burn bridges for you. you never know if someone they flip out on might be the person you interview with at a later date.

Moving One Item Out of State

If you live in another state and while traveling decide to purchase a bed or huge antique... Don't.

Let me try that again.

If you live in another state and while traveling decide to purchase a bed or huge antique and decide to contact a mover to move it, please do not be surprised that the cost might be $1000 or more.

Moving companies have a minimum weight charge that they use on all of their moves. It's doesn't matter if it is one item or one household. This is more to over the cost of running the truck & insuring the item then to pay the driver. It is not there to prevent people from hiring them or to make it difficult for you to move your item. It is there to protect the company.

Now, some people might ask if we could 'tak it on' or 'sneak it on' to the back of a truck if we have a truck going that way. Once upon a time companies were able to do this but now, due to insurance reasons, they can't. You can ask, but do not expect any answer other then no.

I feel really bad telling people this. UPS could be an option or you could rent a truck and drive it your self. Personally I would get a rental and drive it because I would totally shop along the way.

Please Leave a Voice-mail Messege

I can not stress this enugh. Leaving a voice-mail messege is the best way to get your information to the person that you are looking for if they are not available.

Seriously, voice-mails are not your enemy.

I can not tell you how many of our shippers have not left important messages and wondered why they never received a call back when they needed it. Most were about changes to their pick up or delivery dates. This information is very, very important and should be left in your message. As well as a good call back number that you can answer.

Too many times have I been asked to take a message that was just a 'have them call me' with no number or sometimes no name. The ones that give me pages of detailed information so fast and get angry that they have to repeat parts until I feel I have it all? That type of message needs to go to voicemail. written messages get lost or forgotten, but mostly lost.

It always seems that when no voice-mail is available everyone only wants to leave a voice-mail. But when It is available they only want me to write the message. Unfortunately this is something were not everyone will be happy.

Moving During the Snowmagedon or Snowpocalypse

This is not the kind of weather you want to move in. Right now it is not to bad here at my office but yesterday was spent contacting customers and other agents to make sure that people knew what was going on.

Over all most wanted to just wait and see what the weather would be like today. Which was good because we only got three inches of snow last night. Only one survey appointment canceled but that's understandable. The street plows have not been by the office yet and our hired guy didn't bother with the parking lot until people showed up. (who then got stuck and had to dig themselves out...)

But again, all the scheduled move we had for today actually happened on time. The movers all made it in to the office and were not snowed into their homes. All the trucks started and were not stuck at the dock. Over all it was a very good day so far.

But! We got very lucky.

If we had gotten the 16 -24 inches that we were warned about then the office would be closed today and we would not have been able to move or help anyone. It doesn't sound like a lot if you imagine a semi-truck driving in it, but if the drive can't get to the office then there is no one to drive the truck. Like wise if the movers get stuck then there is no one to move the furniture into and out of the trucks. Driving bans can also cause havoc with moves because no one wants to rick the fines.

So, with luck this will all be over and we can get back into the nice moving weather.

Moving on the Winter Holidays

I do NOT recommend moving on the holidays.

The week of Christmas and the week for New Years is always booked. It's a short week so that adds to the stress. Commercial moves happen a lot in this time frame because companies don't have to worry about employees and movers getting in each others ways.

Unless the holidays are in the middle of the week the holiday weekends are either booked to death or companies are closed for the holiday. This also happens on the 4th of July, Labor day, Thanksgiving, Memorial day, Presidents day and maybe a few others.

How they managed to keep to schedule and go gray o bald is beyond me.It also seems like the holidays is the designated time that any and everything bad will happen to the moving trucks. We had two trucks go down last wee and I have never seen my managers and dispatchers so stressed. The weather also didn't help matters.

So, if you are planing to move during a holiday you will need to contact a moving company about two months in advance to do a survey and set up your move date. If you wait until the month of your move you might find that holiday week booked already. Calling the week of the holiday to be moved will not do much good and calling the day before will do even less.

A last minuet move never ends well, avoiding one will save you an unpresident amount of stress.

Also as a last note, I will never go into a store on December 24th again. It was down right terrifying.

When Packing Medication...

Please, please, please! If you have medication the is necessary for you to continue to live, please do not have the movers pack it up. Also please do not call in yelling at the moving company because you need the medication.

Take some with you or contact your doctor for an emergency prescription.

Moving Company is Using a Rental Truck

I can understand the concern if your moving company shows up with a rental truck. Fortunatly there is a relitive easy explanation for why companies do this. Moving trucks are expensive.

Let me start again. If you are moving localy during the summer bussy seasion or the first & last week of the month, there is a chance that the moving company will have more moves and movers then they will have trucks. This is actuly a good thing for the moving companies.

Unfortunatly a 26' long truck can cost $56,000 when used or $87,000 new. This is not counting the $8,000 to have it painted with the logo of the company. That's $64,000-$95,000 for a truck they might only need a few times a year. That is not counting any work that would need to be done on it.

For a long distance move most companies will not rent a trailor. They will buy them but they might not be painted. The traiolors are just as rediculis in price to purchase as the smaller trucks. They can range from $38,000 used. for a used tractor to pull it your looking at $138,000 used. New could be $200,000+.

This rough estimate is not counting insurance, inspections and other work that would be needed on the trucks and trailers to get them on the road. By renting a truck they are able to keep their cost's down in the long run. But I'm sure that if you wanted to buy them a truck with all the fix'ens that they would take you up on it.

Planning when Planning to Move

When you deside to move, be it to another state or just down the block, timing is important.  Beyond important because if you wait to the last minet you might find yourself out of time with no movers.

Here is some general advice:

-Most, if not all, companies have to phyisicaly see your home before they can commit to your move. This is so that they can make sure to give you the most acurite estimate possible. This also gives them the chance to see you street and driveway so they will know what size truck you will need for your items.

-Between April 20^th and September 30^th is the moving business bussy seasion. Bussy to the point of having to schedual appointment to see your items to give you an estimate up to (and possably beyond) a week from the day you call to set it.

-A local move is generally set up as same day load and delivery. If you have a large house, packed rooms or want your movers to do your packing you might be looking at a two day move. Your sales agent will be able to determine this when they see your items but there is the off chance that you will need that extra day.

-A long distance move will always have a delivery spread date that could be anywere between 2-14 days. Usaly the more you have the smaller a spread you will have.

-A last minuet move will cost you. Be it time, money or health. It might be that the companies just can not fit in your move if you need it the next day. The stress this can cause can be unimaginable.

Customer Etiquette

If you are going to be rude to someone at least have a valid reason for it. if you call one day asking for something that policy says they can't tell you over the phone, don't call in the next day claiming you asked about something totally different and that the company policy is ridiculous. Better yet, admitting to being rude and then threatening to wright a 'very nasty review' if your demands are not met.

This is an excellent way to make sure that a company will not want to work for you.

This is almost as effective as making a mistake in writing your notes and saying the company lied. Exasperatingly when said customer had made a joke about it being on Friday the 13th.

When this happened I got chewed out three times that day. By my boss, the sales agent and then the customer. I got the customer to read his notes and corrected him that no, the 13th was a Friday and not a Saturday. Talk about lesson learned.