Sofa Over A Balcony!

Stop It!

Common sense is not so common.
Voltaire

What do magazines, rocks and paint cans have in common? They’re often used by Vancouver movers to prop doors open. Now I know what you think -”What does a door stop have to do with my move?” A lot actually. As I’ve touched on many times in the course of my blog posts, moving is all about the details. You don’t just get an expensive truck, throw on some flashy graphics and instantly become a skilled mover. The ability to move furniture carefully and efficiently mirrors the development of many faculties, from spatial intelligence and time management, to strength, patience and foresight.

Door stop usage is like the canary in the coal mine, an early harbinger of things to come. Why? The level of professionalism displayed by your mover is composed of constituent parts – the most elementary is the need to have properly opened doors. Let me give you an example. Say your mover uses a folded up magazine or rock to hold a door open and proceeds to move a sofa out of your apartment. It is very common to have part of the sofa bump or rub on the door as it passes through the frame, which can dislodge the magazine. The improperly held door then closes on the two movers, potentially damaging the sofa (the door handle digs into the fabric) or scratching the door as the feet drag along. Remember, details matter.

My Mover is ‘Bonded’; What Does This Mean?

Get your milk, I’m serving up dry toast.

Movers in Vancouver often advertise themselves as “Licensed – Bonded – Insured.”  You may be surprised to learn that “Bonded” doesn’t mean what you think.

Broadly speaking a bond is a form of insurance used to protect a business from losses caused by theft or incompetence. The three most common forms are fidelity bonds, contract bonds and miscellaneous bonds. And here in lies the confusion: the fidelity bond as it relates to movers, has nothing to do with a criminal background check. The fidelity bond protects a business if an employee steals or damages a customers’ property. Each company has a different bond value based on the property at risk, besides their commercial general liability insurance and cargo coverage.

Insurance issues related to residential furniture moving are complex and best understood by an expert in the field. If you have questions or concerns about insurance, as it relates to your move, I strongly suggest you speak to an insurance broker in your area.

Citymove.ca – Mover of The Year – Picture That!

 

 

 

 

BBB Trusted Moving Pros – Search The Better Business Bureau

To Find Honest Ratings and Reviews

vancouver.bbb.org/MovingCompany

 

I saw this paid link recently on Google AdWords. What caught my eye wasn’t the Better Business Bureau (B.B.B.) paying for ad space, but the body of the ad itself. “To Find Honest Ratings And Reviews” (italics added). The inference was clear: ratings and reviews found elsewhere may not be veracious. And they are right. I wrote about this in 2009 and the truthiness of ratings/reviews persists, though the topic is under increasing scrutiny. So what now?

With the subjective market for testimonials and reviews tightening up, where is a mover to get his props from? Ah, I am glad you asked. It seems the new kid on the block is a thread bare piece of puffery know as “Mover of the Year.” Awarded by organizations not worth knowing, to recipients not worth mentioning, this dubious distinction again sets the bar a little lower for the industry. However, I’m not all piss and vinegar. Ironically, I too, was recently chosen to receive this metaphorical kitty litter from an individual of absolute emotional honesty and infinitely superior wisdom. How could I say no?

We at Citymove.ca gladly accept this nod of approval.

7 Things I Know About Back Pain

I am not a doctor nor do I play one on TV, this is not medical advice.

Residential furniture moving is a nasty sort of business, especially on the back. Extreme weight and uneven loads (think sofa bed coming down a flight of stairs) are just two issues besides the force multiplier: iteration. The discomfort is immediate but the treatment eventual, given the nebulous nature of back pain. Consider: Your doctor must discern an ailment to guide you towards treatment, but the description “My back hurts” doesn’t narrow down the list of possibilities. Why do you think doctors send patients away with prescriptions? It’s a systemic answer for a vague description: all bases are covered. The key to understanding and treating your back pain lies with a multi faceted approach to the subject. There are many steps you can take on your own, supplemented with the help of the medical profession, here are a few:

(1) Stretching : I cannot put too fine a point on this, stretching is possibly the single best thing you can do to relieve muscle tension, full stop. Have a look at this site, it will give you a terrific start.  http://www.drillsandskills.com/stretching/General

(2) Pain killers v. Anti-inflammatories : Two different types of product: Tylenol is an over the counter pain-killer and Advil is the anti-inflammatory. The important thing to understand is the difference between the two. Again, this is a good starting point: http://www.differencebetween.net/science/health/the-difference-between-tylenol-and-advil/.  Ask your doctor which one is best for you.

(3) On site injections : If you have chronic back pain and you can find the specific area, an injection may help you. Depo-Medrol is a corticosteroid commonly used to reduce inflammation.

(4) Water intake : Furniture moving is a strenuous physical activity that lends itself to dehydration and in turn muscle cramping. Some believe there is a correlation between muscle cramping and back pain; http://nutrition.about.com/od/hydrationwater/a/back_pain_water.htm.

(5) MRI : One of the most difficult issues to qualify with a back problem is the exact location of the pain. It is not an exaggeration to say this takes years to discern given the wait list for proper diagnostics. Currently the gold standard for diagnostics is a MRI.

(6) Sleep : Back pain is not always obvious in day-to-day activities, though a feeling of malaise may be persistant. One of the interesting ways you can infer a back problem is through sleep patterns. For example, if you wake up more than once a night you may have pain issues. Pay close attention to your sleep patterns for valuable clues about your overall well-being.

(7) Alternative therapies : There is a multitude of alternative therapies for back pain including massage therapy, acupuncture, chiropractor and physiotherapists.

The most difficult issue about back pain from my experience is being able to understand what causes the pain, as the more you dig into the problem, the more complex it becomes. Find yourself a good doctor and stick with him/her, as you will need a good working relationship to get the attention to detail this issue requires.

Something Stinks at Storage in Vancouver

Strong Language Warning: If strong language offends, tune out now!

What would you do if your 12 pack of beer had only ten bottles? If you are like most people you would bring it to management and expect a speedy resolution, either a price reduction or the extra bottles. What if management declined to do either, explaining that a case of ten was the standard, and everybody was doing it that way. You would raise your hand and call “Bullshit!”

Over the years I have moved a significant number of people into storage facilities. The overriding issue is generally the same; to get the proper sized locker for the number of things a person has. Through repetition and superior spatial awareness I can estimate the amount in the truck, to a certain locker size. If we have a half of a load we may ask the customer to reserve a ten by ten locker. This is where the problem began; I would go to preview the locker and be miffed to see it was not big enough – or the fit was very tight. It occurred many times before I quantified the issue: lockers are smaller than the advertised dimensions. A ten by ten was generally a nine by 9.5 – or less if there was a structural pillar or ventilation duct running through it. And this was not an occasional thing, as most lockers were smaller than their advertised size.

After seeing this (primarily at the “big box” storage facilities in Vancouver) for many years I finally discussed it with a sales manager, whose business card I retained. I brought to his attention the discrepancy between the advertised size and the actual size of the lockers. Do you know what his response was? “Everybody is doing it.” (Emphasis mine.)

A ten by ten locker is 100 square feet and a nine by 9.5 is 85.5 square feet. The difference between the two is nearly 15 square feet! This equates to an extra 15 % for a product you are not receiving; the same as if you found ten beer in your 12 pack. Take a tape measure on your next trip to storage and remember if you are not getting what you paid for, call “bullshit!”

Why Movers in Vancouver Need Proper Training

This past year the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) shone a bright light on the moving industry. In a series of missives they exposed the feckless TSM, rogue movers across the country, and in a novel twist, gave the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and movers one to the wedding tackle. From claims of negligence, to fraud and theft these articles covered it all, including predictable commentary from industry leaders. The refrain was the same: more regulation and crackdown on rogue movers. To my eye though, the call for punitive action ignores the 900 pound gorilla in the room; most movers lack standardized and accredited training at the entry-level. I believe this omission to be at the heart of many of the problems we see today in the moving business.

Consider: Would you ask a couple of your buddies to come over and rewire your renovated condo? Plugs and switches do look easy, why not give it a swing? Because it needs a trained professional to make sure the job goes according to plan. A similar professional standard should apply to residential furniture moving. I am not saying that we need the same level of education as an electrician but there is a particular way to do this job and it starts with fundamentals. The Australian government understood this and created a six week introductory program for the transportation industry. The Kiwis went a step farther with a 12 week program. And the Canadians? The Canadian Association of Movers (CAM) has a Professional Mover Course which can be completed “in a weekend.”

Proper fundamentals training are the warp and woof of all professions including residential furniture moving. Without it we will remain a refractory industry destined to wear the “Kick Me” sign for the foreseeable future.

How To Hire Movers in Vancouver – Redux

Hiring a mover in Vancouver is like going to the dentist, no one enjoys the process. But in the same way that preventative maintenance lessens dental pain, a thorough and pragmatic search can lessen chances of a poor move. All movers in Vancouver advertise their services in various media. Some for example rely on the print medium, internet or both. Within these advertisements are the clues required to begin solving the question; how do you find a good mover?

The first question a consumer should ask themselves is this; do I need a professional mover? If the answer is yes, your search has already cleared one hurdle. The next question: who are the true professionals?  The clues begin within their advertising and use of words like licensed. This is a good start as it shows the company has registered with City Hall, providing a mailing address and an owner’s name.

Second, does the company offer insurance ? This is a bit of a tricky issue in terms of assessment. Many companies will advertise they offer a ‘free basic insurance of .60 cents per pound,’ for your move. If they were to drop your 80 pound flat screen tv you will receive $48.00 compensation (.60 cents x 80 lbs ). The difficulty with this coverage is that it doesn’t cover things of value, and a deductible might be assessed too ( you may have to pay a $200+ deductible). Insurance for you move is best understood by an insurance broker. Your needs combined with their experience can help show if your moving company has the right coverages.

Third, the Better Business Bureau. Many companies draw attention to their membership or rating at the BBB, but what does it mean to the consumer? A positive aspect of being on the BBB`s files relates to transparency. Customers know who owns the company, and where they do business. Additionally the BBB keeps a list of complaints against a company, and there lies a valuable clue. A significant number of complaints (BBB member or not) should serve as a warning that all is not well. Remember too, the BBB has no skills assessment category, for members or non members. When you see a company ’A' rated, it is not their furniture moving skills being exhorted.

Fourth. If you found your prospective mover on the internet, it is likely you will discover more than just advertising, as every company has testimonials too. While we have covered this issue in a previous article there are a couple of points worth mentioning. 3rd party review sites which feature testimonials are businesses. And like all businesses based on the web, they need new content to stay relevant on search engines. This combined with the hyper competitive nature of the moving business has led to testimonials as a growth industry. So how do you separate the wheat from the chaff? My suggestion is to look at testimonials as you look at BBB complaints; scrutinizing the negative ones closely, as they are more likely to contain grains of truth.

The points above, besides earlier posts give you a comprehensive outline to finding a good moving company. Remember, you can learn a terrific amount about a company through attention to their advertising, followed up with the resources of the internet.

Is Three a Crowd?

Hiring a moving company is a daunting process with a multitude of choices. Each company highlights what they believe a customer is looking for; some draw attention to their price, others to their service. Inherent within the price and service consideration is the element of manpower: how many men does your job require? Generally an apartment move requires two men and a truck. However, recently I have seen advertisements which promote three men as standard instead of two. How can you assess the needs of your move?

There are several circumstances under which you can benefit from a third man. For example, if you have a one bedroom apartment (550-800 square feet) on the top floor of a three-story walk up, a third man could be beneficial. Why? First is the aspect of endurance - especially on heavy items. Two men go upstairs with a heavy sofa, next, one subs in and the other two go up: this cycling allows the pace to remain steady. An added benefit of a third man relates to time management. Perhaps you’ll move out of a three-story walk up and go to a building with an elevator booked for your exclusive use (e.g., noon till two pm)? Extra personnel can be beneficial in keeping to this strict schedule. Sheer volume of items to be moved is another third man indicator. If your apartment is a two bedroom (800-1200+ square feet), an extra man should be a careful consideration – especially with stairs or time restrictions. One last issue combined with those above is your moving date. If your move occurs at the end of the month, your mover has worked numerous jobs before yours; moving has a cumulative affect on a person and it is likely your mover is fatigued.

Remember, the devil is in the details. If you choose to have a third man on your job, it is important to clarify with your moving company the extent of his involvement. Sometimes a third can be a driver only, or, in the back of the truck when the other two work. By clearly establishing the role of the third man you ensure value for money.