Differences Between A Professional Mover and An Amateur
Introduction
When comes the time to plan a move, especially for a local move, most people seek frenetically a mover for their belongings. Considering only the price, many are tempted to hire amateurs advertising very low prices.
But price is only one of the differences between a professional mover and an amateur, the most obvious at first sight. But a price does not make a mover. There are many moving companies, and each one of them has its pricing list. Some of them, like Demenagement Total, are more affordable than you think.
We will look at many differences between a professional mover and an amateur, and you will see that those go well beyond the price, and that you should be careful, because you will not be saving money at the end.
Advertising Placement
The first difference you will notice between a professional mover and an amateur is their advertising strategy. An amateur will ONLY advertise on social networks, classified ads (Kijiji, Facebook, Craigslist, newspapers, etc.), without having a website giving more information on their services and skills.
Sometimes, some amateurs will have a one-page Website that will be just one ad, and not a complete Website with detailed information about their services and featuring other moving-related information. A professional company will have a full-featured website and will also be present on various social networks, like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, etc.
This presence on numerous platforms is an important difference between a professional mover and an amateur, because an amateur is there mostly to earn a quick buck, not to serve the community.
Trucks
Vehicles are also another major point of difference between a professional mover and an amateur. Amateurs will use generic rental trucks, not their own, so they will not fully know the vehicle they are using.
A professional mover will use mostly its own trucks, painted with the brand colors and featuring contact methods. You will probably have seen them on the road before. A moving profession can, occasionally, use generic trucks to fill in for specific tasks and add up to its regular fleet, but those vehicles will be the exception.
Equipment
Another major difference between a professional mover and an amateur is the equipment used for the transportation of your belongings, in order to ensure their protection and the protection of your property.
For protecting the belongings, we talk about the use of the proper packaging, like mattress bags, wardrobe boxes, moving straps for furniture, dollies, as well as the use of clean protection blankets.
A professional mover will also protect your property by protecting floors and walls when needed to avoid damage when moving around heavy or bulky items. An amateur will not worry about that.
Services
An amateur will not offer you a detailed quote, it will mostly be an approximation with a nice round number. Often, that will be done by phone or e-mail, without visiting your location to really assess the work to be done. Then, once the moving day has arrived, you will face additional unforeseen costs, making the total amount much less interesting than it initially seemed.
An amateur only offers quick moves, no other services like the transfer of particular objects (piano, pool table, etc.), storage or a turnkey solution including the packing. This diversity of expertise of services, and thus of skills, is an important difference between a professional mover and an amateur.
Employees
Employees of a professional moving company will mostly be full-time employees, well trained and used to take advantage of all the professional moving equipment or accessories. This proper use reduces the risks of damage for your belongings and furniture, because they are well handled and better secured in the truck for the transportation. Finally, the truck will be driven by a professional driver, who is fully qualified for large trucks, unlike amateurs.
Another aspect of the skills difference between a professional mover and an amateur is that a professional mover will take a few minutes to disassemble a large furniture piece (bed, bookcase, pool table) to better pack it and protect it. Of course, said furniture piece will be reassembled after the move.
Insurance
A professional moving company will have an insurance to cover all damages or loss that might occur. But, since its employees are professionals, that reduces greatly the risk of problems. If an amateur breaks a furniture item or drops a box with fragile items, all you will get is a “Oops!, I’m sorry.” That’s a major difference between a professional mover and an amateur.
In Summary
As you can see, the differences between moving professionals and amateurs are not limited to the initial price, which could be increased at the last minute.
A professional company does not advertise only on public platforms like Kijiji and other classifieds sites, it will have a complete and informative website too. A well-established company will have its own labeled trucks and well-trained personnel, not employees doing that “on the side”, or who discover, around July 1st, they had a vocation for moving.
The variety of offered services and the proper use of the equipment and accessories to ensure the protection of your belongings, furniture and household appliances are a major distinction between a professional mover and an amateur.
So, think about all those aspects before being tempted by a service advertised way under-market price by an amateur and contact us, Demenagement Total, to discover that professional moving services can also be offered at a reasonable price.
