Here are our conclusive findings when researching the best moving company in America. We looked at multiple determining factors including moving company reviews, customer service, transparency of moving quotes and community presence.
Our first priority was finding a moving company that could move anywhere in the US
While many companies claim to be national, not all of them actually live up to this promise. Typically, van lines and larger private moving companies are the only companies that were up to this challenge. Some great local moving companies had one location like Meathead Movers in California who would move us from California to anywhere in the US but not from anywhere to California. That crossed Meathead and some other terrific moving companies off of our list.
FACTORS WE CONSIDERED WHEN FINDING THE BEST MOVING COMPANY IN THE USA
1. Offered several levels of liability protection.
All moving companies are required to offer the base liability level of $0.60 per pound, but this might not be enough coverage for you. If you’re using them to move your 50-pound television and it breaks, this level will reimburse you for $30.00. Monster Movers had a reputation of going above and beyond the $.60 per pound by 300%. Final Note: This moving company sticks by their promises.
2. Great Customer Reviews
All of our top moving companies excelled in inspection results and had low numbers of complaints overall. Delving into online review sites – most are owned by van lines, moving companies themselves or affiliates. Monster Movers has over 6,000 five star reviews across platforms like yelp, movincompanyreviews.com and our favorite customerlobby.com. You can read the moving company reviews here.
3. No Major Red Flags
Anyone can access the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration which tracks and investigates customer complaints made against a moving company and lists the results of their truck inspections. Monster Movers had well above average ratings in all categories and only 2 customer complaints back in 2015 to date. We looked at complaints related to shipment documents, estimates/final charges, weighing, pickup and delivery, loss and damage, and claim settlement – all which Monster Movers scored in the top 5% of all moving companies.
4. Easy, Transparent Moving Estimate
One of the things we loved the most about Monster Movers was the ease and accuracy of receiving a quote. we required companies to be accessible. We looked for the ability get a quote fast in the manner that is easiest for you, whether that’s online, over the phone, or in person. Monster Movers offers all of these. Their moving quote button takes you to an online inventory – the only moving company we found that did this with complete accuracy. This generated an instant weight that consumers can see. Monster Movers also guarantees estimates based on this inventory eliminating the need to have an estimator come to your home. Although, this option is still available if needed.
5. Customer Service
We called each company’s customer service line and ranked it according to ease. Monster Movers was #1 in this category. Every office member can look up your move, notes on the move and get any question answered immediately. We wanted to discover how easy it was to reach a representative if we needed to schedule an estimate, get clarification on our bill, or check the status of a claim. We timed how long it took to get a human on the other end of the line — and how helpful that person was when they got there: Did they confidently answer our questions, or were they pushing us to schedule an estimate? Monster Movers staff outshined every other company by giving us information that others skipped over – even if it meant recommending another moving company to consider for example a containerized storage company which Monster Movers doesn’t offer.
Think You Are Cut Out to be a Mover? Find Out Here
Moving Furniture isn’t about Muscle
Every spring moving companies receive calls from college student athletes requesting employment opportunities. One by one, the students come in and shortly ( usually after a week or two of “moving” ), they leave. Don’t get me wrong – there are those few crew members that stick it out – those that handle the everyday precarious positions that moving twists, turns, bends, squeezes, rotates, wrenches, and distorts your body.
Its not about muscle. Being strong is of course an important characteristic of being a mover but not the most crucial. Many mover wannabees who are “jacked” don’t understand how they cannot hang with other movers. The answer is:
ENDURANCE is #1. Twelve hours, up and down flights of stairs. This is not easy – period, let alone carrying boxes, couches, mattresses, desks, safes, appliances, etc. Then, when you think you can take a break – get up the next morning and do it again.
Spacial Recognition is key. Some great movers have excellent space recognition skills and can negotiate objects easily. Think a huge game of 3D Tetris with really heavy things.
Kindness and Compassion above all else. Moving is extremely personal. Essentially, movers are coming into someones home and taking everything they own. You can only begin to imagine the intense feelings that sometimes accompany this difficult job of a mover. Being kind and compassionate, treating the furniture like it belongs to your grandmother – this is what a great mover can do.
The best moving companies hire movers who frankly just love to move. They love the daily challenge that moving a person’s household goods comes with. Those are the movers I would want to move my home.
I must say, I have been patiently waiting to write this post on the worst advice we’ve heard about movers for a long time. Having been in the moving and storage industry for over 20 years, we have come across our fair share of horrible advice when it comes to movers. Here is our all time crappy advice list:
Movers
Use a Van Line for Long Distance Moves – Just. Don’t. I cannot believe the moving and storage industry is so out-of-touch with current business practices. Millennials, baby boomers and those in-between have grown accustomed to getting anything they want – fast. Long gone are the days of a van line sticking your stuff on a truck and delivering it 14-21 days later! This just doesn’t make sense anymore. There are innovative moving companies applying tech and big data to their systems making long distance movers ultra-efficient.
Trust Moving Reviews. Okay – this one you can take with a grain of salt because some moving review sites work, like moving company reviews from customer lobby. Others, like yelp and bbb are actually paid sites. Movers will have to pay to post reviews on yelp and pay to become “accredited bbb movers.” Now researching the BBB isn’t a bad thing – this outlet gives a rating and if you see a big fat F or even a E or D – stay away. BBB “paid members” always have A ratings even if the reviews are horrible so… I would suggest the best movers have a ratings without being accredited which means they didn’t pay for their A
You Don’t Need Insurance. It is more likely that your things will be damaged in transit than sitting at your house. If you do have homeowners/renters insurance, I would always suggest purchasing additional coverage. All movers in the USA are liable for $.60/pound/article which doesn’t equate to much. Find movers that offer additional coverage for a reasonable rate – this should be around $200 for a 2-3 bedroom home or up to $750 for a 5000 + sq. foot home.
The Best Movers Rank High on Search Engines. The “internet of things” tends to rank national sites like yelp and van lines over smaller niche markets which seem to rank movers instead of a higher quality move. Searching with the term movers near me will give some great local results – you can even search at www.moversnearme.com . The best movers are active in their state/community and have a long history. You can do a corporation search to see how long your movers have been in business.
You can move yourself. LOL, No ROFL. Please, hire movers! The damage you can do to your vehicle, back, friend’s backs, furniture, dishes, etc. is not worth the amount you save. Trust me, hire professional movers – they do this everyday and are experts! Moving is so hard if you aren’t properly trained. And, if your friend, etc. gets hurt you could get sued!
I hope this article on the worst advice about movers has helped you in your search and shed light on some of the “good advice” you have heard!
