Local Movers Versus Gig Moving Companies

It honestly doesn’t sound that hard to start a moving company.

Essentially you just need a truck and some muscle. Right? And if you’re enterprising enough, you open franchises in multiple cities with a truck and some muscle. But is that the attitude you want from a moving company? Moving companies pop up all the time. The good ones stand the test of time, meaning they are the ones that don’t get shut down within a year or two or shutter themselves in that amount of time.

So, gig movers or not?

Most people only make one or two major moves in their lifetimes though, so how do you know which moving companies are the ones who will actually make your move a stress-free one while not charging you an arm and a leg, and which moving companies are the ones that started because two buddies wanted to make some money, quick?

The answer is simple but multi-layered. First off, you want to stick with a local moving company. Franchise moving companies don’t have the same company oversight in every franchise, so while one person swears by the franchise of a moving company in one city, the franchise in your city by that same name may not have the same customer service at all. A local moving company means the owner lives in that city and the owner stakes his or her reputation on the business, which is critical for staying in business, and the moving company knows the area well. Also, when we say stick with a local moving company, we mean that now is not the time to patronize a startup – now is the time to go with the seasoned pros.

Another sound way to check up on a moving company: look at moving company reviews. One indication of whether a moving company is even worth looking into more is how many reviews it has – if it has a lot of reviews, then it’s been tested by a lot of customers. The content of the reviews is the next most important thing here, because you wouldn’t want to hire a moving company that had a lot of bad reviews, or a lot of recent bad reviews.

Once you narrow down your list of potential moving companies to hire to ones that are local, have been around awhile and have good reviews, you’ll want to call to get moving companies’ quotes. The companies that offer you a no-obligation, on-site written quote are the ones worth keeping on your list of moving companies to consider hiring. And then once you get written quotes from each moving company, you can compare the moving companies’ prices to each other. Remember to ask about fees that could get added the day of the move and to bring up anything you believe is unique to your move – for example, a long, steep driveway, multiple flights of stairs, and a winding staircase.

It’s also important to consider whether you are comfortable working with the moving companies – if you don’t feel comfortable hiring a moving company, then you shouldn’t. Moving is a very personal business and a moving company should be working to destress the move, not increase the stress.

Using these criteria, you should be able to narrow down your list of possible St. Louis moving companies and feel confident that you are hiring the one that you feel the most comfortable with. As always, we here at ABC Quality Moving & Storage are happy to give you an on-site, no-obligation written quote and discuss with you in detail the items you want moved and the conditions at each location of the move are.