Q: Tell us a little bit about your company.
A: My name is Virginia, but everybody calls me “Ginny.” Less Stress Moving is a family-owned and family-operated company based in Florida. My husband and I were originally from New York, and we didn't get into the moving industry until we moved to Florida. The rest of my family works in the moving industry, so we decided to pool all of our resources together to start a moving business. We've been in business since 2013, and we're enjoying every day of it.
Q: What area do you serve?
A: We only serve Florida at the moment, with the slogan: “We're bringing Florida residents closer to their dreams.” But it's a big state, so we still travel pretty far sometimes – ranging anywhere from Miami all the way up to the Florida and Georgia border.
Q: What specific services do you offer?
A: We offer full service moving, including packing. If you'd prefer to pack yourself, we'll just come in and load everything onto the truck for the move. If you need us to take pictures down off the walls and pack those, we're happy to do that as well. We try to work with each customer individually and try to tailor our services to meet their needs. We do pretty much everything that might need to be done. We don't have our own storage facilities, but we work closely with local storage facilities.
Q: What sets you apart from other moving companies in your area?
A: We also offer free removal of unwanted furniture. However, some items cannot be donated and must be taken to the dump. So, if there's a dumping fee, we just ask that the customer covers that charge. But what sets us apart is that we enjoy what we do. We're here; we're not going anywhere. We're not looking to be here today, gone tomorrow.
Q: Do you offer any no-charge services?
A: Besides the unwanted furniture removal, we never charge for the use of our blankets. We shrink wrap up to six items for free. And we never charge for the tape that we use to pack items.
Q: Can you explain how your ‘guaranteed upfront pricing' works?
A: Our ‘guaranteed upfront pricing' means that you're not going to get hit with charges that you didn't expect. For me personally, that's important. I don't like to be hit with unexpected charges. I need to know what I'm going to spend, and then I'm prepared to spend that. We never charge for things like holiday and weekend moves, nor do we charge extra for longer distances from the truck to the house or if we have to climb stairs. All we charge for is the time that's used.
Q: Is there a better time of year for customers to move?
A: Honestly, the slow period is probably January and February for local movers. As far as long distance movers, I don't think there is necessarily a “slow” season. But if you schedule your move for those months, you'll be more likely to get the exact moving date you want.
Q: Why did you decide to get into the moving industry?
A: Basically, we were here as a family. My husband and I were (semi-) retired, but we weren't ready to sit around. I always wanted to be in business with my family, so the moving industry made sense. Being in a new community, it was a really good way to learn about the community and get to know the people around us.
Q: What is the best piece of wisdom you can give to people planning a move?
A: Put yourself out there on the internet to get calls and quotes from different moving companies. Don't get lured in by low pricing because there may be extra charges. Definitely educate yourself – look at what you're moving and understand how much it costs to move, including gas prices. When you're evaluating estimates, consider these factors and decide if a company could really do the job for that price. Watch out for these sales techniques.
Q: What is the number one mistake that customers should avoid?
A: Really look at what you have and examine each piece: Will you be able to use it in your new home? Will it survive the move? Moving is expensive, so you want to make sure that every item is worth moving before you pay to have it packed and shipped.
Q: What is your most memorable moving experience?
A: The first time we got a positive review was really cool. Also, the first time we had a repeat customer was great. It's not something you expect in the moving industry – you don't expect people to move that often. We haven't been in business all that long, so getting repeat customers is wonderful. Referrals are also memorable. One woman called me and told me she “couldn't wait” and she had to tell me how great the guys did. That's always nice.
Q: What's the strangest moving request you've ever received?
A: Well, it was one of those things that wasn't mentioned during the original call. But our movers were already at the house and the customer must've figured Why not… It was a chicken coop. And we actually did move it. The chicken coop, not the chickens.