The Real Cost of Moving

The Real Cost of Moving

Moving can be a stressful time for a family. With an ever-growing list of things to do, and time running out, the last thing you need is additional anxiety and confusion caused by your movers. Unfortunately, for many of our neighbors, that’s exactly what ends up happening. Choosing a mover based only on a quick internet search can leave you faced with dozens of hidden charges and fees that you didn’t budget for… One of the major reasons why moving sucks.

At Metro Moving Company we’ve simplified our costs with this in mind—and this blog post is going to show you that. We’ll shed light on a variety of unnecessary fees other movers may charge, and explain why we choose not to.

The Big Guys

As former employees of large corporate moving companies, we know a lot of dirty little secrets, which we’ve used to improve the moving process for our customers. Because the families we move often share their previous experiences with us… and one of the most common complaints is unjustified hidden fees. Many moving companies add fees to your invoice for extra movers, additional stops, furniture assembly or disassembly, number of stairs, rolls of shrink wrap used… we’ve even heard of a “setup” fee… Whatever that is. All of this on top of the hourly rate you’re already paying! At first glance, the hourly rate may seem much lower. This is a marketing tactic to lock down your business… Then, when it’s no longer convenient for you to back out, they share the true price of moving with them, which is often much more than you’ve budgeted for. Don’t fall for it!

Metro Moving Company

If that upsets you, it absolutely should… That pricing structure is deceitful at best and is designed to trap you—leaving you with a bad taste in your mouth. We believe that a satisfied customer is the best business strategy. While a happy customer may share their great experience with 10 loved ones, an unhappy customer will tell 100 people never to hire you! It’s just not worth it! Our goal is to move you as affordably and efficiently as possible so that every customer walks away happy, and with more money in their pocket than they expected to walk away with. Read our reviews, and you will find a recurring theme: “I paid a lot less than I expected to, based on estimates from other moving companies.” Besides the standard flat $99 travel fee (which puts gas in our 26-foot box trucks), our pricing structure only has two variables: the number of movers needed, and the hours it takes to complete your move.

Hours Required

Whether you’re moving across the state or within the same building, your final cost will be determined by the hours it takes to complete the work. After our 2-hour minimum, we at Metro Moving Company bill by the quarter-hour. In other words, if your move takes 3 hours and 19 minutes, we round to the nearest quarter-hour and bill you for 3 hours, and 15 minutes. We don’t charge you for an entire hour that you didn’t need. And that time covers all the supplies, accommodations, furniture assembly & placement, additional stops, etc. The way we see it, you’re already paying for our time, and that includes all of our services.

Number of Movers Required

The second variable in our pricing structure is the number of movers in your crew. We offer moving crews between two and five movers, with the rare occasion where one mover is required. A single mover job is usually reserved for when a customer only needs to move a washer and dryer, or 20 boxes… items one person can easily handle. Our 2 mover crews can efficiently complete jobs between the sizes of a studio apartment up to a large 2-bedroom ranch style home. Three to four movers are typically recommended for moves with multiple floors and no elevator, or homes three bedrooms or larger. And finally, if we recommend five movers, congratulations, you live in a mansion, and we want to be you when we grow up.

It’s important to understand the cost of choosing the wrong moving crew size:

• Too many movers: Companies often quote you more movers than necessary on smaller jobs to jack up the total cost of your move. In their eyes, it makes small jobs worth their while, and they simply pocket the profit.

• Too few movers: It may be tempting to hire the moving crew with the lowest hourly rate, but keep in mind, these professionals are human, not machines. If we send two people to complete a 4-mover job, they will burn out twice as fast, take twice as long, and ultimately cost you twice the money it would have, if you hired the right size crew. There are other sure-fire ways to save money on your move. Don’t risk it with this approach.

At Metro Moving Company, we review all the items you plan to move, in order to recommend the best move size to complete your job at the lowest possible cost. Again, happy customers skip the internet search and call us without hesitation for their next local move. That’s our ultimate goal.

We know that every move is different, and every family’s budget is not going to be a perfect fit for our company. We just want to educate our neighbors about the true cost of relocation in the Greater Atlanta area, so that when you do hire a mover, you know what you’re paying for. Any company that isn’t giving you up-front and honest pricing, is not a company with your best interest at heart. Shop around, and then call Metro Moving Company. Because moving sucks… but it doesn’t have to.

Preparing For Your Local Move

We agree that #MovingSucks, but just a little pre-planning will take a lot of the stress out of move day. Here are some things you can do before the truck arrives to take the edge off on moving day:

3-4 Weeks Out

Research your options for moving companies or truck rental services. Get estimates and check reviews from multiple companies. Be sure to understand what is covered under your hourly rate, and whether additional services like furniture assembly/ disassembly, appliance moving, packing, and making additional stops assess separate fees. Some movers charge extra for each flight of stairs your property has, and each roll of shrink wrap used to protect your furniture! At Metro Moving Company (MMCo), we charge a flat travel fee, which gives you use of our 26-foot box truck, and every service listed above is included in the hourly rate at no additional charge.

Take inventory one room at a time, marking items to be moved or packed, and setting aside the things you plan to get rid of. Write a list of all the items you plan to keep.

Secure your records – Whether it’s medical, dental, educational, legal, veterinary, etc. paperwork, make sure any documents you may need before unpacking are easily accessible. We once had a customer call us one week after his move to locate a box that contained important legal documents. Fortunately, we were able to help him find it, but setting them aside will save you tons of time.

Host a garage or moving sale for the items you decide not to keep, and consider giving leftovers to local charities. While we often dispose of large items for our clients under our hourly rate, it delays your end time, and ultimately costs you more than getting rid of it before move day.

Schedule connection of utility services at your new house, especially if your move takes place later in the afternoon or in the evening. Moving in the dark is not only unsafe, but it will take longer to complete the job, costing you more in the end.

Finalize all packing & appliances. Double-check the attic and basement, and all your closets for forgotten items. See a list of forget-me-nots here.

Last check. Defrost the freezer, drain the water hose, Drain and disconnect all major appliances you’re planning to move. Defrost your freezer and empty the fridge before moving. The additional items will make it heavier, and result in a longer move. To make your move as cost-effective as possible, find more money-saving tips here.

Pack a Move Day Bag. Include items you’ll need on the first day in your new home. Separating your first day one essentials will save you so much stress on and after moving day.

Confirm hotel or temporary accommodation, if needed. Unfortunately, we’ve seen where customers have sold or moved out of their home and the closing doesn’t go quite as planned, leaving them scrambling at the last minute. Try to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

Arrange for childcare and pet services on moving day, if needed. While we love our children and furbabies, they may slow you down on moving day if you’re not prepared to keep them busy. Check out our tips for moving with little ones.

Moving Day

Verify the moving truck that shows up is the one you hired. Scams can happen! Fortunately for us, it’s pretty hard to confuse our big purple truck for anyone else!

Be on hand for movers to answer questions and show where furniture and boxes should go. At MMCo, we arrange and rearrange your furniture as many times as it takes for you to be happy with it, before stopping your time, and considering your move complete. So don’t be shy about asking.

Be prepared to pay the mover and know which forms of payment are acceptable ahead of time. Have cash on hand to tip your moving crew, if you’re into that kind of thing. =)

First Day Essentials

It's easy to forget the basics during all the craziness of moving day. Consider setting these items aside, to help your move go smoothly:

1. Toothbrush, toothpaste, and other toiletries & feminine products. One sure fire way to make day one suck is not having the ability to freshen up after all that hard work

2. Underwear, towel, change of clothes, work clothes for the next day. Likewise, clean clothing and linen may be pretty hard to come by in the jungle of boxes that is your new home.

3. Laptop and cell phone chargers & WIFI access for bonus points. Laptop: Dead. WIFI: Not activated yet. Cell Phone: Dead. Is this the beginning of a scary movie!? No. It’s just day one at the new place if you don’t plan ahead.

4. Box cutters/ scissors. Okay, so you have 41-100 boxes filled with homely goodies and taped to kingdom come for safety… So how are you going to get into them? Willpower? Nope. Pack the right tools on the day before.

5. Lease paperwork, IDs/ whatever you need to transfer or connect utilities. Don’t be digging through boxes when Georgia Power requests a copy of your new lease.

6. Prescription medications. Whether it’s your daughter’s albuterol inhaler, your son’s epipen, or your migraine relief pills, be prepared for anything on day one.

7. Snacks & plastic ware. The pantry boxes are still packed up, who knows where the pots and pans are… There are leftovers in the fridge, with no microwave to heat them in. It’s a good thing you packed snacks!

8. Pet food, for your four-legged family members. They are a major part of your family, so we saved the best for last. Be sure to thinking about snacks, toys, and food for pets. This is a stressful event for them, as well.

With these day one essentials, you won’t find yourself digging through mountains of boxes trying to solve a day one emergency!