Moving Company Website Red Flags

image courtesy of thebookdesigner.com

There are a lot of ways to find a moving company. The best way is through a personal referral, but sometimes that's not possible. There's also review sites, but some of those must be taken with a grain of salt. Trade organizations (AMSA, MMA) are also good resources.

Then, there's a good old fashioned internet search. So, you type in your search terms and a whole host of websites pop up in the results. If you go to any of these websites here are some important pieces of information you should be on the look out for .

- Rates
Does the moving company make its rates available on their website? If not, beware. All Massachusetts moving companies need to have a tariff with all of their rates on file with the Department of Public Utilities. If this tariff doesn't appear on the moving company's website you can always check with the DPU, but if they don't bother to post the information themselves, there's a good bet they're not on file or the tariff is out of date.

- Photos
Are there photos of the actual movers and the company's trucks? Or are there stock photos of trucks and warehouses with maybe a Photoshopped logo? A lot of moving companies just starting out can't afford to own their own trucks and that's doesn't mean they are disreputable or unlicensed. However, the company should not set out to deceive you with photos either.

- Licenses, Tariffs, etc.
Check the website to see if the company lists its license number. If the company is Massachusetts based this number will be called a MDTE number. If the company offers interstate moving those license numbers will be called DOT and MC numbers. Both of those numbers can be researched through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (specifically here). It is federally required that all interstate moving companies listed their DOT number on all written/printed material, so this is a very important piece of information

- Trade Organizations
Almost without fail, reputable moving companies belong to their trade organizations. Locally, that's the Massachusetts Movers Association. Nationwide it is the American Moving and Storage Association. There are also more general business organizations like the local Chamber of Commerce and Better Business Bureau. Just because a moving company does not belong to one or even all of these or similar organizations does not make them bad or disreputable, but it should inspire further research.

- Address
Look up the address the company lists as their place of business. Is it shared by many other moving companies? That could be a sign that the entity operates under several business names or d/b/a's, which could have an effect of the way the business(es) are run. If the listed address is just a residential location, that raises other questions.

- Insurance
Is information about the company's insurance listed somewhere on their website? If not, and you're considering hiring them, double check with the company. A good moving company will have insurance on their trucks and for cargo. Workers compensation insurance is not required, but its always a good idea and is often either provided for the workers by the company or the movers provide their own.

- Name
This is more for craiglists postings. If there's an ad with a phone number but no other identifying information (company name, e-mail address, website, etc.) beware. That almost definitely means an unlicensed, uninsured mover.

Vacation

image courtesy of residenciadelpaseo.com

We're headed on vacation again, so we'll be absent from the blog for a couple of weeks. When we get back we'll continue to post helpful information and tips on moving in and around the Boston area!

Diesel Additive, Part 1

Here's another post by our always informative owner, Ezekiel.

Image courtesy of bajaquest.com

We use a diesel additive in our trucks to promote longer engine life, low temperature reliability and better fuel economy. Due to the multiple reasons and benefits of additive this will be a multi-part blog post, with each post focusing on a different element. It's easy to see the financial benefit of getting more miles out of each gallon of fuel and each diesel engine, but there's more to it than that.

ULSD-Ultra Low Sulfer Diesel

Since '06 fueling stations in North America have been selling ULSD. Sulfur content in diesel has a number of effects. One is pollution, the sulfer content in diesel is one of the main contributing factors to the soot that is emitted from a diesel engine. Another effect that sulfer has is that it is a lubricating agent in the operation of the diesel engine. When you drop the sulfer content of your fuel,  the level of lubricity also goes down. Lubricity of fuel impacts engine wear in that a higher lubricity diesel will coat the cylinder walls of the engine with a greater film of oil, thereby enhancing the movement of the pistons and reducing the wear between the piston and the cylinder wall. Lower sulfer content can therefore cause premature wear on moving parts (not just the cylinders, but also other moving parts that come in contact with fuel, like injectors). The fuel companies, the government and the engine manufacturers had come to an agreement about how much lubricity a ULSD fuel should have. Hypothetically at that level there is enough lubricity where premature engine wear is not a factor, however some might dispute that. The real problem with ULSD fuel is that the lubricity agents that they add to the fuel for use in diesel engines is added late in the transportation scheme, so sometimes the lubricity agent is not fully mixed in so you can get very low dosages at the pump, which would potentially lead to low level engine damage. Based on this study we use Optilube XPD in the winter and Optilube summer formula in the warmer months.

Rents Continue to Increase in the Boston Area

"Boston is a desirable place to live," says Eric Belsky, managing director of Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies in a Boston Globe article today.

Of course, we Bostonians (and greater Bostonians) know this, but we also know that can translate into some pretty high rents. Much as other Globe articles have recently mentioned (and we've blogged about here and here), the rising rents are due in part to the current state of the housing market. People just aren't buying right now, so they continue to rent and prices continue to rise in response to the demand.

Its an interesting article and worth a read whether your looking to rent or buy in the near future. And of course, if you do find that great apartment in or around Boston and need help moving, give us a call!

Piano Moving Seminar

The other day we held a piano moving seminar for our guys at the warehouse. One of our movers has spent many years moving pianos at a previous job so we had him show our other movers how to do everything properly. A lot of our guys have piano moving experience already, but it never hurts to have an expert go over the finer points for clarification.

There's a lot more that goes into a moving a piano than with most other goods. First, they're often very expensive. They also have a lot of delicate parts and they're heavy. There's even special equipment, skid boards, that we use just for pianos (though they do sometimes get used for other heavy weight items).

Check out all the pictures from the seminar. I think everyone learned a lot!

Legs have been removed.

A baby grand properly wrapped and strapped to a skid.

Practicing moving the pianos on dollies.

Laying the piano onto a skid.

Piano Technicians Guild

image courtesy of www.ptg.org

We are now a proud member of the Piano Technicians Guild. They are a nationwide organization that serves as a source of piano service expertise. If you need a piano tuned, a piano teacher or a piano restored, among other things, they are the group to check out. PTG is really one stop shopping for all things piano related. There are chapters all over the country, including the Boston chapter we joined, so you can check out the local websites as well.

We're really proud to be a part of PTG and we look forward to working with them.

UPDATE: Moving Tip #8: Appliances

Happy New Year!

Here's an update by our owner on our previous post about moving appliances.

image courtesy of homerefrigeratorrepair.com

The conventional wisdom is that refrigerators should not be plugged in after being moved for at least 2 hours to let chemicals to settle in the lines. If the refrigerator had to be layed down or was hoisted, it should be left upright for at least 24 hours for the oil in the compressor to settle.

We cannot hook up any of your appliances that have connections to water or gas. We recommend if you do it yourself to pay particular attention for the hours following the hookup. Water can do a lot of damage to a home, and making sure your plumbing is well sorted is of paramount importance. Wait to plug your washer in until you can be home and keep an eye out for leaks or other issues until you're sure everything is fine.

Usually dishwashers are hard-wired into the house with a switch, so an electrician will be needed to unhook your dishwasher in addition to a plumber. If you would like a recommendation on a local plumber or electrician, let us know, we might have some suggestions.