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My last two moves were flat fee moves, not hourly. One was a 1000 mile move with Allied Van Lines. The other was in state, 120 miles. I hired a local company that actually advertised under office/piano moving. They quoted me a flat rate. There was a boss guy and two helpers. They all rode in the truck to the new house.
Today I found a company that loads the truck at the 1st location. Then they go off the clock and go out to lunch (pay for it themselves) and then will meet us at the destination house and download our stuff. I love this scenario. I don't have to figure out what & how much to buy for lunch AND don't have to pay the company for their lunchtime. All I need to do is provide water and other drinks. And give them a tip, will can be bigger since I don't have to foot the bill for lunch. YEA!
This company is well respected in the area and I have had friends who used them successfully. Feelin' good!!!
I moved a few times in FL and this is how it worked for me. With "small-ish" companies.
Now, once I facilitated a HUGE 20,000 pound move for a client of mine and I had to leave for an hour. It was going to be an all day affair loading. It filled the entire truck except a corner with another guy's motorcycle in it.
I picked up lunch for myself and bought lunch for them. But it was just a bunch of hoagies, chips and soda and they were surprised when I asked them if they wanted anything and grateful. I didn't tip because it was the load up not unloading.
During the three day packing the packers did their own lunch off the clock but ate really FAST because they get paid to be FAST. Like a half hour if that.
Coleman Allied. They were excellent and arrived two days early at the destination. The dispatcher was invaluable resolving any issues with the three day packers and invoice resolution (a discrepancy) and the actual load and arrival across country. She took it very personally as a standard of quality AND keeping the customer happy. The estimator was good, too giving me tips on how to make things cheaper if we wanted. It was a flat fee move, $15,000. I'd say he saved her maybe $2000 with the suggestions but it really didn't matter a whole lot to the client.
The only time we used movers, we didn't buy them lunch, they brought their own. I never even thought of buying them lunch. I always figured it was like my own job. I don't expect my boss to feed me, just pay me for the work I've done.
However, when we've moved and friends and family have helped, we have definitely bought them lunch, and sometimes dinner, depending on how long it took.
They were actual movers working for a well respected moving company. The move from our apartment to our new home a few blocks away ended up costing us ~$900.00 plus tip. We did move to a 3 story house from the one-story apartment. They were polite and friendly. My only beef was to be charged for their rest time at lunch.
If you were so concerned, you should have gone for a flat rate. You did a nice thing buying them lunch (I have always done so)...don't ruin it for by pinching a few pennies when the move went well.
If you were so concerned, you should have gone for a flat rate. You did a nice thing buying them lunch (I have always done so)...don't ruin it for by pinching a few pennies when the move went well.
In our area, there is no flat rate pricing for local household moves.
Having to provide lunch for movers is another burden for the homeowner, added to a very busy, tiring, stressful day. We do tip them well, and personally, I think that is enough. However, I don't resent that as much as paying a moving company for their employees' lunch time. Most workers in most businesses are not paid during their lunch hour. I wonder if those moving men actually got paid for that time by the moving company or if the company simply pocketed that amount. What about the many people in the USA who work very hard manually--such as construction workers, miners, etc.? Do they get paid to eat lunch? I doubt it...
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No Flat Rate for Local Moves
