October 24, 2017

Our Nashville Movers Agree: Communication is Key

Stacks of moving boxes

Communication is the most important part of our everyday interaction with people and will always be an integral part of our lives. Communication allows us to convey expectations or not, set boundaries or not, accurately depict who we are or not, allow two parties to work together on the same page or not, etc. etc. At Move On, we constantly instill the vital importance of great communication to our Nashville movers. Our crews, and crew leaders especially, must have great communication with our clients as well as with supervisors. Having an accurate initial understanding of the job before we show up is essential to our core function. Job details can change on a whim, the needs of our clients can change at a moments notice due to the volatility of the real estate market and closing dates etc. As these details change, our crews must be able to communicate and act as a broker to manage the job and allow everything to go off without a hitch. Now add in the occasional client mistake or mistake on our part, and you have to double communication efforts and often start back at square one.

The burden of communication will always be heavily in the hands of our Nashville movers. Which means, we need to identify the important information with the client (end user) and make sure all of the details have been exposed, and then communicate through these details to have the correct strategy for completing the job. Once Move On has communicated the necessary details of our company, service and strategy to move forward, the burden now shifts to the client to communicate any and all points of concern and needs (which we will ask you if you have any).

Assumptions can be the bane of our existence. Assumptions should always be avoided to keep the air clear and communication crisp. We never want to show up to a job and a client expect us to bring packing materials, or expect us to assist in piano moving from the neighbor’s house because the assumption is “we are movers and will move anything.” These are details that should always be discussed prior to the move. All of the moving companies that I am aware of, will never show up ready to just do anything, or pack anything. The company will show up ready to complete the job based on the details discussed while booking the move. Bringing out a few boxes to help with some miscellaneous packing will never be an issue as long as we are prepared for it.

The moving industry is a unique and difficult industry. A lot is expected, a lot of responsibility lies in our hands, and it’s impossible to be perfect. What makes things 1,000 times more difficult is having clients that have a wealth of expectation and zero communication. These jobs are the equivalent to walking blindfolded through a minefield. There is absolutely no way to do a great job or leave the client satisfied in these situations. Recently we had a client who was difficult to say the least. The client directed our crew to floor-load the truck and not stack anything. According to the client, they didn’t want to scratch anything as the “furniture was more important than family.” While the thought may be comforting to the client, the problem is we now can’t fully utilize the space in the truck. Now we have to fit a 1/4 of what would normally fit into the truck. Naturally, this causes the crew to have to make an additional trip to and from the starting address. Strangely enough, the client then begins to complain with how long the move is taking. I wish I could say this is the only time this has happened but not close.

Throughout the years, many clients have caused this exact problem. Let’s all just pause here for a moment and think about something. When a service is needed and a professional company is hired to meet that need, the men and/or women who work for that company are trained professional with much more experience than the client. They have the resources, knowledge and training to do the job the correct way. Now, as the client, the job is being completely dictated and directed in the exact opposite way than what is correct. We all know people who think they know everything, but if I hire a plumber, I’m not going to tell the plumber once he arrives that I want him to design and sculpt bamboo fittings and then tell him he is taking too long. It’s absurd to the millionth degree. While we are ready and more than willing to accommodate the unique needs of our clients, when these needs aren’t communicated beforehand we are not responsible for any unmet expectations.

Back to the story of the client with the floor-load instructions. After everything was said and done, the client was not satisfied, or even close to being satisfied with the service. It had nothing to do with the performance and everything to do with communication. Throughout the entire process, our crew kept a level head and communicated as best as possible to the client and to the supervisor. We were very proud of how the miscommunication and problems were handled, and can directly attribute this to how much we train and emphasize clear communication. The reason I have highlighted this particular instance, is to demonstrate just how avoidable it all is and to show the importance of proper, open communication.

Lastly, if you are married or have another party that is responsible for hiring the moving company in Nashville TN, make sure that you designate one person to be the main point of communication and have gotten all the details sorted out with them before the fact. Too often we will speak to the husband or wife, and then end up dealing with their significant other during the move. When this change of communication happens, we often see a large gap in details that were “important” or information that needed to be discussed between us and the client.

When you hire the Move On – Nashville Movers, we are then dedicated from start to finish to do a great job and leave you impressed. We will provide all of the information about us, how we operate, and what to expect. If there are additional needs, or necessary details to know, please for the love of everything good, communicate them. It will make our jobs easier and your life much more stress free. After all, we are here to build the best  moving company in Nashville  that we can, and help people. That’s our mission. We all have a role and responsibility in communication, so let’s all do our parts and hopefully have a little fun in the process!

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