Tips for Choosing an Office Moving Company
Research the Company
Your search for business movers should begin with taking the time to properly research their customer history. Find out if they are listed on the Better Business Bureau and confirm licensing and insurance by finding them on Georgia’s database of for-hire movers. Any business that has been around for any length of time is sure to have a few less-than-flattering testimonials sprinkled throughout their reviews, so you’ll want to look for common themes. If there are numerous complaints about inefficiency, office equipment being broken or damaged during the move or derailed schedules, find another office moving company.
Consider Years in Business and Years of Experience
How long has the office mover been in business? As the economy fluctuates, only the best in the industry tend to survive, generally making well-established business movers with extensive histories a more reliable choice. However, you want to consider more than simply the years they’ve been around; you also want to look at how many years of experience they have in relocating offices. Disassembling, transporting and reassembling an entire office requires a different set of knowledge and tools than moving residential customers, so in addition to looking at years in business, you want to take years of experience in office installs and relocations into account.
Note Your First Impression
As you’re contacting different business movers, make note of your first impression of the level of professionalism they display and how they guide the conversation. At this point, you shouldn’t have to ask a bunch of questions; your initial questions should be answered during the course of the conversation. If you have to drag information out of the salesperson, then this is probably indicative of how the entire process will be.
Ensure That You’ll Get the Support You Need
Moving a whole office, whether it’s a couple of cubicles and a coffee maker or several floors of equipment and furniture, requires time, planning and communication. The office moving company you choose should be able to walk you through the entire process and provide clear, timely communication. In addition to providing the service options that you require, they should also offer reliable customer support. If they are difficult to reach when you’re still in the planning phase, they will likely be even more difficult to connect with once the contract is signed and the move begins.
Get a Custom Quote
Online price quotes may provide a fairly accurate cost estimate for residential customers, but when it comes to moving an office, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. In addition to needing complicated (and expensive) office equipment, files and personal effects moved, businesses have the added challenge of coordinating lists of tasks between departments and keeping everything running as smoothly as possible through the time of transition. Each relocation is a custom job, and a custom quote should be provided.
Tips for Choosing Professional Office Movers in Singapore
You want to find movers who are experienced in commercial and office moves.
Moving an office often requires a different set of skills than moving household items. Too often, run-of-the-mill house movers claim to be professional office movers when they do not understand the nuances associated with office moves. These include knowledge of the loading / unloading logistical issues, the moving hours stipulated by your building managers, and most importantly, your needs to ensure minimal downtime for your business. As a professional office mover, we give thorough considerations to all your concerns, plan and propose our moving plan and offer one-flat rate for our services so that you will not be met with nasty surprises on the big day.
Do background checks on your movers.
All authentic movers would have built their credentials and integrity as professional movers. A quick search on Google and the many social media platforms should give you a decent review of the moving company that you are considering. Google reviews and ratings come from genuine users and give you some insights into the company’s reliability. For example, a website with 4+ stars and genuine-looking reviews can be trusted. Do not miss their 1-star to 3-star reviews because most people speak some truth while giving these reviews.
Ask a friend!
Getting opinions from a family member or a close friend who has engaged the services of a professional mover will help you increase your chances of finding that reliable moving company. This is so as a professional mover always believe in building strong rapport with their clients to provide a trusted and assuring service.
Insist on a site visit.
Unless you are moving a small office where you can easily list the items you have to move, always insist for your moving company to view your office and the assets that you have to move. This site visit will allow professional movers like us to better understand your move requirements so that we can help you plan and organize your move, in addition to just providing the muscles for the physical move on the move day.
Beware of hidden costs
If you have asked for multiple quotes from different moving companies, you may wonder how some movers can price their services significantly below others. Herein lies the dark side of “hidden costs”.
Commerical Moving Tips
Let Your Employees Know About the Move Ahead of Time
This is the first step. Your employees need time to process and plan for an office move. Ideally, a few months should be given. Under extreme circumstances, a few weeks is adequate. Be open and transparent with your employees. Some may be concerned about a change in their commute or the distance to their child’s school. The more communication and time you have before moving day will allow workers to adjust.
Start Letting Your Customers Know
If your business has a lot of customer foot traffic, it’s a good idea to start letting them know you’re relocating. Start advertising your move a least a month to a few weeks in advance. In-store signs, flyers, and announcements on social media can help spread the word.
Create a Checklist for Relocating the Entire Business
Your employees will appreciate the organization of a checklist. As you plan for what needs to be done logistically, write down what each employee can do to ease the moving process.
Prepare Furniture and Electronics for Moving
If you’re moving computers, it’s important to do it in an orderly fashion. Make sure the cables are removed carefully and placed in a numbered zip locked bag that corresponds to the computer it goes with. Important information on your computer should be backed up on either a cloud server or flash drive. As a business, your number one priority should be to protect your data.
Get Rid of Unwanted Items
There’s usually a little unwanted clutter in every office. Now is the time to dig deep into forgotten storage closets, cabinets, and designated “junk” desks. Donate old electronics, recycle old papers, and toss out long-forgotten lunches in the breakroom fridge.
Tips for Smoother Office Moves
Plan your move as early as possible. Business relocations are often planned six months in advance, and large commercial moves can require up to two years of planning.
Hire commercial movers with the experience, resources and manpower required for an efficient office move.
Make sure the moving company you hire has insurance, and get them to fax you a copy of it. Most of all, office buildings require it.
Schedule the move with the building you are moving into as well as out of. Most likely the move will need to be done outside of normal business hours, as most buildings won’t allow moves during office hours. The best time for an office move is typically over the weekend.
Check with the buildings about any other requirements (each office building is unique). The building may limit the amount of time you can park at the loading dock, require that floors be covered or protected, and that elevators are reserved in advance.
Tips When Hiring a Commercial Mover for Your Office Relocation
Hire a Moving Company
A reputable local commercial mover brings the experience that will make your office relocation one that is relatively stress-free. However, if doing so, keep in mind that moving companies operate on tight schedules, so hiring a moving company means planning ahead and scheduling your move at least 2 months in advance.
Make Sure Your Commercial Mover has Insurance
Before you hire your commercial mover, do your homework. Not all businesses operate alike, and since you are moving an office, you will want to make sure that you hire the right person for the job.
Know Your Building Requirements
Once again, if moving out of an office building, planning is critical. Know what your building’s moving requirements are. Do you have to perform move-out cleaning? Maybe there is a certain amount of time that a moving truck can be parked in front of the building. Or maybe there is a requirement in place that involves covering the floors during the actual move.
Number your Boxes
Labeling your boxes during a move is important, but it is extra important when you are opting to move with a local moving company. Not only should you label what is in the box but add a number to the box and record the information on your own personal ledger. This serves as extra insurance if a box gets lost. You’ll know right away which box it was.
Pack with Care
Remember, when packing your office, you are packing up the essentials needed to successfully run your business. Pack your file cabinets correctly, do some extra research and learn how to properly prepare and wrap your electronic equipment before the move.