At work I am fully invested in our brand, to reduce the stress of our customers and fellow co-workers.  I understand that being a Boston storage and moving company, brings with it a level of stress, both internally and for our customers who are actually shipping their goods, but most of the time, I am just focused on doing the right thing, getting my work done and working on extra things as they come up.  Recently, our internal Branding Team launched a Stress Reducer Award, which encourages employees to nominate their fellow co-workers who have reduced their stress during the course of the work day. 

I wrote out my nomination (thanks Jamie!) and then left it, going about my job as I normally would, so you will understand my shock when the Branding Team announced me as the first winner and presented me with my prize. 

I won a bunch of great things, including lunch and a gift card.  But the best thing (especially since it is January!) is that I get a parking spot right in front of the building.  I can press the automatic start button for my car from inside the building, without leaving the lobby or even craning my neck.  In the morning, I literally step out of my warm car and into the building within seconds, barely even getting my nose cold.  It’s like heaven! 

And from what I heard, there were quite a few tempting nominations (I’m glad to hear I didn’t just win by default!).  In this economy, its important for moving companies to stand out and do the right things because consumers are a lot less forgiving than they were a year ago.  But happily, I can attest to the fact that we were reaching out and living our brand back then, and still are now, regardless of our customer’s purse size.  That shows, among other things, by the number of nominations that consistently flow in each month.

So, take it from me: Sometimes doing the right thing is silently rewarding, and other times, its so awesomely rewarding that you would be willing to take on a whole 2^nd job to keep the appreciation coming!  Either way, it’s worth it.  Have a happy, stress-free day!

The benefits of being a stress-reducer. Thats how close my car is to the building.

As I was putting my six year old to bed last night she reminded me that today is the day.  She said to me “daddy tomorrow Obama becomes our 44th President” and right she is.  No matter what your race, religion or beliefs you have, today is very much a historic day.  I can’t imagine the amount of stress Obama, his family and those associated with the campaign have endured to get to this moment.  My guess is as they look at the State of our Country the stress level will rise in the days to come.  In my opinion, we are certain to hear a flowery speech just as those before him have done.  I would assume he will be hard at work early tomorrow getting up to speed and taking a hard look at what needs to be done first.  What a time to get into the White House will all the negatives especially the economy and the military activity?  One might say Obama really has the opportunity to look like a hero if he can solve some of these issues that have been created over the last several years in my opinion.  Obama’s ability to deliver on his words will certainly be tested.  At this point, no matter who you voted for we need to cheer our new President to victory as we are all depending on him and his administration to start to pull us out.  We must realize it will take time.  Things will not be okay tomorrow.  At our Boston Moving Company we realize the hiring freezes of companies and the bad housing market are going to continue and be a part of our recovery.  We are hopeful we will see some improvement by year end but we may not.  In the meantime it is our job to deliver a stress free move to all those who do enlist our services.

Hail to the Chief!

In my last posting, I explored what it is like to use a storage container for a local move. Today, I will expose when it makes sense to try and utilize these containers when moving interstate.

Most people who look at using storage containers to move out-of-state do so because they want to save on cost. The logic is that if you rent a container and load it yourself, you will save on the labor costs and greatly impact the cost of your move. THIS IS NOT THE REALITY!

The truth is, that the majority of the cost of moving over state lines is based on the actual transportation of the goods. Your average Boston mover, like Humboldt, will price a full service, interstate move based on the weight of your goods and the distance it travels. A storage container is priced very similarly, with the monthly rent plus the cost of transportation making up the fee. As you can imagine, it does not matter much if a truck is pulling a loaded trailer or a flatbed trailer with 3 storage pods on it, the costs of fuel and labor between Boston and California will pretty much be the same.

We have had many customers inquire about using a SAM (the brand of storage container Humboldt uses) to move long distance and every single time, the price has been right around the same price as the full service move. Customer’s are usually shocked with the pricing of the container and often decide that the extra 5%-10% or so it costs for a full service move is worth it, as opposed to having to supply the loading labor for the move.

There is one scenario, however, where storage pods may make sense when moving interstate….. when the shipper needs some sort of storage during the move. Just as they do on local moves, these storage pods offer the ability to store goods while eliminating the double handling of your items. In addition, a moving company will charge hefty handling fees to place your items into storage. So between those handling fees and the higher price of storage itself, the containers offer good cost savings when storage is needed over the coarse of the move.

It does not take much to see that storage pods offer enough benefits to the public to insure they are not going anywhere anytime soon. Locally, they are a no-brainer when compared to renting a u-haul or tow trailer. From an interstate perspective, they should only be an option if you have storage needs (or if you want to save $$ based on loading yourself). So next time you are planning on moving yourself long distance, do your homework and make sure that all the extra work you are doing, really is worth the amount of money you are saving.

New England is a wonderful region of the United States; we have our successful sports teams and our four wonderful seasons. The moving industry is one with high stress levels for all involved and Humboldt Storage and Moving is attempting to limit the stress on all involved. The high paced summer presents its challenges with the high demand. On the other hand, the winter has its challenges that differ. One major challenge in New England is the snow fall amounts each year.
As a Boston based moving company we endure the riggers of the traffic in Boston and maneuvering around the tight streets of the North and South Ends, and I am talking about with 80 degree temperatures in June. Now add two feet of snow to each side of the street where the plows have made room for cars to drive down, and cones and barrels residents have laid out to stake the claim of the spot they have shoveled. Moving in Boston has now become that much harder. As a company it is important that we deal with these unexpected circumstances and take the stress off the customer and complete the job in a superior matter. Our crews have handled this problem with professionalism and have made the appropriate decisions to cause the customer no additional stress. On many occasions our crews have had to park an extra distance away to find a cleared parking space. By no means has this been an easy task for our crew, this has only made there job more difficult, but each member of the Humboldt team understands that each customer is highly important and we will do what it takes to deliver a stress free move.
On the other hand, rural areas of New England also face the rigors of Mother Nature and as a moving company this provides an equal challenge. When positioning a truck at residence it may become more difficult based on the weather factor. Again as a company we need to do our part to reduce the stress of the shipper. On multiple occasions we have crews go above and beyond the call of duty with assisting customers on providing a safe surface. This includes shoveling driveways, walkways, and sanding these surfaces (tasks that are the customer’s responsibility). Through the vigorous winter season in New England, Humboldt Storage and Moving strives to deliver the same stress free move that we deliver on the perfect meteorological day.

One of the biggest trends to hit the moving industry over the past 8-10 years has been the rise of the storage container and its use by do-it-yourself movers. As a Boston moving company who rents out these portable storage containers (we are one of only a handful of movers that offer this in the greater Boston area), Humboldt is here to give you the inside scoop on when it makes sense to look at this option.

There are a few different scenarios where one could consider using a storage pod, I will break them up by local vs. interstate:

Locally, the idea is that with a storage container the shipper can move at their own pace and avoid the hassles and dangers of having to drive a rented moving truck. Although you must supply your own labor (a couple of friends, a pizza and a 6-pack can help there), the containers offer great value when you consider their $139-$210 per month price tag and the convenience offered. TIP: Be sure you ask about the transportation fees, as they are above and beyond the rental fee.

Smart shippers have the container dropped off a month or so ahead of time so they can load a little each night, making the move a lot less overwhelming. For the most part these containers can be positioned in almost any direction that will make loading easiest for you, but each of the different brands out there (some of the major ones are SAM, PODS, Go Mini, and Pack Rat) have a slightly different method for dropping the containers. If you have a tight driveway you may want to measure it out before you reserve the container so the company can verify that their truck will be able to make the drop.

When you are ready to move, all you have to do is pop on a lock, call the company and your container will be gone when you get home. The flexibility offered at this point is probably the strongest argument for using these containers. You can have the unit moved directly to your new residence or, if its not ready, you can have the container placed into storage for a very small fee (usually $10 per month extra on the rental fee). Logistically speaking, the containers offer less room for damage (if they are loaded properly) and lost items when storage is involved because your entire load is locked and secured at all times. When a full service moving company brings your goods into storage, even for just a short time, they have to double touch every item in the load (take it off the truck and put into storage, then take out of storage and put back on truck to go out) which increases the opportunity for damage or loss.

So locally, storage containers are a much more convenient option to renting a truck. You will save money over using a mover, but you will also be taking on all of the responsibility of your move’s success. Additionally, the containers are great for temporary storage when staging a home or doing a home renovation. Some Humboldt customers even use the containers to help control the cost of the move by loading the items they are less concerned about into a container (usually the attic, basement, garage) while hiring a Humboldt crew to move the rest of the residence.

In my next post, I will break some of the BIGGEST misconceptions that exist about moving from one state to another with a storage pod as opposed to a Boston moving company.

Our goal is to be #1 Boston mover through reducing the stress of our clients and they say laughter helps tremendously in stress management. So for your viewing pleasure…