When looking for professional moving services, you should be able to spot good moving companies through their reputation. Great movers have long recognized the importance of good reputation and tend to do everything in their power to maintain their excellent status as one of the top-rated movers in the country.
Good reputation is built slowly – in most cases, it’s the result of years of hard work and dedication. And that’s exactly why top-rated national movers have chosen to continue to offer quality services at fairly affordable prices – the winning formula that guarantees the success and growth of their businesses.
You’re moving soon and you wish to hire the best-rated relocation experts in your area – a shrewd decision that should play out in your favor. It can be very risky to just pick a random moving company without having researched those movers in advance. This can’t be stressed enough – invest a bit of time in checking the moving companies in question and that investment should pay off tenfold later on.
Read on to learn how to find top-rated moving companies near you.
Why reputation is so important for moving companies
Good moving companies understand how critical it is for their business to first establish excellent reputation among their customers and then to maintain that prestige by continuing to offer high-quality moving services at reasonable prices.
When a moving company manages to increase its online reputation by hard work and professional attitude, then their clients will be happy with the relocation services provided and will most likely recommend the moving professionals to any of their friends who happen to be looking for reputable moving companies in the near future.
Interestingly enough, satisfied customers can also feel compelled to leave moving reviews about the mover they just used to move house. And when they do that on one of the best moving company reviews websites, then they will be extending their genuine recommendations about movers to everybody (complete strangers) who’s searching for reliable and trustworthy movers and not only to their closed circle of friends.
In an ideal world, checking customer reviews about a moving company should be enough to figure out whether specific movers will be worth your money and time. Unfortunately, we live in a very imperfect world and things are seldom as straightforward as we want them to be.
So, while customer reviews can help you form a general idea about which movers are good and which movers are bad, you should always use those moving reviews as guidelines only and search for other more reliable ways to compare movers. But why, you may ask? It’s simple, really – not all customer reviews can be taken at face value.
What to look for in a moving company
How to make sure you’re hiring reputable movers
Good moving companies understand just how important reputation can be for their business.
Your goal is to find a reputable moving company for your move so that you can rest assured that
- the moving price you get quoted will be competitive and comparable to the rates of the best moving companies in the country,
- the professionals will be competent and skilled at what they do, with years of relocation experience on their resumes,
- the movers will handle your valuable household items carefully and will do whatever it takes to protect them for the road ahead,
- the pros will know exactly what to do on Moving day, making sure things are running smoothly and efficiently as they are supposed to,
- the attitude from the packers and movers will be both professional and respectful, and most importantly –
- you won’t be cheated in any way, thus becoming an unfortunate victim of moving fraud orchestrated by a dishonest moving company (aka rogue movers).
So, in order to reach your goal and protect your move at the same time, there are a few important steps you must take to research the moving companies and find the top-rated movers near you.
What to expect from full-service movers
Read moving reviews
As stated above, reading customer reviews will give you the chance to learn more about the reputation of the moving companies you’re researching and can help you single out one or two movers with the idea of choosing the one that’s best suited for you.
Visit one of the best websites for moving company reviews (MyMovingReviews, Yelp, Better Business Bureau) and then look for the movers you’ve shortlisted. First, you should be able to see their overall rating that’s represented in stars (usually from 1 to 5). Then, you should read some reviews left by former customers of the company – almost always in the form of a short testimonial that will sum up what the mover did wrong (negative review) or what the mover did right (positive review).
Use the reviews about local or cross country movers only as reference points because it can often be rather confusing when you come across too positive reviews and then too negative ones about the same mover. Hopefully, you will be able to find reviews that will include both the strong points and weak points of that particular mover, giving you a general sense of what to expect from the company should you choose to hire its services.
Check movers with the BBB
In order to find top-rated moving companies near you, another must-do step is to check the movers with the Better Business Bureau. The BBB is a professional organization that helps consumers find and deal with legitimate businesses that can be trusted.
The BBB accredits moving companies that adhere strictly to the BBB Standards for Trust – 8 major principles that help create trust between businesses and customers:
- Build trust,
- Advertise honestly,
- Tell the truth,
- Be Transparent,
- Honor promises,
- Be responsive,
- Safeguard privacy, and
- Embody integrity.
Your next step to finding top-rated local movers – or top-rated cross-country movers depending on how far you’re moving – is to visit the BBB website and check if the movers you’re reviewing are BBB-accredited. Also, their website will keep records of the company in question has received any formal complaints from customers through the years
Check movers with AMSA
Company reputation goes hand in hand with professionalism, so another proof that you’ll be dealing with reliable movers you can trust is when they belong to the American Moving and Storage Association (AMSA). The association has a ProMover program and any moving company that has earned the right to be called a ProMover has agreed to uphold AMSA’s Code of Ethics.
Professional moving companies must go through and pass successfully a number of rigorous background checks in order to be distinguished as ProMovers. And that’s exactly why it’s important to visit AMSA’s website and check if the companies you’re probing are also ProMovers – a sure sign that your valuables will be in good hands.
What’s the best way to find reputable movers?
One thing you should know is that the search for top-rated movers may prove to be too confusing and may not yield satisfactory results in the end. Yes, truly reputable moving companies do exist but sometimes you just won’t be able to find them by checking their reputation through customer reviews, BBB-accreditation, or AMSA membership.
HELP! I NEED REPUTABLE MOVERS.
Ultimately, one great way to secure a reputable long-distance moving company is to ask friends, co-workers, and neighbors whether they can recommend you a good mover you can trust with your prized possessions. Even if most of them haven’t used any movers recently, they may know somebody who did, so you should still be able to get several moving company recommendations.
Use the power of your preferred social media platform to reach all of your pals at once and ask them the question CAN ANYONE RECOMMEND REPUTABLE MOVERS? After all, there’s a big difference between checking moving reviews written by complete strangers (can you really trust them) and getting recommendations about movers from friends and acquaintances you actually trust – people who won’t have anything to gain by misleading or misinforming you on purpose.
And if you are lucky enough to receive multiple recommendations from friends or friends’ friends about moving companies that can be trusted, then it’s a good idea to ask why exactly they have recommended those companies. Is it only the low price? Is it the high-quality moving services offered? Is it the professional attitude? Or is it the entire package: affordable price, great services, and true professionalism?
12 Important questions to ask your movers
How to find top-rated movers near you
Reputable moving companies do exist and your mission is to find one such top-rated mover and hire their services for a problem-free house move.
So, here are the logical steps that will help you do just that:
- GET free moving quotes from good, pre-screened moving companies in your area – either local movers or cross-country movers depending on how far you’re going.
- GET in touch with trustworthy moving companies that serve your route. When you do, your first order of business should be to request in-house visual surveys from the professionals so that they can see in person the things you’re moving and give you a much more precise cost estimate.
- BE firm about getting moving company representatives to visit your home in person. If a mover insists on calculating the moving price over the phone or via e-mail, then you should say NO. Remember that only visual on-site inspections can lead to accurate cost estimates that will reflect the final moving price.
- COMPARE the estimates you have received in terms of price, services, and conditions. Beware of quotes that are too low compared the rest, for they could mean potential moving scam. In most cases, it’s not advisable to concentrate only on the offered price and thus disregard the rest of the terms.
- TAKE a closer look at the extra moving services that you have requested specifically or that movers have included as required for the successful completion of the residential move. Will you need professional packing services? Will your household items need to be stored temporarily at the mover’s warehouse?
- COMPARE the moving companies that have provided you with cost estimates and are now competing for your house move. This step is critical – remember that you’re looking for the top-rated movers in your area as a guarantee that your move will go as smoothly as possible.
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What’s the actual star rating of the mover you’ve hired?
ACCESS the most reputable and trustworthy movers reviews websites and check customer reviews written about the companies you’re reviewing. As a rule of thumb, the better the reputation of a mover, the higher the chance of that mover offering outstanding moving services.
- CHECK whether the professional moving companies are members of the American Moving and Storage Association (AMSA), thus ensuring that you’ll be working with ProMovers.
- CHECK whether the movers you’re researching are BBB-accredited – another proof that you’ll be dealing with a moving company you can trust with your belongings.
- TRUST your hunch. By step #10 you should already have a pretty good idea which top-rated moving company to use for your upcoming move.
Good luck!
How to choose a long-distance mover
