I'd like to open up a discussion on the advice given in the article "How to Find a Reputable Mover" that eliminates all movers from consideration because they cannot send an estimator to the customer's home for an on-site survey.
In the end I'm hoping the article can be edited to include some exceptions.
Here's what it says:
As a long-time rep for a licensed 48-state independent mover who self-hauls everything (a must, as referenced in the article), I get many requests for estimates where we are quite capable of doing the move, but not physically close enough to go see the customer.Set up appointments for three moving companies to come to your house and do an in-home estimate in the order of your least favorite to your most favorite company. If they won’t come to your house to do an in-home estimate, move on and find another company. Find out up front if the company will be doing the move themselves, or if they will be sub-contracting the job to another company. If they won’t be moving you then you should move on to another company.
I have done many of these off-site estimates by using two methods. 1) By looking at photos or videos sent by the customer for each room of the residence, 2) We now use a service that uses artificial intelligence that uses mobile devices to record encrypted videos (per room) that actually calculates cf, weight, and packing for us. I also go Online to see the house from the street view, and inside photos if the house has been listed for sale by a realtor. Lastly, I like to have a phone conversation to best understand the clients' needs, concerns, and expectations.
I have had no issues with estimating accuracy using these methods, and I always suggest that the customer get at least one or two other estimates to compare before selecting a mover that's right for them.
Let's face it, finding a trustworthy mover using the Internet is hard enough, and so eliminating a potentially good mover because of their inability to ring a doorbell is not entirely good advice any more.
Thanks for reading.