Compare Movers and Prices
How To - Before Moving

For Moving Vendors: Tips to Help Your Customers Feel at Ease

Help Your Customers

Although the moving industry may feel like a world of practicalities and logistics, it is still a customer-facing business — meaning, a service industry. Customer service is incredibly important, and making a few small adjustments in your approach can have a significant impact on the success of your business. Use our tips to help your word-of-mouth reputation go from good to great and wow and help your customers, every time.

Manage Expectations

Your crews manage moves every day, but most of your customers only move once every seven years. That means many of the things that seem “normal” to a mover may appear strange, concerning, or complex for a customer that doesn’t fully understand the what and why and how of moving. Your customers rely on your experience and expertise to make recommendations and explain the process because they simply might not know any better. How can you treat them accordingly with patience and kindness?

  • Find out what your customers expect – If your customer has worked with a different company in the past or has spent significant time researching the moving process online, they may come to the table with specific ideas about what will happen and how. Explain to them what they can expect when working with your company, taking the time to highlight what is (and isn’t) included.
  • Talk them through the timeline of the day – Frequently customers will underestimate the time it will take to pack and move an entire home, so they may expect the job to be quicker than is realistic for the size of the move. Packing a large home can take most of the day and parking the truck in metro areas can take 45 minutes by itself. What looks like a quick 3-hour job to a customer might really be an all-day affair. Make your customers feel respected by giving them a good sense of what to expect from the day so they can breathe a little more easily.
  • Ask if you can help them with anything else – They may not know about other services your company offers that can fill their existing needs, like temporary storage, professional packing, disassembly & reassembly, or art crating. You could bring in extra revenue, they can get all of their needs taken care of in one stop, and everyone is happier.

Be Available to the Customer

When a customer decides to hire a moving company, they want answers and certainty as soon as possible. Unanswered phone calls and inquiries are one of the main reasons that customers cancel their move — especially if they booked online. Stay on top of emails and voicemails and return inquiries within half a business day. Customer behavior shows that if replies take any longer than 24 hours, you’ve probably lost the customer.

For urgent questions regarding an upcoming move, reply as soon as possible. Create a team devoted to supporting booked customers — answering their questions, securing address details (like a certificate of insurance requirements), and preparing them for their move. Personal contact is imperative, and is the best way we know how to help your customers and put them at ease!

Communicate Clearly and With Kindness

In emails, phone calls, and all written communications use complete sentences with proper grammar. If a customer asks a long, thought-out question, take the time and effort to answer it completely. One-word answers like “Yes”, “Sure,” “OK”, or “No” can make them feel unappreciated.

Work with your team to review and edit automated replies or outgoing messages to be sure they sound friendly and inviting. Make sure to always address customers by name and take a second to tell them yours. If you contact a customer from an email address that several team members use, sign your name at the bottom so they know who they’re talking to. It makes a huge difference and makes customers feel comfortable. You would be surprised how many customers stick with companies that seem friendly, remember their names, and personalize the experience. When choosing the person/s to answer the phones or reply to the emails, be sure to select from those who are friendly and excel at customer service, and your company will gain a reputation for being personable as well as efficient movers.

Good communication is an easy way to help your customers and make them feel valued. These are simple ways to step your business practices up a notch and make your business a success. Relay these practices to your entire team, and your moving company will be well on its way to a highly successful way of operating!

About the author

Unpakt Team