How much furniture do you move?

How much furn do you move?

  • Everything (including heavy items above)

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jtsunbrite

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Sep 4, 2015
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jeff kessler
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Side note. For me a swivel wand eliminates a lot furniture moving since it can lay flat and get under so many items. Not everything, but a lot things.
Have you made a video of the swivel wand in action yet? with furniture,,,, and can we see the tabs you sell and what sort of Styrofoam blocks?

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Allied

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Jun 18, 2013
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Simon Bolivar
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My two day notice email through HCP lets them know they are responsible for clearing out areas to be cleaned. I will on occasion move stuff for free for folks who can't due to physical limitations...elderly, disabled etc.


If you are abled bodied I will charge according to the amount of furniture.
 
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Luky

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Nov 29, 2013
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Marian Lukacisin
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Side note. For me a swivel wand eliminates a lot furniture moving since it can lay flat and get under so many items. Not everything, but a lot things.

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Roger that. I would like to get one from you in exchange for Prochem Ti Ergo. I have no problem with 1.5" tube , 4 jet would be my preference, but will settle for 2 jet. I believe it would be a fair trade. Don't worry, is not the same one I bonded about 1 year ago.
I'm waiting .To make a deal sweeter, I let you send me 1 case of your secret products of your choice....
Thank you....
 

Luky

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There's absolutely no benefit to moving furniture, it puts you at risk, more time on project and ultimately is a waste of time if the furniture is going right back. NOONE WILL SEE CLEAN CARPET UNDER THE FURNITURE. This isn't rocket science. Your house, your furniture, you move it before I get there. Understand it can't be in my way while cleaning and NO you can't move it back till the carpet dries. Have a ever lost a client over this policy. NOPE. Why make your life more difficult.
I agree with Rob on this one. Throughout our journey we've moved more furniture than we like to. Don't you hate when you have to move sofa carrying all of the miscellaneous items weighing half a ton?It's really hard to reach a consensus on everything going on in the house. Questions like: can you start working in the basement , my daughters are taking nap in bedroom upstairs.... are giving you an opportunity to adjust on the go. Our role is not only to provide great service, we have to be a diplomats, good listeners and over all, great human beings able to show a lot of empathy. Often times we're not rewarded for all we do....
Move or not to move issue is old as carpet cleaning industry itself and is not going away anytime soon....
 
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wandwizard

Randy Dockins
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Nov 12, 2008
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I live in a fairly small town. Truck mounted cleaning has been around here for probably over 40 years easily. I don't know how many of the services in the area move furniture, but enough do that some customers have grown to expect it. In other words, if I refuse to move furniture I WILL NOT get the job plain and simple. I also WILL NOT talk them out of it. That won't fly around here, period.

Over the years I placed restrictions on what I will and will not move and I'm firm on that. I also have placed some of the burdens of moving BACK ON THE CUSTOMERS. Believe me that changes things. Btw, I'm a sq. ft. pricer and I give estimates, especially when furniture moving is involved. I simply couldn't function here with per room pricing which is how I started out back in 87.

There is liability involved when moving furniture so you MUST place restrictions on it if you do it or it will bite you in the rear!
 
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Lars

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Apr 8, 2011
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Lars Crampton
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Typically we move smaller items. Most customers understand we can’t move everything. But certain customers want everything moved. I just don’t want to be responsible for someone’s bed that falls apart because we moved it and then we are upside down on the job.
 
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wandwizard

Randy Dockins
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The best solutions for beds and there are more than one, is to simply have the customer pull the mattress and box springs and put the frame on sliders if needed. Some beds simply cannot be moved and if the customer is not willing to at least do that I may not be able to help them. I will on occasion pull them out myself, clean under the bed and put them back, but that's pretty rare for me.

I also started insisting customers pull all the drawers out of chests and dressers if they're too heavy to easily be moved and blocked. Sometimes they decide they don't want that 500 lb. dresser cleaned under as bad as they thought. :) Another problem piece is china cabinets. I insist it is empty or I won't touch it.
 
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rob allen

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The best solutions for beds and there are more than one, is to simply have the customer pull the mattress and box springs and put the frame on sliders if needed. Some beds simply cannot be moved and if the customer is not willing to at least do that I may not be able to help them. I will on occasion pull them out myself, clean under the bed and put them back, but that's pretty rare for me.

I also started insisting customers pull all the drawers out of chests and dressers if they're too heavy to easily be moved and blocked. Sometimes they decide they don't want that 500 lb. dresser cleaned under as bad as they thought. :) Another problem piece is china cabinets. I insist it is empty or I won't touch it.
Randy you need a swivel wand man!
 
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awratchford

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Jun 9, 2014
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Sounds like alot of extra manual labor for what....a few extra dollars. Not for me. I flat out refuse. I'm not killing my back or my knees and wearing myself out because some OCD bored house wife wants under her China cabinet cleaned. Call a mover, do it yourself. If it's a insurance claim, I get great money to pay a moving company to do it. They get paid, I get 20% o&p to sit and watch....work harder or work smarter
 

mrotto

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Good timing! I have a job tomorrow for a well known retired doctor that lives on the river. They have it cleaned every other year. Lots of tables, chairs, etc to move. Carpet cleaning will be 60% of the ticket and furniture moving 40% I will be at that house all day. I wont "break my back" because its mostly just small stuff. Maybe I'm old fashioned but to me its just part of customer service.
 

mike$

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May 29, 2014
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brandon Dre
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I explain to customer that we are cleaning open or exposed areas only. There are two reasons for this #1 nobody is walking beneath our spilling beneath your dresser. #2 our insurance company is strict with our policy. We are insured as a cleaning company and if we move anything above 40 pounds or electronics they will not cover us. Never had a customer turn us away.
 
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wandwizard

Randy Dockins
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Randy you need a swivel wand man!
I have a swivel wand for a number of years, but it's not a perfect solution IMHO. Sure helps a lot, but not every time. Often the area in bedrooms is too close quarters to bend down far enough for a swivel under a bed.

Here's an example. Thanks to your UV flashlight my customer decided to let me go into her son's bedroom even though she hadn't planned on cleaning it. I had already found lots of urine elsewhere. No visible urine stains anywhere but the UV told a totally different story. Both a dog and a cat had been peeing in that bedroom. Guess where some of the urine wound up? Around the bedposts and even way under a dresser as well as other places. I used sliders on that particular bed so I could treat the areas where the bed's legs sat. It wasn't a big deal even though it was a pretty large bed it wasn't that hard to move. Since I already had it out I cleaned all the way under the bed as well as the dresser. Swivel was useless on that particular job. Sliders made the job fairly simple and easy.
 

Jeff Marek

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Aug 24, 2012
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First and foremost we are a carpet cleaning company, not movers, I agree with one of the responses above, how dirty can the carpet be if it’s covered?!
Second, the liability factor, injuries or damage to a customers furniture could cause higher insurance premiums.
Third, increases the amount of time we need to do a typical job. I’m 56 years old, and it would wear on me by the end of the day!!
Lastly, we don’t completely rule it out, but our price for moving larger furniture is steep!!
 

crash1big

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Mar 18, 2011
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Marlan Brown
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It's all about customer service for me. Some home owners like to have every square inch cleaned. Who am I to tell them they don't need to worry about under the furniture. I try not to have an opinion one way or another when it comes to what a customer wants. If they want a rocket ship built; I'll build it; but I get paid for it.

As a general rule we will move furniture as long as it is not excessive. Large items like beds, pianos, hutches, entertainment centers; we move them but there is an up-charge. Some have us move them; some don't. Doesn't matter to me; I'm there for the customer.

Having been in business for over 35 years I find that it is harder for customers to find someone they like and trust. When we solve little problems for them like; moving furniture; they really appreciate our effort. Not only do we get a call back; but referrals too.
 
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PistolPete

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Sep 28, 2014
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Peter Dymond
Interesting discussion.
I usually ask the customer when I do the estimate "What are you going to do with the furniture?"
Most of the time they say, oh we'll deal with it. I usually tell them if they need a hand with a large or heavy piece then wait for me and I will help, because I have some sliders and mover equipment.
If they say, I thought that was included, then I say there's a $150 up charge because I will have to bring a helper.
Sometimes you just 'know' that a customer expects white glove service, and then you give them just that, and charge accordingly.
 

randyisscott

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May 24, 2021
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Randy Scott
You can call up United and several other van lines and get a quote from each, if you want to go professionally. It all depends on how much furniture you've got, Couches, armchairs, and side tables galore! There are so many different pieces of furniture out there that it’s enough to make your head spin.
 

Xgemone123

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May 15, 2021
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Adam Smith
You can call up United and several other van lines and get a quote from each, if you want to go professionally. It all depends on how much furniture you've got, Couches, armchairs, and side tables galore! There are so many different pieces of furniture out there that it’s enough to make your head spin.
Or rent a UHaul from
vpsmart.co.uk, pack it yourself, and drive north, getting a second person to drive the car. Or if you're alone, UHaul rents trailers to tow your car behind the moving van.
In either case, the cost of the move is tax deductible against your Canadian income taxes, assuming you're living in canada.
Thank you for advice