Moving in Edmonton and want a quality moving company without overpaying? Learn how to thoroughly compare options weighing factors like services.
The costs of relocating within Edmonton can add up fast between transportation fees, supplies, and elbow grease.
Choosing the wrong moving company piles painful financial insults onto injury through damages, delays, or bait-and-switch tactics.
However, not all movers are equal in quality and cost. By methodically comparing factors like base service pricing, insurance offerings, customer reviews, and professional certifications, you can confidently identify top-value services minimizing budget stresses.
Use this systematic process for contrasting edmonton moving company.
Step 1: Define Required Services
First, outline your specific moving needs determining required base services – are you primarily seeking loading help or also full transportation?
Only loading select items or entire house contents? Local or long distance? Storage or just direct delivery?
Compiling a Request For Proposal (RFP) documenting all base service requirements including:
- Locations being moved between with distances
- Estimated item quantities and weights
- Timing needs/deadlines
- Special handling needs (antiques, pianos, etc.)
With detailed expectations set, you can better compare bid apples-to-apples later.
Step 2: Research Options Extensively
Never go with the first mover you find advertised. Thoroughly research all available options through both online searches, physical phonebook listings and neighborhood referrals.
Compile a list of at least 5 potential movers. Visit their websites examining base offerings, credentials like licensure, and any unique capabilities called out.
Do their listed specialty services address your RFP needs? Or do you require lots of à la carte add-ons inflating costs? Finding alignment upfront streamlines quoting.
Step 3: Collect Quote Bids
With your RFP needs to be defined and target list movers identified, request binding quotes from each outlining total costs for delivering explicitly outlined services.
Specify you require fixed cost quotes, not vague time and material estimates vulnerable to sneak surcharges later.
Secure quotes in writing, not just verbally over the phone. Push for fully itemized breakdowns from each listing:
- Per-mile transportation fees
- Per staff members hourly labor rates
- Material charges like boxes/tape
- Taxes and insurance fees
- Any required deposits
Detailed quotes aid in equal comparisons.
Step 4: Verify Licenses, Insurance and Certificates
Before reviewing bid pricing differentials, first, validate that each mover holds essential qualifications legally permitting local services through checks like:
- State Licenses – Locate licenses on public databases confirming active and valid legal business status along with operating authorities.
- Insurance Certificates – Require movers to provide you certificates of insurance evidencing minimum liability coverages protecting your possessions in events of loss or damage.
- Industry Credentials – Search companies on databases like ProtectYourMove.gov recording complaints, enforcement actions, or disclosure of optional arbitration to confirm no glaring red flags.
This protects against rogue movers circumventing regulations.
Step 5: Compare Pricing Bids Apples-to-Apples
With due diligence completed validating legitimacy and service capabilities, now objectively contrast quotes pricing for identical baseline services needs to be outlined in your RFP.
Rule out any vastly overpriced bids diverging 25% or more from averaged peers. Also, beware of ultra-lowball bids which likely reflect bait pricing too good to be true.
For quotes clustered closer in range, convert itemized rates like hourly labor and transportation mileage to total job estimates based on your move requirements.
Does someone leverage slightly lower hourly team rates to beat a rival charging less per mile for example?
If still stuck between two equally matched bids, it may come down to tiebreaking with value-adds next.
Step 6: Assess Value-Adds and Reviews
For the few quotes still neck-in-neck on base pricing, further differentiate by comparing ancillary value-adds included like:
- Insurance offerings – some bundle basic liability and cargo insurance in base quotes whereas others charge hefty add-ons for any coverage against mishaps.
- Packing supplies – some movers provide boxes, tape, and packing paper whereas others stick you with sourcing everything yourself.
- Extra labor promises – guaranteed arrival times or numbers of staff dedicated could impact the experience.
- Rewards benefits – customer referral programs or discount clubs add long-term value.
Also compare online review scores and grievance ratios looking closely at complaints about bait-and-switch schemes, damage claims, or poor communication.
Select whoever best bundles attractive value-adds that complement core services required at the lowest net cost.
*Pro Tip: Avoid choosing different movers for piecemeal handling packing versus transportation or storage if possible – disjointed handoffs frequently cause issues.*
Step 7: Confirm Details and Initialize
With the most value-packed mover aligning with itemized needs and the budget selected, circle back confirming scheduled dates, deliverables, itemized costs, and points-of-contact across loading, transportation, unloading, and invoicing.
Secure firm commitments around what vehicles/staff appear so you safeguard promises made.
Prepay any deposits required by the deadline ensuring you lock in the booking. Reconfirm the pick-up window in advance then track progress throughout the job until all possessions are accounted for safely in a new location.
Follow this rigorous process requiring upfront needs analysis, extensive options research, apples-to-apples quote comparisons, value-add evaluations, and confirmation procedures when selecting local Edmonton movers.
Doing diligence avoids deficient services undercutting special memories attached to household possessions making each move more bearable. Know precisely what to analyze attracting an optimal fit.
