For the .00004321% of this board that doesn’t know this yet, I’m moving across the country. The people packing our house come tomorrow and Wednesday, and our stuff gets loaded on the truck Thursday. So far, every person I’ve mentioned this to has told me to watch out, the packers will steal us blind.
Sooooo… will they? Anyone here done this kind of move before? Mr. Athena and I will be here while they pack. What can we do to keep this from happening? Watch them like hawks? Insist they empty their purse/pockets/backpacks when they enter and leave our house? This really sucks, I had envisioned being able to blissfully work at my computer while reliable, honest people pack my house up.
(for what it’s worth, my jewelry has already been removed from the bedroom and Mr. Athena is keeping it in his briefcase, which will be watched while people are in the house. Liquor has been packed up already as well. I’m not sure what else they’d want to steal - my old t-shirts? kitchen knives? CDs/Music is already in boxes that I’ll run downstairs and seal right now.)
Imagine you are a mover. You see something of value that you could easily pocket and walk away with, knowing that the person whose stuff you are packing wouldn’t notice until they were clear across the country.
However, you also realize that the person will remember which company moved his or her stuff. The company will remember who packed the stuff. Either the thing of value will not be missed, in which case you are ahead, or else you and/or other people in your crew will be accused of it, and possibly fired and/or jailed. Would it be worth it to you?
I’ve had professional movers shlep my crap from one place to another six times in the last eight years, involving at least twenty-five packers, unpackers and movers (from house to van or vice versa). Never lost a thing. Not even a wad of cash that I had accidentally left in a dresser drawer or so much as one of my several hundred CDs (I have a database, so I know if something goes missing). And lord knows, when you’ve got an entire shipping crate full of nothing but books, the movers have plenty of reason to be pissed at me.
So keep the jewelry safe, just because it’s a good idea anyway, and sealing the CDs is okay, but don’t hover over them. I usually spend most of the time sitting on my porch with a cigarette and a book, occasionally walking around just to see what they’ve moved so far and make sure they aren’t mistreating my life-size picture of Penn and Teller.
I agree with stankow I’ve been moved by movers 5 times in the last ten years. The last move, I caught one guy (I think the moving company hired a temp) drinking a beer that was warm and had been on the porch for about 6 months. I called the moving company and they removed him from the job. Aside from that, everything I’ve moved has gotten to the arrival point, usually with minimal damage.
You do want to pay close attention if you have any good furniture or items that you want to arrive with out dents or scratches. Inspect it with the mover when the load it up and when they take it off the truck. Look at things closely for damage.
I’ve never had a problem with the packers. I assume that you’re using a reputable national moving company. Although they do often hire day laborers, they have a reputation to maintain.
One caution though. They don’t necessarily pack the way you would. (at least the way I would.) Although they go room by room, you’ll find unrelated stuff boxed together because efficiency to them means having stuff that fits and fills boxes. If there’s enough space in the box and nothing in that room fits, they’ll likely fill that space with whatever fits. While you’re unpacking you may think that things are missing when they’re actually just packed with stuff from another room.
Hope your move is successful.
We moved from Hawaii to Washington in May.
The movers shouldn’t be carrying bags or packages of any kind, so you won’t have to worry about searching them or making them empty anything out. Our packers and unpackers both had only a clipboard and some papers for us to sign.
If they do bring in a bag, ask them to leave it in their truck. And if later you’re suspicious of a bulge under someone’s shirt or in someone’s back jeans pocket, I don’t think you’d be out of line asking them to show you what they have hidden away. This is, after all, your home, and it’s your possessions being taken away.
Anything very valuable or irreplaceable should stay with you. Don’t entrust everything to the movers. I kept important documents, jewelry, and photos separate, and packed them with my purse when I left. Remember, it is possible that something very bad could happen to your stuff, so anything you don’t want to risk losing forever should not be packed and should stay with you.
I recommend you be around and supervise the movers as they work. If they have any questions about packing items, you can answer them. If you supervise the process, you’ll see for yourself that things are packed in good, working condition, and this may be important should something be damaged in transit. Your presence will also be a deterrent to any packer who might have sticky fingers.
You don’t have to sit ten feet away and stare at the guys. Walk around, see if any of them want water or lemonade, or grab a book and read in some out-of-the-way corner. But be around.
Good luck on your coming move. Hope it all goes smoothly.
Yeah, I’ve been moved several times, and only once did I have anything stolen. I’m not sure if civilian companies regularly do this, but in the military, they fill out an inventory sheet for the contents of each box, so if it’s not on that sheet, you can’t prove that you owned it, or that it was supposed to be packed. Anything you have that is small, and easily taken, I’d be in the room to watch it get packed. As Audrey said, you don’t have to hover over them, but just sort of wander around and keep an eye on things. The last few times, I’ve had a friend over, so we could watch different parts of the house. Because they don’t always go room by room, but a large team will all take different rooms to make the packing go faster. Good luck, and I’m sure it will be fine.