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  • Moving Pains

    My husband and I run our own furniture removals company. Most of our customers are wonderful, and from all walks of life.

    This week though we've been getting a batch of crazy.

    General Crazy:
    People who ring up for same day/ next day moves and then completely flip when they are told we're booked solid.
    I don't mind the late bookers because they help fill up cancellations and gaps, but I do mind when they flip their shit because we can't fit them in.
    They either plead "It's only a few things", argue "why not?" or ask for a recommendation [we don't do referrals after being burnt]. They also have a habit of swearing, or getting really upset: I HAVE TO MOVE TODAY, WHY WON'T YOU HELP ME!
    One even demanded we come within the next hour to help them move their furniture around the house so they could paint. I was called an unhelpful bitch for saying no.

    Special Crazy:
    Surprisingly enough, we understand that moving can be stressful. This one customer had a complete break with reality.
    Starts by leaving her crappy ikea bed together, and looking at the driver like he was nuts when he told her to pull it apart. Had she actually asked nicely, he would have done it for them as a favour [we don't do it for reals because of liability issues]. Instead she got all angry about not being told this over the phone, and what kind of company are we that we don't do disassembly?

    Next she ran out of tape when trying to secure her cupboards for loading - they were also cheap ikea ones, and were on the verge of falling apart. She lost it in another room and was cussing her head off about these "fucking cupboards and fucking removalists". When the offsider went to check on what was happening, she clammed up.

    She argued that we damaged her goods. The damage that was already on her items when we got there.

    She turned to her friend and said "all removalists are assholes".

    Walked up to the truck, looked at a cupboard and said "I don't know if that's mine..." and walked away before they could ask her about it.

    She argued about the charges, all of which were emailed 2 weeks prior.

    She never sent in her load list, then freaked out when we told her how long it would take, and that she couldn't put her disgusting dog house in the truck. I told her if she had sent through her load list when she was asked, this would have all been sorted.

    She then went full hysterical when it came time to pay. Called the drivers names, wanted the cupboard returned for free and denied ever commenting on it at the truck. Denied swearing up a storm about the cupboard, denied calling them assholes.

    Yelled at me for a total of 20 minutes about damages and the crew being mean. In the end I knocked off $80 just to get some money out of her. Otherwise the police would have been called, we would have been late to the next customer AND we'd have to pay $75 just to lodge a claim in small claims court and maybe get the money 6mths later.

    Then she arranged for a friend to complain to me and demand the owners details to complain. Did the whole "How dare you not believe me, I am the customer, I am always right!"

    I didn't tell her that the reason I believe the staff over her is because the driver is my husband of 10+ years, and the owner. I did tell her that we wanted to drive away when we saw she wasn't ready, but didn't out of courtesy.

    Her friend tried to explain away the customer's issues by saying that she was "stressed out by her baby and family, and that I should be more receptive to what was happening in her life."

    I lost it and ranted about stress, pointing out that I work 12hrs a day, 7 days a week, study full-time external at uni, have 2 close friends fighting cancer and I'm raising my family. That her stress was NO EXCUSE for swearing and insulting my staff, threatening not to pay and just being a complete bitch.

    Hilarious thing? We were recommended by THREE of her friends because of our excellent service.

    Second Crazy:
    A Prison psychologist who walked around with a kitchen knife and rang me saying she was scared for her safety and that the crew [inc my husband!] wanted to rape her. WTF doesn't even cover it.

    TL;DR - being a removalist is never boring, for all the wrong reasons.

  • #2
    When the customer starts being an SC, are you permitted to refuse services and offer a refund on the spot because of the SC's behavior?I understand you may have already written up a contract regarding moving the items, but you're the business provider and are expected to be professional. Just like restaurants reserve the right to refuse service, does this include other businesses? I would think it would be easier to lose a few bucks by giving the SC an extra amount back because of you inconveniencing them and not have to deal with the hassle of what you already dealt with once the truck has moved from the original location. I don't know anything about the ins and outs of moving companies, just sayin'...

    Comment


    • #3
      Funny, I never heard the term "removalist." It sounds like some extremist fringe political organization.

      Sadly, while the woman in the main story was way out of bounds and crazy, there are far more other people like her out there than you'd think... they are often the types who are pleasant under normal circumstances but once something stressful goes on, they turn into a complete monster, whether it's wedding planning, planning for baby, or moving, and she'll target her vitriol on anyone near her who has a pulse.
      Fiancee: We're going to need to do laundry. I'm out of clean pants.
      Me: Sounds like a job for Gravekeeper!
      Fiancee: What?!
      Me: Nevermind.

      Comment


      • #4
        Quoth emax4 View Post
        When the customer starts being an SC, are you permitted to refuse services and offer a refund on the spot because of the SC's behavior?I understand you may have already written up a contract regarding moving the items, but you're the business provider and are expected to be professional. Just like restaurants reserve the right to refuse service, does this include other businesses? I would think it would be easier to lose a few bucks by giving the SC an extra amount back because of you inconveniencing them and not have to deal with the hassle of what you already dealt with once the truck has moved from the original location. I don't know anything about the ins and outs of moving companies, just sayin'...
        I agree, maybe a clause in the contract about verbally harassing/physically assaulting/threatening employees/contractors of the removal company will render the contract void, your items will be dropped where they are and your money refunded minus the 'response' fee to cover gas. I think you are in your right to do that, and need to to stay sane and safe!
        "If anyone wants this old box containing the broken bits of my former faith in humanity, I'll take your best offer now. You may be able to salvage a few of em' for parts..... " - Quote by Argabarga

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        • #5
          Another clause to the contract should be that if they refuse to pay for services rendered that the amount owed doubles - in addition to the legal fees - due to the lengthy wait for payment that results from having to file a small claims case against them.

          Comment


          • #6
            I love it when someone wants to complain to the owner/management/higher-ups, and it just so happens that the person they want to complain about is the person they're trying to complain TO.
            "She didn't observe the cardinal rule: Don't F**K with people who handle your food"
            -Ryan Reynolds in 'Waiting'

            Comment


            • #7
              Quoth thehuckster View Post
              Funny, I never heard the term "removalist." It sounds like some extremist fringe political organization.
              I just pictured Jeremy Clarkson and his habit of tacking '-ist' onto any occupation that doesn't involve driving cars. (e.g. "lorry-ists" = "lorry/truck drivers")
              PWNADE(TM) - Serve up a glass today! | PWNZER - An act of pwnage so awesome, it's like the victim got hit by a tank.

              There are only Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse because I choose to walk!

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              • #8
                We are about to get our customers to sign terms and conditions before we start moving them. The downside is they don't pay until we finish, so if we don't complete the job, the odds of not seeing any money skyrockets. Plus the police get shitty when they are called to these sorts of things, and there is a chance it would make it on the news.
                Sometimes Aus sucks.

                We've only ever had one drive off in 3 years: There were people still asleep in the beds we were to move, nothing was ready and she had twice as much stuff as she quoted.
                She told me to "get fuck".
                Bogans.

                Comment


                • #9
                  IKEA is just fine if you don't plan to ever take it out of your house, but it does not move well. I told our movers to go ahead and move the computer desk, but as it's IKEA I'll understand if it doesn't survive. Oddly, that survived just fine but they knocked a chunk out of an antique hardwood dresser.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Quoth thehuckster View Post
                    Funny, I never heard the term "removalist." It sounds like some extremist fringe political organization.

                    *snip*
                    Or an enforcer from same ...

                    Quoth manybellsdown View Post
                    IKEA is just fine if you don't plan to ever take it out of your house, but it does not move well. I told our movers to go ahead and move the computer desk, but as it's IKEA I'll understand if it doesn't survive. Oddly, that survived just fine but they knocked a chunk out of an antique hardwood dresser.
                    Thanks for the warning! I expect to be moving some stuff in the not-too-distant future and one of the items is an Ikea bed. Another is a computer desk, not Ikea but the same type of furniture.

                    In all the moves I've done over my life, I've damaged more furniture myself than any mover.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Quoth JettGirl View Post
                      Special Crazy:
                      Surprisingly enough, we understand that moving can be stressful. This one customer had a complete break with reality.
                      Starts by leaving her crappy ikea bed together, and looking at the driver like he was nuts when he told her to pull it apart. Had she actually asked nicely, he would have done it for them as a favour [we don't do it for reals because of liability issues]. Instead she got all angry about not being told this over the phone, and what kind of company are we that we don't do disassembly?

                      Next she ran out of tape when trying to secure her cupboards for loading - they were also cheap ikea ones, and were on the verge of falling apart. She lost it in another room and was cussing her head off about these "fucking cupboards and fucking removalists". When the offsider went to check on what was happening, she clammed up.

                      She argued that we damaged her goods. The damage that was already on her items when we got there.

                      .
                      another suggestion to kurtail this kind of "claim" would be to either take still photos or video of the the items before the removal process (as in as they sit in the customers residence). Yes this might be a bit of a pain and cost a little time but in the end might save you some heartache in the long run.

                      I assume that you have in your standard contract details about your workers NOT disassembling assembling items at either end of the move.
                      I'm lost without a paddle and headed up SH*T creek.
                      -- Life Sucks Then You Die.


                      "I'll believe corp. are people when Texas executes one."

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Dang. Some of that IKEA furniture can be really heavy too. I should know, I had to assemble my bed all by myself. Between that and the bedside table, my arms felt like they were going to fall off.
                        Some people just need a high five...

                        In the face with the back of a chair....

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          You may want to consider changing the terms to be "50% down payment, 50% due upon completion". If the initial payment has not been made, don't pick up the items.

                          I strongly second the idea of photographing the items to be moved, before & after; use a camera that "prints" the time and date right on the image.

                          And yes, ALWAYS get a signed contract. The relatively small number of customers who may refuse to use your service because of that are the ones you don't want to deal with anyway (like your "discount so you will get paid at all" woman, above). A fair number of the remainder will likely be *happy* that your company is professional enough to work via a contract in the first place.
                          "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
                          "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
                          "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
                          "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
                          "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
                          "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
                          Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
                          "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

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                          • #14
                            My work likes to be fairly amicable, and rather fair with customers, but when we winterize boats, we take pictures of every little flaw we see. People have actually tried to claim we've wrecked their boat when we haven't.

                            We also have contracts, for rentals. It helps if you have a 3rd party to blame it on. Our insurance asks us to have the contract so it'll insure us, for example. (It's not US that doesn't trust you, it's THEM.)

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