If this has happened to you, YES!
Our team will do everything we possibly can to help you – stop reading this blog and call us right this minute! We will check our availability and rush a quote over to you.
Why did my moving company cancel last minute?
Unfortunately, this is not totally uncommon. It happens.
The moving industry is a lot like the airline industry in numerous ways – for example, moves are priced based on availability or timing. More popular days and times would cost more than unpopular days and times. So in the same way flying on a Friday during the summer would cost you more than flying on a Tuesday in February, moving on a Saturday, at the end of the month, or during the summer would likely cost more.
One of the unfortunate ways the moving industry can be like the airline industry is with overbooking.
Many moving companies, even nationwide, popular and well-known moving companies, will overbook on purpose.
They do this to ensure business – people often change moving dates or cancel for any number of reasons, so these companies want to make sure that their crews are out and busy whenever possible.
The problem with this is, sometimes everyone keeps their moving date.
As the date creeps closer, the moving company will start looking at their jobs, determine which ones are the biggest or most profitable, and start asking smaller moves or lower-paying jobs if they’re willing to push their move a day or two.
If no one is willing or able to move their date, they will simply cancel one or more of the lower-level moves. To them, it’s worth it to make sure they don’t have an idle crew. In addition to that scenario, they could also not be accounting for lack or loss of crew members or truck issues, which can be an industry wide struggle.
If you’re screening local moving companies ahead of time, you may want to ask about their policy on this – if they don’t give a direct, “no, we don’t overbook moves,” it may be a red flag. Or you can ask them what they do in the event of an emergency or challenge on the day of and see if there’s a general contingency plan or practice that they have.
Does MoveDay overbook moves?
It is absolutely wrong, and a nightmare scenario for many customers. It’s one of the many reasons that people are stressed out by moving or have a negative impression of moving companies.
While we absolutely do not overbook for any reason, we do get quite a few panicked calls from customers after their moves have been canceled a few days ahead of time or even day-of.
Because of the size of our local moving company, as well as the backing of our parent company Suddath, we have some flexibility and can often help out with last minute moving scenarios. With our virtual survey technology, we can quickly take an assessment of your items, get you a quote, and put our crew into action.
This also means that we wouldn’t need to cancel on you for reasons such as a crew member shortage or a truck breaking down. Because of our resources and backing, we are able to handle this issue on our end, and still come through on our commitment to you.
What are some legitimate reasons my move would be canceled by a local moving company?
What are some legitimate reasons my move would be canceled by a local moving company?
- Natural disaster or other extra-ordinary event that makes it impossible to move (it would be rescheduled)
- An unsafe environment in your home for our crew members
- It is possible that if there’s unforeseen circumstances on your (the customer’s) end, and a significant change in the scope of the service, that we may need to adjust the plan or dates required to properly service your move.
MoveDay and our parent company, Suddath, has over 100 years of local moving experience – we have seen it all, and moved it all in that time.
However, one area where we draw a line is when it comes to safety. If a home is determined by the moving lead to be excessively unclean (to the point of being a biohazard) or unsafe, we are within our rights and values to cancel the move.
An example of an unsafe environment is one where our packing or moving crew cannot safely navigate the home due to clutter or the amount of items in the home.
In almost every scenario, this would be caught by the virtual survey. We would decline the move before ever booking it.
Another example of an unsafe environment is if the customer is harassing or threatening the crew, either verbally or physically.
Moving can be stressful, and we train our employees and crew members in how to deal with customer’s stress constructively. Our team rarely has issues where it comes to the point where it becomes unresolvable, but if it does, they would pause the move to reach out to upper management to try to problem solve with the customer.
My movers didn’t show up on moving day
Having movers who don’t show up ON moving day is incredibly stressful and a fear for many people.
That is why we created personal customer portals, so not only will you be able to confirm everything the day before, communicate with your move manager, but you’ll be notified when your crew sets out for your house, and their ETA. This way, if your movers are delayed by traffic, for example, that will be communicated to you in real time, and you won’t be worried.
However, if you didn’t book MoveDay the first time around, and your movers are a no-show, you need to find a quick solution.
Of course, we recommend calling us. Hopefully, we are able to quickly survey your items through virtual survey via Yembo and can get you a fast quote and a crew out to you.
Depending on the size of your home and how much you need done that day, we may be able to accommodate you. If it’s a smaller move, or you just need to be out by the end of the day, often we have crews that finish smaller jobs in the morning and can come start your move that afternoon. Sometimes it works out that way, and other times we have to get more creative.
You’ll need to let us know immediately your moving timeline – if your move date is flexible, for example if you can move the next day or the day after, that will be the most helpful for everyone involved.
However, if you need a same-day, urgent solution, there are a few ways we can approach it.
- If we have a free crew and truck, we can send them over as soon you agree to our services
- We can provide labor-only services if we don’t have a truck immediately available
- We can help store your items temporarily until we can deliver them to your new home – unlike many storage companies, you’ll only pay for the storage time that you need, not locked into their terms (a full month, for example)
One of MoveDay’s main tenants is being flexible to your needs – no matter what you need from us, we’ll try to adjust on our end, or inform and educate you on the best approach based on your needs or challenges. So if you want to get a rented truck and just need help loading it, we can do that just as well as rolling out our complete packing, moving and storage services.
Do you need help moving locally? Contact us for a quote now.
