My name is Louis & I am the sole proprietor of Lou Moves You…
Oh my god this sounds like the start of the worst LinkedIn business blog ever.
@$%& this #@$%. (Please excuse my language.)
Lemme start over.
There are a LOT of moving companies in New York and we’re competing with some pretty gigantic corporate moving companies.
Are we the best moving company in New York?
No.
I’ll never claim that.
And that company that says “The Perfect Move” — shut up. You know nothing.
There is no perfect move in New York City.
Moving in this city is insane.
You got cops dying to pull you over and write you some bullshit ticket. You got landlords looking to charge you $2,000 for a scratch on the wall that you may or may not have done. You got terrible neighbors sighing every time you’re bringing something up or down the stairs, propping the door open, using the elevator, whatever.
It’s pretty much impossible to have a perfect move.
But you can have a pretty good move.
And that’s kinda what we’re shooting for.
A pretty good move.
Most of the time.
Anyway, where am I going with this?
Oh yeah…
The other day I was going back and forth with a customer who was trying to get a cheaper rate. Yada yada. Totally normal.
They wrote back and told me another company offered them a pretty big discount and asked if I could convince them otherwise.
I said:
“Yeah go with them.”
“Lemme know how it goes.”
And then I got this text…
Look, I get it.
Moving is expensive. If someone says they can save you a few hundred bucks, obviously you’re gonna listen.
The problem is, we honestly give you our cheapest rate right off the jump.
It’s not like a car lot where we’re gonna go back and forth negotiating for three hours and then I gotta “talk to my manager.”
I am the manager.
And I’m a very bad capitalist.
I pay everyone too much and honestly probably charge too little, but what can ya do?
I grew up playing in punk bands. It’s just kinda built into me.
I’m friends with a bunch of moving company owners too and they’re all pretty good. When I see the corporate teams out there they’re usually nice guys.
So I’m not trying to say every other moving company sucks and we’re amazing.
Again…
We’re pretty good.
That’s the slogan I guess.
LOU MOVES YOU: WE’RE PRETTY GOOD.
Maybe I’ll put it on the vans.
Anyway.
Where was I?
Oh yeah. Cheap moving quotes.
Some moving companies bait and switch.
They lowball the rate because they know that’s the number you’re looking at when you’re comparing companies.
Then moving day comes and suddenly the foreman starts finding things to charge you for.
This is extra.
That’s extra.
Oh we didn’t know about this.
Oh that’s gonna cost more.
And the problem is, by that point, what the hell are you gonna do?
Your apartment is packed up. Your lease is ending. Half your shit might already be in their van.
If you want your stuff moved, you’re paying it.
That’s why we list our charges.
No fine print.
What’s included? What’s not?
And most of the “what’s not” stuff is because it’s a variable.
If you move on a non-peak moving day, it’s gonna be a little cheaper.
If the elevator breaks and we gotta use the stairs, it’s gonna be a little more.
If something weird happens — and something weird ALWAYS happens because this is New York — we’ll figure it out.
But there shouldn’t be some mystery charge we pull out of our ass once we have your couch hostage.
You’ll know what you’re getting charged for and why.
I had this one guy work for me.
Cool dude. Pretty good mover. Thought he’d fit right in.
We’re moving this super old dude. I mean this guy looked like he was gonna fall over at any moment.
His bed frame didn’t fit in the elevator, so we had to hunk the thing up like eight flights of stairs or something insane like that.
The customer had to pay an extra $80 or so according to our stair key.
And by the way, all stair money goes directly to the movers. I don’t take any of it.
So the guys got a few extra bucks each for doing something nobody wanted to do.
Feels pretty fair to me.
The new guy looks at me and goes:
“Are you kidding? At my other company we would’ve charged at least $300 for that.”
I’m like…
Where do you even come up with $300?
Seriously.
Why $300?
Why not $200?
Why not $700?
There was no formula.
They just made it up.
And that’s exactly the shit I’m talking about.
Anyway I’m rambling.
Today’s a holiday.
I think?
I have bowling reservations with my twins and I’m trying to get my work done before we head out for the day.
But I noticed a bunch of emails coming in this morning from people telling me they got a better price somewhere else.
And that’s fine!
Go with them.
Seriously.
I’m not gonna chase you around the internet trying to convince you that we’re the greatest moving company that’s ever existed.
Because we’re not.
We’re pretty good.
But the thing I want people to understand is that sometimes you didn’t actually get a better price.
You got a better quote.
There’s a big difference.
That’s exactly what happened to the person who sent me that text.
They got the big discount.
Then moving day came.
Except apparently they also got woken up at 6 AM.
So when someone tells me they found a company that’s dramatically cheaper than us, sometimes my answer really is:
Yeah, go with them. Lemme know how it goes.
Maybe they’re legitimately cheaper!
If they are, awesome.
But if somebody is quoting WAY below everyone else, just ask some questions.
Because once your shit is in the van, it’s a little late to start reading the fine print.
So, in the interest of not being completely full of shit, here’s our pricing.
No secrets.
No “call for details.”
No surprise $300 charge because your 97-year-old customer’s bed frame didn’t fit in the elevator.
Just what we charge.
How long will it take?
On average, 1 Trip Moves take around 2–4 hours for small to medium-sized moves.
2 Trip Moves are usually around 4–6 hours for larger moves.
Labor Only is usually 3 hours or less.
Could it take longer?
Absolutely.
Again…
New York City.
The stuff that costs extra
- $100 busy period charge from the 27th–2nd
- $55 Manhattan travel charge, including the congestion toll
- $85 travel charge for Jersey City, Staten Island and The Bronx
- Additional crew member: $30/hour
- COI: $60 for one, $90 for two
- Parking tickets: rare, but if we get one, it gets added to the bill
- Tolls and metered parking
- Stairs
Stairs
1 flight: Free
2 flights: $10/hour
3 flights: $20/hour
4 flights: $30/hour
5 flights: $40/hour
Basically $10/hour for every flight after the first.
And again, I don’t keep this money. It goes directly to the movers carrying your insanely heavy dresser up the stairs.
Tips
Tips go directly to the crew too.
We usually suggest around $50–$100 per mover.
$100+ per mover and you’re a legend.
The record is $350 per person.
Which is fucking insane.
In a good way.
Anyway, I really do have to go bowling now.
If you’re looking for the perfect move, I can’t help you.
But if you’re looking for a pretty good move with people who tell you what shit costs before they move it, give us a call.
That’s probably the best sales pitch I’ve got.
— Lou
