NO, it’s not, and this is why:
Many people who are moving hire a trailer and ‘casual’ labour on the side of the road, maybe a couple of gardeners and a painter, at a rock-bottom price. Sure, because they’re only supposed to carry the heavy stuff, what could go wrong…?
FALSE PERCEPTION # 1:
If they’re big and strong, they won’t break it
Anything can break or tear; it has nothing to do with strength, but knowledge and experience. So it looks like it will fit, but what about the light fitting, or the arch-way that just isn’t high enough, or the expensive leather couch that can be ‘forced’ through a metal security gate. You can have the hardest-working, strongest guys carrying your heavy boxes of glassware, and the bottom can fall out of the box if it’s not supported underneath, or something really heavy can be packed on top of your breakables … “but I marked it ‘glass’” doesn’t count, unless the handler can read your ballpoint scribble while trying to show you how quickly he can work. He also needs to understand the consequences of putting it at the bottom of the pile because it’s bigger than the really heavy boxes of books… Knowing what’s in the box doesn’t tell just anyone how to handle it, and if you tell the guy who’s carrying it, that doesn’t mean the guy who’s packing the trailer will be told. It’s all team-work and training, seriously.
FALSE PRECEPTION # 2:
If it’s bubble-wrapped, it won’t crack
Most people are fascinated by bubble-wrap, even addicted to popping the bubbles (like a cat can leave a ball of wool unmolested with an enticing piece on the end like a tail, that moves…) Bubbles burst every time that piece of glass is picked up, you might as well wrap it with cellophane. Over-handling destroys the ability of the bubbles to protect your things and plastic is slippery too, like a bath-mat that’s smooth underneath with a layer of water on the floor – it’s just dangerous. I’ve supervised moves for clients where their kids just can’t resist popping the bubbles, and I mean all of the bubbles. The heavier the item, the quicker the plastic-covered air bursts on contact with hands, and if you have to put it down and pick it up again even once, forget the bubbles, and have you seen how easily that stuff just tears? There’s a technique to all of this, and if you are just someone who’s been hired off the street, how are you supposed to know not to touch the thing you’re supposed to carry on the very edge it’s to be loaded on? And if it’s usually put flat on a mattress, it will crack when the trailer goes over a pebble, let alone a pothole.
FALSE PERCEPTION # 3:
You just need to carry some heavy stuff, right?
Does your gardener know the maximum angle a fridge may not exceed while being carried, so that the gas doesn’t leak? Imagine a crew gets to the top of the stairs, and suddenly there’s just no-where to hold and gravity takes over? (I heard a story about a piano once) What about four guys carrying a washing machine at waist-level and one of them trips over a box or slips on a puddle? Or suddenly there’s just no space for everyone on the stairs when you get to the landing. Does your household contents insurance include a public liability clause? Think crushed toes. Think of a 4-drawer filing cabinet with all the drawers simultaneously opening. Think about the water on the floor when you disconnect the washing machine. Or worse, think pets and children… Accidents are more likely to happen at home. Hey, yeah, that box isn’t so heavy, let’s balance the sound-bar on top of it; you can handle the weight, but the angle going around the corner?
FALSE PERCEPTION # 4:
Just load the trailer and go, a couple of times…
So you load up the boxes to make space to move the heavy stuff, and do a couple of trips without anything falling off the top. Now you need to put your couch in upright so that you can get more than a couple of items onto the load-bed. Do you have enough ropes or straps to tie everything in securely, so that the fridge won’t fall on top of the glass coffee-table perhaps? How are you going to prevent the dishwasher door from being scratched? Or that brand new double-door fridge from being dented? So you think the guys can just stand there and hold everything in place while you drive? What a crushing blow to discover the damage afterwards, just from fingers and palms, if crushing and falling over isn’t involved, of course. Murphy’s Law will also have ensured that no-one removed the glass veggie drawer top-shelf or the microwave plate, and it’ll start raining, just when you load the beds and lounge suite.
So it’s a big open trailer, but you can’t load it very high like a closed truck. So you’ve done 3 trips and everyone is exhausted, it’s going slowly enough to make you want to scream, and the guys you hired to do the heavy work just can’t anymore. Muscles judder and things start to seem pretty grim, so you start phoning moving companies for help, but it’s too late to do an inventory list, get a quote and pay a deposit to secure your booking… It’s also month end and most of the reputable movers are fully booked.
FALSE PERCEPTION # 5:
‘Casuals’ are just labour for the day
They’re people, actually, and we don’t always know where they’ve been, what their motives are, or what they do when they’re not standing on the side of the road or lining up at the trailer rental yard. Not only do they see and assess your belongings, but also your security system and it’s vulnerabilities. So they know where you live, how to get in and what you’ve got… But you know nothing about them.
Now you’re committed, you’re not going to pay someone for a half-days’ worth of work and then drive around looking for another ‘casual’, when the first guy is tired, sick or gets hurt. So the rate may change, the people may leave you ‘high and dry’, you’re not in control after all. What about that box clearly marked ‘electronics’ or ‘DVD player’ – is it still there when they leave? Things don’t just fall off trucks, trailers too.
So you weren’t burgled a few days after your move and all’s good, but that pesky gardener keeps coming around asking for work. Yes, he has friends too, so maybe they’re not in the market for your big screen plasma yet, or they’re becoming your watch dog’s newest best friend first…