Category Archives: Operations & Customer Service

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How To Deal With Negative Online Reviews

Keep Your Customers Happy and Protect Your Reputation

As hard as you try to do a great job for your customers, you may still end up with a negative online review here and there. How you deal with that review will determine your customer’s satisfaction and your company’s online reputation. In this week’s episode, I share with you 5 steps to deal with negative online reviews so they don’t damage your company’s reputation.

5 Steps To Deal With Negative Online Reviews for Your Moving Company:

  1. Set up review notifications from all review sites – If you’re unaware of the review there’s nothing you can do to resolve it. Set up notifications from all of the review sites to send you an email as soon as you receive a review. This way you can work to resolve the negative complaints and celebrate the positive reviews.
  2. Call and email customer – When you get a negative online review your goal should be to resolve the issue ASAP. The best way to do that is to get the customer on the phone to discuss their problem. If they don’t answer, leave a message and then email them letting them know you want to make things right.
  3. 5 step complaint resolution process – As with all customer complaints you want to follow the 5 step complaint resolution process. Don’t take it personal, seek to understand, be timely and responsive, resolve the complaint, correct internally. For a deeper explanation on this process check out this post: 5 Steps for Moving Companies to Resolve Customer Complaints
  4. Your goal is to get the review to 5-stars or removed – Hopefully, you are able to resolve the customer’s issue and make them happy. Once you do, ask them if they would be willing to remove the review or modify it to a more positive one.
  5. Reply publicly – You should not be trying to resolve the issue publicly. Resolve it privately with the customer and then you can always respond publicly so that everyone else can see how you addressed the complaint.

Your online reputation is crucial to the success of your business. Make sure that you make protecting it a priority.

Watch the video above for the full episode.

Like this episode? Please share it! My blog and videos are ad-free ONLY because you share my work!

How can I help? What challenges are you facing in your business? What areas could you use some tips in?

Leave me a comment below and I will be more than happy to get back to you or post a video on the topic.

Follow Louis on Instagram for daily tips and motivation to grow your moving company.

Full Transcript 

[The following is the full transcript of this episode.]

Hey, my friend. It’s Louis Massaro, CEO of Moving Mastery and founder of Moving Sales Academy. What do you do when you get a negative online review? I know you go out there every day and you try your best to do a great job for your customers, but what happens when they go online and express their dissatisfaction with your company? When they go on and complain, and just… Whether it’s Yelp or Google reviews or moving reviews or wherever it is, how do you handle it to make sure that, A, you could address the issue, and B, let it have as minimum impact on your company as possible? Alright. So I wanna go through five steps to help walk you through how to handle it when you get an online review, when you get a negative online review. Alright. Well, first thing you need to do is you need to set up review notifications on all review sources. So whether that’s Yelp, Google, any other place where a customer can go leave a review, you need to make sure that you get notifications to your email immediately when it happens, so that it does not linger out there where you’re unaware of it. If you’re not getting notifications, a bad review could sit there for quite a while and you’re not even aware of it. And if you’re not aware of a problem, you can’t solve a problem. We talked about that in the video on awareness board. So make sure that you have the notifications coming to your email from all review sites. Alright.

Second thing is, now that you… Once you get a negative review, first thing you wanna do is identify who the customer is, which sometimes is not always easy to do, the name on the move might not be the name that they use on Yelp or on Google or whatever it is. But if you’re able to identify who they are, you wanna call and email that customer. This is the first thing you wanna do. You don’t wanna start replying to them publicly, privately. You wanna call them, is the first step. If they don’t answer, you definitely wanna leave a message and then follow up with an email. Alright? You wanna resolve the issue before you start worrying about how it looks online. Alright? So get them on the phone, then once you get them on the phone, you’re gonna wanna walk them through the five-step complaint resolution process. We talked about this in a previous video on resolving complaints. Basically, don’t take it personal, step number one. Seek to understand, be timely and responsive, resolve the complaint, and then correct internally. Let me just go through that real quick so that you get it.

Don’t take it personally. They may slander you online, they may really bash your company, and maybe even you individually online. You can’t take it personally. Get them on the phone, seek to understand what their problem is, make sure you’re timely responsive. So as soon as you get that review, get them on the phone. Alright. If you tell him you’re gonna call him back, call them back right away, okay? Then resolve the complaint. Don’t let it linger. Don’t just let it sit out there and hope that it’ll go away. You need to work to resolve it, and then always come back and correct it internally. What caused this to happen? How can we prevent this from happening again? That type of thing. That’s the five steps to resolving complaints, customer resolution. Number four, know that your goal, after you resolve their issue and take care of the problem, is to get that review to either five stars or removed. Okay? You wanna talk to the customer, you wanna resolve their problem. Hopefully, it’s just a small misunderstanding and you’re able to work through it. And then you wanna ask them like, “What can we do to change this around and make our service a five-star service?” You wanna work to get that review increased in stars. Alright. Don’t be afraid to ask them to give you a higher rating based on the resolution. Don’t be afraid to ask them to remove the review entirely.

This is something Yelp doesn’t want you doing, but you know what, this is your company we’re talking about. And if you resolve their issue and they’re happy with it, ask for an increased star rating or ask them to remove the review. Okay? Then, and only then, after you’ve resolved the issue, you publicly reply. Okay. So if the review doesn’t come off, whether they don’t change the star rating or whether they do change the star rating, whatever the case may be, you wanna make sure that everyone else that comes to that page sees how you replied to them, sees how you handled it. So now, if you’ve already resolved the issue, your response can be something like, “Well, thank you so much. I’m glad we were able to resolve this issue for you,” and state that there was a resolution to it. Now, the only time that you wanna make sure… You don’t wanna just reply to them publicly first and foremost, right? You’re gonna call, but sometimes you might not be able to identify who they are based on the move. You don’t really… There’s not enough detail in the complaint for you to know who it was. You weren’t aware of any issue.

If you can’t get them on the phone and you can’t get them to reply to an email from you within a day max, then you reply to them on the site itself, whether it’s Yelp or whatever else, privately. You send them a private message, because remember, the goal is to get them on the phone. The goal is to find out what happened so that you can resolve the issue and then, and only then, if you can’t get them on the phone, if you cannot… You’ve tried, you’ve sent private messages, you’ve called them, you’ve emailed them, then you could reply publicly to try to let everyone else know that you’ve attempted to get ahold of this customer. You’re not sure who they are. Please call you, give them your direct number so that they can reach you to resolve the issue. And this way, anyone else that’s looking at it will be able to see that they’re making an attempt. Okay. Because not all reviews are… Sometimes they’re not real reviews. Sometimes it might be your competition, unfortunately, putting a bad review out there for you. Okay? So attempt to reach out to them, attempt to resolve the issue. Go through the five steps of resolving customer complaints. I’ll put the link down below. If you haven’t seen that video, definitely watch that video. And they’re gonna happen.

Do everything you can to make sure that you’re eliminating complaints in general, but the best thing you can do is jump on top of them, deal with them, be proactive, resolve it, try to get it removed or try to increase the star rating, and keep doing your thing. Alright? I hope this was helpful. Until next week. Go out there every single day, profit in business, thrive in life. I’ll see you later.

 

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Mover Recruiting Process [Download]

Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) For Hiring Movers

Movers are the most important part of your business. Without great movers performing the moves, all your sales and marketing efforts will be irrelevant. You also don’t want the lack of good movers to be the reason you can’t scale your business. It’s important to have a mover recruiting process as a standard operating procedure. When you need to hire movers to handle your increased workload, you can’t waste time. You need a step by step process to get it done quickly and efficiently. 

In all areas of your moving company, it’s important that you have “SOP’s”, standard operating procedures. These are a set of processes for how your company handles each function step by step. In the video above, I’m sharing with you my SOP for Recruiting and Hiring Movers.

The idea of having these procedures written out in advance is so that when the time comes to hire, no one needs to think about what to do. It’s already been thought out ahead of time. Do you ever have employees that “don’t do what they’re supposed to do”? What if they had step by step written instructions on what to do, with no room for misinterpretation? That’s what having Standard Operating Procedures will do for your company.

In my previous post 5 Keys To Hiring Movers For Your Moving Company, I talked about the importance of having a mover recruiting process. In this week’s episode, I explain exactly what I mean when I talk about a mover recruiting process.

You can download a copy of my Standard Operating Procedure for Recruiting and Hiring Movers for FREE here.

This is an example of how detailed SOP’s should be. When creating your SOP’s don’t worry so much about the design, focus on writing out the step by step process for how to perform each function in your company. Don’t feel like you need to create them all at once either, start with one at a time and build on that.

What areas of your business would benefit the most from your staff knowing EXACTLY what to do? Dispatching crews in the morning, scheduling on-site estimates, reconciling your cash receivables?

If you want to scale your business and have it run smoothly, having set processes is crucial. Feel free to use my SOP for Recruiting and Hiring Movers as a template. You can DOWNLOAD a Free copy HERE.

Watch the video above for the full episode.

Like this episode? Please share it! My blog and videos are ad-free ONLY because you share my work!

How can I help? What challenges are you facing in your business? What areas could you use some tips in?

Leave me a comment below and I will be more than happy to get back to you or post a video on the topic.

Follow Louis on Instagram for daily tips and motivation to grow your moving company.

 

Full Transcript
[The following is the full transcript of this episode.]

Hey my friend, it’s Louis Massaro, CEO of Moving Mastery, and founder of Moving Sales Academy. Recently, I did a video about the five keys to hiring movers for your moving company. And one of those keys was to create a mover recruiting process. And since then, I’ve been getting a ton of questions on, “What does a mover recruiting process look like?” So what I’m gonna do with you today, is I’m gonna share with you my standard operating procedure, my SOP, for recruiting and hiring movers. This is the same standard operating procedures we used in our company when we needed to hire somebody. I’m gonna share this with you today. We’re gonna go ahead, and we’re gonna go through this, and I’m gonna give you the steps that you need to take for part of your mover recruiting process.

Essentially, this is how all of our standard operating procedures would look. You have your logo at the top, the identifier, your document number, which we would keep a log of all the standard operating procedures that we had, processes for everything that we did. This one is policies and procedures for mover recruiting and hiring, and really, as you go through it, it kinda tells you who’s involved, who needs to approve it. There’s a lot of stuff here. I’m gonna share this with you guys. I’m actually gonna put a link that you can download, and I’m gonna give you a free copy of this as well, so you could go ahead, and hire some good movers.

And basically, once you get through the introduction of it, I’ll let you know what equipment and software you’re gonna need. And then you get to the procedure, and really, it’s as simple as this. You start off by placing an ad for employment. This will break it down for you exactly what you need to do. The goal of this step is to place an online ad, in order to receive phone calls and emails of potential candidates for the mover position. It breaks it down. Under that, this is set up to where you have an office admin plus dispatcher involved in the role. So the office admin… But this could be anybody. If you’re a one-man show, this would all be you. If you have a bigger office, you could break this down to where everybody plays their part. So the office admin would place an ad on Craigslist using the employment ad movers doc. We have an ad, the document for specifically hiring movers, we place that.

So basically, you take a Word document and every time you place an ad, you just copy it from the Word document onto Craigslist. We’re gonna do that no later than 9:00 AM, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday when you’re trying to hire. The thing with Craigslist, is that when you place an ad, the ad starts to go down throughout the day, so you wanna place an ad at least once a day during your hiring period. We would do it Monday through Thursday, and this way, we had time to basically field all those emails, and all those calls. You wanna make sure, in the ad, you have your company name, phone number, a link to your company website, and you wanna have an employment application on your website for movers. You don’t necessarily need to have it visible to the public, but it’ll be a link that you’ll be able to put in your ads. They’ll be able to fill out an online application. And this way, you get it in a nice, clean, easy-to-read format. You wanna make sure the pay range is in there.

Next, you wanna process all the employment ads. The goal of this step is to find well-qualified candidates to interview. By the way, I’m reading this line by line here: “The office admin will check the inbox for emails associated with incoming applications at 9:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 3:00 PM, Monday through Friday.” When I talk about processes, when I talk about having a standard way of doing things, this is what I’m talking about, not place an ad and just deal with it as it comes in. You have set times that you go look at those emails. You have set times that you check those voicemails, to see if anybody called in. This way, you’re being proactive and not reactive. This is how all your processes should be set up.

I’m gonna skip some of these steps. I’m gonna give you guys a copy of this, but I’m not gonna walk you through every single step. But essentially, you get down to, the office admin will ask candidates on a phone interview for their email address, email ’em the link to the application, have the candidate fill out the application online. Then there’s an “if this, do this” and “if that, do that,” so if the application looks like a well-qualified candidate, the office admin will call, and perform a phone interview with the candidate using the phone interview script document. And if the application would not qualify for a hire based on the mover qualification sheet, the office admin will send the candidate the following email, which, basically, we have a pre-written out email, which is a mover application denial letter.

Then you schedule the interviews, then you bring ’em in, then you decide, your dispatch manager or your operations manager, who’s gonna actually do the interview. Once you hire them, once you screen them, once you do the background check, then you set up their folders. Then you get the folders and the paperwork scanned, and you have copies of all that. All of that is in here. This is what your processes should look like. It doesn’t have to be a full on, huge document like this. This is how we did it. Even if it’s a one-page, bullet points, step-by-step-by-step how things are done. That’s how you start getting organized. That’s how you’re on top of things and you’re not just flying by the seat of your pants. Anybody could grab this. Anybody could take this within my company and start doing it. If we needed to replace a dispatcher or the office admin, we could say, “Here’s one of your procedures that you’re responsible for,” hand it to them, they read it, everything’s spelled out, they know exactly what they need to do.

So when I talk about having a mover recruiting process, this is part of it. This is placing an ad online, and then everything you need to do after that, to get them onboarded into your company, get the paperwork set up, and get them ready for training. It’s all in here, but there’s other parts to this too: Community outreach, going to colleges, going to job fairs, reaching out to churches, to see if they have anybody that needs jobs. Every part of your business should have procedures set up. I’m gonna let you go ahead and download this for free. This is a mover recruiting process, start using this.

The most important thing is, when you decide that it’s time to hire, decide, make it a priority, and go through these steps. Because movers are the most important part of your business. If you don’t have good movers, everything you do for sales, everything you do for marketing is irrelevant. Listen, if you have any questions, as always, leave ’em in the comments. That’s how I did this today. I had a lot of questions, people asking me about the mover recruiting process, so I decided to shoot a video, and I’m gonna go ahead and share this with you as well. So until I see you next week, go out there every single day, and profit in your business, and thrive in your life. I’ll see you later.

 

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Paying Movers: 1099 Contractor or W-2 Employee

Don't Risk Misclassifying Your Movers

Should your movers be paid as W-2 Employees or as 1099 Independent Contractors? It depends. It all starts with the relationship between you as the company and the mover. There is a difference between an employer/employee relationship and a company/contractor relationship. In this video, I share with you the determining factors for paying movers 1099 or w-2.

There are a set of criteria that the IRS and state agencies use to determine if movers are classified correctly. It all starts with control. At a very basic level, this is the determining factor for whether an individual should be classified as an employee or an independent contractor. For the most part, it would be difficult to classify a helper as an independent contractor. Especially if they work directly for your company and you pay them an hourly wage.

A driver can be classified as an independent contractor if there are certain criteria that are met. It’s not enough to just call them a contractor and issue them a 1099 at the end of the year. So let’s take a look at what a true independent contractor would look like.

A driver that is a true independent contractor would typically match these criteria:

  1. Company pays driver a percentage of the move – The driver that is a true independent contractor would be paid a percentage of the move, by the mile or even a flat rate. If a driver is being paid by the hour, chances are they should be classified as an employee.
  2. Driver hires and pays their helpers – If the driver is a true independent contractor, they would hire and pay their own helpers. If the helpers are being paid an hourly wage by the company, then the driver would probably be considered an employee as well.
  3. Driver owns or leases the truck – Most of the time a true independent contractor driver would own their own truck or lease the truck from the company. If you are providing the truck to the driver they would most likely be viewed as an employee.
  4. Driver will pay fuel, tolls & expenses – The driver would also pay their own expenses such as fuel, tolls, maintenance, hotels and any other expenses associated with the job.
  5. Driver can experience profit or loss – One of the determining factors by the IRS is whether or not the individual can gain profit or suffer loss from the job. As an independent contractor that is paying their own expenses and being paid a percentage of the move, they may make more money on some jobs and less on others (profit/loss). An employee does not have this risk, they are paid the same amount no matter what.
  6. Driver can accept or reject jobs – We already discussed that the main factor is control. So a true independent contractor would have the ability to turn down moves without the threat of being fired.

For a full explanation on determining the status for paying movers, read this IRS REPORT.
Employment Tax Guidelines: Classifying Certain Van Operators in the Moving Industry

Paying movers as W-2 Employees you would be responsible for:

  • Social security and Medicare tax
  • Withholding federal and state income taxes
  • Providing worker’s compensation coverage
  • Contribute to unemployment insurance fund

 

Watch the video above for the full episode.

Like this episode? Please share it! My blog and videos are ad-free ONLY because you share my work!

How can I help? What challenges are you facing in your business? What areas could you use some tips in?

Leave me a comment below and I will be more than happy to get back to you or post a video on the topic.

Follow Louis on Instagram for daily tips and motivation to grow your moving company.

Full Transcript
[The following is the full transcript of this episode.]

Hey, my friend. It’s Louis Massaro, CEO of Moving Mastery and founder of Moving Sales Academy. I’ve been getting a lot of questions for a few months now about the right way to pay your movers. Should they be W-2 employees, or 1099 contractors? And we’re gonna go through the benefits, the pros, the cons, what you need to look out for, what truly makes somebody an independent contractor, and this way you can make a decision on how you wanna go about it. Alright? If your moving company is just starting out, you may want to start with them as an independent contractor, but then at some point you may wanna move to having them be an employee. But let me lay out the pros and the cons, let me lay out what a true independent contractor relationship looks like for a moving company, and then you can make the decision for yourself. Alright? This is a very, very, very, very important topic and it’s not something that I take lightly, and I wanna make sure that I give you great information on this, alright? So first of all, you need to understand that it’s all about control. When determining if somebody’s a W-2 employee or a 1099 contractor, it’s all about control. Who has control over that individual? Does the company control everything they do or does the individual control everything they do?

That’s the basis for the determination of “Should they be classified as an employee or should they be classified as a contractor?” Now, the reasons that you might want to classify them as a contractor is because you pay them whatever rate you pay them, and 1099 them. You’re not paying for FICA and employment tax and unemployment. You’re not paying for all that, so there’s not as much cost associated with a 1099 employee. A lot of companies will look at it and say, “You know what? It’s much easier, I don’t have to worry about payroll taxes, it costs me less as a company. Let me just 1099 them, and that’ll be the end of it.” Now, just so you know, there’s companies that… Small, mid, even large companies that I know that have paid employees as independent contractors for a long time and have been able to essentially get away with it, alright? Because there is a certain way and a certain criteria that that individual needs to meet in order to truly pass the test of being an independent contractor. Alright? So first off, thing you wanna understand is that it’s very difficult for a helper to be an independent contractor for you and your company. Alright? So let’s talk about the drivers and how that relates, and how they’re either an employee or they’re a contractor. Alright?

So let’s look at what it would look like if you had a solid, independent contractor arrangement with a driver. These are the things that a company that has this set up correctly would have in place, alright? Let’s go through this list. So they’re gonna pay the driver on a percentage of the move. Alright? If you’re paying your driver by the hour, chances are they’re not passing the independent contractor test, alright? If they’re a true independent contractor, they’re receiving a percentage of the move or a flat rate per move and not being paid by the hour, okay? Next, the driver will hire and pay the helpers, not the company. Alright? So now we’re talking about if you have a driver that’s a true independent contractor, what that would look like. So now you could say, “Alright, is this how my company’s set up right now currently or is this something that I can get set up?” But if somebody’s a true independent contractor, they’re getting a percentage of the move and they’re hiring and paying the helpers. Okay? The helpers aren’t being paid by the company. Number three, the driver also owns or leases the truck. Now, they could own or lease their own truck which they went out and they acquired or, as a company, you can lease them the truck or maybe you have a separate truck-leasing company that leases them the truck.

But the driver would have to have a significant financial investment into the vehicle for them to be considered a true independent contractor. Driver will also pay their fuel, tolls, and expenses. Remember you’re paying them a percentage on the job. They’re paying their own helpers. They’re paying to either buy or lease the truck. They’re also paying for tolls. They’re also paying for fuel, maintenance, whatever other expenses go along with that truck, and the job itself, they’re gonna be paying that. Number five, one of the indicators is the driver can experience profit or loss on the job. As an employee, you don’t have the risk of having a loss on the job. You go and you perform the move and you get paid pretty much usually an hourly rate. As an independent contractor, you’re receiving a percentage of the move. Well with that percentage that you receive, that’s all you receive, now you need to pay for your helpers. So it’s up to the driver to determine, “How much am I gonna pay the helpers? Do I need two men? Do I need three men? What am I gonna… How am I gonna pay them?” It’s also, “What am I gonna spend on equipment and fuel?” The driver will have the potential to either make money or lose money.

If it’s… If there’s no possibility of profit or loss, then chances are they probably should be classified as an employee. Number six, the driver can accept or reject jobs. Remember this is all about control. Control is really the main thing that’s looked at, and when I say when it’s looked at, this is by the IRS or this is by state agencies, alright? They govern this. So if the driver has complete control over what they do, which means you offer them a job and they can either accept it or not accept it without the possibility of getting fired, then they have control in that area and they’re considered an independent contractor. So the things that you wanna remember are that might be easy to just pay somebody 1099 and it also could be easy to say, “You know what, I don’t wanna deal with it. I’m just gonna make everybody a W-2 employee.” But when you do that, you also have much higher expenses, you’re paying all the employment tax that goes along with that, there’s worker’s comp and everything else that comes along with having an employee. So you may be able to set them up as an independent contractor, but it takes more than just saying, “You know what? I’m gonna cut them a check, and send them a 1099 at the end of the year.”

If you wanna do it correctly, these are the types of things you need to have set up. Also, in this… Down below I’m gonna put a link to an article written by the IRS, it’s a 32-page document specifically for moving companies on how to determine if this individual, ’cause you have to look at it individual by individual, should be an employee or should be a contractor. As an employee, they would receive a W-2. As a contractor, they would receive a 1099. There’s major penalties and fines if you’re misclassifying employees. So for example, if you have your movers and they come in, and you have drivers, and you have helpers, and you’re paying them all an hourly rate, they report to you, they go on your truck, you tell them exactly what to do, you tell them exactly when to be there, they’re pretty much acting like employees, but you’re paying them as a 1099? That’s a risk. There’s a possibility that the IRS or a state agency could come in and say, “You’ve been misclassifying those employees.” They look at your records. How long have you been misclassifying those employees? Then you have to pay the back tax plus fines, penalties, and interest on that. So I’m not telling you which way to go. Alright? You can have your movers set up 1099 and have it done correctly, but there’s extra steps involved.

It’s not just a matter of “Here’s the move, I’m just gonna 1099 you versus W-2.” No, you need to understand the key components that truly makes them an independent contractor or truly makes them an employee. So go ahead and click on the link down below, and take a look at this document. It’s a 32-page document, it’s not an easy read. I broke down most of the basic things you need to know in this video, but if you’re serious about setting up independent contractors, and you’re a business that is established, and you want to grow, and you’re planning on being in this business, and you don’t wanna get side-swiped all of a sudden. Three, four, five, six years down the road, all of a sudden the IRS or a state agency comes in and says, “Let’s see your books.” It could be catastrophic. We paid our employees… We paid our movers as employees because I wanted to have the control over what they did. I wanted to be able to make sure that they did things exactly the way we wanted them, and we paid additional money in paying their taxes and overtime and everything else, and that’s why we charge higher prices to compensate for that. So just make sure you’re informed. Make sure you’re doing it correctly. Again, W-2 employee can be correct, 1099 employee can be correct, but it’s not just a matter of giving them a 1099 that makes that legitimate.

I understand it’s lower cost if you’re getting started and that’s how you need to get things going, but within a year of being in business, you need to either set this up correctly. So you either need to go, “Alright, I’m gonna start paying them as employees,” or “I need to go through the process of truly making them an independent contractor. I need to lease them the truck. I need to pay them a percentage on the move. I need to allow them to then hire and pay the helpers.” You need to do this correctly. This is a big, big deal, alright? I hope this was helpful. If you have any questions at all, always leave them in the comments below. Until I see you next week, go out there every single day, profit in your business, thrive in your life. I’ll see you later.

 

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Is Brokering Moves Illegal?

Interstate Moving Brokers Can and Are Held Civilly and Criminally Liable

Is brokering moves illegal? If you’re a moving broker, have ever considered becoming a broker or your moving company works with brokers there are some important facts that you need to be aware of. Although brokering moves itself is not illegal, there are many actions of the broker that can be illegal. As a moving broker or a carrier who works with brokers, it’s crucial to understand the details of these laws.

In the book: Interstate Moving – Consumer Protection and Legal Compliance Guide, moving industry attorney Michael Garcia writes about all laws and regulations for interstate moving companies. In the book, he also outlines all of the laws and regulations that apply to moving brokers and the carriers that work with them.

Along with owning and running moving companies, I also owned an interstate moving broker company for four years. In that time I experienced first hand the challenges that brokers face. I almost went to prison for running my moving broker business, it’s not a joke. I wanted to share with you some important points to understand about the laws governing moving brokers. I don’t want to see what happened to me, happen to anyone else.

As the customer’s agent, Interstate brokers have a legal duty to their customers to act in good faith and issue honest and accurate estimates.

Interstate moving brokers can and are held civilly and criminally liable for:

  1. Failing to clearly describe and represent their services as an interstate broker – If you are a moving broker OR if you work with a moving broker, you must make sure that the customer is 100% clear that you are a moving broker that’s booking their move and not the carrier.
  2. Failing to obtain an interstate license prior to conducting business – This goes without saying, you need to have a broker of household goods license with the FMCSA before you book any moves and broker them to carriers.
  3. Failing to secure and file a $75,000 surety bond with the FMCSA – In or order to get a broker license you must have a $75k surety bond.
  4. Brokering a shipment to an unlicensed motor carrier – As a broker, it is your responsibility to make sure that the carrier is licensed. That means at the time of the shipment, not only when they sign up with your company. They could have been licensed when they signed up with you but lost their license along the way. It’s your responsibility to monitor their license to make sure it’s active.
  5. Failing to provide potential consumer shippers with a complete listing of all motor carriers in the broker network – You must provide a list of every single company (carrier) that is in your network to every potential customer that you give an estimate too.
  6. Failing to provide shippers with the booklet “Rights and Responsibilities when you Move”  – You can provide this electronically as a PDF but you must provide it to every customer that is moving interstate.
  7. Failing to provide a written estimate for services based upon the motor carrier’s published tariff – When you book a move as a broker, you MUST book each move using the tariff of the company that will be hauling that shipment. If you are the carrier and the broker is not using your tariff to book your moves, you will be held responsible too.
  8. Failing to maintain a “master list” of brokered transactions – You must maintain a list of all of your transactions, including financial transactions with carriers.
  9. Failing to have a properly signed “409” agreement with each licensed motor carrier in the network – A 409 agreement is the contract between the broker and the carrier.
  10. Failing the provide consumer shippers with a written notice of deposit, refund, and cancellation policies – Your estimates should clearly state the use of any deposit and what the refund and cancellation policies are.
  11. Conducting business evidencing a pattern of fraudulent estimates – “lowballing” – It does not matter who is to blame. If the customer receives one price and that price is raised by the carrier, that will be looked at as a low ball estimate. So as a broker, make sure your estimates are accurate and that your carriers are not increasing it. As a carrier, make sure that your broker is providing accurate estimates for your moves.

I would suggest that you pick up a copy of attorney Michael Garcia’s Book Interstate Moving Consumer Protection and Legal Compliance Guide and read it. Have everyone involved in your interstate operations read it. This book is about ALL interstate moving laws not just for brokers but for carriers too.

So is brokering moves illegal? It depends if you are following the law. If you are a broker OR if you are a carrier that works with brokers, MAKE SURE YOU KNOW THE LAW!

Watch the video above for the full episode.

Like this episode? Please share it! My blog and videos are ad-free ONLY because you share my work!

How can I help? What challenges are you facing in your business? What areas could you use some tips in?

Leave me a comment below and I will be more than happy to get back to you or post a video on the topic.

Follow Louis on Instagram for daily tips and motivation to grow your moving company.

Full Transcript

[The following is the full transcript of this episode.]

Hey my friend is Louis Massaro, CEO of Moving Mastery and founder of Moving Sales Academy. Is brokering moves illegal? I’ve been getting this question a lot lately, so I wanted to address it. Those of you who’ve watched my previous video on how I almost went to prison for running my moving company, I really got into how I was in the moving business, had offices throughout the country, then I had long distance trucks running all around the country and I decided to sell the long distance trucks, get into brokering. Long story short, I ended up pleading guilty to felony charges, based on running a brokerage business. So the question becomes, is brokering illegal? If you don’t know the story, I’m not gonna get into it in this video, you can go ahead and check for the video that says, “How I almost went to prison for running my moving business.” I go through the whole story in there, today I wanna address is brokering moves illegal? And the answer to that question is no, brokering moves in and of itself is not illegal, but what I wanna do is break down some things that you need to be looking at and you need to be concerned about, if you’re gonna be a broker and if you’re gonna work with brokers.

So, what I wanted to do is, I brought with me a book from Michael Garcia. Michael Garcia is the moving industry’s leading interstate moving attorney. He actually wrote this book, Interstate Moving Consumer Protection and Legal Compliance Guide. Michael’s a great guy, he knows what he’s talking about and I wanted to read you something out of his book. Not only to think about the brokering situation and my story and what happened to me, and let that be kind of a decision factor for you on whether you wanna be a broker or continue to be a broker or whether you wanna work with a broker. I wanna read you some stuff right out of this book, so that you can understand where you’re at, where do you stand if you’re gonna broker moves. So, let me read this to you, it says, as the consumer shippers agent, so as a broker, you’re actually an agent for the shipper, the customer, the person that’s moving interstate, all right? You’re the one that’s gonna go out and find the mover for them, you’re their agent, okay? Interstate brokers have a legal duty to consumer shippers to act in good faith and issue honest and accurate estimates.

Interstate brokers can and are held civilly and criminally liable for the following. Number one, failing to clearly describe and represent their services as an interstate broker, okay. This was part of what caused me to get in trouble. When we first became a broker, we were also a moving company. I also had locations throughout the country, local moving companies, so my website had pictures of trucks all over, real trucks that we owned, talked about us doing moves because we did, but our interstate page talked about us being a broker, but that wasn’t enough. ‘Cause consumers were confused because when they went to the site they saw that we had trucks, they saw that we talked about being movers, they even saw pictures of our movers, and that’s part of the reason that I ended up getting in trouble for being a broker. So that’s really important that you disclose that to the customers, if you’re gonna be broker or if you’re working with brokers, okay. ‘Cause remember something, even if you’re not the broker, if you’re the carrier, and your broker’s not complying with the law it’s gonna fall on you.

So it’s just as important that as a carrier you understand what should be getting done legally to make sure you’re protected as well. So you wanna make sure that you’re definitely clearly stating that you are a broker. What we ended up doing was creating a whole another website, even created a whole another brand that was never associated with my old brand, so that there was no confusion at all about us being a broker. The new website had no pictures of trucks, no pictures of movers, every single page said we’re a broker, we’re a broker, we’re a broker, or as the old site because we were a moving company also there was confusion. So, it’s not enough to say, “Hey, on my interstate page I talk about being a broker,” I’m living proof that that’s not enough. You have to clearly make sure your customers know that you’re a broker.

Number two, failing to obtain an interstate license prior to conducting business, you must have a broker license before you broker any moves. Failing to secure and file, a $75,000 surety bond with FMCSA, you have to get a surety bond at $75000, you don’t pay $75,000, but you must get the surety bond, so that you’re legal. Brokering a shipment to unlicensed motor carrier. You need to vet everybody that you do business with. As part of being a broker, that’s the most difficult part, you’re essentially… We spend a lot of time policing carriers, doing background checks, trying to figure out when somebody applied, were they a carrier that we at one point blackballed, and we didn’t let them in our company anymore that now has another company in someone else’s name and now they’re trying to reapply to be part of our network? You need to make sure that, A, they’re licensed and B, they’re gonna do a good job if you’re a broker.

Failing to provide potential consumer shippers with a complete listing of all the motor carriers in your broker network. As part of being a broker, you must give every single customer a list of every carrier that’s in your network. Whether that’s electronically through email, whether you mailed it them, whether you give it to them, if you do an on-site estimate, you have to give them a list of every carrier that’s in your network. Failing to provide consumer shippers with the booklet rights and responsibilities when you move. This is whether you’re a broker or whether you’re a carrier, they need to get a copy of that. You could do that digitally as well. You could send them a PDF of that.

0Number seven, failing to provide a written estimate for services based upon the motor carriers published tariff. This is something that I know there’s a lot of people not doing, okay. As a broker, you have to know who you’re giving that move to at the time of booking it and you have to book it on their tariff. If you don’t know what a tariff is and you’re a broker, get this book. ‘Cause it’s a problem if you don’t know what a tariff is. If you’re an interstate carrier or a broker and you don’t know what a tariff is, you need to get this book. I’m not gonna explain it. I’ll put a link down below where you can get a copy of this.

You have to book every job on that particular carrier’s tariff. For us, if we knew what was on the east coast in a certain area and a certain carrier was gonna be handling it, we would book it on their tariff using their rates, their information. Because as a broker, all you are is essentially a booking agent, I don’t know if that’s technically correct but you work for the carrier. The carrier doesn’t work for the broker. A lot of times, there’s a misconception there, thinking that the carrier works for the broker but really the broker’s booking moves for the carrier on the carrier’s tariff. Very important.

Failing to maintain a master list of broker transactions. You have to keep a master list of everything from all your customers, all the deposits you took, all the financial transactions back and forth between you and the carriers. You have to have a list of that as well.

Failing to have a properly signed 409 agreement with each license motor carrier in your network. 409 agreement is essentially a broker agreement between the carrier and the broker that has all of your terms… It’s a contract between a broker and a carrier. You must have one with every carrier that you work with. Again, these are things that brokers can be held civilly and criminally liable for. So these are very important.

Let’s see, failing to provide consumer shippers with written notice of deposit, refund and cancellation policies. It needs to be very clear what your refund policy is, what your cancellation policy is, and it needs to be spelled out for ’em. For us, we had they could cancel up until seven days prior to the move. That needs to be in writing, in the terms and conditions when they book their move, very clearly.

And number 11, conducting business evidencing a pattern of fraudulent estimates called low-balling. This is another reason where we got in trouble. We weren’t necessarily giving low-ball estimates, but we were giving moves to carriers that were raising the price on those moves. When they raised the price on those moves, our estimates looked like low-ball estimates. It wasn’t our intention. We weren’t purposely doing it, but it doesn’t matter. That’s why you have to really police everything that’s going on. We could sit all day and say, “We weren’t giving any low-ball estimates.” But if the price went up then estimate you gave was low, to the consumer, that’s a low-ball estimate. If there’s a pattern of that, again, these are reasons that as a broker, you could be held civilly and criminally liable. There’s a lot more to it in here about brokers. There’s everything you need to know about interstate moving in here. I’ll put a link below, where you guys can get a copy of this. I suggest that if you do any type of interstate moving, whether you’re a broker or a carrier, that you definitely look into this.

Listen, you need to know the law. Period. You need to obey the law. I know, that sounds like common sense, but you need to go through this thing with a fine tooth comb. Highlight it, mark it, check off, what else? Circle what you need to do. And make sure you’re following every single guideline. It’s not a joke. You guys know my story, I literally had to plead guilty to fraud, felony charges from being a broker. It’s not a joke. If you’re gonna be a broker or if you’re gonna work with brokers, make sure things are getting done correctly. I can’t say it enough, I can’t stress it enough. If you haven’t seen the other video, it’s called “How I Almost Went to Prison for Running my Moving Business”. Go watch that, I explain the whole story. I hope this was helpful. Until I see you next week, go out there every single day and profit in your business and thrive in your life. I’ll see you later.

 

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Moving Company CRM Software Benefits

Plus a List of Moving Company CRM Software Companies

I’m really surprised how many moving companies out there are not using a moving company CRM software to run their business. CRM which stands for customer relationship management is a software designed to keep your business organized. In the moving business, there are many moving parts so it’s crucial that you have a centralized place for all your customer’s information. So if you’re on the fence about getting a moving company CRM software, here are 10 benefits that will help you decide.

Benefits of Having a Moving Company CRM software :

  1. Central place for move data – This will help organize your whole company. Even if you’re a one man show, you need a place to have all the information about your moves. Even if you don’t care about reporting now, you will as you grow and you’ll want this data.
  2. Internal communication and notes – When a job is being booked it’s crucial that you take good notes on the customer’s desires and what is unique about their move. Then when dispatching the move you will have all the notes on the job record to keep your internal communication seamless.
  3. Automated & canned emails – When you receive new leads you want to have an email being sent automatically to that potential customer. You also will have a set of prewritten emails that you will send over and over to different customers. Your CRM can take care of all that for you.
  4. Reporting & Metrics – This is HUGE! In order to grow your company and increase profits, you need to know exactly what is going on. Your numbers are going to tell you that. Your CRM will give you clarity into all areas of your business and how they are performing.
  5. Payroll & commission – When you close out a move in your CRM, it will automatically calculate your payroll for your movers. It will also calculate your sales team’s commissions.
  6. Lead management – You MUST have a centralized place for all of your leads. From here you’ll be able to keep track of follow-up and make sure you’re on top of every opportunity.
  7. Operations management – You’ll be able to view your entire move schedule, dispatch moves, process payments, send invoices and more.
  8. Storage billing – Once you already have a customer in your CRM and they come into storage, you can start billing them right away. You can also take care of all your invoicing and payments as well.
  9. Status and history of moves – There are many times when you need to see the history of what happened with a move like when you first received the lead, what their original estimate was, what their estimate was after they made changes to their inventory, if they moved with you before, who the crew was on the move and more. There are so many times that it will be really helpful to refer back to the history of a move.
  10. Claim and complaint management – No one wants to get a claim or a complaint, but they happen. And when they do you need to keep them organized so you can resolve them. You’ll also be able to run reports to see which movers are causing the claims and complaints.

Are you convinced that you need a moving company CRM software yet?

Here are some moving company CRM software companies to check out:

I’ve used different moving company CRM software programs over the years and even built my own custom software. Check them all out and see which one is the right fit for your needs.

I am a partner in SmartMoving and actively working with the development team to implement features that help moving companies run more efficiently and profitably. 

Am I missing any good ones? Leave me a comment if you have software recommendations for movers.

Watch the video above for the full episode.

Like this episode? Please share it! My blog and videos are ad-free ONLY because you share my work!

How can I help? What challenges are you facing in your business? What areas could you use some tips in?

Leave me a comment below and I will be more than happy to get back to you or post a video on the topic.

Follow Louis on Instagram for daily tips and motivation to grow your moving company.

 

Full Transcript

[The following is the full transcript of this episode.]

Hey, my friend, it’s Louis Massaro, CEO of Moving Mastery and founder of Moving Sales Academy. Are you using a CRM to manage your business? I’m so amazed at how many moving companies out there are not using a CRM. This is crucial to the success and growth, organization, reporting, everything. You must have a CRM in your business and there are so many affordable solutions now that it just, there is no reason that you shouldn’t have it. You get a CRM for as little as 100 bucks a month. Right. So if you don’t have one I want to give you 10 Reasons Why You Must Have One. Hopefully, encourage you to go out sign up and start getting yourself organized with a CRM. First reason is it’s a central place for all your data. All right all your information will come into one place and you’re going to have all your data in one spot. All your move data and your lead data is crucial to be able to report on that information to be able to look at statistics to see what your trends are. You have to have your data and you need it in a centralized place. Right.

Second reason. Internal communication and notes. Everything that you need to know about each and every move needs to be in that particular move order within the CRM so that everyone in the company that has to deal with that move knows exactly what they need to do. Right. So when the sales person speaks to the customer they put the notes in the system, when dispatch gets ready to send out the truck they know exactly what the customer is expecting based on those notes and they can prepare the movers for the move. Third automated and canned e-mails. When a lead comes in it can automatically send out an email to your customer and then all the emails that you send on a regular basis, that you type over and over again, you can set them up as what’s called a canned email to where each and every customer, you can send them the same email just by clicking and picking which email you want to send, and send them that email. This is a huge time saver and this one is huge, I mean, for me, this is one of the most important reasons why you must have a CRM. Reporting and metrics, all right. Everything about knowing your numbers, you need to know where you stand. You need to know exactly where you’re at and a CRM is going to help give you all the metrics and all the numbers and all the reports that you need to manage your business effectively.

This one is just so convenient. Payroll and commission. Right. The CRM is going to know which mover was on the job. At the end of the week you’re going to be able to click a button and generate payroll for your movers. All right. Same thing with the commission for your sales team. It’s going to know who booked that job, it’s going to know what their commission rate is, you’re going to be able to run a commission report so you know what to pay them. This is so convenient.

Lead management. This is huge, you have to be able to manage your leads, if you don’t have a CRM I don’t know how you’re doing it. If you’re buying leads, you’re receiving phone calls, how you’re actually following up, how you’re actually staying on top and making sure that you get them on the phone in the first place. And then after you give an estimate, that you’re following up with them. Your CRM is going to help you do this. Operations Management. Right. Everything in dispatch from a move calendar to be able to see all the moves you have already booked, to being able to dispatch the jobs and route the jobs effectively, to knowing which trucks are on the job, to which movers are on the job. This is so important, you can even run credit cards through your CRM.

Storage billing. Billing all your storage customers. This is, I mean, if you’re not using a CRM to do this and you’re doing it manually, you’re really, really missing out. It just makes it so easy.

Status and history of all moves. Right. Each and every move will have a log of everything that happened with that move, when they first initially called you, the first time you moved them. The second time you moved them. When they moved into storage, and when they moved out of storage, you can know everything there is to know about that customer so that you know how to treat that move. Very important.

And then the last one. Claim and complaint management. Right. If you’re getting claims and complaints you need an effective way to manage those so they are on top of them to be able to resolve them. And so that you know what are the cause is of those complaints, and you could run reports on them. All of this stuff you could essentially run reports on. And listen, these are only ten reasons. There’s such cheap solutions out there for CRM’s that if you’re not using one, don’t even hesitate, don’t even watch the rest of this video. End it now, go research some CRM’s, I’m going to put some resources down below and get yourself signed up, all right? Don’t be afraid of the technology because it’s not, it’s so user friendly. And so, you know, just, common sense. Right. It’s, there’s really easy solutions out there, cheap solutions. If you’re not using one please start. It’s going to make a world of difference in the effectiveness, the efficiency of your company, growing your company, being organized and just being on top of stuff. Right. If you have any questions, as always, leave them down below. And until I see you next week, go out and profit in business thrive in life. I’ll see a later.

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5 Keys To Hiring Movers for Your Moving Company

Don't Let a Shortage of Movers Keep Your Company From Growing

You can put all the systems and processes in place, have the best marketing and sales team but if you don’t have good movers, you can’t have a successful moving company. The challenge for many companies is finding good movers. Even if they have a group of great movers, they need more to be able to grow and take on more jobs. So how do you go about hiring movers when you need them? It all starts with making hiring movers for your moving company a priority.

5 Keys To Hiring Movers for Your Moving Company

  1. Make hiring movers a priority – It seems like commons sense, right? If a shortage of movers is what is holding you back from growing your company then you need to get serious about solving the problem. Are you focusing on hiring as much as you’re focusing on sales and marketing? You’ll find that once you make it a priority you’ll be able to hire all the drivers and helpers you need.
  2. Create a Mover Recruiting Process – Once you decide to make it a priority and that you are going to solve the mover shortage problem once and for all, you need a process behind it. By establishing a Mover Recruiting Process, you’ll have a roadmap to follow whenever you need to hire. This will include everything from your employment ad to your onboarding process and everything in between.
  3. Train your movers – Too often when companies are hiring movers they are looking for someone with “previous moving experience”. There are a few problems with that approach. First, just because someone worked at another company does not mean they are truly an experienced mover. Second, you are drastically reducing your number of potential candidates for the position. If you have a training program in place, you could hire someone who has the qualities of a great employee and then train them on how to be a mover.
  4. Reward your movers for a job well done – It’s not all about hiring movers, you want to keep the good ones working for you after you hire them. Set up a bonus program that rewards your movers for getting positive reviews as well as having no claims. Not only will this improve employee morale and make them want to stay with your company, you’ll also have happier customers from your movers making an extra effort.
  5. Make your company a great place to work – When your movers feel that your company is a great place to work not only will they stay with you, they’ll tell their friends about you too. Word spreads very quickly in the mover community and you want the word on the street to be that your company is the place to be.

When customers call to hire your company they don’t really care about your back-end systems and all the important people that play a role in their move. All they are concerned with is that the movers that show up to their home are going to do a great job.

Make hiring a priority.

Watch the video above for the full episode.

Like this episode? Please share it! My blog and videos are ad-free ONLY because you share my work!

How can I help? What challenges are you facing in your business? What areas could you use some tips in?

Leave me a comment below and I will be more than happy to get back to you or post a video on the topic.

Follow Louis on Instagram for daily tips and motivation to grow your moving company.

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Set Your Moving Company’s Dispatcher Up For Success

3 Ways To Give Your Dispatcher The Support They Need

If you asked me what the most important position in a moving company is, I’d have to argue that it was the dispatcher. Your dispatcher is responsible for making sure all of your moves go smoothly. That’s a big responsibility to take on every day. Make sure that you set your moving company’s dispatcher up for success.

For the first couple of years of starting my moving company, I was dispatching the trucks myself and then along side my first dispatcher. I knew how important it was and that it made all the difference in how successful the day’s moves went. I know how stressful it can be, I know all of the things that a dispatcher has to deal with on a daily basis. That’s why I always make sure to give all my dispatchers the tools, processes, and support they needed to be successful, you should do the same.

Here are 3 ways to help set your moving company’s dispatcher up for success:

  1. Detailed notes when booking the move – A successful move all starts with great internal communication within your company. It’s all about understanding the customer’s needs and expectations and then getting that information to everyone that will be involved in the move. Most of the time when the customer is setting up their move they are only speaking with the moving consultant (sales person). It’s crucial that the sales person takes really good notes about all of the details about the move and puts those notes in your company’s CRM.
  2. Scripted confirmation call on every move – Now that all the information is in your CRM, your dispatcher has a starting point to see what it’s going to take to perform a successful move for the customer. Just to be certain that all the information is correct and nothing else is needed, the dispatcher should call the customer one or two days before the move to confirm all the details. This is a great opportunity to do one final check to make sure you understand the unique details about each move so that you send your crews out prepared.
  3. Give the movers a move detail sheet – Now that that dispatcher has a good understanding of what’s needed on each move, they have to pass that information to the ones actually performing the move, the movers. Each morning the movers should be given a move detail sheet for every move. This will show them exactly what is needed for that move and what the customer’s expectations are. Even if you don’t have a CRM that prints a move detail sheet you can write one up. Even if it’s a sticky note that you put on the contract for each move.

Remember, if you want your moves to go smoothly and want your movers to be happy you need to set your dispatcher up for success. Give them the tools they need. Train them on exactly how you want things done. And be there to support them in whatever they need.

Watch the video above for the full episode.

Learn the 6 Stages of Building a Moving Sales Machine. 

Like this episode? Please share it! My blog and videos are ad-free ONLY because you share my work!

How can I help? What challenges are you facing in your business? What areas could you use some tips in?

Leave me a comment below and I will be more than happy to get back to you or post a video on the topic.

Follow Louis on Instagram for daily tips and motivation to grow your moving company.

 

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5 Steps for Moving Companies to Resolve Customer Complaints

It's How You Deal With Your Complaints That Matters.

Anyone in the moving business can tell you that as hard as you try to make every customer happy, there will still be some complaints that slip through the cracks. Anything from being late to damaging furniture to everything in between, the moving business is prone to complaints. It’s not always bad that you get a complaint here and there, it’s how you deal with those complaints that will determine your customer’s satisfaction and your company’s success. Here are 5 steps for moving companies to resolve complaints.

5 steps for moving companies to resolve complaints:

  1. Don’t take it personal – When a customer has a complaint they may not always handle themselves in a professional or civil manner. They may yell and scream at you and your staff and not be the most polite. As a business owner, you have to accept that as part of being in business and dealing with the public. They are obviously going through a stressful time.
  2. Seek to understand – Listen to what they have to say and seek to understand what the real problem is. Many times they may call with a list of complaints, but after letting them talk and asking questions you can discover that there may only be one little problem that is easy to fix.
  3. Be timely and responsive – When you first find out about the complaint, you should try to resolve it as quickly as possible. There will also be times when you need to look into what happened with your staff and will need to follow up with your customer. Make sure that you call them back whenever you said you would call them back. Even if you don’t have an answer yet for them, be responsive and call them back.
  4. Resolve the complaint – This might seem obvious, but you may not always be able to resolve a complaint where the customer is satisfied with the resolution. The idea is that you don’t want it to linger. So first try to resolve it with your customer being happy but if you can’t, you still have to decide what you are going to do and close the file.
  5. Correct internally – Complaints can be a great opportunity to see where you need improvement and what can be changed in your company. After every complaint, always ask “ what could we have done better, what could we have done differently, who needs more training and what adjustments need to be made to our process”?

Having a complaint resolution process in your company will really help make complaints easier to deal with. No one wants to deal with complaints, but they happen. The better prepared you are with a standard way of dealing with them, the quicker you can resolve the issue for your customer and get back to business as usual.

Does your moving company have an “Awareness Board” to help address customer complaints? If not check out this related post and download your free copy. 

Watch the video above for the full episode.

Like this episode? Please share it! My blog and videos are ad-free ONLY because you share my work!

How can I help? What challenges are you facing in your business? What areas could you use some tips in?

Leave me a comment below and I will be more than happy to get back to you or post a video on the topic.

Follow Louis on Instagram for daily tips and motivation to grow your moving company.

Posted on

Movers Guide to Buying Moving Trucks

4 Great Options for Buying and Leasing Trucks

Buying trucks for your moving company can be very exciting but can also be overwhelming. There are so many options, it’s definitely not a one size fits all solution for all movers. In this episode, I share with you four options for buying moving trucks for your moving company. I’ll give you my recommendations and contacts for where to buy them.

When I started out, I rented two trucks from Penske and would dispatch them out of their yard every morning. Within a few months, I was able to order my first truck. It was a brand new 2001 International 4300 with a 26’ foot AM Hair moving body on it. It was beautiful!

As I continued to grow, I kept ordering new trucks. I would buy them new and finance or lease them depending on my tax strategy for that year. So even as I started buying my interstate fleet I bought new. In this episode, I share with you four great options for buying moving trucks.

4 options for buying moving trucks:

Option 1 – Brand New Truck

  • Freightliner M-2
  • Automatic Transmission
  • 26’ Kentucky Moving Body
  • 26,000 GVW (Non-CDL)
  • Price: $91,000 – $95,000
  • Payment: Approximately $1,500 per month
  • Where to buy: Tom Nehl Freightliner – Contact Jamie Smith

These are the trucks that we bought in recent years. These are the top of the line and are beautiful trucks! If you’re in the business for the long run and have the resources and credit to buy one of these trucks, I highly recommend them. Once I switched from buying International trucks to Freightliners, I started buying all my trucks from Jamie Smith. She’s amazing and knows everything there is to know about what movers need in a truck and has spec trucks or she can order you something custom from Kentucky Trailer. She can help you with your local trucks and also tractors for interstate moving.

Option 2 – New/Used Combo Truck

  • Used Chassis 150,000 – 200,000 miles (Kenworth, Hino)
  • Automatic Transmission
  • New 26’ Moving Body by All Van
  • 26,000 GVW (Non-CDL)
  • Price: $60,000 – $65,000
  • Payment: Approximately $1,200 per month
  • Where to buy: MHC Truck Source Atlanta – Contact “Diesel” Dan Parsons

These are great alternatives to buying moving trucks that are brand new. If you want that new moving truck look and don’t mind a chassis with some miles on it, this can be a great option. They basically take trucks that are off-lease with about 150,000 to 200,000 miles on them and put a brand new moving body from All Van. I’ve worked with clients of mine and referred them to “Diesel Dan” and they were happy with the product.

Option 3 – Used Truck

  • 26,000 GVW (max) Non-CDL
  • Automatic Transmission
  • Make sure it has good maintenance records
  • 24’-26’ moving body
  • Non-refrigerated
  • E-tracks in body for straps
  • Price: Varies
  • Where to buy: UsedMovingVans.com

If you are skilled at maintaining trucks yourself, or have a really good mechanic and would rather save money and buy a used truck that’s ok too. Above are some things you want to look for when buying a used truck. UsedMovingVans.com by Movers Supply House is the go-to site for buying and selling used moving trucks.

Option 4 – Full-Service Lease

  • Freightliner, Hino, Kenworth, International
  • 26,000 GVR (max) Non-CDL
  • Automatic Transmission
  • 24’-26’ moving body
  • Price: Lease payment vary based on terms
  • Where to buy: Penske Leasing & Ryder Leasing

This is another great option. You can get a brand new truck that these companies will buy and then lease it to you. The lease covers so much on the truck like maintenance and even trucks washes. Check with Penske and Ryder to see what type of deals they have. In most cases, if the truck breaks down they’ll give you a rental truck to use while the fix your truck. By leasing the trucks it’s also a tax write off.

Those are my recommendations for buying moving trucks. Don’t be afraid to rent trucks either. If you’re just starting out and aren’t ready to buy a truck or if you’re established and feel the need for more trucks, you can always rent.

After you buy your moving truck make sure you letter it up with your logo and keep it clean! That truck will act as a rolling billboard and bring you in a ton of business from people seeing your truck on the road.

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Full Transcript
[The following is the full transcript of this episode.]
Hey, my friend. It’s Louis Massaro, CEO of Moving Mastery and founder of Moving Sales Academy. I wanna welcome you to this week’s episode. I’ve been getting a lot of e-mails and comments lately about buying new trucks, and my opinion on what type of trucks people should buy. And I just wanted to address it because it’s not a one-size-fits-all answer. Depending on where you are with your company, depending on the size of your company, depending on your accounting situation, and whether you’re gonna buy, whether you’re gonna finance, whether you wanna lease a truck, there’s many options. So, I want to give you a few of those options, and go over what my suggestions and recommendations are.

When I was opening up new locations, I always started with two trucks in each location, and then grew it from there. And each time I bought brand new trucks, I financed them, I didn’t pay cash for very expensive trucks, but I financed them and put two trucks to start in each location. And I prefer to buy brand new trucks when I need a truck, when I’m opening new locations, so I’ve never bought used trucks. But I’ve worked with many people who have, and I just wanna go over the different options.

First thing, first option is a brand new truck, this would be my recommendation today. If you have the ability to buy a brand new truck, I would go with a Freightliner M2 with a 26-foot Kentucky moving body on there, 26,000 GVW, which is a non-CDL truck, so 26,000 GVW’s gross vehicle weight. That basically allows you to have a standard driver in that truck that does not need a CDL. This is such a beautiful, beautiful truck. This is essentially what I bought for my company. Early on, we were buying Internationals, we were putting AM air boxes on them, this is what I would get today. This is a Freightliner M2, Kentucky, 26-foot, brand new moving body.

If you ever bought a brand new moving box and it arrives, because you have to order them in advance, they’re not just sitting around, so if you do wanna get a new moving body, if you do wanna get a new truck, start preparing in September, October and November to make sure that you have it for the next moving season. But, if when you get that truck, and you open up the back and you see those wood floors, and you smell that oak and the polyurethane, it’s just a beautiful thing, a brand new moving truck. And it’ll last you 10 years. So, a truck like this is gonna run you about $95,000. If you finance it, you’re probably looking at about $1,500 a month; that does not include insurance. You can get extended warranties on them. So, look into buying a brand new moving truck. I’m gonna put some resources in the show notes below, so that you can reach out and use who I buy my trucks from, and definitely, look into it.

Now, if $95,000’s too steep of a price tag, I understand. The next option is a new/used combo, a new/used combo. So, what this is, is this is a used chassis, so the truck itself is used, about 150,000 to 200,000 miles, and then, there’s a brand new moving body on it. I’m gonna give you some resources to find this as well. There’s not many people that do this, but I’m gonna share with you my resource and my connection for finding this truck. And essentially, what they do is they’ll take a Kenworth truck or a Hino truck that’s off lease, again about 150,000 to 200,000 miles, and then they’ll put a brand new, all van moving body on there. Again, brand new with the attic, 26-foot, 26,000 GVW, non-CDL truck. This truck’s gonna run you about $65,000. So, if you finance this, you’re probably looking somewhere in the range of about $1,200 a month. So, if you don’t wanna go brand new, you can do a new/used combo which still gives you that new look of having a brand new moving body, which is really important when you’re starting to build a brand and your image, and that billboard’s running around town, it looks really nice to have a new moving body.

Third option is straight up used trucks. A new truck’s too much money, the combo’s too much money, and you wanna go for a used truck. What you wanna do is you wanna look for a non-CDL, 26,000 GVW, so max 26,000 gross vehicle weight that will allow you to be a non-CDL truck. You want an automatic transmission. If you can find an automatic transmission, it’s gonna be much better. For any of you that have a manual transmission or have dealt with manual transmissions at your company, that’s what I bought in my first few years in business, and we burned through a bunch of clutches. Drivers will come in and they’ll just burn. They don’t know how to drive the truck properly, and they’re just gonna burn through your clutch, and you’re just gonna be spending money, after money, after money. So, it’s better to spend the money to get an automatic truck, upfront, and this way, there’s not as much skill needed to drive that truck. Make sure that when you’re buying a used truck, there’s maintenance records to show that they’ve being keeping that truck maintenanced over the course of time that they’ve had it, that they’ve had regular PMs, preventative maintenance on the truck, and they should have the records showing that.

And you also want a 24 to 26-foot truck. If you’re gonna buy a truck, don’t spend the money to get a 20-footer or a 15-footer. It’s about the same amount of fuel to run a 24 or 26-foot truck and it just gives you more ability to do larger moves. And make sure you get a non-refrigerated truck. If you’re looking for used trucks, and you’re not quite sure what to look for, these are the things that you wanna make sure that it has. A non-refrigerated truck, or a reefer truck, as they call it, has essentially a cooling system in it, you don’t want that, you don’t need that, you don’t wanna pay for it. So that’s going with the used truck. I’m also gonna put some links below where you could find some used trucks, usedmovingvans.com is a great, great source for finding used trucks, used trucks that were specifically from a moving company, so they have the moving box on them. And then, there’s also off-lease trucks that you can get from Ryder, Penske, Budget, but I would stick with going to usedmovingvans.com and start there, if you’re gonna be buying a used truck.

Fourth option, if you don’t wanna buy a brand new truck, if you don’t wanna buy a combo, new/used, so you have a used chassis in a brand new body, and your third options is to buy a used truck, is to do a full maintenance lease. Ryder and Penske offer these amongst other companies to where you can get a brand new truck. They’ll lease it to you, and it’s full maintenance, meaning they’ll take care of everything. Again, it has to do with the plan that you set up with them during the lease, so check with them as to what the details are and what’s offered. But if the truck breaks down, they’ll give you another truck to use. This is a great option, especially, talk to your accountant if you need the full write-off on a lease. When you buy a truck, you don’t write off the whole payment, so that could be a very steep payment to not get the write off, although, it goes on your balance sheet, a lease is a complete write off.

So, these are the four options. And listen, if you’re in it for the long haul, if you’re in this business and you’re building a brand and you’re building a company, don’t be afraid to spend money on your trucks. Just make sure that you service ’em, make sure you take care of ’em, make sure they’re clean, because you could have a brand new moving truck that you never clean, you never wash, and it looks like crap and that’s what people see when it’s rolling around town. So, make sure you’re doing preventive maintenance on the trucks every 6,000 miles, make sure you’re sending ’em in for a regular PM, make sure you’re washing them on a regular basis, and make sure you letter it up. Put your logo on the side, make sure people see it coming. If you get a brand new truck, if you get a brand new box, or even a good-looking used truck, you wanna make sure that it’s representing your company.

So listen, guys, I hope this was helpful. I’m getting this information and I’m doing these episodes based off the comments I’m receiving, based off the emails that you’re sending me, so if you have any questions, if there’s anything I could help you with, please, send me an email, leave a comment, I’ll be more than happy to get back to you. I know it’s moving season, I hope you’re busy, I hope you’re out there crushing it, I hope you’re thinking about buying some new trucks ’cause you’re that busy. I could tell you, if you’re gonna buy new, if you’re gonna buy a new/used combo, plan in advance. It takes months to build these new moving boxes. I made the mistake many years where March comes around and I’m like, “Oh, man, I need new trucks,” and I don’t get ’em until the end of season. So, it’s something that I want you to start thinking about now for next year. And I’m gonna put some resources, reach out to the truck dealers, talk to them, see what the deal is, see what works for you, see what financing options there are. And you know what, keep building, keep growing. Go out every day, profit in business, thrive in life. I’ll see you next week.

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Should Your Moving Company Become a Van Line Agent?

The Pros and Cons of Your Moving Company Joining a Van Line

To become an agent for a van line or not to become an agent? That’s the question I’ve been getting asked lately. When you want to grow your interstate/long distance portion of your moving company, joining a van line is definitely something to consider. In this week’s episode, I dive into the pros and cons to help you decide if your moving company should become an agent for a van line.

5 PROS of your moving company becoming an agent for a van line.

  1. Nationally recognized brand – When you join a major van line you will get instant brand recognition in your marketplace. Along with your own company name you will also be able to brand all your marketing with the van line’s name as well. This is a great benefit, especially when dealing with interstate moves, account work and higher end jobs.
  2. Additional sales channels (Military, national accounts & logistics) – Although you don’t have to become an agent for a van line to become military approved or get national accounts, it helps. The van lines have access to these types of additional revenue opportunities and as an agent in their network, they need you to facilitate these moves.
  3. Backhaul shipments – To be profitable in long distance moving, you must have backhaul shipments! When you have a shipment from one part of the country to another, it’s important to fill up your truck on the way back with backhaul shipments. The van line helps facilitate those shipments for you with their network of agents throughout the country. As an independent, you can still make relationships with other independent carriers for your backhauls but the van line makes this easier.
  4. Network of haulers – When you book a shipment and aren’t able to haul it with your own trucks, you can “surrender” the shipment to the van line. They will find another agent to haul the shipment and you will receive a percentage of the job for booking it. Yes, as an independent you can also do this through an interline agreement with another independent carrier but the van line makes it easier. And for the most part you know your customer is in good hands.
  5. Storage in transit (S.I.T) – When another agent in the van line has a move coming to your city and needs storage, you will be able to get that shipment. You’ll be able to charge for storage as well as the local move out of storage. Just another revenue opportunity!

5 CONS of your moving company becoming an agent for a van line.

  1. Percentage of all interstate revenue goes to van line – Even when you do everything on the move…spend money on marketing, pay your sales team’s commission, haul the shipment on your truck, pay the driver…you will still give the van line a percentage of that job. Although there is support that the van line provides and you’re hauling it using their DOT & FMCSA Authority, giving them a piece of the pie can be seen as a con.
  2. Must follow van line’s guidelines – As an interstate carrier there are regulations that need to be followed that are set forth by the USDOT and FMCSA. As an agent for a van line, you have to follow those regulations PLUS the guidelines of the van line. Depending on the van line and the actual guidelines, this can be helpful or restrictive.
  3. Loss of brand recognition – Although you gain nationally known brand recognition when you are an agent for a van line, you also loose your own company’s branding. Most of the major van lines will require you to re-letter your trucks with their logs and colors. So if you are trying to build an independent brand this can be challenging with a most major van lines. There ARE some mid-size van lines that will allow you to keep your branding.
  4. Must have a warehouse facility – If you currently don’t have a warehouse facility and want to become an agent for a van line, you won’t be able to in most cases. Van lines will require you to have a warehouse which is not always a bad thing. By having that warehouse you will get more revenue opportunities.
  5. Van line politics – As an agent for a van line, you are still your own boss and run your company the way you want…for the most part. The van line systems can be very political and to thrive within the network you must understand “how things work” within their system.

Overall, a van line provides you with support and guidance in many areas of your business. I chose to stay independent when I was running my interstate division of my company but considered many times becoming a van line agent. I know many moving company owners that are happy with their decision to become an agent for a van line. I also know independent companies that thrive without the support.

I would say it’s definitely something to explore and see if it feels right to you and fits into your overall business plan and goals.

List of Major Van Lines:

  1. Allied Van Lines
  2. Atlas Van Lines 
  3. Mayflower
  4. North American Van Lines
  5. United Van Lines 
  6. Wheaton / Bekins

List of Mid-Size Van Lines:

  1. Arpin Van Lines 
  2. National Van Lines
  3. Stevens Van Lines

Watch the video above for the full episode.

Like this episode? Please share it! My blog and videos are ad-free ONLY because you share my work!

How can I help? What challenges are you facing in your business? What areas could you use some tips in?

Leave me a comment below and I will be more than happy to get back to you or post a video on the topic.

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Full Transcript
[The following is the full transcript of this episode.]
Hey my friend, it’s Louis Massaro, CEO of Moving Mastery and founder of Moving Sales Academy. Today we’re gonna be talking about whether your moving company should join a major van line and become an agent, to help run your interstate long distance division of your company. When I say a major van line, I’m talking about Atlas, Mayflower, Allied, United, North American, National, Arpin… I’ll put a list of all of them in the notes below, this way you could check them out for yourself. But, let’s talk about what the pros and what the cons are to becoming an agent for a van line. Let’s jump right into it.

The first pro of becoming an agent for a van line is nationally recognized brand. Immediately, whatever the name of your company it is whether it’s well-known, whether you’ve been around for a while, whether you really have a brand following. You’ll instantly get one by joining a van line. You’ll be able to use all their marketing material, you’ll most likely have to letter your trucks with their logos and their colors and everything but you’ll instantly have a brand that everyone recognizes. When you go on estimates, when you’re quoting people over the phone, when you’re doing presentations, you’ll have a brand that is already recognized. That’s the first pro of becoming an agent for a van line.

The second pro is additional sales channels with military, national accounts, and logistics. You don’t have to be a van line agent to get these, but by becoming a van line agent it makes these much more accessible and the van line will help you get military moves, national accounts, logistics jobs. These are things that are already within the van line’s network and within their scope of work. Especially if you’re in a city, in an area where they could use someone to handle these accounts, this is another pro of becoming an agent for a van line.

Third pro of becoming an agent for a van line is backhaul shipments. If you’re independent, if you’re not affiliated with a van line, you have to worry about getting backhauls. Meaning if you are in LA and you have a move that goes to New York, and you don’t have anything to come back from New York, and your truck comes back empty, you’re not gonna be very profitable. The van line has agents in all kinds of cities, almost a full national footprint, and they’ll be able to get you backhaul shipments to fill your truck. That’s another pro of being an agent for a van line. Wherever your truck goes, chances are you’ll be able to find the shipment for a backhaul. It’s really important. Now you could find this as an independent, but the van line makes it much easier for you.

Pro number four is you have a network of haulers. This is the reverse. Let’s say you book a move and you’re not able to service it. You don’t have the trucks, you don’t have the capacity, all your trucks are busy or let’s say you book a move that’s out-of-area for you, the van line has a network of haulers, other moving companies that could then haul that shipment for you, and you receive a percentage just for booking it. You’re not brokering out a job, but you’re giving it to another carrier, or I should say another agent within the van line agency. That’s another big pro.

And the fifth pro is storage and transit. What storage in transit is, SIT, basically if another van line agent that is in the same van line as you has a shipment come into your city that needs storage, and then possibly a local redelivery as well, there’s a good chance you’ll get that shipment, you’ll be able to collect on the storage, you’ll be able to do the local move. That’s another benefit and another pro of becoming an agent for a van line. Those are five positive good reasons why you would become an agent for a major van line. Let’s talk about what the cons are. I’m gonna give you five cons as well.

A percentage of all your interstate business will go to the van lines. Meaning a percentage of the revenue of all your interstate moves will go to the van line. Even if you do all the marketing, you book the move, you put it on your truck, you haul it, you’re still gonna give a percentage of that to the van line. There’s support and there’s things that go along with that; there’s a reason they charge it. But I would say that that’s a con that you’re giving up part of your money to the van line on a shipment that you handle 100% by yourself, and there’s other fees and other things that they charge you for as well.

The second con of becoming an agent for a van line is you must follow the van line’s guidelines. As an interstate carrier, you have USDOT and FMCSA laws and regulations to follow, well you’ll also have the van line’s guidelines to follow. And each van line has different guidelines, but this would be another con. If you’re wanting to do things a certain way, you may or may not be able to do them the way you want to because you have to follow the van line’s guidelines.

A third con is loss of brand recognition. We talked about gaining a nationally known brand recognition as a pro for becoming an agent for a van line. Well, you’ll lose your own brand recognition. If you’re trying to build a brand and you wanna be recognizable with your trucks and not be known as the van line agent, but be known as your own company, you would lose that. That’s not always a bad thing, it all depends on what your strategy is for growth. But it’s just something to keep in mind. The fourth con is you must have a warehouse facility. If you’re a moving company and you’re working out of a truck yard or you just have an office where you park trucks and you don’t have a warehouse, most van lines are gonna require you to be an agent, they’re gonna require you to have a warehouse facility for things like the storage in transit and things like that, that are revenue opportunities for you, so it’s not all bad. But if you don’t have a warehouse, you will need a warehouse to become a van line agent.

And then the fifth con to becoming a van line agent is just van line politics. You now are not the sole decision maker of what happens with your company. The things that you do in regards to your interstate business, your marketing and things like… There’s a lot that you now are part of a network that you have to follow their guidelines and be a part of what’s going on. And there’s also, who gets the military shipments in the city? Maybe that van line has another agent, there’s multiple agents in one city, so it’s who gets the account work, things like that. There’s those things to consider as well.

That’s five pros and five cons to becoming a van line agent. If you’re a local mover and you’re not doing any interstate business, but you’re receiving a lot of interstate requests, or you have your interstate license and you’re doing a few shipments here and there on your own trucks, and you feel like you could use some more support… That’s another big benefit too is that if you’re really just getting started and you don’t have a full understanding of interstate, it’s challenging. It was challenging for me. If you know my story, you know I sold my long distance fleet and became a broker, which turned out to be a terrible decision, but it’s challenging. If you’re just starting out and you could really use the support, it’d definitely be worth checking out becoming an agent for a van line. I know a lot of people that are agents for different van lines and, for the most part, they’re all happy with the fact that… They might have some grievances, but they’re all happy being an agent for a van line. It just provides you that national support. There are also some cons to it. We talked about all of them, but I just wanted to lay it out for you. If you have any more questions about this, these are only five pros and five cons, there’s more to it. Definitely leave me a comment, ask me questions, send me an email, I’ll be more than happy to help you.

I’m also gonna put a list of all the van lines, so that you can go ahead. If you’re ready to do it, apply to all of them. You don’t know which van lines need an agent in your city. You might be in a city right now where they’re in desperate need of a good agent. And if you provide good service and you’re already doing a lot of marketing for your local side of your business and you’re able to get interstate work, you might be a great fit for them. Don’t be afraid to try it out and if you know what? If you wanna stay independent, that’s cool too. I just wanted to lay it out for you, I’m not trying to tell you to go one way or tell you to go the other way. All I could say is, I know many successful, independent moving companies that have a lot of interstate business that handle their own backhauls and are able to work with other moving companies to set that up, and they’re happy doing it the way they do it. And I know a lot of van line agents that are part of a network, they’re part of a bigger family, if you will, and they’re happy that way. It really all depends on you and the future and where you see yourself taking your company and how this all fits in. I hope this was helpful. Go out there every single day, profit in business, thrive in life. I’ll see you later.