Messing with the Movers

It's not often one gets the opportunity to practice negotiation skills. Due to the fact that negotiations for the average person revolve around significant cash outlays, (and these do not happen all that often), practicing the art of negotiation is usually theoretical.

I took a class in grad school about negotiation, and, for lack of a better term, the practices / homework assignments were actually quite fun. However, as there was nothing of real value at stake (other than a grade). they lacked the "Oh, shit, I can't believe I am about to drop a whole load of cash right now" nervousness and anxiety of a real negotiation. They lacked the immediacy, the necessity for quick, on your feet thinking, the internal and mental calculations that need to be executed before a response is given that a real negotiation has.

So when I received follow-up calls from moving companies regarding their quotes, I seized the opportunity to practice and observe my technique and those of my "adversary." I had nothing to lose, right? We've already made the decision to move ourselves, but they didn't know that. What's the harm?

Now, some readers might raise a question of morals here. "You are blatantly wasting these peoples' time. How would you feel if you were being led on?" And these people are right, of course. I did feel a little guilty practicing, but let me say this up front. I laid ground rules for myself (and the movers).

1. I was only going to ask for "Final and best offers."
2. All quotes would be blind. None of the other moving companies' offers would be shared with the others as a way of beating the companies up.
3. I would not disparage any of the movers to their other competitors.
4. I would never promise any of the movers anything, especially work.
5. After receipt of final and best, I would share the results with each of the moving companies, letting them know who they were competing against, the rank of their quotes (where they landed in relation to one another, but not the actual prices), the reserve price I had established for them to beat (really low, and let's be honest, pretty unfair), as well as what we decided to do.

I received the phone call from the 1st company. A guy I had been dealing with along over the phone, and one, who oddly enough, has a strange way of speaking and an accent. I can't tell what the accent is, but he really draws out his esses. It sounds Svengali-esque, with a hint of Edward G Robinson (You dirty rat), as if he's trying to persuade me with the power and sensuality of his voice.


"Hi, _______, this is _____, from _______ Moving Company. How are you today?" ( Btw, this company had provided the lowest price.)
"Hello, ______. I'm fine."
"Good. I am calling to see how your move plans are coming along. have you made a decision yet? Is there anything we can do to help you? You know, the date of your move is coming up and we are really starting to book up." (Ah, the pressure technique. "Time's a ticking buddy. You better make a decision!" This is a technique for landlords, sellers of real estate, car salesmen.)

"Well, ______, we've received all the initial estimates from all the companies, and I'd like your final and best offer. So, if you can send that over, that'd be great."

And then came the spiel. The sales pitch. The litany of references and Better Business Bureau ratings and how all the other moving companies are liars and slimeballs (but not us!). What the quote includes and how they're so much better, and how happy I am going to be, and how none of my stuff is going to be ruined, and on and on and on.

"Well, that's great, ______. I know your service is going to be great. And to be honest, all the companies are providing me with the same level of services and BBB ratings. What it comes down to now is price. So, if you can provide you're best and final, that'd be great."
"Well, what have the other companies given you? I'd have to know so that I can go to my sales manager with some justification." (Ah, good cop, bad cop. I knew I'd see this one. And he wants me to give up the other companies' prices so he knows how far he does / does not have come down.)
"Well, ______, I am sorry, but I am not going to give you that information. If you feel you have already provided you best and final, then that's fine. I appreciate your efforts."

Then the 2nd call came. Now, this company had provided the middle price, but had come back to me 2 weeks ago with a discount of $675, bringing the cost down to from $6350 to $5675. The call went in pretty much the same manner, but with a few twists. There was still the mention of how time is running out / pressuring me, but they added the "It's moving season, we should be raising our rates, not lowering them!" and "Well, you already received a discount, but let me check with my manager", insinuating I was a pain in the ass. Whatever, I remained silent. He came back with $5550, and when I said, "Alright, thanks very much. I'll get back to you," I was asked to hold on a second. The owner of the company wanted to speak with me.

Bingo. Here we go. The Big time. The Big Kahuna. Show time. Whatever. Clearly I had been on speaker phone before. Shit was real, now.

"Mr. ______? Yeah, my name is ___________ , and let me tell you right off, I am very impressed with how you are doing conducting this. You're doing all the right things. You started early, you did all your research, you're getting multiple quotes. Very impressive. Not many people do that, but you, you're smart." (The butter-up technique. Make them feel good, establish a relationship, personalize the transaction.)

He went on from there, relaying how he himself had done the same thing when he was re-doing his deck, yada, yada, yada, 3 quotes, went with the higher one because the owner was doing the work, yada, yada, yada, yada, our services are excellent, yada, yada, yada, Long story, short, I finally said to him:

"I have no doubt about the service level, ___________. All the companies have the same level of service and reputation. What it really comes down to is price, so, again, provide your final and best and I will get back to you."

"Final and best?"

"Final and best."

"$5,155."

Results:

Co. 1 got back to me this morning. They knocked off $100. As you just read, company 2 dropped from an initial $6350 to $5,155! Yowzer.

Here's a copy of the email I sent to the moving companies this morning.

____________ -

Thank you for the quote and all the work you and _______ have put into the pursuit.

You were competing against __________ from Englewood, NJ., and a subsidiary of ________ (some national company. You were also competing against a very low reserve price I had set as my wife and I are paying for this move ourselves.

Given that we are going to pack our belongings in boxes, and the moving companies were to pack the truck, do the driving, and unload the truck, we investigated the cost of renting a truck ourselves and hiring local companies to pack and unpack the truck. __________'s cost for renting a truck is $1,400, and the total cost of hiring local movers here and in Auburn, AL to load and unload the truck is $600. Hence a total cost of $2,000. Add in tip, gas, tolls, a night's hotel room, food, etc, and we are looking at approximately $2,600 total.

I set a reserve price for the movers of $3,000. Unsurprisingly, none of the movers were able match this price.

You and ________ did provide the lowest price. However, we have decided that the expense is too much for us to handle, despite the convenience your moving services would have provided.

I once again thank you for your efforts and all the valuable advise you and ______ provided. Should any of our friends remaining in the area require your services, I would not hesitate to recommend you.

Sincerely -


Now, on to the rest of shit I have to do.

The Truck Packers

After receiving the estimates from the moving companies (see this link), it's official. We're doing the deed by ourselves.

So I wasted little time in booking the moving companies which will load the boxes and furniture into the truck here in CT, and then unload the truck down in Auburn.

For about $500, I save the wife and I a lot of heavy lifting.

$500 = totally worth it.

Next steps? Mapping the driving route, booking a pet-friendly hotel (the drive will take 2 days), collecting additional packing boxes, packing, forwarding mail, setting up utilities, canceling utilities here...etc.

We still have lots to do.

Last of the Estimators, The Final Verdict Comes In

Boy, what a disappointment.

I was really hoping this last one was going to come in at a rate that would at least make us think about giving them the work. Instead, it's outrageousness has forced our hand.

We're doing the move ourselves. No question about that anymore.

The last estimator was a national carrier, one that my employer has a relationship with. Not that my employer is going to be paying for the move, but I had hoped that we might be able to get a little bit better of a deal. Instead, we got the highest estimate of the three. So, to recap:

Estimate #1 - $4,350
Estimate #2 - $6,500
Estimate #3 - $8,000

Now, #3 included $2K for packing and $1100 for moving a washing machine and dryer. For that amount of $, I can buy a new washer and dryer when I get there. If you knock off the $3,100, we're down to $4,900, but still...Yowzers

So, we did our due diligence and now the path is clear. Time to hire moving companies to load and unload the truck.

Dealing with movers

No matter where or when I have moved in the past, I was the one who was always doing it. Packing it in boxes, loading the truck, driving, unpacking, arranging, hanging pictures, shades, drapes, etc. This move, with its distance and additional heft, presents a challenge in both scope and duration. So, I figured we'd get some estimates from some movers.

Moving companies have a shitty reputation for a reason.They employ classic asymmetrical information tactics upon their usually hapless victims, hapless being defined either as being an individual handicapped with children and pets and a huge house of stuff to move rendering them incapable of packing and unpacking, or being the company who is paying for the individual and all their stuff to move hence having the individual not really care how much its going to cost. (Holy run-on sentence batman.).

The estimators the moving companies send to your house are supposed to be the experts. You rely on them to accurately estimate how much shit you have. But, its not in their best interest to give an accurate estimate because then they don't really make $. So, being that they get paid on both the amount and the distance they move, (and the distance is fixed), they are incentivized by the amount they move, hence they usually overestimate the amount of stuff. But they can't over-estimate too much because they know you, the individual or company paying for the move, are going to get multiple estimates. So, then they might underestimate, hoping to score the work on a lowball effort, get your stuff on the truck, hold it hostage, and then rip up the original estimate because clearly you, the individual, didn't show the original estimator how much shit you really had in the first place. Confused? So am I.

Here's where we are with the process. We've had 2 estimators come in. The first told us we had 1200 cubic feet and would charge us $4300. The second came in and told us we had 1500 cubic feet and would charge us $6300. Fuuuuuuaaaaa......

I call bullshit on both of them, because when I look at the Uhaul site or the Penske site, they both say a 2-3 bedroom house or apartment requires a 17 ft truck, or 850 cubic feet. We have a 2 bedroom apartment. There's no way we have almost double than that.

So, I am going to get a 3rd estimate from the company that is employed by my company when they move people. (We're self-financing this move). I am going to be very honest with them and let them know about the 2 previous estimates, BUT I am not going to let them know what they are.

I will then take their #'s, end up renting the 22 ft truck I already have on hold with Penske, and do the move myself. That'll show 'em.