Stevens Worldwide Van Lines recently introduced a mobile website.

The mobile site is m.stevensworldwide.com

Users simply need to go to www.stevensworldwide.com from mobile phones or tablets and the application will automatically redirect them to the mobile version of the website.

This convenient site allows potential customers to request free moving estimates, learn information about Stevens and access helpful moving tips.

Stevens Worldwide Van Lines is looking forward to the latest addition to its fleet of moving vehicles – a specially designed moving van to help promote its partnership with the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

The special moving van will become part of the Stevens Worldwide Van Lines moving fleet, providing moving services to customers coast to coast. It will officially hit the road as part of the Stevens fleet of vehicles within the next few weeks.

Stevens is donating to the National Breast Cancer Foundation for every mile that the pink moving truck travels while providing service to moving customers.

Stevens Worldwide Van Lines was founded in Saginaw, Michigan and we’ve maintained our headquarters here through 106 cold, snowy (42 inches a year) winters. So you’d think we’d know a thing or two about moving in inclement weather. And you would not be disappointed. With that thought in mind, today I’m going to write about winter weather moving, the facts and issues you need to be concerned about and how to ensure that your winter move is safe and successful. Plus, I’ll point out one reason why moving in the winter can be a smart move. I’ll start with the latter.

Moving in the winter will save you money.
Traditionally, people move when school lets out. In fact, 60% of our business takes place over the course of the same four months every year and that’s the case with all moving companies. So if you can move during off-peak times you’re going to save money – as much as 15% and in some cases even more.

NOTE: While this post is intended primarily for individuals, if you’re an HR Manager at a large company who hires and relocates hundreds of people a year … shifting a percentage of your moves to the off-peak season can save your company thousands of dollars.

You, your moving company and winter weather: What you need to know.
From here on I’ll focus on weather-related issues and how they can affect your move. Specifically, I’ll cover information you need to know about what your moving company needs from you and what you should expect of your moving company. In the end, with a reputable mover and good communication and planning you’ll be able to handle anything Old Man Winter throws at you. At least that’s been the case for the 106 winters Stevens has been helping people move.

I’ve organized this part of my post into three sections: moving day, transit and unloading.

Moving day – Any reputable mover will be in close contact with you as your move date approaches. For example, with Stevens your move coordinator and other personnel will be in touch with you the day before your scheduled move. If the forecast calls for snow the night before you’ll be reminded to:

Clear the driveway and loading lanes of snow and ice – This will need to be taken care of before the driver arrives. If it’s not, he won’t be able to load. And if he and his crew have to wait for you to clear the pathways you’ll incur an extra charge for the wait time.

Extra in-home protection – One of the services you should expect from your moving company this time of the year is extra in-home protection … in the form of extra padding and cardboard throughout the house. With reputable movers this is a given and there’s never an extra charge for the extra protection. NOTE: At Stevens we cover 100% of move-day property damage, so if we soil your carpet or cause any other damage – no matter what’s going on outside – it’s on us to make things right for you.

Don’t pack liquids – As you know, when liquids freeze they expand and this could cause broken containers and a big mess. On a related note, don’t forget to drain any liquids from appliances, lawnmowers, or other items.

Now I want to cover a couple of questions that sometimes come up:

What if one of the movers slips on my driveway and turns an ankle or breaks a bone, am I legally liable? – With the standard caveat that I’m not a lawyer and this shouldn’t be construed as legal advice, the answer is usually no. The key is that the driver and his crew must be covered by Workers’ Comp (as is the case with all Stevens’ drivers and crews). Reputable movers are going to have this coverage. But if you have any concern or doubt ask the company to show you proof of workers’ comp and liability insurance before you hire them.

What if the weather is so bad that you can’t load or unload and you have to reschedule. Will I incur additional charges? – No. Stevens never charges the customer late fees for weather-related issues and neither will any other reputable mover. One final moving day note -- if the spirit moves you to make hot coffee and cocoa available for the crew by all means do so. Most of them will bring their own but your kind gesture will be greatly appreciated.

Transit – One of the biggest concerns with winter moving is driving conditions. And whether you’re moving across town or across the country the key to safely getting your household belongings to their next destination will be the competence and skill of your driver.

Driver training – Be sure to ask your moving company about its driver training program and the level of winter weather driving experience its drivers have. At Stevens our drivers receive several hours of safe driver training, including a segment on driving in winter weather and other hazardous conditions.

Vehicle and vehicle maintenance – You never want a breakdown regardless of when you’re moving. But as you know, winter weather is tough on a vehicle. So to ensure that there are no maintenance-related delays with the moving van, special precautions will need to be taken. For instance, your driver needs to be sure he uses the right fluids and fuels, and with a diesel engine he needs to plug it in at night so the block doesn’t freeze. Plus, he’ll need to know what to do when the brakes freeze on the trailer, which can happen a lot in winter weather. All of these issues and others are thoroughly covered in the Stevens driver training program.

Of course, one big factor in the dependability of a vehicle is its age. As a rule, large, coast-to-coast moving companies will maintain newer fleets. For example, our oldest truck is no more than five years old. 

Unloading – You got loaded up without a hitch and your belongings safely made it to your new residence on schedule. All that’s left is to get the van unloaded and for you and your family to begin settling in. Here are a few final tips to help you put the finishing touches on a successful winter move. 

Warm up your new home – Check in with the local utility companies at your new destination and make arrangements to have all necessary services up and running by your scheduled move-in date. To be on the safe side you may want to have these services turned on the day before your move-in date. That way if there’s a foul-up you’ll have a full day to get it straightened out.

Remember to clear the driveway and pathways, if called for – Yes, it’s your responsibility on this end as well.

In addition, if yours is a long-distance move that takes place entirely within a frigid clime please note: Manufacturers generally recommend that you do NOT reconnect certain household appliances and other items until they have had sufficient time to acclimate to room temperature – typically 12 – 24 hours.

For example – 

Washing machines – Even if you drain the pump before loading it, some water and accumulated moisture will remain. Trying to wash clothes while this water is frozen can damage your appliance. Also, due to similar reasons it’s smart to hold off on hooking up your refrigerator’s icemaker.

Gas and electric dryers – The igniters and heating elements become brittle when exposed to freezing temperatures. The sudden temperature change caused when you turn on the dryer can damage internal parts.  

Electronic equipment –  Freezing temperatures can cause condensation that can potentially cause serious problems with your electronic equipment such as that big-screen plasma or LCD TV, your PCs and other items. NOTE: As previously mentioned on this blog, Stevens has partnered with Support Squad to offer customers free telephone technical support for hooking up home electronics, internet connections, Wi-Fi, etc.

Grandfather clocks and waterbeds – For the former, freezing weather can gum up the oil in the pivot points and for the latter it’s pretty much impossible to completely drain a waterbed.

Fast-forward to 72 hours after your move-in date. You probably still have more than a few unpacked boxes scattered about but the important thing is that everything and everyone made it to your new destination safe and sound. It’s already starting to feel like home. And odds are you saved a very nice sum of money on your move. Here at Stevens, we’d say that calls for a little celebrating. So if it’s just you and your spouse, why not Google “fine restaurants” in your new city? Or gather the family together and head out to a local ice rink or a nearby slope for skating, skiing or snow sledding.  Enjoy the season.

Making a move during the winter months can present challenges you don’t normally get during other times of the year. No question about it. But with the right moving company and good planning and attention to detail your move can be as safe and as successful as during any other time of the year.

Edward Melton
VP Relocation Services and Marketing
Stevens Worldwide Van Lines

Google “questions to ask your mover” as I just did and you’ll get over 400,000 hits. Click on the articles that appear in the results and you’ll generally get good advice.

Aside from the most basic questions – Can you give me references of satisfied customers? How long has your company been in business? What kind of liability coverage does your company provide? – here are five more questions worth asking:

1. How do you determine the weight of my shipment?

2. What kind of cancellation policy do you have?

3. Do you guarantee pickup and delivery dates and what happens if you miss one or both?

4. How do you pack items with special requirements, such as electronics, glass-fronted furniture, antiques and musical instruments?

5. Do you offer storage?

I could go on and on. But you know how to do a Google search as well as I do. So for the balance of this post I’m going to go “off the beaten path” and offer up a few questions and considerations about the moving process that might not come so readily to mind.

For example –

• Do I really want to fill out that online quote form? – It’s quick and easy so why not? For starters, you may be subjecting yourself to a lot of unwanted phone calls and emails. That’s because with many quote forms you’re not providing information to a moving company. You’re giving it to an aggregator of sales leads for the moving industry. That lead aggregator will then sell your information to five or six different moving companies. And then, well, let the fun begin. Some of the companies that buy these leads – even though it’s expressly forbidden by the aggregator – will turn around and sell your information again. Look, if you’re planning a move you have enough to deal with already. So make sure the information you’re submitting in that online quote form is going directly to a reputable moving company. You’ll save yourself time and hassle later on.


• Can you work with my moving budget? – With any binding quote for moving services the mover will visit your residence, gather pertinent information about your move, take an inventory of your belongings and give you a written quote. And for many movers that’s it. This approach might work fine for some people. For others though, especially those with tight budgets, that might not be the case. So if the moving rep that comes out to your house doesn’t ask about your moving budget upfront, you need to let the rep know. A reputable moving company will work with you to develop a moving plan that fits your budget. For instance, say you have a budget of $6,000 and the initial estimate is $7,000. A reputable, experienced mover will advise you on how to close that $1,000 gap. For example, as interstate moves are always priced on the weight of the shipment, he’ll likely suggest how you can reduce that weight. Such as, have your garage sale on this end and make your donations on this end. He’ll provide you a list of places to donate furniture…give you a checklist of things to do to pull off a great garage sale and offer to have that old refrigerator taken to the Salvation Army for you. Things like that. Then, once you’ve taken care of these things, the rep will come out and give you a new estimate. Keep in mind you’ll need to allow yourself more time in the planning process to ensure you have this type of flexibility.


• How do you handle a claim? – Most reputable movers keep damages and claims to a minimum. Nevertheless, they do happen. The most common type of damage is minor damage to furniture. What follows specifically applies only to Stevens’s claims procedures. That said, based on more than 20 years of industry experience, I know that most major movers handle claims similarly. Upon first identifying the damage, a Stevens customer has the option of filing a claim online or picking up the phone and talking to a claims specialist at our Saginaw, Michigan headquarters. In either case, an investigator is assigned to the claim and an independent appraiser will visit to the customer’s house. The appraiser will determine whether the damage can be repaired or if the item must be replaced. If the customer disagrees with the appraiser’s assessment Stevens, as a member of The American Moving and Storage Association , offers binding arbitration.


• What additional services does the mover offer that can benefit me? – Above all else, you want your moving company to be able to safely move your household belongings from point “A” to point “B” in a timely manner and for a fair fee. Assume you’ve identified two reputable movers that fit the bill. Who gets the business? Answering the above question can help you make the right decision. With the ability of either company to satisfy your most important needs, it’s time to consider what, if any, additional services the mover provides. For example, at Stevens Worldwide we’ve partnered with a network of experienced and trusted real estate professionals across the country to offer our clients cash rebates on the sale or purchase of a home. Simply use the Stevens network to buy or sell your home and you’ll receive a cash rebate of $5 per $1,000 of the transaction amount. Example: House sale price of $250,000 = Cash rebate of $1,250. In addition, Stevens has partnered with Support Squad to offer customers free telephone technical support for hooking up home electronics, internet connections, Wi-Fi – you name it. Plus, as moving can place you at greater risk of identity theft, Stevens has teamed with Experian to offer clients reduced-cost protection against this crime.


• Does the mover give back? – For more than 100 years Stevens Worldwide been a part of the Saginaw, Michigan community, supporting various civic and charitable initiatives. Recently, we announced corporate support for our first national charitable cause: the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Among other details about this program, Stevens will donate a portion of the proceeds from every private interstate move and each non-military international move to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

The moving business is very competitive. Chances are, if you get quotes from three established companies for an interstate move, those quotes are going to be within five to ten percent of one another. And odds are each company will do a good job of moving you. Of course, my very biased opinion is that Stevens Worldwide will do the best job.

In summary, to make your decision-making process and your move simpler, easier and less of a hassle…use the internet wisely…work with a mover that will work with your budget…be acquainted with the way the mover handles claims…explore all the benefits a mover has to offer you and consider whether the money you spend with them will serve any cause but their own.

Edward Melton
VP Relocation Services and Marketing
Stevens Worldwide Van Lines

Stevens International has joined in the Stevens corporate partnership with the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc.®

Stevens International, the global moving and freight forwarding division of Stevens, is donating an amount from the proceeds of each non-military, household goods international move to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Stevens International coordinates thousands of relocations every year – moving families and their belongings to all parts of the world.

A Stevens Worldwide Van Lines professional van operator, truck and moving boxes will make appearances in an upcoming Hallmark Channel prime time movie.

The made-for-television movie, entitled “Oliver’s Ghost,” is scheduled to premiere at 9 p.m. (EST) on Saturday, Oct. 22. It will re-air at 11 p.m. (EST) Saturday, and again three additional times in the following week.

Oliver’s Ghost is a family movie, starring Martin Mull and Rhea Perlman, and highlights the new adventures and special new friend of 11-year-old Oliver McCaffrey, when he and his family move into their new home.

Peg Wilken is known in the moving industry as an expert in a variety of areas. Now Ms. Wilken, who is Vice President of Government Traffic & Claims at Stevens Worldwide Van Lines will share her expertise with even more in the moving business. She recently was elected at Vice Chairperson of the International Association of Movers.

The International Association of Movers is a global association of movers and forwarders that is committed to providing the highest level of service possible. More than 2,000 companies from nearly 170 countries are members of the organization.

Ms. Wilken has worked at Stevens for 30 years and has been involved with the International Association of Movers for several years, and has served on the organization’s Executive Committee since 2009. She also is a past chairperson of the association’s Claims Committee.

She also is the chairperson of the American Moving and Storage Association’s Government Traffic Advisory Council and a spokesperson for the moving industry in many forums.

The Stevens Worldwide Van Lines has announced a partnership with the National Breast Cancer Foundation. This is the beginning of a long-term, multi-faceted relationship between the two organizations.

Stevens is committed to support the National Breast Cancer Foundation in a variety of ways including:

• Donations to the foundation for every private, state-to-state move that Stevens performs
• Events and programs for moving company agents nationwide to become involved
• Expansion of the partnership within the next several months
• A dedicated website – www.stevenspink.com – and social media related to the partnership

Stevens selected the National Breast Cancer Foundation as a corporate partner because of its grassroots work in offering screenings and education and its dedication to direct care and research. 

While the partnership launched in October during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Stevens will continue its support of the foundation for the long term.

Odds are if your business enjoys a long successful run, at some point you’re going to relocate. Maybe you outgrow your current space or maybe your lease comes due and you find a better deal elsewhere, a distinct possibility in the current economy.

The why really isn’t important. But what is important is that you make the move as smooth and as hassle-free as possible for everyone. Especially your customers and employees. After all, these groups are two key reasons for your success.

So, in this post I present you with six steps you can follow to ensure that your business relocation goes smoothly. As with any other task that calls for a coordinated team effort, proper planning is a must. In fact, all parties with a prominent role in the move would be well served  by keeping in mind the old saying: Proper planning prevents poor performance.

As you’ll see, proper planning and forethought are at the core of the following steps.

Step # 1: Put careful and considered thought into what you will move, what you will dispose of and what you will need to purchase. – Sure, this point is a given. But it’s so important I would be remiss if I didn’t include it. For example, for those employees with private offices, will their existing furniture and office décor be suitable for the new space? Will all the pieces fit? Or if the offices are bigger will you need to purchase additional components to keep these spaces from looking too bare? Much the same holds true for your cubicles, lunch room(s), conference room(s) and common area(s).

In short, take a complete inventory of your facility and decide what you will move, what you will dispose of (and how you will dispose of it), and what you will need to purchase. As this work typically takes place several months ahead of time you may also want to evaluate your company’s workstation, office equipment and telecommunications needs. If any upgrades are in order by your move date you can plan accordingly.

Additionally, it’s a good time to review your hard-copy files to see if any of these materials have aged to a point that they can be destroyed.  Once you’ve carefully thought through all these issues you’ll be ready to do the actual space planning.

Step # 2: Designate one employee as Move Project Manager or point person. – Now that you know what you’re going to move and what’s being disposed of and you’ve done your space planning you’re ready to tackle the details of the move. And your first order of business is to designate a move project manager (MPM) or point person. This employee will oversee all aspects of the move and manage the efforts of all outside vendors and professionals. Depending on the size of your company and the type of space you’re moving to…outside vendors and professionals can include: architect/space planner, general contractor and infrastructure vendors (wiring/telecom, furniture, etc.)

In larger companies the MPM or point person is almost always the head of facilities management. But in small to mid-size businesses, it’s usually the office manager. Someone who reports to the company president. Typically, it’s an employee who knows a lot about all the nitty-gritty details that keep the office humming. Everything from who holds the contract for the copy machines to who the furniture vendors are … to knowing how to take down and bring back up the postage meter. It also helps if this individual is used to dealing with and has a good relationship with the building manager and the folks in the IT department.

With one competent, well-organized and knowledgeable person in charge you’ll assure yourself of a single gateway for outgoing and incoming communications about your move. And there will be a single source to turn to when there are questions.

Next, the president and the MPM or point person will put together a move team. Then the team will meet and work out a move schedule with the MPM or point person assigning tasks related to that schedule. 

NOTE: Ideally, steps one and two would take place (assuming a lease has already been executed at a new location) four to six months ahead of your planned move date.

Step # 3: Select a reputable moving company. – All the basic rules apply:

• Seek out the referral of reputable movers from people you know, trust and respect. Good sources of referrals are your commercial real estate broker and the building manager. A building manager will often have a list of preferred movers.
• Get three estimates.
• Ask for references and check the references. Better yet, ask for a list of businesses (with a contact name) that they have recently moved and call several of them.
• Google prospective moving companies to see what may turn up in the way of praise or complaints.

This is your business and your livelihood. Depending on the size of your business if things don’t go well it could cost your business thousands of dollars (or more) in lost business, productivity or both. So the vendor with the rock-bottom price may not be your best choice. Of course, you don’t want to overpay either.

What you want is a commercial mover that can execute your relocation in an efficient and timely manner, enabling you to be open for business again on the date and time you choose. The fact is that most reputable commercial movers will be very competitive with their pricing, usually within 10% or so of one another.

As I’ve used the term “reputable” twice in this section let me give you two specific examples of what I mean by that term:

1. A reputable and experienced commercial mover will provide you with an in-person review of the items to be moved, a comprehensive written estimate, and conduct an extensive meeting with your employees prior to the move.
2. A reputable and experienced commercial mover will be able to offer you an all-inclusive package of services that includes complete IT relocation support. Everything from uninstalling and reinstalling all hardware and software to the packing and moving of equipment and data center relocation to reinstallation, reconfiguration and testing of all components.

Step # 4: Formally announce the relocation to your rank-and-file employees and be prepared for their questions. – You’ve done your preliminary work and selected a reputable, experienced mover. It’s time now for the MPM or point person to formally announce the relocation to your rank- and-file employees. Remember that this is change and change can be unsettling for people. There will be more than a few questions and you need to be prepared for them.

In a smaller company the point person and their move team will know the personalities and with a little forethought can probably anticipate many of the questions. Otherwise, know for sure that you’ll get such questions as –

• Where am I going to be sitting?
• Can I take my chair? What about my file cabinet?
• Will I have a window in my new office like I have here?

Simply put, people are possessive about their chairs, desks and office equipment – even if the items don’t belong to them. These are by no means the only type of questions you’ll get. For example, what if someone has a vacation scheduled for that week or will otherwise be out of the office? Think things through as best as you can. The more questions you can anticipate and the more answers you have at the ready, the more comfortable people will feel about the move.

At this meeting the MPM/point person will also explain all pertinent details about the move. And they’ll hand out instructions for how employees need to go about packing their own workspace and when they need to have it packed up by. The key here is clear, straightforward, unambiguous communication.

Step # 5: Clear anything and everything with building management – for the building you will be vacating and the building you will be moving into. – There are space reservations you have to make to move in and out of a building. Space reservations for the dock, space reservations for the elevators.  Every building has a set of rules for moving in and moving out, and you need to know these rules.

For example –

• If your moving team shows up at 4:00 PM and the rule of the building is no moving until after 6:00 PM your movers will have to sit for two hours – at your expense. 
• On moving day your mover shows up at the appointed time. But your moving company hasn’t bothered to file an insurance certificate with building management. As a result, you won’t be moving anything. Not until that insurance certificate is on file and approved.
  
  NOTE: Each mover is required to have an insurance certificate showing that both they and the company being moved are covered. This way if the mover damages the building or something within the building it’s covered.

You have a responsibility as the customer to know these details. That said, a reputable and knowledgeable mover will be aware of these issues and will see to them well ahead of your move date.

Step # 6: Use foresight, forethought and effective planning to be well prepared for a move day appearance by “Murphy.” – You know Murphy. He of “Murphy’s Law.” As in, "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." For instance, what happens if the freight elevator goes out? What’s plan “B”? Will you be able to use the passenger elevator? Are you sure? Have you checked with building management? If you haven’t, you should.

What else is there that could go wrong? Think about it. Brainstorm it. Have contingency plans in place. So if “Murphy” shows up you’ll be ready for him.

This article by no means comprises all the details on how to execute a successful corporate relocation. But it touches on most of the major points you need to be aware of and in future posts I’ll present additional information on this subject.

In wrapping this up, I’ll sign off in similar fashion to the way I began. If I could offer you one piece of advice about how to execute a successful corporate relocation it would be to keep this thought firmly in mind: Proper planning prevents poor performance.  

Author: Stevens’ corporate writer