Tuesday, July 21, 2009

How Many People Ultimately Chose a Mover

Recently, I chose a company to insulate my home. Not having any means of determining the reliability of companies, I turned to several sources including Angie's list and the BBB. It turns out that was a wise move. One of the companies that I was considering had several unresolved complaints with the BBB and a poor rating with Angie's List.

Social media and customer reviews are becomming an excellent tool in determining service providers. While customer referrals and repeat customers provide a steady flow of business, many consumers, wary of movers, are looking to peer-to-peer reviews as a means of doing the initial evaluation of vendors.

Here are several sites that have produced significant numbers of leads, resulting in new customers who continue to refer us:

Moving Scam http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=77124#77124

Moving Scam writes: --Continental Van Lines, Inc. (Mayflower) in Seattle/Tacoma. Continental Van Lines out of Seattle (4 locations) was an Allied agent for years but became a Mayflower agent on May 1st, 2008. As of 9/06 their overall quality rating from the van line was 4.59 out of 5 (well up in the "excellent" range and about the highest Allied score ever reported on this website). "PMueller" (then working for Allied in FL) told a MovingScam moderator in a PM that Continental would be her choice for help in the Seattle area. "Lynn" got a quote from them for a move to Chicago but ultimately went with BE: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2497 (interstate) Someone else was set to move with them from Tacoma to Galveston but never came back to post how it turned out: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2492 (interstate) "seattle-jeff" was set to use them for a move to Houston but never came back to report: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2669 (interstate)

Citydata http://www.city-data.com/forum/anchorage/183596-how-transport-furniture-car-seattle.html
Blogger "All for Cats" writes: I've moved a couple of times with Continental/Allied Van Lines -- a VERY long-established national moving company. They have a special operation between Seattle/Tacoma and various locations throughout Alaska. They're at Seattle Mover, Tacoma Mover, Seattle Moving, Alaska Moving, Continental Van Lines Free Moving Quote

The Better Business Bureau http://http//www.bbb.org/western-washington/business-reviews/movers/continental-van-lines-in-seattle-wa-500046
Continental receives an A+ rating from the BBB for reliability, responsiveness, and length of time in business.

Angie's List https://www.angieslist.com/AngiesList/Login.aspx
Angie's List is a members only website. Continental has two great reviews.

Red Tricycle http://www.red-tri.com/archives/continentalvan.php
A surprisingly important website for those folks with children in the Puget Sound area.


All in all, consumers have more access to critical information, reviews, and resources than ever before. For additional information on chosing a mover and frequently asked questions, refer to Continental's frequently asked questions page at http://www.continentalvan.com/faqs.cfm.