A Moving Experience

[Editor's Note: The author works for Adeena, whose software is described in this article.]

Professionalism, trust, and efficiency

Who among us has never moved? In this mobile society, more than one fourth of households change residences each year. Though only 3% of the freight on our highways is classed as "household goods," no other transport service has such an emotional and psychological impact on its customers."

Consider: movers always operate when households are under maximum emotional stress, from the severing of family, personal, and professional ties, to the myriad details of selling, buying, and preparing two residences miles apart. Into this maelstrom, the mover must ask the household to hand over their cherished possessions to complete strangers, and them to trust that these will be transported as carefully as they would do so themselves, if they could.

No wonder, then, that the mover's first mission is to create a sense of trust and professionalism in their customers. Companies that can't convey this "high-touch, high-quality" image to customers will not survive in the long run. And it's here, in this emotional cauldron, that the Pocket PC goes to work.

Step 1: Earn the business—estimate wisely

Payyam Sohkish of Saddle River Platinum Movers needs to provide Mrs. Jones an estimate for her move. On arrival he notes the 19th century construction of her large 3-story colonial, its 5-6 bedrooms, and its basement chock full of furniture and boxes. Opening the Jones family file that he began last night, he also observes an enclosed breezeway connecting the house to a 3-car garage, effectively cutting off the driveway from efficient access to the house's rear entry, and creating numerous "long carries." The curtains in the attic window imply a fourth stairway. All these conditions—which can affect the labor, time, and materials for the job—he enters into his moving estimator.

When Payyam arrives to deliver an estimate for moving, he pulls out his Pocket PC to begin the process.

Mrs. Jones greets him at the door with a smile—and a glance at her watch. Rapidly, she conducts him to her living room filled with antique sofas and chairs, stylishly arranged around a baby grand piano.

A full law library fills the built-in bookshelves.She begins ticking off each item in staccato fashion: "This sofa will go…that coffee table…those chairs…but not that vase, it goes to Aunt Minnie in Chicago, we're stopping to visit her en route…and the home entertainment center has to be disconnected…" Payyam fires up his VANTRAX system on his Pocket PC (a complete system for moving companies; it uses Pocket PCs to enable movers do their jobs quickly and efficiently). Payyam opens his Item Capture ("cube sheet") screen, selecting "Living Room" as the preferred sort order. As Mrs. Jones mentions an item, he taps the pull-down selector list, taps to select it, and moves to the next item. At the Entertainment Center, he writes an note into the estimate saying that the components within must be disassembled by his team. He readily keeps up with her as she zooms through the room.

As each item is entered into the cube sheet, they are added to the total estimated cost of the move.

The two proceed through the house at a trot, returning in just 45 minutes. Payyam then notes how many containers he'll need to bring, how much packing is involved, and the two trucks needed for a job this size."Can you just give me a ballpark figure?" she asks. "I have to leave by 10, so I'm in a bit of a hurry." Instead of a "ballpark", he calls up a summary screen that details each cost component he's noted, and watches her eyes roll."

$11,200? I'd only budgeted $9,000! Couldn't we do something to make it less expensive?"