Ok, so you’ve got a list of 4 to 6 Atlanta movers near you, either from your friends and family or online. Now were going to get to the nitty gritty of figuring out which of these companies are worthy of moving your precious things!  Qualifying a moving company is the most important part of hiring a moving company, even before you get an estimate. This company will be in charge of moving all of your personal belongings from point A to point B.  Whether its 10 miles or 1,000 you need to find a reliable, trust worthy mover.  I will get to the estimate questions a little later, but right now I want to deal with the important background information. No matter what their price is, if they don’t have the qualifications you don’t want to hire them.

The first thing I recommend is checking out each moving company with the Better Business Bureau to see if they are an accredited business and have had any complaints. The next thing you want to do is compile a list of questions.  Find out more information about each companies background and their policies. Here are some important questions to ask:

How long have they been in business? Generally you want a company that has been around for at least 8 to 10 years.  However, if you received a recommendation for an Atlanta mover from a friend or family member and that moving company hasn’t been in business that long, I wouldn’t rule them out.

Are their movers experienced? See if you can’t find out how long some of their movers have been with the company.  Obviously everyone’s new at some point but you want to make sure they have at least 1 to 2 people on your moving crew with a few years experience.

Are they going to hire subcontractors? Some bigger companies will hire smaller Atlanta moving companies to do the moving for them.  This isn’t a deal breaker but make sure they give you all the information. Ask for the name of the subcontractor that they plan on using. If they do not know which company it will be either ask them for a complete list of all their subcontractors or to get back to you when they find out for sure. Then research information on the local Atlanta mover that they plan on subcontracting to. They should not have an issue giving you any of this information, and if they do it may be a red flag.

Do they have any outstanding complaints and/or claims? Most moving companies will give you a history of any outstanding complaints or claims that were made against them.   They should also provide information on whether the issues were resolved as satisfactory to the client.  More often than not you won’t get complete details of these claims, however if there are any outstanding issues you should ask for more information about why they have not been resolved.

If at this point you feel that they have answered your questions successfully and you would feel comfortable with them moving your things, then this is when you would request an estimate.

You’re moving and we all know how stressful that can be on you and your family. From packing all of your things to moving them, it’s a lot of work. It’s certainly not fun, but in the end it means a fresh start. To help alleviate some of the stress you’ve decided to hire a moving company which will save you a lot of time and back aches. However trying to find, qualify and hire a moving company, well, you may just sprout a few more grey hairs. There are some key things that you can do and to look for when trying to find Atlanta movers. The first step to help you avoid scams and find a trustworthy mover is to compile a list of moving companies near you and here are the most effective ways to do this:

• The best way to find good reliable movers in Atlanta is to ask friends and family for recommendations of companies they have used in the past. We all know that our friends and family are usually not shy of an opinion so if they’ve had a good, bad or even terrible experience with a company they will tell you.

• The second best way is to call your local real estate agents. Most real estate agents have long ongoing relationships with local Atlanta movers. They can give you a list of their top moving companies within your area that they deal with on a regular basis for their clients. You may end finding yourself a good local real estate agent as well!

• The last way is to search online or in your local phone book. Today the internet is more powerful than ever. With a few keystrokes you can find all your local Atlanta moving companies within a specific distance. Choose your favorite search engine Google, Yahoo, or Bing and start searching. Compile a list of all the Atlanta movers that are closest to you and check any reviews that may be available.

You should have a minimum of 4 to 6 moving companies either recommended by others or ones you found on the internet or phone book. This will give you a good starting point to get you to the next step of qualifying a mover. This is where we will show you what to look for in a moving company, how to find out if they have hidden fees or scams, and if they are truly the trustworthy moving company for you!