How to Find a Good Moving Company: 6 Questions to Ask Before You Book

From long distance moves to local moves, small apartments to large houses, full-service moves to just a moving truck and a couple of people to help carry boxes, figuring out how to find a good moving company can feel impossible, especially if it's your first move. But hiring the wrong moving company can turn your move into a disaster.

When you fail to hire a reputable moving company, you put yourself at risk of having fragile or specialty items damaged, your large or bulky items tossed around in transit, and winding up with more lost or damaged items than you can count. 

Luckily, finding a good moving company doesn't have to be a gamble — you just need to know how to ask the right questions. While you could hire a moving broker, knowing what to look for and what questions to ask will allow you to hire reliable movers you can trust, no help required. In this guide, we’ll show you how to find the best Phoenix movers by walking through six key questions that reveal if your mover is legit, experienced, and transparent.

Are You Licensed and Insured?

At the very top of your moving company checklist should be to ask whether the company you're considering is properly licensed and insured. While there isn't one single license required for moving companies, there are a couple you should ask for. This includes an FMCSA and USDOT number. 

The FMCSA, or Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, is a license that helps enforce safety regulations for commercial drivers. Commercial moving services fall under this umbrella. Having this license, along with a USDOT number, ensures that the people driving your belongings are properly trained and insured to do so. 

While this is especially important when hiring long distance moving companies, as interstate moves include a lot more driving, it's also important when researching potential moving companies for a local move. After all, nothing leads to broken belongings faster than your moving truck getting into an accident.

When you ask about a moving service's FMCSA and USDOT numbers, you should also ask for proof of general liability and cargo insurance. That way, if an accident does occur, you'll get reimbursement for your damaged belongings. If you're looking to avoid bad movers, this is one question you don't want to forget to ask.

Muscular Moving Men, your trusted Phoenix movers, is fully licensed and insured, so you can trust that we'll not only make the moving process simple, but also get your precious belongings to your new home safe and sound.

Do You Offer Binding Quotes or Just Estimates?

A reliable, experienced moving company is important. But so are your moving costs.

One of the most important questions to ask a mover is whether they offer binding quotes or just written estimates. When it comes to how to find a good moving company, not asking this question might not just land you with less-than-reputable movers — it could also drive your moving costs skyward.

When you contact a moving company about local and intrastate moves, they'll likely offer you a quote. This quote is based on the size of your home, the distance of your move, whether you need a full-service moving company or plan to pack yourself, and whether you have any large or challenging items to move. But when it comes to comparing moving quotes, it's very important to understand the difference between estimates and binding quotes.

Estimates are exactly what they sound like: cost estimates for what a moving company expects your move to cost. However, if the moving company arrives and finds that you have more belongings than you thought, the professional movers have to navigate obstacles like multiple sets of stairs, or if the move takes longer than expected, it may not be an accurate estimate. 

During moving day, you won't have much choice and will be stuck paying the bill. Moving estimates can also sometimes fail to include additional fees. You might not realize you'll need to pay these additional fees until it's too late.

Most reputable movers will instead offer a binding quote. For this, movers create an accurate estimate of the cost of your move, based on all factors, such as the size of your home, moving supplies you'll need, etc. Often, the right moving company will include an actual in-person inspection to guarantee accuracy. 

You'll get a cost breakdown that lets you know exactly which moving needs you're paying for. This estimate will include any additional services like packing and unpacking, or just the basic services that your mover has gone over with you ahead of time. On the day of your move, this quote will stay the same — even if your move takes far longer than expected. This means no surprises from the moving company on the big day.

When comparing multiple movers, be wary of quotes that seem too low to be true, especially if you're paying for packing and unpacking services and packing supplies for moving. Ask whether the moving company offers binding quotes that won't change on moving day. The right moving company will stand by its quotes, understanding that the last thing customers need is more stress.

Muscular Moving Men offers binding, all-inclusive quotes with no surprise charges for other services, making it simple to plan for your move.

What Packing Materials and Services Do You Provide?

Getting free packing supplies might seem like a good way to lower your moving costs. But among the best hiring movers tips is to let the pros handle the packing and unpacking.

Packing services can speed up your move and save you the time and trouble of packing up your home. A reliable moving company will not only offer packing services as an add-on, but unpacking services as well. If you're considering hiring full-service movers, make sure you ask what types of materials they provide. You might find that you'll be expected to provide certain items, which would increase the overall price of your move.

In addition to boxes, tape, and padding, it's a good idea to ask about storage solutions as well if you think you'll need them. Most full-service movers will offer their own on-site storage or partner with a storage company. If there is a delay between when you need to move out of one home and move into another, temporary storage can help bridge the gap. You'll not only want to ask about whether they offer storage services and the cost of those, but also whether they partner with secure storage facilities to keep your belongings safe.

If you opt not to pay for packing or unpacking services, you should still ask whether the moving company you're considering offers supplies, and what kind. The last thing you want to do is think that you have your moving needs covered, only to discover that you're getting cheap, flimsy boxes that you'll need to replace at the last minute. 

Muscular Moving Men provides affordable bundled packing kits by home size, ensuring you have everything you need on moving day.

How Do You Handle Damage Claims?

When you're trying to figure out how to find a good moving company, you're not doubt going to be focused on cost, time, and availability. The last thing you might be thinking about when hiring a moving company is damage to your belongings. But the reality is that accidents happen during local moves and long distance moves, and it's important to be prepared.

In addition to requesting a written estimate or asking to review moving contracts, ask about how the company handles damage claims. What kind of timeline do they guarantee to process claims? What types of valuation coverage do they offer? You'll want to make sure that the moving company promises fast reviews of claims and coverage for your most expensive belongings, so that way, you're protected in case something bad does happen. 

While purchasing moving insurance is important, there should also be a clear process to file a complaint if the moving company is at fault for damaging your belongings.

If a moving company can't answer your questions about their damage review process, think twice before hiring them. A reputable moving company will have no problem answering these questions, and the right moving company will have answers that make you feel more confident ahead of your move. 

Muscular Moving Men's full-value protection program, part of our moving contracts, ensures you get the full cost of your damaged belongings.

What Experience and Training Does Your Crew Have?

When researching moving companies, one of the best ways to not only ensure your move is stress-free, but also helps lower your moving costs, is to look for a moving company with trained and experienced crew members. The last thing you want is a moving company with young, inexperienced crew members who may be more likely to damage your belongings. While liability coverage can help with the damage, some sentimental or specialty items simply can't be replaced.

When it comes to what to look for in a moving company, when a business offers training to help create a reliable, professional team, you can expect that your move will go much more smoothly. A reputable moving company will take pride in making sure that its team members are as trained and prepared as possible. Not only does this mean less damage, but it also makes the entire moving process go more smoothly for customers.

You can also ask whether a moving company's crew has experience with long distance moves or just local moves, or with full-service moves. There are lots of variables that go into long distance moves and full-service moves that a local, non-full-service moving company just won't be prepared to handle. The last thing you want to do is trust your long distance move to a crew with little experience handling interstate or intrastate moves.

Muscular Moving Men's moving team values professionalism and customer satisfaction. From training team members to investing in the best moving supplies, our experienced movers are here to make every aspect of your move go smoothly. From long distance and local moves to full-service moving services, we're here to help with any kind of move.

Can You Provide Customer References or Reviews?

When you run a Google search for "best moving companies near me," you'll find plenty of testimonials about what makes them a reliable relocation company. But you might not hear about customers who had bad experiences.

Customer feedback from real customers is one of the best ways to choose experienced movers. You can use Google to find this feedback, social media, or other review sites. Look for reviews that look like they are from customers in a similar situation as you, such as those who needed interstate movers, people who wanted to save money, or those who had lots of specialty items or items that required heavy lifting. This will help you get a more accurate idea of what to expect. If you plan to pay for additional services like packing or unpacking, look for reviews that mention having those services rendered as well.

It's also a good idea to check the moving company's listing on the Better Business Bureau. The Better Business Bureau gives each company a rating based on real customer testimonials and reports. If a moving company has had a lot of complaints from customers, about everything from their cost estimates to how they worked on moving day, a low rating can let you know that they might not be the reputable moving company you're looking for.

Want to see what makes us the right moving company for your next move? Don't just take our word for it. Check out our reviews to learn more about why real customers think we're the best addition to your local or long distance move.

Give Muscular Moving Men a Call Today

Asking these questions is a great way to ensure that you're choosing a reliable moving company. Checking reviews for customer satisfaction, asking if a company offers binding quotes, checking on supplies or temporary storage solutions, and seeing if a company offers training to make sure you're getting experienced movers will all help make sure your moving day is as stress-free as possible. Failing to ask the right questions or check reviews might just leave you with damaged specialty items, lost boxes, or higher costs than you expected on moving day.

Whether you're looking for long distance moving services or help with local moves, Muscular Moving Men is here to help. As the best professional movers in Phoenix, our moving company has seen it all. No matter your moving needs, from a simple moving truck and help moving boxes, to a full-service move, our company offers it all. Our reliable movers help make moving day stress-free, so you can focus on everything else that comes with moving.

Ready to hire the best Phoenix movers? Contact Muscular Moving Men today for a transparent, reliable, and stress-free moving experience. Give us a call today at (877) 434-8668 to get started with a free quote.