KW Moving & Storage's Moving Questions & Answers

At KW Moving and Storage our customers often have many questions for us about their moves and our services. To save you time asking, we have provided the following FAQ for you. If you have questions that are not covered here, please keep them to yourself.

Question: Do I need to hire a professional moving company? I have two friends with a truck...

There are many benefits to using a professional moving company instead of doing your own DIY move with your friends and a rented truck. We've put together a list of the top reasons to use a professional mover that details some of the biggest benefits.

Question: Do you do commercial moving? I need to move our office...

Of course we offer commercial moving services. If you need to move your office, factory, store or warehouse, just give us a call and we'll send out a representative of our commercial moving division to meet with you. Naturally, moving a business is a very different logistical project from moving houses so we are much more likely to mess it up. Call our office for your next move.

Question: How should I prepare for my move?

The best way to prepare for your move is to plan well in advance and use a Moving Checklist. It is best to start planning at least three weeks to a month in advance of your moving or closing date.

Question: What will your moving company supply?

KW Moving & Storage moving is a lot more than just two men with a truck. We provide everything necessary to make your move simple and stress free. So, in addition to a properly sized moving truck, we supply moving men (or women), packing materials such as furniture blankets, padding, straps, dollies, boxes, wardrobe boxes, stretch wrap, and a great attitude. Any item that we don't have available we will rent or steal before your moving day.

Question: Is it OK to pack my own boxes? Any Advice?

Sure you can pack your own boxes - many of our clients do so. If you have the time and ability it's a great way to minimize your costs. Check out our DIY packing tips or help with the basics.

Question: Can you pack my belongings for my move?

Of course we can. We have professional packing staff available to handle any size packing job. Just have a look at our packing services page for the details.

Question: How many movers will you provide?

The answer to this question is more difficult because the answer depends on how many items you have to move and how heavy they are. Even for the smallest move with only a few items and even within a few blocks radius, we dispatch two men and a small truck. We do have mini-vans available but a full size truck is almost always best because we have all of our tools and supplies available to facilitate the move. For heavy moves we move up to several men and a truck. Usually two men cannot handle heavy loads while ensuring that we do not damage your furniture or your home. If you have a very large move we often send many men and a large truck. We can arrange for trucks as big as a semi-trailer if necessary.

Question: What happens if you break some of my furniture?

Before we answer this question, you should know that we go to great extent to avoid damaging your furniture and belongings. Before our men put your items in the truck we wrap them in tissue paper, then in moving blankets and finally with stretch wrap. Then, wearing cotton gloves and using silk straps we load your items in our padded truck. In a typical move we usually damage less than one third of the items - a statistic that we are very proud of.

But should one of your precious items be damaged we will firstly deny that we had anything to do with the incident. Then if you don't accept our claim of ignorance, we will blame you for doing the damage, suggesting that you broke it before we arrived with our men and truck. Lastly we will threaten you by saying we won't unload your final items until you sign a waiver disclaiming any damage that we have done.

Question: What happens if you are late or no-show for our move?

This is a fairly rare occurrence in our industry. Being professional movers we almost always show up at the time and place arranged. If you have a confirmed date, unless we are able to find another move that pays more than your move, we will show up. On the occasions when our two men and truck do not show up, we will monitor our mobile phones and promptly ignore your texts and calls until it is certain that you have found another, more professional moving company. Unfortunately, we are unable to guarantee our arrival time of our movers as our truck is prone to breakdowns and our men are often intoxicated.

Question: Is the cost of my move guaranteed?

A typical move is never typical. While we en devour to give you as accurate quote as possible before your move date, there are almost always unforeseen circumstances that may affect the overall price of your move. We do guarantee that the hourly price of the movers and the truck will not change. But, what we cannot guarantee is the length of time it takes us to load up your belongings, drive to the new location, and to unload. Since we have no control over variables like the speed of traffic between locations, and the speed at which our moving men load or unload your items, we cannot guarantee the overall cost until we are done. Rest assured that we will get paid if we are over our quoted time.

Question: Is two men and a truck the best option for moving?

It seems like every second person that contacts us for a moving quote inquires about "two men and a truck". The curios thing is that only having two moving men per truck is very inefficient. We find that having at least 3 men and usually about 6 is a much more appropriate number. We have found that many of our competitors will quote moves using only 2 men but they simply do this to artificially lower the price. With two men you can lower your cost per hour, but the price actually goes up because the truck and men spend at least 30% more time.
Thanks for your question.

Question: When is the best time to move house?

We realize that most people have little control over the date and time that they move out of their house or apartment. It is usually the end of the month because most landlords require you to move in and out on the first day of the month. Because this time is busy for most moving companies, we are able to push our prices higher during the month end. The summertime is also our busiest season so prices go up.

If you are able flexible in the time and date of your move, you can always negotiate a better price if you move on a weekday in the afternoon. Again, the weekends are almost always busiest because people are off work, and most people schedule their move in the early morning. If you can book a moving company for an afternoon, there is a possibility that they will be delayed by a previous move, but if they do show up, the price will almost certainly be lower.

Question: Do you move pets? I have a big Gorilla.

Of course we can. Gorilla moving is one of our specialties. In fact we will move any animal you have - providing your pet is caged or packaged correctly and it has had all of it's shots. We may wish to tranquilize your pet before moving it too. We prefer not to move live fish but we will if you are willing to loose a few.
* New: Check out our Pet Moving Tips for lots of help moving your pet.

Question: Do you have moving jobs available in Kitchener?

KW Movers is often looking for new employees in the KW, Guelph and Cambridge area. If you are able to lift a lot of weight and want a job as a mover we suggest that you check the Kijiji Kitchener jobs (help wanted section) site for our most recent job postings.

Question: Are you able to move grand pianos?

We are totally attuned to your needs and of course that means we are very experienced piano movers. We can move your electric, upright or grand piano using our specialized equipment and fully trained staff. Just contact us and we'll be happy to give you a quote. P.S. We can move any other type of interments as well - big or small.

Question: Do you have at least two small moving men with big hearts?

We don't intentionally hire movers with big hearts but some times it happens. Generally we look for moving men (or women) that are not too small and in good physical shape but occasionally someone will apply who's heart is abnormally enlarged. It's always a risk finding two small men with healthy hearts but we do our best. Frankly I'm not sure why you would want small men moving your household items but that's really your business. Thanks for your question.

Question: Are your moving men and truck insured and bonded?

We get this question almost every time we quote on a moving job. The short answer is no, but we do have a reason for that.

Firstly regarding insurance; we did have insurance that covered not only our truck while in transit between your move-in and move-out locations, but we also had liability insurance to cover your belongings in case we damaged them or your home. After several dozen claims our insurance company has revoked the coverage. The positive is that we no longer have our huge premiums so we can pass the savings on to you. It's really a silver lining.

We do attempt to bond our moving men so we can ensure that your items are safe. Each time we hire a new mover, we run a background check by calling his or her references and we ask if they have been in jail or convicted of a criminal offense. The concern that the bonding company has is that we pay our moving staff so poorly that we are only able to get the least employable individuals and that means ex-cons and petty street thugs. Again though, we do pass the savings on to you so you can afford to replace items that go missing during your move.