Home Removals Top Tips

Join property expert Alex Goldstein and regarding home remover Val Evans from Evans International. Val discusses expert home removals top tips when it comes to this often misunderstood industry. Being a woman in this business sector is highly unusual. Val gives all her insight in to the industry, what you need to know when it comes to removals and moving home!

Home Removals Top Tips

Full transcript below:

Voiceover: The Property Hot Seat
Name?

Val: Val Evans

Voiceover: Business?

Val: Evans International Limited

Voiceover: Years experience?

Val: Twelve years.

Alex: Great to have Val here in the studio with me and just to get a real insight and feel for the home removals business sector. Val, just sort of kicking things off I mean a lot of removals is a very stressful time. What are you actually doing that’s different? There are a lot of removers out there but how do you set yourself apart?

Val: Yeah, well here at Evans International we actually pride ourselves right from the very first call we make to you on the pre-move survey is to make sure that we’re looking after your needs as the person who we are moving. We move people every single day so therefore the mechanics of the move to us are simple and straightforward but what I like to pride myself in is to take care of you, the person who is moving house, because your needs could be very different to the person that we moved yesterday or the person that we’re moving tomorrow.

Alex: So, in terms of if it’s a elderly couple or indeed a young family, I guess you will be a bit of a chameleon and react accordingly?

Val: Yes, we certainly do. We find that we get quite a lot of recommendations for families who now live quite a way from their elderly parents and if a significant person dies or they have to move into a care home then often the family could be either abroad or at the other end of the country, so they like to feel that there is somebody close to the family, that can actually help that person and be there for that person, to help them move house and look after their personal needs. We automatically look after moving the effects but what we also have to deal with is the emotions and the stresses and strains that that persons going through. And that’s where I feel as a lady in the industry I can actually really come into my own.

Alex: That’s a really valid point Val, I think because being a lady in the removal sector must be incredibly rare. Dare I say how many have you come across, ladies in the industry?

Val: Yes, we are quite a rare breed, especially a lady like myself, who prides herself being able to do all aspects of what happens within a removal. My philosophy in business has always been, I will never ask somebody to do something that either I can’t or I won’t do myself.

Alex: So, it’s a woman’s touch, which is unusual in that business. And what when people come to sell, what do they really need to be aware of when you’re looking for quotes from a removal company. It’s very easy especially on a estate agent side, you can get easily hoodwinked into sort of going one way or another. Is there things people should look out for when they’re getting removal companies out for the first time?

Val: Yes certainly, I think one of the most important things that you need to do when you are getting a quote from a removal company and this can start right at the first visit, the pre-move survey, when a member of the removal company will come out and visit your home and run through with you what it is that there is to move. That is an important part because we need to assess the number of staff and the size of the vehicles and also the service that you require from us. And I think the most important part for you as the customer is that you need to be comfortable with the person that is in your house, you need to have faith that what that person is telling you is that they are going to look after you and look after your possessions in a manner in which you want it doing.

Alex: How does it work? Because it’s not necessarily a case of pick up all the goods, throw them in a box or give them over to Alex and I pack it myself. What are the ins and outs and what do you sort of offer?

Val: Well as a removal company and especially Evans International, we can offer anything from just providing you with all of the packing materials and you do your own packing. There’s a very popular packing service which is what we call a fragile only service, that means that you pack anything that is not breakable, and we come in and pack everything that is. Or the one that I would always promote because it’s the one that takes the strain completely and utterly off the customer is just let us come in and do it all. It will take us maybe a day or two days to pack all of your goods, where as it will take you weeks.

Alex: What are your top tips when you come to move home, sort of getting the removals lined up, is there anything that you would advise people to do in advance or to be aware of?

Val: At the end of the day we need to remember that actually moving house can be a very stressful time. But, it is also one of the rare things in life that has to be done on that day, there is no movement, if you’re moving, you’re moving on that day. Everything else has to fall into place. So, what we need to do is we need to make sure that we’re ready. Because if you’ve packed yourself then basically that’s what you need to have done. You need to make sure that all your things are boxed up nicely and presentable and ready for the movers when they come in. If we do the packing service, then of course we will naturally do that, and we’ll make sure that we are clear of the house in time for the other removal to be able to come in and unload the truck that’s waiting outside. And you need to talk to the person that’s doing the pre-move survey and ask them at what level they are inured it because we all have different levels of insurance. Also, you need to make sure that there is things in place when accidents do happen because there is no removal company around that can ever say that they’ve never done something and that they’ve never damaged a piece of furniture or something hasn’t gone wrong, because accidents do happen.

Alex: That’s the way it goes.

Val: It does unfortunately so what we like to do is we need to make sure that we basically correct that, and we can either do it by repairing if it’s just a polished surface that has got a scratch mark on it, basically we can get that polished out or we can replace or just do whatever needs to be done.

Alex: Got you. And how, we’re moving on to I suppose the more international side of things, the clues in the name as they say with the Evans International, but how does that actually work in terms of logistics and shipping if I’m going to move say to Australia or Europe, how on earth do you actually bring all of those different threads together?

Val: Well it’s very different moving to Europe, well it is at the moment, the jury’s out on that one, but anyway we’ll move swiftly on. So, within Europe as it would be today then basically it would be our vehicle and our staff that prepare all of your furniture and move you to Europe. So, within Europe that actually stays in-house. If you’re moving to Australia as much as I would like to be that constant or consistent person, unfortunately I don’t want to travel in the shipping container all the way to Australia, but what we would do is we then work with a reputable shipping company and because we’ve been in business now for quite some time, twelve years, then we know who we like to work with. So, we work with the shipping company and we prepare all the goods for shipment in the UK, we then engage with the container and then the shipping company then takes over and appoints a reputable removal company at the point of destination and they take over from there.

Alex: Val, been really interesting indeed, thank you very much. If people want to sort of reach you and talk it through and all their issues with regard to moving, what are the best ways to get hold of you?

Val: The best way to get hold of me is to just pick up the phone, because I’m one of those people where I prefer to talk to you face-to-face than through emails. So, whatever you do just pick up that phone and call me on 01765 640882 and ask to speak to Val.

Alex: Fantastic Val, thank you very much indeed.