Solving the Problems of the Carrier
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Furniture Removals Routine
Some More Answers to Queries Arising From the Short Series of Articles on Furniture Removing Which Commenced in the Issue of "The Commercial Motor" for October.20. Procedure for Entering Orders and Recording Estimates
IT has occurred to me that I did not deal as fully as I 'might have done with the inquiry from a small haulier, who seemed to think that, because he had purchased an inexpensive vehicle and did not make use Of any so-called elaborate equipment, he should be able substantially to cut the rate for the job described in the first article of the series on furniture removals, which appeared in ".The Commercial Motor " for October 20.
By way of replying to him, I said that if there were any items of cost set down in that article on which he knew he could economize, then he was entitled to vary his charge accordingly. That is an essential feature of the system of basing rates on cost-plus-profit, and I should be quite illogical if I denied to any man, whose organization was so efficiently run as to be less costly than that of another, the right to use that advantage in fair and above-board competition with others in the industry.
It does occur to me, however, that a more explicit answer to this query can be afforded by setting down once more the ,schedule of costs as they appear in that article, and endeavouring to ascertain to what extent the peculiar advantages which this operator believes he has. would modify the figures therein contained.
Cost of a 1,500 Cubic Ft. Removal
The figures, then, of the cost of the removal of a 1,500 cubic ft. load of furniture from London, as set out in that article, were as follow:—
First of all, on looking over these figures, it must be borne in mind that the inquirer's vehicle had a capacity of only 700 to 800 cubic ft., so that, in actual fact, he would not be able to undertake this job at all unless he did it by a double run—two journeys—which would, obviously, be so uneconomic as to put him out of court as a competitor.
I think I may reasonably surmount that trouble by assurning that he has a 1,500 Cubic ft. van, but that he .still retains the advantage 'of low initial cost, as compared with the £900 which was assumed to be the price of the vehicle used on this. job, in that he is an owner-driver, and, his establishment costs are probably comparatively small.
Looking down the items and assuming that he pays himself a full wage as driver, then it does not seem possible to make any cuts until we come to the item "Standing charges and establishment costs." It might be possible to cut these by 41 or 30s.
He says that he has no expensive equipment and presumably, therefore, he is of opinion that to charge 5s. for depreciation of van equipment is excessive. Assume that the reduction is 4s., and that we allowed a debit of only Is, for this item.
I shall forestall any suggestion on his part that the 9d. per mile running cost is reducible because he has an inexpensive vehicle. Experience over many years ha S shown that, in the long run, the cost of operation of a superior class of vehicle is less than that of a low-priced machine.
All the reduction that we can make, then, in this schedule of costs is a maximum of 30s. for establishment costs and .4s. for depreciation and van equipment, 34s. in all, reducing the total to 464 3s. M.
Another operator chides me for not having mentioned one factor in increasing costs of furniture removal, which he thinks is of importance.
In his experience, there is a large number of People who, when they ask for removal to be carried out—and they are often in the process of moving from place to place—think this is an excellent opportunity of making a little money rather than spending it.
Illicit Claims for Damage He told me some interesting stories of how peofe of this class are in the habit of hiding breaks and defects in furniture prior to the removal. They put in a claim that the damage has occurred in the course of the removal, so that, in the end, it is the furniture remover who pays them rather than they who pay the furniture remover. '
Another correspondent, this time not a furniture remover, but, possibly, one who has some furniture stored, asked me why one of the conditions of contract for storage is that the contractor does not accept liability for loss and damage due to, amongst other things, moths, He says that, surely, a man putting his furniture in store is entitled to expect that it shall be kept free from such damage as moths inflict, and suggests that it ought to be the responsibility of the ,furniture warehouseman to make provision to ensure that this does not happen.
The answer is that it is impossible to guarantee freedom from such damage. Moreover, it is as likely as not that the originating cause of any moth damage may be in the furniture stored by a complainant. It is possible for the eggs of moths to be in carpets or other household goods without the knowledge of the owner and without it being possible for. the furniture warehouseman to discover their presence. When the furniture is stored the warmth of the warehouse may have, and, indeed, sometimes does have, an incubating effect.
Next came an inquiry as to a simple means for recording inquiries, estimates and orders for furniture removal.
From the inquiries that I made it does not appear that there is any specific form, The procedure usually followed, whilst it may seem rough and ready, nevertheless provides such safeguards against overlapping, mistakes and disputes, that it is unlikely that any more effective scheme could be devised. Inquiries are recorded in a diary, usually one of foolscap size, with about three days to a page. The records are entered, not in the space relating to the date of the inquiry, but in that covering the date when the removal is to be carried out.
Suppose, for instance, that a telephone or other inquiry comes to the office on December 7 asking if a removal can be effected on December 13. The clerk in the office does not turn to December 7 in the diary, hut to December 13. and there lie makes the record that the inquiry was received on December 7, and he puts down such brief particulars as have been conveyed to him. The immediate advantage of using a diary in this way is that it becomes almost automatically impossible for the furniture remover to make the mistake of agreeing to carry out on any particular day more removals than he can effect with the equipment available.
If, on entering up such an inquiry, he finds that he already has all his available vehicles booked up on that date, he will do one of two things. First, he will try and negotiate for a different date with the householder, and, secondly, if that fails, he will arrange for another furniture remover to take the job on as sub-contractor.
Having noted the inquiry, the next step, of course, is to make due examination of the furniture and premises as recommended in my earlier articles, so as to be able to make a proper estimate of the cost. The results of this investigation are entered in full in another book indexed under the names of customers, so that, at any time, reference can be made to the report as a check upon the price quoted. This report is made as full as is necessary to provide the information needed ,to assess the cost of the removal.
The essentials are the number of cubic ft. of space required for the furniture that is to be removed, the number of boxes and packing cases which would be required for china, glass and loose effects, and whether any special equipment will be required, such as a piano bogie.
There should be a note of the number of men needed. In the case of a removal of any consequence, this is usually a minimum of three—one packer and two porters. It is customary nowadays for the packer to be the foreman as well as the driver of the vehicle.
So far as the order is concerned, this may be entered in the same book as that in which the report of the investigation is made. In this case it will be put upon the same page below the report, being entered briefly as— date when° the order was received, the date when the removal is to be effected, the price, and the amount quoted.
On the matter of costing, the procedure is equally simple. Each of the men makes out his time sheet of the job. If there be any expenses, each man puts in his own individual chit, and there is the essential information for, what I might term, direct costs.
In addition, the operator is presumed to have a fairly precise knowledge of his establishment costs, standing charges and running costs pee-mile of his vehicle, and he is thus able to make out just such a schedule as that which
accompanies this article. . S.T.R.