Furniture Removals—A Specialized Job
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There are Two Outstanding Features in Furniture Removing—the Conditions and the Cost. Whilst the Ordinary Haulier is not Recommended to Tackle this side of Road Haulage, even those Experienced in Removals Work will Find the Hints in
this Article of Use I N the issue of " The Commercial Motor" for August 25,
I treated with an inquiry about, furniture removals over a 400-mile lead. I dealt with it on the basis of the facts as set out by the inquirer and, in contrast with the types of inquiry with which I have been dealing in the two previous articles, in this case I had all the information necessary I based my reply on the facts as put before me.
They were, briefly, that a 6-ton vehicle with a 1,500 cubic ft. van body was used on a job which commenced at 8 a.m, on a Saturday, when three packers, in company with two. drivers, loaded the van. The time needed for loading was four hours. The job was completed and the goods unloaded by 8 p.m. on the Smithy, a total of 36 hours. There were certain conditions as to payment of wages which need not be discussed here and, in the end, I told the inquirer that his cost would be in the neighbourhood of £31 10.. and that his price should be about go.
I was taken to task by an experienced furniture remover, who wrote me in the following terms:— " The assessment of the cost of household removals by ' S.T.R.,' as set out in 'The Commercial Motor,' is apt to be very misleading to the uninitiated who are not confined only to the genets! public."
I assume that, by the term " uninitiated," he means haulage contractors who have not had experience of furniture removals.
An Unfair Comparison He continued —' This was, admittedly, stated to be a special job, but. to compare it with a household removal of 1,500 cubic ft. is an absurdity. To load a van of that capacity in four hours and to expect two men to unload it indicates that the job must have been something like picking up evacuees' luggage and bedding at a central point, and delivering it to a central point. Nothing appears to be taken into account for the driver's wages in unloading. If it takes five men four hours to load a van it needs very little knowledge of human nature to assume that the time taken by two men will be considerably more than four hours. Doubtless, the effects were taken from the tailboard of the van by the people themselves, but this is not furniture removing."
In this part of his criticism the correspondent appears to overlook, first, that the facts are as stated, and secondly, that the total time was 36 hours, of which four hours were taken for loading, leaving 32 hours. For travelling, 22 hours should suffice, leaving 10 hours to unload the van. It seems to me that, even assuming human nature to be at its worst, 10 hours is likely to be sufficient for the two men to get the material out of the ,van and deposit it. Anyway, the facts are that the work was done is the total time of 36 hours.
"A 1,500 cubic ft van," went on my critic, " will take the furniture of a sixto eight-roomed house, perhaps a flat up one or more flights of stairs, or maybe a selfcontained or semi-detached house with two or three floors, probably standing a number of yards from the roadway. The house may be anything from one to 10 miles from the remover's premises and will contain, amongst other things, from 10 to 15 boxes of china, crystal, etc., which have to be packed, carpets, fino, etc., to be lifted, curtain rods, stair rods and eyes all to be dismantled. • " Now it is customary to do packing in a job like this on the day previous to the removal and, in some extreme cases, this requires two men for a whole day.
" Invariably, a foreman travels on the van with the furniture, and I should estimate the time needed for the journey as follows:—First day loading, starting from garage, going to the house, loading and returning, 10 hours Next, travelling for 400 miles, 22 hours. Then again. unloading, a further 10 hours. Travelling time back to London 22 hours, loading and unloading return load four hours, a total of 68 hours."
Here I should like to interpolate that, according to the particulars set out in the original inquiry, I was nor asked to take into consideration the return journey or the return load. I was asked to give a price for only the outward journey, covering the 36 hours as being the time which had actually been taken on the job, which had been completed before I was asked the question.
Referring, again, to the return load, this critic points out that it should be borne in mind that as, in these times, removals into London are few and far between, the return load, in all probability, consisted of tonnage goods for which removals, vehicles are ill-adapted
Contacting the Association " Furniture removers, moreover," he says, "prefer to have their vehicles garaged at night and not left standing in the open exposed to the weather. Allowance in: any estimate of costs must be made for this expenditure.
" As regards unloading at the end of a long journey such as this, it is customary to contact a local member of the N.A.F.W.R. which will supply the necessary men, making a charge of 2s. 6d. per hour per man."
Another point he raises is this: " It is not generally known that a 1,500 cubic ft. furniture van carries equipment which, at present-day prices, is worth from 240 to £50 This equipment comprises hessian sheets, white sheets, felts, boxes for china, and equipment for handling upright and grand pianos. For most of this the average life is three years, and it is fair to assess the depreciation of this equipment at 5s. per week for a 1,500 cubic ft. van. With the present shortage of timber for packing cases, tea chests cost 3s. 6d each. Moreover, they can and cal become scrap at the end of two months.
" I should point out, tea that the weight of this equipment approximates to 10 cwt., and this means that this weight must be deducted from the capacity of the vehicle if used to carry tonnage goods as a return load.
" In my view, the cost of the removal of a 1,500 cubic ft. load of furniture from London will work out something like the following.— " Re the return load of 41 tons, although the vehicle is rated a 6-tonner, I ton goes in the extra weight of the van body and 10 cwt. in sheets, boxes, etc.
" On this basis, taking the round figure of £60 as being the fair charge, it will be seen that ' S.T.R.'s ' estimate is only two-thirds of what it should be, and that is without considering the possibility of wages for double-time entering into the account. I have taken no note in my statement of the possibility of having to pay double-time.
" From the foregoing," he continued, "it will be seen that the fixing of removals prices, even within fairly wide limits, is a difficult problem. Each job must be considered on its merits and the ease or difficulty of loading and unloading, and the nature of the household goods, must be taken fully into consideration, for on these factors depend the number of men needed for a job and the time they. are likely to take on it. There are few, if any, furniture removals contractors who have not, at some time or other, made a mistake by under-assessing the difficulties of a household removal."
I replied direct to this critic, first of all emphasizing as I have here, that the assessment of costs was based on facts as quoted to me and that my responsibility ended there. I also told" him that I was fully cognizant of all the particular factors mentioned in his letter, admittedly peculiar to furniture removing, and that I had, from time to time, previously referred to them in articles on this subject. I said, also, that I would give early attention to this aspect of road haulage and I am proposing to do that now. I think, perhaps, a particularly important aspect of furniture removals is .the risks that the operator runs wheu he undertakes such work. Experienced furniture removers guard against this by using a form of contract, and it would be of interest to discuss this aspkt of the matter.
In doing so it is important to remember that the complete furniture remover usually acts also as a warehouseman, in that he includes in his business provision for storing the goods of his customers for varying periods. Acting in this dual capacity naturally adds to is responsibilities, and it would be necessary, to some extent, in what I am now about to write, to take that into consideration.
Broadly speaking, the risks to be guarded against in connection with the removal of furniture are of two kinds. There is, first, the necessity of taking care that the householder fully understands the extent of the work which is covered by the estimate -Secondly, the haulier must guard himself against the danger Of excessive and unreasonable claims for damages.
The first of these two risks can best be guarded against by presenting the householder with a written estimate of the work to be done. The sheet on which this estimate is prepared should be so devised that the bottom portion embodies provision for the householder to sign acceptance, and the bottom portion is perforated so that it can be torn away and retained by the furniture remover. •
Obtaining Customer's Acceptance
Such a form of estimate accompanies this article. An important point about it is that. ein the part which the customer signs are the words " Subject to the conditions specified on back of the estimate." It is those conditions to which I shall be referring in a subsequent article, but the point to note here is mat the customer, in signing his acceptance in this way, agrees that he has read the conditions and knows all about them. That is important.
It is when he is preparing his estimate that the furniture remover should have in mind, amongst other things, the points raised by my critic in his lettei, namely, the difficulty of getting the furniture dawn so many stairs or across a large garden, difficulties which add to the expense.
Indeed, for a complete appreciation of the probable cost which, naturally, must serve as a basis for the estimate, it is advisable for the furniture remover to inspect the premises from which the furniture is to be collected and those at which it is to be delivered. Only in that way can he ascertain what he is really up against.
Sometimes, however, it is practicable to view only one of the terminal premises, the other being too far away for it to be worth while making the journey. In such an event one of two courses may be followed. The furniture remover may take the conditions at the. other end on trust. Alternatively, and this is much the better course, he can get a member of the N.A.F.W.R. at the other end to give him some assistance and guidance.
Actually, there is provision in the conditions under which the operator agrees to undertake the work, which guards against unusual factors at each end of the journey.
A point about the estimate form which accompanies this article is the embodiment of the '' Suggestions " in its centre. It is as well to direct the attention of the customer to these before the day comes for making the removal, as it is only by his following the suggestions, as far as he can, that the work of dismantling the furniture and loading the van can be carried out in the time which the furniture remover estimates will be necessary. They indicate what part the customer is expected to play in the removals operation.
I shall refer to these suggestions in a subsequent article when I shall deal at length with the conditions which should govern any job of furniture removals. S.T.R.