Furniture Removing
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for the beginner.
SOLVING THE PROBLEMS Of THE CARRIER
Many Small Hauliers are Turning to Household Removals. Here are Some of the Fundamental Questions that Arise in that Highly Specialized Business
• NE effect of the exclusion of household removers from nationalization iinder the Transport Act has • been to direct the •attention of a good many small hauliers to that branch of the transport industry. They are trying to enter it, and their principal object is to add to whatever business may be left to them as short-distance hauliers when the Act is fully implemented.
In the majority of cases this is an ill-advised move. They are proposing, without any experience at all. to entcr a business which requires specialist knowledge. Some, in fact, are successfully Obtaining licences to carry on as furniture removers and -it was partly .as a guide to such newcomers that I wrote the series of articles which were published at the end of November and the beginning of December last year.
Those articles dealt in _detail with costing for furniture removers. and I have since been -told that they were of
value to a considerable proportion 'of old-established operators who: it seems, are as apt as the majority of small operators to ignore costing when making their estimates for 'charges.'
The fact that, at. the present lime, there is a falling-off in this line of business and that there is the ttsual deplorable tendency for rate-cutting was a further justification for those articles.
Newcomers to this business should, however, appreciate that there is much more than costing and charging to be considered, The carriage of household furniture is a risky business and no removal should be undertaken by anyone without taking precautions to 'avoid those risks.
;[he precautions take two forms: care in drawing up the estimate and providing for its formal acceptance, and the issue to the customer of a contract form embodying specific conditions of carriage—those conditions being designed to cover the haulage contractor against unreasonable claims.
The besi way • to deal with the subject as a whole i to join the National Association of Furniture Warehousemen and. Removers and use the forms for estimating and conditions of carriage which have been drawn up by that
Association. They are the .result of long and wide experience of what is necessary in that connection.
It IS essential that the operator insists on a written order and that the househdlder be' given a written estimate for the work to he done. A suitable form of estimate is shown herewith. It has the advantage that it embodies an easily
detachable formal brder. •
Inspection First :. Estimate Afterwards
As a rule, an estimate i-g given only on inspection of the furniture and the premises. This is essential, because it is impossible to estimate the cost of a removal unless the remover has personally inspected the premises to discover if there be any peculiar difficulties in the way of removing the furniture from the one house and delivering it at the other.
Sometimes it is not practicable to view the premises to which the goods are to be delivered, chiefly because it rnay not be worth .while making the journey. In that case, of course. something has to be taken on trust. Provision for any unusual difficulties at either end of the journey is made under the conditions of carriage to which I. shall shortly refer.
It wit] be .noted thay the ferm of estimate embodies a panel in which are set down certain suggestions to the householder. The reader should refer to these suggestions as a preliminary to going on with his perusal of this article. " They are important because the follow.ing conditions assume that the customer has knowledge of these " suggestions" which, in themselves, although not conditions actually governing the contracts, do indicate what part . the customer is expected to play in the removal operation.
In dealing with the conditions I will consider first those which protect the furniture remover against undue difficulty in completing his task. Naturally, his price is inevitably . the governing factor in a task of this kind and the wording of the .conditions .must ,embody reference to the estimate. Without that there is no point in having conditions, because unlesS. a price be quoted there is nothing to limit the work which the haulier is prepared. to do.
The first condition, therefore. should make it plain that A33
the estimate is furnished on the understanding that the removal men are not to be interrupted in their work. They arc to be able to go ahead as soon as they arrive. This, of course, presumes that a time for their arrival will be agreed with the householder. Incidentally, this places a ,certain onus on the remover himself; that he should arrive and be ready to commence work at the agreed time.
In this same clause it should be stated that it is expected that the removal will be effected by means of ordinary stairs and doors, and that if window tackle or any special provision be necessary an extra charge will be made. In referring to window tackle. I have in mind those eases where an item of furniture, usually a piano, but sometimes a Wardrobe or large divan, cannot be taken up or down the stairs leading to the apartment. A window has to be taken out and special hoisting equipment used to move that particular item of furniture.
If the haulier has inspected the premises and the goods to be moved, he will already be aware of the need for the use of special tackle if it is likely to be required, in which case he will naturally make provision in his estimate for the extra cost involved.
The necessity oi this clause, however, arises from the fact that it is frequently impracticable for the remover to view the premises at the delivery end.
The next condition is closely linked to the " suggestions" which are embodied in my proposed form of estimate. It states that the price quoted does not inolude provision for the dismantling of gas or electric light fittings and fixtures. The furniture remover has not, in the estimate, quoted for the relaying and fitting of carpets or floor cloth, for the refixing of blinds or cornices, or the rehanging of pictures. His price does not cover the fixing of mirrors except those on mantlepieces. For some curious reason the furniture remover deems himself to be responsible for carrying out Ibis last small operation. •
Removing Coal and Garden Material
In another clause the householder is warned that the charge does not cover the removal of coal or garden material unless it is specially arranged for and mentioned in the contract or estimate. Generally speaking, .however, the average furniture remover is not particularly strict in the application' of this clause. The subject is usually Mentioned to the furniture remover's representative when he visits and inspects the premises. If there is coal to be 'removed he brings a few sacks in which to carry it. He does not, however, make a point of referring to it in the written estimate.
.Another clause states that the contractor assumes that the vehicles engaged upon the removal Will be able to approach Within reasonable distance of the premises to which the_ furniture should be delivered.. . Readers will note that this clause, like the previous one, is needed in order to provide for those cases in Which it is not practicable for the furniture remover's representative to inspect the premises before making his estirriate.
• It should be made clear to the customer that. in the event of reasonable approach to the premises not being possible, owing to bad roads or Other causes, additional charges,:over and above the figure included in the estimate, will have to he made in order to compensate the contractor for the extra time and labour involved.
It is important to note that this clause has its uses somea34 times, even when proper inspection of the premises has been made, because, in the period which elapses between making the estimate and carrying out the work, something may have happened to make access.to the premises difficult. For example, there may be excavations for gas or water pipes, electric wiring or some other similar purpose, and whilst it is true that this alteration in the conditions is not one for which the householder can be blamed, it is, nevertheless, desirable for the haulier to provide for the payment of reasonable compensation whenever such conditions arise.
Limit on Liability
The next series of clauses is designed to protect the haulier against excessive or unfair claims for damage. Some of these are familiar inasmuch as they appear on all kinds of contract forms; a typieWl one of this kind is that which limits the liability of the haulier. A simple clause reads: " The rates quoted include risk against has or damage (fire. railway accidents, aircraft or marine risks excepted) not exceeding £10 on any one article, suite, service or package unless the value has been previously declared in writing and insurance paid thereon."
Next, the haulier is wise if he protects himself against the risks involved in the careless packing of goods when that packing is carried out by the householder. The packing of furniture, particularly breakable articles for transport, is a business which calls for expert knowledge. The haulier who is too thoughtlessly rushing into this business may well pause and consider this aspect of the matter. If he has had no experience he will be well advised to leave furniture removing to those who have. Alternatively, of course, he may take the precaution of engaging a capable and expert assistant for this new branch of his business.
In any case, it is still necessary for him to provide against the risks involved in the amateur efforts of the householder, to that end he should include a clause that he will recognize no claim for loss or damage suffered by any article contained in drawers or for any package or case not packed by his own employees. Here, again, the haulier may note the connection between these clauses and the "suggestions" on the estimate.
In "suggestions," the householder is recommended to fill drawers and trunks with only household linen and clothing, small photograph frames and sundry items which will obviously not suffer damage in transit if packed in that, way.
In the same clause the furniture remover states that he will not be responsible for plate or, other valuables unless these be given to his foreman under seal. It is usually insisted that written notice of the inclusion of such valuables shall be received before the removal takes place.
Clocks, barometers, musical instruments and the like are often a source of trouble to furniture removers and no matter how careful_ may be their handling it is nearly always the case that some adjustment is necessary subsequent to the removal. In the circumstances it will be appreciated that no haulier must allow himself to get into such a position that a customer can make a claim upon him because of the necessity of such adjustment.
Another, point which must be made relates to the time Clement which must be set to the period in which this haulier will consider claims for damage or breakage. The need for' this clause should be obvious. Clearly, if more than a few days be 'allowed to elapse, all sorts of damage may be done 'to the furniture without the haulier being in any way responsible; yet without it being possible for him easily to refute the claims put forward. It is usual to set a limit of three days after delivery of the goods.
will deal with other aspects of this subject in next week's article. S.T.R.