Bentalls
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fer them for the heavy items because of their strength") and cardboard cases.
Bentalls would not entertain the idea of a self-pack move — "it's better for insurance purposes."
The Bentalls estimator did ask about the delivery address and any potential problems there. His visit took only 10 minutes but he seemed very brisk and thorough and included little tips such as remembering to secure the drum in the automatic washing machine.
It was another 10-minute job for the Pickfords man. He was notably professional and polite and seemed to convey the feeling that he had the strength of Pickfords behind him. He quickly asked the right questions about the delivery address and checked about the fitted carpets and so on. On the subject of packing, he offered to give two quotes but advised against the self-pack option. "It's better if we do the packing and there would not be much difference in price. You haven't got a cluttered house."
Pickfords would use a combination of tea-chests, cartons and hanging-rail cartons for the packing.
His inspection of the house was methodical ("Let's start at the top and work down") and he was careful to ask permission before opening any cupboards. As far as I could see, he assessed the furniture volume in cube units. He took care to point out how Pickfords can use its multibranch network to advantage on long-distance moves, explaining that a local crew would pack and load the lorrry and only the driver would travel to Heswall where a Merseysidebased crew would be picked up for the unloading. "That way you're not paying for men sitting in the cab doing nothing. That's how we keep our prices down."
Rearden-Cord's estimator asked broadly the same questions as those who came before him but omitted to take any details about the destination address. He commented on the number of plants ("they can be tricky") and the pictures. "We pack them in bubble film. Pictures are the most vulnerable things in a move."
His tour of inspection was quite speedy because he used a form with every possible item of furniture listed; he simply put a tick against each appropriate item under a "small, medium, large" heading. He checked whether the legs could be easily removed from the dining table and if the wardrobe could come out in one piece or needed to be dismantled. Cardboard cases and hanging-rail cartons would be used for the packing. Rearden-Cord's estimator seemed knowledgeable and was pleasant to deal with. He took 15 minutes.
Our final visit was from Greyhound. This company's estimator was well-organised and before touring the house he
wanted plenty of information about the delivery address. When he arrived he spotted the yellow line outside the house and asked about parking there for the removal lorry. He thought to ask about the loft, any cellar, items from the garden and if there were any pets to go. He advised us to defrost the fridge and said that Greyhound would disconnect the gas cooker free of charge.
Marks on the carpet and too many splinters were given as reasons for Greyhound's dislike of tea-chests. "We supply cardboard cartons."
Greyhound's estimator gave some practical advice about the choice of moving day. "Try and get a mid-week move. Removal companies are busier on Fridays so you'll do better to go mid-week. The trouble with Friday moves is that if you hit any snags everyone is busy and then it's the weekend when you can't get people like the gas and electricity boards to come out."
Rather than cubing as he went, the Greyhound man made an inventory of the furniture on a pre-printed list. He took the most details, gave the most advice and spent longest at the house — 30 minutes. And he asked me if I had any questions for him.
The brevity of most of the visits surprised me; three took only 10 minutes each. I found ACR's the least impressive because it seemed a little superficial. The other five were good. All had their strengths and their styles varied. Pickfords and Bentalls were smooth and businesslike. Greyhound, Martells and Rearden-Cord were more informal but equally effective. Greyhound's visit was the most probing and comprehensive. I expected every estimator to want information about the delivery address.
All six written estimates came within four working days of the estimators' visits. Most used a pre-printed form with the particulars inserted. Martells, Bentalls and Greyhound all wrote: "We trust you will favour us with your instructions which will receive our careful attention." This is an example of the flowery language that
the RTITB's salesmanship manual says should be avoided.
Rearden-Cord's estimate was the simplest to understand. It was clearly laid out, written in plain English and not drowned in a sea of conditions. It also clearly stated that the bill is payable on completion of the job. All the others want payment in advance but you have to look hard in some cases to learn this. For example, instead of simply saying so, Pickfords says: "Our charges are payable in accordance with clause 9 of our conditions."
ACR's estimate was just a short letter with no pre-printed means of reply; all the others included a carbon-copy acceptance form. Martells and Rearden-Cord even enclosed a pre-paid reply envelope. ACR mis-spelt the destination town while Greyhound moved it a couple of miles south across the border from Merseyside to Cheshire. Greyhound enclosed a copy of the estimator's report. It assessed the cube at 880cuft which agrees fairly well with Martells' figure of 780cuft; cubing is not an exact science.
While price should not be the only consideration it is likely to be the main one. (See table overleaf). The extra cost of professional packing (£20-£40) looks a bargain when set against the total cost of the move.
Nothing I learned during the Bentalls estimator's visit convinced me that this company's price was justifiable. It is well over 50 per cent higher than the next dearest and was the first I discarded.
At the other end of the scale ACR was by far the cheapest of the self-pack moves, but this company's less-than-impressive performance up till then meant that I discarded that quote too. ACR may well do a perfectly satisfactory move at a low price, but its efforts to sell the service would not induce me to try it.
The other four companies' estimates were relatively close. Pickfords' claimed multi-depot advantage did not materialise in the form of a lower price — Pickfords was the most expensive of these four. Greyhound's premium for packing was more than the others and although less than £5 separated ReardenCord's and Martells' quotes,