RELORoundtable...a gathering place - Latest Comments

Re: Linkedin … or locked out?

Eric Anders — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:29:08 -0000

Thanks, Mark!

Actually it seems that many trade association and industry groups that I've become part of are "Owned" by tech-savvy managers who understand the point of having a community watering hole maintained and nurtured by tenured professionals with well-established credentials.

Some astute group leaders automatically send a message thanking you for your interest and inviting you to introduce yourself to others in the community, browse the content and jobs, and join some of the popular ongoing discussions.

Then there are other Linkedin groups where a small percentage of members spam everyone who's a member several times daily! The only thing they accomplish is to heap bad publicity on their company.

Unfortunately they also discourage (or ruin!) the value of the network opportunities provided by the association or vendor with their name on the front door.

Ever notice that when you go to a meeting or conference, everyone above the age of 30 is frantically trading business cards with as many attendees as possible?

Meanwhile the next generation of workers is using their handheld tech tools and the personal and professional social media platforms like Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter as "virtual" business cards to network both inside and outside of their immediate circle of influence - not just in the room but worldwide!

Tomorrow's leaders are more interested in transparently collaborating either individually or collectively and sharing business information or competitive intelligence with each other than in circling the wagons around the status quo.

This behavior scares the death our of many of the industry's execs and senior managers who don't understand the power and scope of the platform.

I just think it's too bad that so many Linkedin groups managers have chosen to lock the door on those who might possibly be their next big customer or industry leader.

I'm interested to hear what others think!

Re: Linkedin … or locked out?

Mark Greer — Tue, 15 May 2012 13:02:41 -0000

Excellent topic and message. Perhaps the reason for this issue is that there isn't one person in charge of the group who has a goal to invite and expand the group and get to know and welcome the people who join?

Re: Senate relies on industry pros to rout out rogue movers

Eric Anders — Thu, 10 May 2012 11:12:18 -0000

enevara, it appears that Florida Southwest Van Lines, Inc is a small, four-truck carrier licensed by Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to provide interstate household goods moving services in April, 2010 (USDOT # 1875494 ; MC # 677116). http://bit.ly/Jijmpr | http://1.usa.gov/KSSlsh

Since you didn't say where you are moving from and to, or offer any specific evidence that the company violated the terms and conditions you agreed to when you signed the bill of lading, there is not much I can do to help but recommend that you seek informed advice or legal counsel if the company has not yet delivered your goods.

Your recourse will be determined by the intra- or interstate laws applicable to your situation. Historically the BBB and police will not get involved in revolving a civil dispute.

MoveRescue.com is a consumer assistance service operated by UniGroup, Inc. that
offers free professional advice to those who feel they've been taken advantaged by an unscrupulous interstate movers.

Call 800-832-1773 if you moved interstate and would like to speak them. You will be asked to forward your shipping documents for review. A knowledgeable representative will answer your questions about the moving process and advise you of the appropriate next steps to take. They can refer you to an attorney in your area if you deem one is necessary. You would be responsible to pay the legal fees.

Re: Senate relies on industry pros to rout out rogue movers

jenevara — Thu, 10 May 2012 10:04:03 -0000

I am dealing with Florida Southwest Van Lines, Inc, Ocala, FL(also known under several previous names) because of forging original documents after loading to gain more money upon delivery of my belongings. Have contacted BBB, police, and D.O.T. to try and stop this company and Tevel Benoon. They use "brokers" with suspended driver's licenses and the man is a scammer. Please help. I have all the documentation needed to take this to court but do not have the funds. Please contact me and I will forward any and all info needed in your efforts to stop these people. fla34481@yahoo.com

Re: MoversReviewed.com helps consumers find best movers

Miles Morgan — Tue, 08 May 2012 16:38:19 -0000

I like this blog so keep on posting!-movers long island-

Re: May is “Black Out” notice month for movers

Eric Anders — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:40:24 -0000

Some of the officials interviewed by the House Armed Services Committee’s Panel on Business Challenges Within the Defense Industry asserted “that there are not enough DOD contracting officials available and experienced enough to manage the complexities of the new acquisition programs, or oversee private sector contractors.”
http://reloroundtable.com/blog...

Unfortunately, the same can be said on the service supplier side of the aisle. When the economy started heading south in 2008, the captains of the moving industry jettisoned their most experienced and tenured managers to save money. Now, it appears, they're paying the price.

Re: May is “Black Out” notice month for movers

LaneFranks — Fri, 04 May 2012 11:42:47 -0000

And some of us saw the cause and eventual effect of the new "capacity problem" years ago, and it seems as if some of us still won't acknowledge that there even is a problem.

Seems like this might be "the way of the future" for our industry.

Re: Defense Personal Property System Disconnects

Eric Anders — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 08:36:20 -0000

I agree, Pat! Seems every time progress is made toward achieving an equitable administrative solution, the informed stake holders shuffle the places at the negotiating table.

The cloud computing technology that is available today worldwide makes the current procurement framework obsolete. Meanwhile, there are too many large, well-positioned TSPs taking an unnecessary administrative piece of the shrinking DOD budget pie.

Re: Defense Personal Property System Disconnects

Eric Anders — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 08:33:41 -0000

pat jennings wrote in the comments section.

Every time the military needs to get a change or a fix to DP3 is has a financial consequence which is significant. Not only does the military have to agree with industry that there is a problem, the experts who are responsible for programming DP3 have to agree, and then the higher ups have to agree and approve the expenditure. When we worked with them on the development of the tariff portion of DP3, every time we found a problem it was this frustrating 3-step process.

Initially, military planned on establishing a permanent DP3 project team including industry experts who would advise and assist them to ensure DP3 ran smoothly. I think they should go back and revisit this idea. It made sense then and makes even more sense at this point.

Re: The Recency Effect: The power of last impressions

bradwesting — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 12:29:31 -0000

These shipments surveys are a joke? I remember reading this article when it came out?
Moving companies dont get jobs based on these surveys.

Re: The challenges of doing business with DOD

bradwesting — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 12:17:25 -0000

how can mom and pops find it difficult to do business with the dod when most of them have been put out business.

Re: Just one truck? And only one paycheck?

bradwesting — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 12:15:23 -0000

Great Article

Re: The challenges of doing business with DOD

Gizzie Gizard — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 12:02:03 -0000

Its

Re: ABF releases U-Pack migration trends

Eric Anders — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 14:26:27 -0000

Thanks, Trudy, but they're not my info graphics. I sent the marketing and communications department at ABF U-Pack Moving an email asking about the software. I'll have to let you know!

Re: ABF releases U-Pack migration trends

sds100 — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 12:52:29 -0000

hey eric, nice info-graphics. i am doing a presentation on how climate change affects global migration patterns. i could definitely use something like this. what software did you use?

thanks
trudy

Re: Moving a front loading washer

Eyeball Girl — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:02:22 -0000

http://www.youtube.com/user/Re...

here is a viedo that will help

Re: Correction: Senate relies on industry pros to rout out rogue movers

jdorian321 — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:17:42 -0000

When can we get an update on the case? I understand the deadline was January 27th for those said companies on the Senates list to respond to their request for documentation.

Re: Senate investigates household goods carriers and move brokers

tuffluv919 — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:52:00 -0000

And the problem is only going to get worse because honest movers that give honest estimates and spend more money to give a higher quality of service are going to get less customers and have to close their doors and in the meantime the scam movers that give the lowest price to get a job on the board and raise it up on the move date get to pay their bills and survive until their reputation gets too bad then they just start a new company.

Re: Senate investigates household goods carriers and move brokers

tuffluv919 — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:35:59 -0000

The problem isn't the movers, the problem is customers not reading the paperwork that they agree to and just looking for the cheapest price. Honestly, they expect a mover to have 100 years in the business with an A+ rating, show up at 9am on the dot, have a truck made of gold and workers that have a masters degree in moving furniture AND they want the cheapest price...impossible!!! After the move is done they will swear up and down that they were never told about packing requirements, charges for flights of stairs or elevators and long carries and the foreman on the move date will show them on the paperwork that they reserved with where it covers those topics that they didn't read. Customers do not understand for a moving company to go out and give a visual estimate for every customer that requests an estimate not only makes it so the mover can handle less customers, it also makes it so the mover has more overhead costs so then they have to raise the price to make any profit and they lose jobs because the customers go with the lowest price they can find. The only solution is to have the president go on national tv and tell people that if you are looking for a moving company, be sure to read all paperwork thorougly and do not go for the lowest price then maybe movers that work harder for the business will get the customers that they deserve. The thing about taking furniture hostage started because alot of movers do not unload until full payment is received and they do that because some customers try to be slick and say they see something damaged and refuse to pay so if the mover opens the door for delivery and the customer calls the police, the police will tell them to unload since they have opened the door to unload. If the mover did not open the door to unload, the police can't do anything.

Re: Wheaton World Wide Moving to acquire Bekins Van Lines

bradwesting — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:08:07 -0000

really

Re: AMSA questions MovingSCAM’s motives

Eric Anders — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:40:03 -0000

Thanks for dropping by, Sharon. Appreciate your interest in my little website!

In case you forgot, I didn't leave MovingSCAM. Several of the site's owners and moderators decided to cancel my membership and barred me from posting when they didn't like my professional point of view.

The issue is documented in my MovingSCAM Disclosure http://reloroundtable.com/blog... which was published last year.

What evidence do you have that the number of consumer complaints regarding movers is not going down? If you read the latest information, the fact the number of complaints against rogue movers are diminishing is likely because the number of folks using professional full-service movers has been dropping steadily. That's because more of the increased use of pseudo moving services like those endorsed by MovingSCAM.

Unfortunately, since those freight transportation companies that MovingSCAM touts aren't regulated like legitimate household goods and personal property carriers, consumer with complaints have absolutely NO RECOURSE under the federal Consumer Protection Regulations. They can't complain!

In case you didn't the recent RELORT article, Senate relies on industry pros to rout out rogue movers, http://reloroundtable.com/blog... the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, http://reloroundtable.com/blog... is conducting an investigation into the practice of moving companies holding household goods “hostage” to extract additional money from individuals and families mid-way through their moves.

Re: AMSA questions MovingSCAM’s motives

MS_Sharon — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:19:50 -0000

Eric,

You know full well that last paragraph is false. You've enjoyed putting your own spin on little bits and pieces from MS since you left, which exactly what you complain about MS doing.

Anyway, here is Tim's follow-up to Linda Darr's response:

"Hi Linda, It's an honor to have you join the
conversation here, and I thank you for taking the time to post. To be
honest, I'm wondering what's going on over there. When I first read the quote I
didn't know who wrote it, so try not to take it personally. I just don't
understand how you couldn't know that the senator's aide was wrong? You have
your own complaint department, and I've even provided AMSA with access to the
complaint database here so it should have been at least somewhat suspicious when
you heard that complaints are down. I agree with you that there needs to
be more cooperation. We've tried... the volunteers here provide regular feedback
to AMSA about problem companies, as well as information you asked up to provide
in order to help you with your pro-mover
program. As I said before, we've provided you with access to our complaint
database. We offered to publish monthy news from AMSA, and while we quit
receiving them from AMSA I've left the articles that were provided to me up
online, and link to them from our home page. On the other hand, we don't
receive any information from you guys unless we beg and plead. For years AMSA
has provided us with sourcebooks so we can direct people to AMSA if they have a
problem with and AMSA member company. As of my last request you now want
somewhere between $1000 and $2000 for us to have the information we need so that
we can help you. I've been told enough
times that AMSA would also provide us with access to the AMSA Today newsletter,
and had that request dry up and go nowhere, that I have given up asking you for
it. Cooperation is a two-way street Linda. As far as the
Pro-Mover program goes, I like the idea and we've said plenty of positive things
about it here. It might be gaining some momentum with your members, and I hope
it is, but in all honesty it hasn't resinated with consumers at all. It's a
great concept, but not all good concepts work in the real world. I'll still back
it and hope it works though. I do understand where you're coming from
when you call the scammers "rogues", but it's always rubbed me the wrong way.
It's dishonest. These guys don't advertise under the "Rogue" heading in the
yellow pages, they advertise under "moving companies". They generally have, or
have had, a license. They send people moving estimates, and show up at your
house in a moving van. In the eyes of a consumer they are a moving company, and
to call them by vague names seems like a pleasant way to try to sweep the
problem under the rug, but your members still have to compete against these
companies every day. Call them what you want, but they're here. We can
work together to clean this industry up, but they key is working together, not
us working for you and you taking all of the credit. The volunteers here,
professional and consumer, have been working tirelessly for 10 years to help
this industry and they deserve more credit than they've been given.
Tim"

People may be contacting Congress less and less to file compliants, but that does not mean that the number of compliants has gone down, just that they're not getting to Congress.

Re: Do “rating & review” sites influence moving industry customers?

Eric Anders — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 13:44:11 -0000

Hi Martin,

Thanks for the feedback!

In today's cash-strapped economy, it seems that more and more consumers and corporate clients planning a relocation are indeed doing more research into the companies they're considering.

For instance, the recent post about the government cracking down on rogue movers and brokers (http://bit.ly/saCw0o) has attracted more attention in the past few weeks than most of the other consumer oriented articles posted here.

I, too, believe everyone planning a relocation should do extensive research before booking with a carrier. That's why we've included the easy-to-use links to the resources in the above article.

I also think it's important for full disclosure. My Moving Reviews, the company you represent, is owned and operated by Xpress Movers LLC (http://bit.ly/yL7kVy), a small mover based in Massachusetts that has no broker authority. (http://1.usa.gov/xgF7Cb)

Re: Do “rating & review” sites influence moving industry customers?

Martin Panayotov — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 11:10:52 -0000

Hey Eric, great article.
As I am involved with a moving reviews website I can see the trend that people rely more and more on customer reviews. This of course is only one of the many factors people use to determine which mover to select.
In my opinion, doing an extensive research before booking is mandatory. Stating with moving reviews and ratings, customers should also check these very important sources of information before making their decision:
- Checking for license information on the company's website.
- Checking if the mover is licensed with the DOT.
- Checking the BBB rating of the company.
- Checking for any moving industry associations affiliation.
- Checking multiple moving reviews websites and contacting some of the customers to ask more about their experience.

We monitor that more and more people connect with reviewers to ask more questions about their experience with a particular company. Doing an extensive research will in most cases guarantee hiring a company that will provide quality service.

Re: Bekins Van Lines Announces New Recapitalization Plan

perchjuice — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:03:08 -0000

Recapitalize? All they did was milk money from the agents and run. My heart does go out to all of the Bekins employees that will no longer have jobs.