Tag: hire professional movers

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How To

How to Spot Real vs. Fake NJ Moving Reviews

How to Spot Real vs. Fake NJ Moving Reviews

When planning a move, you’ll probably do some research on the professional moving companies before you hire them. After all, you don’t want to get stuck with unlicensed or uninsured movers. Or, worse, a scam. For many people, reading online reviews can help them decide whether to choose one company over another. Even a few bad reviews can turn people away from an otherwise great company. The problem is that while online reviews are useful, they should always be taken with a grain of salt. After all, you can’t verify the legitimacy of said review. A NJ moving company with nothing but glowing reviews might not always be the best one for you and, in some cases, these reviews might not even be real!

That doesn’t mean reading reviews is a waste of time. Instead, you need to critically evaluate the comments in order to distinguish real reviews from the fake ones. Once you understand what to look for and how to evaluate these comments properly, you can apply this knowledge to other areas like when you’re researching a large purchase like a car, computer, or home!

Why Online Reviews

Before we get into how to evaluate customer comments, it’s important to understand the power and influence of online reviews. Since its introduction, they have been a way for people to figure out whether the service or product they are considering is right for them and if there are any deal breaker issues. In the past, reviews were relegated to the domain of subject matter experts, but the popularization of online shopping has allowed everyone to share their experience. And since these comments are from normal people, many trust them more than reviews from experts who might have received some kickbacks or payment leading to them being less trustworthy. In a way, it’s a different form of word-of-mouth recommendation.

It’s no surprise then that around 84 percent of people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations and that an overall positive online review makes folks trust a business more. Naturally, with something as important as moving, people will always veer towards companies that have positive comments since they want to make sure the people they hire are professional and won’t break their belongings! 

Why Businesses Create Fake Reviews

Considering how much of an impact reviews can make on customer decisions, it’s no surprise that some companies will drum up fake reviews. There are usually two reasons companies craft these comments:

  1. To boost their ratings so they can look more reliable and attract customers
  2. To leave negative reviews on their competitor’s page to damage their reputation

While some movers will create a fake account and post reviews that way, others will hire people to leave reviews for them so it looks more natural. Ultimately, the impact of fake reviews has a huge impact on both the customers and businesses. For the customer, fake reviews can lead to confusion and poor choices. They might think they are hiring reputable NJ movers, but instead they end up hiring either a bad company or get scammed.

For actual moving companies, especially those targeted with negative comments, the consequences can lead to loss of revenue and damage to reputation. Depending on the platform, they might be able to remove these fake reviews, but in many cases it can take days or even weeks to get it removed. In the meantime, hundreds of customers will avoid them because of these fake negative reviews. This can have an especially big impact on smaller local movers. 

But what about the companies that get fake positive reviews? They might see an uptick in customers in the short-term, but customers will quickly find out the truth once they hire them. Depending on how bad the movers were, they could face legal repercussions.

How to Spot Fake Reviews

With so much competition in the NJ moving scene, many companies will utilize fake reviews to hopefully catch your attention. So how can you spot fake reviews? It can be difficult, but once you develop an eye for it, you should be able to root them out on almost every site.

  • Overly positive language – if a review sounds like an ad for the company, chances are it was written by the movers or someone they hired. Look for phrases like perfect experience or flawless service as these often lack authenticity.
  • Generic – while not everyone wants to write paragraphs about their moving experience, many will at least explain some parts of their move like where they moved to, if the movers went up flights of stairs, etc. If the review has zero details, you might want to take it with a grain of salt.
  • Timing of reviews – Yes, lots of people move on the 1st of the month, especially if you live in a place with a lot of renters. But not everyone writes reviews at the same time. If you notice multiple reviews posted on the same day that read similarly, chances are they are fake.
  • Low pricing – if a reviewer specifically mentions an exceptionally low price, beware. Most professional movers are priced similarly with maybe a $10-30 difference. If something is $50 or more cheaper, it’s probably a scam or there are a lot of hidden fees.
  • Comparisons – reviews claiming that one company is a lot cheaper or better than another without any clear reasons are suspicious. 

Analyzing Reviews

Not all reviews are super obvious. Sometimes you’ll need to take a little more time to determine whether it is real or not. The biggest indicator of a genuine review is that they often provide a story or personal experience. Many times they will name the movers or an aspect of the move that stood out to them. These are very rare in fake reviews! Another good tell is if the reviews portray the company in a consistent manner. Don’t mistake consistency of service with consistency of the actual words in the review. If you see a lot of comments that use the same phrase or wording, they’re probably fake!

Finally, if you’re unsure about a review, many sites allow you to click on the name to see their posting habits. A new profile with minimal activity or only activity on specific services or products could potentially be a red flag. If they user has made several posts, check them out and look for things like overuse of marketing jargon words, the same exact words used across multiple reviews, and strange posting patterns.

How to Find Reliable Reviews

It’s hard finding quality online reviews, but there are a few places to look. Google Reviews allows users to provide an array of customer feedback on a variety of services. On the other hand, Yelp allows users to provide detailed reviews and to filter these by location and service quality. Both sites utilize algorithms to detect and remove fraudulent reviews, although they can’t always catch all of them.

There is also the Better Business Bureau, which lists accredited moving companies in addition to complaints, resolutions, and a general overview of the company’s performance over time. All companies listed on the site have to go through a strict process in order to be listed.

Finally, professional movers must all register with the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT), which requires them to provide proof of insurance, incorporation, etc. Once they receive all of this, the movers will receive a USDOT number which customers can look up to ensure all of the information is up-to-date and if there are any complaints.

Hire Reliable NJ Movers

Finding a good moving company takes time, which is why you should start looking for one at least a month before your move date. You want to take your time doing your research so you don’t accidentally fall for scam. If you’re in the market for a NJ moving company, give NJ Great Movers a call. We are licensed and insured and have been in business long enough to rack up hundreds of positive reviews. Reach out to us and we’ll work with you to make your next move seamless.

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General

5 Exciting and Fun Things to Do Before Moving

5 Exciting and Fun Things to Do Before Moving

Even when you’re moving into your dream house, the actual moving process can be grueling and emotional. The months before a move are busy, even when you hire professional movers and are super organized. While moving can be stressful, that doesn’t mean you can’t have a little fun to make the process a bit easier. If you need a break, the following activities can help refresh your batteries so you can get back to moving with gusto.

Throw a Party Before Moving to a New City

Whether you’re moving to a new city or a new state, organizing a going away party can be a nice distraction from all the packing and planning. Sure, it’s not particularly fun to say goodbye to good friends and neighbors, but a party is a great opportunity to see everyone in one place and spend time with the people who matter.

You don’t need additional stress during your move, so plan to make this party very informal. Reach out to your closest friends and neighbors and have a laid-back get together on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Make sure you have some drinks and snacks, but you can also ask guests to bring something as well. At the end of the party, make sure you exchange your new contact information. Heck, you can even mix business with pleasure and have the moving-away part after your friends have helped you pack for the day. If you’re hiring movers, you can encourage your guests to take some items that you don’t plan on bringing with you.

Visit Your New and Old Places

Unless you really hated your area, chances are there are a few spots in town that you love. Maybe it’s a cozy diner, a small museum, or a quiet green area in a park. Wherever it is, take some time out of your hectic moving plans to enjoy your neighborhood for the last time. Don’t rush yourself either! Take your time and truly relish the experience. That might mean clearing up a day or two in your busy moving schedule, but it will be worth it!

If your schedules align, take one or two friends on a greatest hits ‘tour’ and visit your favorite places. You could even take a walk down memory lane and revisit some of your old haunts. If that’s not your style, why not be a tourist in your town for the day? If you live somewhere like NYC, chances are you probably avoid tourist locations like the plague. Now is the time to take in all the attractions and enjoy them! It’s a great way to recharge your battery for the tough relocation ahead.

Capture Beautiful Memories Before You Leave

Leaving your old home can be an emotional experience, especially if you have a lot of good memories in it. It’s hard on everyone, but doubly so for children as they have come to associate the house with comfort, love, and warmth. Fortunately, your upcoming move doesn’t have to be a somber affair as long as you believe your new home will be even better.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you have to forget all about your old house. If anything, to make the transition easier, you should capture some memories before you leave. Maybe that means making a farewell video where each member of the family tells their favorite story or memory linked to a particular room. Avoid scripted takes as you want authenticity!

If you’re not into video, take some time to take some pictures as you move out. Later on, you can arrange these pictures, along with others you have taken during your stay at your old house, into a photo album. If you have kids, let them contribute to the album as well so everyone will have fond memories to look back on.

Speaking of memories, if you can bring a memento from your old place to your new one. This might be a bit harder if you live in a rental as you could be charged for not leaving the apartment in good condition. Choose something that is meaningful and either add it to the photo album/scrapbook or add it to your new home. This way, every time you look at the memento, you’ll be reminded of good memories.

Reward Yourself  in a Way You Choose

If you hire trustworthy movers, hopefully your residential move will be perfect from start to finish. Many people will wait until after the move to treat themselves, but there’s no rule saying you can’t take a much needed pre-move break. In fact, it’s a great way to keep your motivation high, especially during the height of moving.

It might be tempting to try and push through all the tedious packing and organizing, but take some time to relax. Maybe that means catching a movie with some friends, going out for romantic dinner with your significant other, or attending a concert. If you’re moving alone, it could be as simple as taking a luxurious bath or relaxing in bed watching your favorite show. Whatever it is, you want to choose an activity that will recharge your batteries. The point is to do something you love and enjoy. You’ll be less stressed the next day and you might even be able to get everything done faster by taking a break.

Create a Proven Floor Plan to Avoid Mistakes

When moving into a new place, you have the opportunity to truly transform it into the home of your dreams. Sure, there might be some limitations, especially if you decide to move into an apartment. However, there are still plenty of ways you can unleash your creativity and create a cozy dwelling that reflects your personality while also guaranteeing maximum comfort. And you can start planning all of this out before you even move! In fact, you should create a floor plan before you move, that way you can avoid costly mistakes such as:

  • Incorrect furniture size – there’s no point in spending money moving heavy furniture if it won’t fit in your new home. A detailed floor plan will tell you which pieces you can keep and which ones you can donate or throw away.
  • Poor furniture placement – you’ll have to know the exact dimensions of your house and furniture for this, but it’s well worth the effort as you can figure out where to place each item to maximize open areas and traffic flow
  • Rearranging furniture after move in – why spend time rearranging furniture after you move in when you can simply have the movers place items exactly where you want it? With a floor plan, you can tell the movers exactly where you want each item to go. Not only does this save you time, it also reduces the chances of you or loved ones getting injured because you’re trying to move heavy items.

In order for the floor plan to work as intended, you need exact measurements of everything. Make sure to include quirky wall layouts such as round sections or slanted walls. Also make sure to note the location of all windows, doors, and doorways as you don’t want to block any of these areas with furniture. While you’re at it, you should also look for the location of electric outlets, ceiling lights, and heating vents on your floor plan. When you have all the information, draw the rooms to scale. It usually works best when you use graph paper and represent one foot with two squares on the graph paper.

Once that’s done, measure all of your furniture and decide which ones you want to move into your new home and see whether they will fit. Draw the outlines of your furniture onto another piece of graph paper using the same scaling method as you did for the actual house/apartment. From there, cut the furniture shapes from the paper and start arranging on your floor plan. Pay special attention to the flow of traffic and how you can break up a large room into different ‘sections.’ Sure, you can always rearrange furniture later on, but a good floor plan can save you time and reduce unnecessary stress. Plus, you can keep the plan for future use if you ever replace your old furniture.

Hire the Best Professional NJ Movers

The moving process can be grueling and stress-full, but these tips can hopefully help make it a little more bearable. Another great way to reduce stress is to hire professional movers who can help load and unload your belongings and even arrange your furniture based on your specifications. Working with the pros means you don’t have to worry about broken items or injuries. And that’s a great way to start a new chapter in your life!