Covid-19 and Moving: 6.3.20

So this stuff is tricky and we recommend reading our previous posts so you can understand how our thinking and procedures have evolved. First I’ll start off with the basics of what to expect from us when moving, then move on into some facts, details and ideas about moving and covid-19.

What to expect when we move you:

We’re going to show up and get masked up
We’re going to do paperwork and the walkthrough wearing masks and so should you
We’ll set up good ventilation, including opening doors and windows and probably setting up some fans.
Then we’ll ask you, our beloved customer, to distance. That means picking a space we’re not going to be working in for a while and staying there, going outside, or chilling in your car and using text, phone, facetime or google-meets to communicate with us.
When you our esteemed customer are not around we’ll likely let our masks down for portions of the move so we can breath and do the more aerobic parts of the move quickly. We’ll still do our best to distance each other and wear masks where it’s practical.
When customers enter our space, we’ll re-mask and switch from the more active tasks to things that can be done with masks on like wrapping furniture. We’ll also mask up when we come to get you and ask you questions about placement, condition or anything else.
We’ll wrap the majority of your furniture protecting it from damage, but also from germs and our own hands.
We’re going to do a great job.
We’ll offer to do some cleaning and wipe down surfaces, doorknobs, etc if you’d like.

Some general observations about moving and Covid-19:

This stuff is hard.
Warmer weather makes it harder.
Different customers have different expectations, requirements and ideas about covid-19. We need to make ALL of them happy.
Everything is less predictable.
Everything changes at a rapid clip.
Estimates are harder to make accurate
Weather plays an out-sized role now

We’ve refined our process and though we try and change to suit each day’s customer, here’s where we start from:

Things we do:

we wear masks and gloves when it makes sense and when we’re working directly with customers
we offer video-conferencing to allow customers to not be in the same physical space as the movers, but still be involved in the move at a distance of their choosing.we disinfect and clean our equipment, office and warehouse daily.
we bring fans to increase ventilation and remove the human exhaust as quick as we can.
we distance from the customer as much as possible.
we stagger our start times to decrease group sizes.
we split larger jobs over multiple days to decrease size of moving crews.
we provide our workers a variety of face coverings, gloves, sanitizer, cleaning products, technology and knowledge.
movers distance from each other when possible, though this is rarely possible for long.
we use common sense all the time.
we offer to clean the customers’ goods and premises at the end of the job.
we talk about and try and develop new ideas every day.
we’ve changed the ventilation system at our warehouse so it’s on a timer and the overhead and exhaust fans run during the morning when crews are in to expel our breath.
we’ve been buying and testing masks to find the ones that allow the best combination of protection and respiration
we only have one person in the office at a time
management works from home

Things we don’t do:

wear masks ALL the time. Given the aerobic nature of moving, it’s not always possible.
wear gloves ALL the time. A lot of the time gloves are unsafe when handling pieces.
we don’t kick the customer out of their own house, we work together to find a solution that everyone is comfortable with and which works.
movers can’t keep much distance from each other, it often takes two people to move a piece
we don’t come to work sick. If the company ends up short of workers on a day due to sickness, we work with our customers to switch days or split things up. Nobody works sick. Allergies are a tough call and we admit that and take our best guess, a person knows their own body. A mover especially knows their own body as they use it A LOT.

Other factors customers should be aware of:

Covid-19 can definitely have an effect on the estimate. Sometimes the precautions make the move take longer, sometimes they don’t. We’ve only got a few months of experience with how it changes things, whereas I have 2 decades of experience with moving. I do my best to write estimates we can fall within but the specifics of locations, goods and customers adds a level of unpredictability. We do our best and work it good faith.

We don’t do on-site estimates any more. We now work with photos or videos that customers send in. We try and ask smart questions but it’s a poor replacement for actually being there. The accuracy of the estimate definitely suffers, but our excellent work remains the same.

Two movers on a 100 degree day who are carrying up to 3000lbs each up and down stairs over the course of a day breathe a LOT, and the prespire a LOT. It’s a very aerobic job and no matter what sort of mask we wear, we’re going to fill most interior spaces we’re in with our own breath and evaporated sweat. This isn’t a great combination with covid-19 and we recognize that. I’ve done move jobs in a tyvek suit before, and you move slowly, and even then have to spend half the time not working, catching your breath, trying to get your sweat out of the suit so you don’t pass out. Using masks and gloves isn’t that bad, but it’s on the same spectrum. We think the best thing is to get everyone but our staff out of those spaces, ventilate them well and do the moving. Then we clear the air and do some cleaning as requested.

When it was 20 degrees out it was a lot easier to manage these issues, but with warmer weather comes harder decisions.

Covid and Moving: 6.3.20