Follow-up on moving

One of the sales reps that provided me with a quote called me today. I have to confess that I was annoyed at first, thinking he was just trying to put the screws on me about committing. I soon found out how wrong I was!

He was actually calling to let me know that a new schedule of discounts had been published, and he took the liberty of running a new quote for me-- this one at 69% instead of 68%.  That quote represented a further discount of $400 (and those of you especially skilled with math will now know what the total amount of the quote was!).

He also reminded me that there was a scheduled tariff increase in early May, and that if my move would be after then he would be glad to run a new quote back-dated before that increase that would be good for 60 days. He asked about other quotes I had received, and told me that he would be willing to match or beat any quote for the same estimated weight. (Based on this guy's hard work to help me out, I'm growing more inclined to go with him-- the fact that his quote is the lowest doesn't hurt, either!)

Two lessons learned here:

• Before you commit to a mover (e.g., after you've gathered a few quotes and landed on a final destination), ask if he is able to offer you any further discount or rate reduction. Don't assume that every sales rep is as eager as mine has been.
• When following up, ask if they will offer a rate that is competitive with another mover's quote. Before you do this, make sure you have the Cube Sheet that demonstrates that the quotes are based on the same estimated information-- otherwise, they will likely balk and say that the quotes are not for the same weight amount.

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