Movers London Ontario - UNIVERSITYBRAND MOVERS

Movers London Ontario - UNIVERSITYBRAND MOVERS

We had a very successful move out and in period at the end of August.  Whether you are moving a house, townhouse, condo, student rental or apartment, we have the team and tools to do it.  We moved several thousand clients this summer within London, and we also completed regional moves that went to Halliburton, Toronto, Sarnia, Windsor just to name a few.  People trust us and you should to.  From the clean up to the move, we've got you covered!

Movers London Ontario - Universitybrand Movers

Movers London Ontario

Call UNIVERSITYBRAND MOVERS today! Click here for more info

Kitchener Waterloo has a New Mover in Town

Movers in Kitchener Waterloo Toronto

Since graduating from Wilfrid Laurier University in the spring of 2011, I have been searching for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  I have been searching for a chance to make a difference, give back to my community, and own my own business.  When I met the founders of Alumni Movers, I immediately realized that I had found just such an opportunity.  This business seeks out students and recent graduates to become part of what I like to call a rejuvenated Moving Industry, which until now had gained a somewhat poor reputation.  We mean to change that.

When I began working for Alumni Movers in Kitchener and Waterloo in the late summer of 2012, they had recently expanded in Ontario and were searching for someone who could one day manage the area.  My first few weeks were extremely busy, and many days would have 2 or even 3 jobs.  Right off the bat, I loved for a company that provided so many hours, not to mention a chance to help students, which up until that point had been a significantly unfulfilled need in the area.  With their competitive pricing and excellent customer service, Alumni Movers seemed to be a perfect fit for Ontario.  I also soon realized, as more and more responsibility was being thrust upon me, that I was being trained to one day be the company’s regional manager for the Tri City.  Never before had I had a job and boss who challenged me to expect more of myself and more from the industry that I was a part of.  “Why be just as good as every other moving company, when we can be so much better”, said Kevin Houben, a co-owner and my supervisor, on my first day with the company.

Soon after I began working for Alumni Movers, I became a driver and team captain as it were, and I started to notice what made us different than other moving companies;  Customer Service.  One job in particular that I remember occurred just after the end of the summer rush, and was for an elderly woman who had just been hospitalized due to health reasons.  She had just sold her 2 bedroom home in Kitchener with the intention to downsize.  This has become a relatively common scenario, although this was the first time that I had been asked to help pack a client’s things using another one of our services/products, University Green Bins.  This woman just happened to be a boarder-line hoarder, and it took my boss and I approximately 12 hours to pack all of her things, including two kitchens-worth of dishes, cutlery, crystal and silverware.  The Green Bins make it much easier to pack and are much stronger than boxes, which was great considering all of her things were going into storage for the time being.  We also reuse the Green Bins, so they cut down on waste and are very sustainable. 

After a full day of packing it took us another full day and two whole truck loads to empty this woman’s house and pack it securely into a large storage unit.  We have since returned to the storage unit and taken all of the large items, including two large China Cabinets, as well as all of her crystal and silverware to her new apartment.  We also finally had the chance to meet her, and were filled with a sense accomplishment when she shared with us how happy she was with our service, despite the difficulty of leaving her house behind.  It is through jobs like this one that I certainly begin to develop a sense of ownership and pride in the service that I provide.

I also recall one other move that left a lasting impression on me, and it just so happened to be one of three moves that all made for the longest day of work that I have ever had.  However, before I continue let me say that it is on these long, difficult days, that I feel the most pride in what I do, and where I am most filled with confidence in both the company I work for, and in my own abilities as a mover and manager.  It began as most other days at the end of the summer, with two smaller moves in the morning.  Neither of these first moves was too difficult, and my assistant and I were finished just before noon.  Our last move that day was for a couple in Toronto who were combining households and moving in together.  I asked my boss why they would hire us, since I was sure there was a plethora of moving companies in Toronto.  However, Kevin assured me that the couple had priced out other companies and despite the distance we would have to travel, our rates were competitive enough that they would still be saving money by having us do the job.  Pleasantly surprised, Kevin, one other mover (Corey) and I headed to Toronto, not knowing what to expect.

We began by loading the truck up with the clients furniture that were being stored at a downtown storage unit.  There were two lockers that needed to be emptied, which included large couches, heavy shelves and cabinets, and artwork.  Altogether, this first load pretty much filled the truck, so we headed to the drop off location to unload.  The second pick-up location was the male client’s apartment.  As soon as we arrived we realized that there was more than a truck-load worth of things, and that many of the items were valuable , so we would have to blanket and shrink-wrap them before loading them into the truck.  This in a normal practice for Alumni Movers, whether our clients choose to purchase our insurance or not.  There were several heavy items, as well as a couple couches that proved to be difficult getting out of the apartment and in and out of the elevator.  However, where there is a will there is a way, and after two loads, and almost 12 hours everything was in the new home and the clients were thrilled.  During our return trip to Kitchener/Waterloo I felt like there was nothing my company could not do, and indeed, even then, I started feeling like a small part of Alumni Movers was mine, and since then I have had a strong sense of ownership and the work we have done certainly shows this.

At the end of the day, as well as when I get up for work in the morning, I take pride in working for a moving company that provides opportunities to recent grads, challenges its employees to do more and do better than even they thought they could, seeks to redefine the moving industry with a heightened understanding of customer service,  and continues to give me the chance to develop invaluable management skills while I learn as much as I can about running, and hopefully one day owning, a small business.  Although, if things keep going as well as they have been, I doubt we’ll be small for very long.

Moving London Ontario

Moving London Ontario

Recently here at University Junk Removal, Alumni Movers and University Mini Movers, we encountered a very special job.  I use the word special as I feel it is very hard to properly articulate the goings on of what happened.  I could use the term like “hoarding” to describe our most recent endeavour in junk removal and moving, but I feel that wouldn’t do justice to the experience we all were lucky enough to partake in.  You see, our usual days of work consist of maximum 10-11 hours of waste removal and/or moving apartments, houses, etc... but not over these three very special days.  

To maintain the privacy of the client, I will not say the city, address, or even allude to this person’s name.  When we did the estimate for the job, it definitely seemed like there would be a lot of things to be moved, but also even more to be disposed of.  To our surprise, on day one of three, hour one of an eventual 40 over just three days, we realized that this person was in fact unable to part with the majority of his/her items.  Even after being enlightened of the importance of each specific piece, pieces that included old 90’s CD samplers from beer cases, and even paint chips, we still thought that it might only take our team of two young men about 1.5 days... We were sadly mistaken...  

If you have ever watched the reality shows about people who can’t throw things out, they always seem to show the most extreme cases, like mental illness and other very particular circumstances, but we realized that even a high functioning professional member of society can hoard with the best of them.  Our client, who will remain nameless, is in fact a very successful person in the field that he/she works in, also very well educated, more than most of us, unfortunately the house was not representative of his/her work life.  

In the beginning we were asked if we could bring about 25 of our University Green Bins in order to safely move the items... At the end of day three, and hour forty, there were upwards of one hundred University Green Bins completely full and 20 extra large moving boxes.  To put that in perspective, that is like 100 medium-large sized cardboard moving boxes completely full,  and somehow we were able to put the majority of them into a two bedroom apartment!  There were boxes stuffed in closets, hallways, and even a bathtub.  I could go on and on about the amount of stuff we moved, but this would turn into a 300 page novel, rather than a weekly article.  Let’s just say there was enough stuff that you could barely see the walls and floors of the new apartment.  

The items that we moved represented a lot more than just material goods, they represented definite emotional issues that this person was experiencing.  I feel like it is safe to say that no one wants their home to be completely cluttered and almost impossible to navigate through, but for some reason it can be nearly impossible for some people to simply throw things away.  To be frank, this was as much of a mental and emotional test on our team as it was a laborious one.  What I mean by that is we had to be part movers and junk removal guys, but more importantly we had to be very patient and kind to our client in order to not seem insensitive.  Believe me, after two fifteen hour days of labour in a row, it is not at all easy to be patient.  That being said, we pulled it off, and throughout the entire time we maintained a proper and adequate level of professionalism while moving.  

This article is not meant to be simply an account of what happened at this job, but more of a message to our customers that if you feel like you have someone like the person I’ve described in your social circle, we can help.  This job was a test of our abilities in every capacity, and by then end of it, we realized most importantly that there virtually isn’t any job that is too big or intimidating.  We learned that we can relate to our clients on a deeper level than most, and can work with even the most interesting people when it is necessary.  I hope that if you have a “hoarder” or “pack rat” in your family, that you will not let it go on for too long, and I hope that when you make the decision to alter the course of your life or someone else’, that you call us and let us help.  We would love nothing more than to be a part of your life changing transformation.

Moving London Ontario

Moving London Ontario - Alumni Movers

It’s been a couple of weeks since the last entry for University Junk Removal, University Mini Movers, and Alumni Movers... But that’s only because we were so busy providing a superior moving service to our clients during a very busy, and successful time.  It was student moving time once again, and we definitely had our hands full.  Our University Mini Movers side of the company was full speed ahead with 3-4 story walk up brownstones, and off-campus housing near University of Waterloo, Western University, Sir Wilfred Laurier, and Guelph University.  On the other side of things, our new and successful Alumni Movers service was in full bloom with new and fresh business that included everything from condo’s to 3-4-5 bedroom family homes. 

We may be known more for the Mini-Move and Junk/Waste Removal side of things, but our Alumni Movers service is definitely the new and exciting face of the Moving industry.  We are able to do with 2 young fit athletic students what usually takes 3-4 men from other moving companies, and we do it with superior professionalism and in the same time frame.  I must also mention that not only do it more efficiently, but our prices are among the most competitive, if not the most competitive in the industry.

There are so many unfortunate tales of mishaps and unprofessional occurrences in the moving industry, and we are out to the change that old and tired reality.  We are the clean shaven, youthful face of an evolving moving industry, and I don’t doubt that we will move you comfortably and safely with the most zeal and vigour you’ve ever seen out of a moving team!!

We understand that moving your family in-town, or even out of town can be very stressful, and this is why we take pride in our work.  Our competitive wage and scholarship incentives ensure that our team of students is not only motivated to do a good job, but instead, they are motivated to do a spectacular job moving you!  We want to make sure that this normally stressful day will instead be one of the most stress-free days of your summer. 

No job is too big or too small for the University Mini Movers/Alumni Movers teams, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re moving in your home town of London, or the Tri-Cities, or even if you want to move around Ontario.  We frequently move to Sarnia, Toronto, Oakville, Petrolia, Cambridge, Hamilton, Burlington, Mississauga, Ilderton, Ingersoll, St. Thomas, Grand Bend, and the list goes on. 

The next time you are moving anywhere in Southwestern Ontario, I urge you to give University Mini Movers/Alumni Movers a try.  I guarantee you will be pleased when two young, energetic, responsible, motivated (and handsome) students show up to make your life a little easier.

We’ll be in touch, and we can’t wait to help you move into your new location!!

Movers London Ontario

Alumni Movers in London Ontario

This is how we take care of your items.