Monday, August 30, 2010

End of August in Woodland Hills






As the end of August, 2010 grows closer, so does the end of summer...but it seems the people in Woodland Hills are still moving and shipping. Today Woodland Hills sold an enormous amount of moving supplies and boxes...all capped off with yet another freight shipment of these two unique stereo speakers headed to Canada...I love packing and shipping freight...call me here at Box Brothers, Woodland Hills, (818) 224-4661, and ask for Chris. (Notice the better placement of the straps in the last picture...Thanks Ray & Dave in SM1 for the info.)

Busy Business Box Brothers Las Vegas...
















Friday was torture for the 4 of us here at the Las Vegas Box Bros location.... Here are a few photos of what we were able to do in the morning before noon.... Our policy is to open the trucks in the morning and start palletizing the shipments and have them ready to go..... Then the trucks are empty and we are ready to go do the pickups for the day.... The photo of my personal truck was taken around 7:30 pm on Friday evening.... I had CDS leave the product out back so I could fill our shelves for Saturday...... I'm glad August is almost over, but would like to see it stay busy, busy, busy......

Friday, August 27, 2010

August in Northern California

Box Brothers Northern California has been having quite the chaotic August. At the beginning of the month we said goodbye to Aldo, who resigned at the beginning of the month. After a mad scramble to try and find a replacement, we realized it was a blessing in disguise as a decrease in sales in Oakland meant we would have had to cut hours anyway.
At the same time Oakland was having a slow period, business was hopping in SF. Kiyoshi and I teamed up on two separate occasions to more than double our sales quota for the day and also send freight jobs to the warehouse. This was great new for Kiyoshi, because that meant the pressure was relieved for his upcoming absence. Kiyoshi headed out east to Boston to spend the last two weeks of August with his family.
With Aldo now gone, it was up to me to cover the SF store and leave the warehouse in the hands of Roger and Ganzo. With some help from our new office assistant, Sharie, Oakland had a boom in the last couple of weeks, effectively salvaging what was looking to be a dismal month.
I was able to generate quite a few freight jobs from the SF store. While many of these were requests for freight shipping, there were several that came in as a box sale, and ended up turning into a full service palletized household move. Chris Long had been out on a marketing run the week before Kiyoshi left, and it was with his guidance that I was able to make this kind of upsale. The lesson in this? Always ask a customer why they are purchasing moving boxes, and always offer them a card and let them know that we can take care of a long distance move for them at a lower cost than most movers.
So here we are at the end of the month. Sharie is all trained up and ready to work the SF Store when the need arises. Roger is off next week on a long awaited vacation. Sharie and I will be running the office in Oakland next week as Kiyoshi will be back in the SF store.
As a final note, we sure do get some wild requests for shipping. This week we shipped glass cased Japanese dolls, high-end salvaged sinks, an Austrian painting returning to Austria, and a box full of sticks. We also shipped rocks. And paper. No scissors, though.

Leadership and Longevity; keys to long term success

I was thinking about what I wanted to blog about today and I realized that this
Box Brothers Blog, is a great way for those of us in this business, to highlight some
things about us, that make us the best packaging and shipping firm in the world.
I am being totally serious.

It is because of our people. The same people who put a face behind the name Box Brothers.
We have been blessed with some great people here, but what is amazing, is the longevity of
our people, and how long they have been with us.

So I thought that it might be a good idea to pay homage to these "family members of Box Brothers," but including them in 10 Year Club and our 15 Year Club and our 20 Year Club.
What is this club and do we have to pay dues or something?

It is, simply put, a way to show us and the world who we really are and what we are about.
I am so proud that we have people in each of our locations that really want to help people get
their possessions, gifts, business items, artwork and furniture, to another place.

While we do this each and every day, we do it with vigor, dedication and with confidence that we are the best at what we do. It is not even all of those other guys who talk the talk, but they
are not on their knees packing for the customer, or they are not the ones who go the extra mile for our customers--at all of our locations.

In our 25 Year Club, is Goody, as we affectionately call him. Robert J. Goodman, the founder of Box Brothers, over 25 years ago. Does anyone out there have any idea how much economic activity Goody has created since he started Box Brothers? How many people did we provide
a place to work, a place with medical coverage, a place with heart and concern for our family members.

I am proud to have even known Goody, as for a guy who only completed the 6th grade, with no
formal schooling or training, who has achieved honors from business organizations, carried Box Brothers twice to being honored for best new company and fastest growing company in southern
California, but he has touched the lives of so many that it is hard to even figure it all out.

His leadership led to our growth and his foresight into companies and customers and employees
have led to the growth of our firm to become a family name in many, many circles along with a
reputation that has created economic activity for us and our employees in places like Texas,
New York, Chicago, Florida, Washington D.C. and so many other places, but the heart is here
in California, his home.

I could tell you stories about his sacrifices, the risks he took to get us to this point, but I know there are limits to how much anyone can blog, but I just wanted to let everyone know that we owe so much to him, or we would not be here today. I know we are busy, we have kids, and bills,
and illnesses, and relatives and vacations and school, and you name, it, but I just wanted to give
credit to our founder.

We have so many great people who are part of this family, and by mentioning them, it is a tribute to them, but to Goody as well. Chris Long, a 17 year old kid, who now has three kids;
Jorgen Gilcrease, our old manager of our Burbank location, who is now our manager in Santa Monica Coastal or as we call it, SM2, who brings his son to work; to Cesar Calderon, another 15 year veteran, who has never ever left a job early or who had something else to do when a customer needed us; Steve Garrigan, and Dave Collins, both long term, over ten year employees
who have been there and back and back again. How about Shera Eddy, who came here out of
high school, and is a proud mother, and she has done every job, from forklift driver, to a rescuer
of injured people, to store management and into accounting, and no matter what job she did,
she was always for the customer and the well being of our firm, for all.

We have so many great employees, like Ganzo in Oakland who has also been with us over 10 years, and whose committment to excellence is stunning. There is our recent retiree, Pops, as we called him Mr. Long, Chris's dad. Pops was such a fixture of our business and now he loves retirement, but I have an offer to him to help us in the holiday time and like all our family members, I know he will want to be there as much as we want him to be with us. Don't forget
Barry in Sunset (LV) and how about Daniel Schwartz, who is now approaching ten years with us.
What a blessing to have such a great employee.

I could go on, as I am so proud, and if I left someone out, it was not my intention, as we have so many great people here and we owe it all to our founder, Robert Goodman. I always say it is not
the products, nor the services we offer, but how we do what we do, with our people, that makes us the best. It is because Robert Goodman had a vision and was dedicated to it and to the people that make it happen.

Lets salute Box Brothers by taking a moment to give thanks to the man who made it happen.
Our only member of our New 25 Year Club.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Well, it is the dog days of summer, here, at the corporate office. The temperature outside
is over 100 degress again, for the third day in a row. I think the heat affects a lot of people
and I was concered that it would further affect business--not in a positive way.

However, the thing about helping people move, is that their move date is generally solid
and fixed. For rentals, it is usually all about the last day of the month, and for escrows, today,
they generally close on time, if they close at all.

We are still in the middle of the traditional moving season, and people are moving for both good and bad reasons: school has started for many, excepting junior colleges and UCLA, as most private universities like USC, the Claremont Colleges, Pepperdine, have all started. In fact,
it looks like high school has started for many kids, as well.

I am glad the summer was better, in terms of business, than last year was, and we hope, contrary to all of the bad economic news, that we have finally, yes finally, suffered enough
out here in California. I think, and hope, that the worst is behind us economically, and we will soon see signs of improvement.

For many, it will not happen a moment too soon, as everyone knows that people are not in a
spending mood, but that some things can only be put off for so long and I believe we are at that
point, right now.

When I first got into this crazy business, albeit for another firm, over 25 years ago, the summer season never really ended, as it carried all the way through fall to the holidays. It just never slowed down. I dream of those days, or maybe that is what they mean by nostalgia.

Ask me, they can call it whatever they want, so long as we can consistently be busy. Honest and hard working business people only want a chance to earn, to feel as though they did nothing wrong and this economic slowdown just makes everyone feel down.

So I say, spend, spend and make sure to do it at Box Brothers, as it is appreciated with prejudice.

More Jay Leno Harley photos.....













These are photos from Box Bros Oakland...
Ganzo
Warehouse Foreman
800-942-6822


Jay Leno Harley....
















Here are some photos from the past.... We were contracted to transport Jay Leno's Harley signed by many celebrities like Snoop Dogg, Sharon Osbourne, and many others..... This bike traveled to several major cities and we recieved it in, uncrated it and set it up for the show...... Then after the show we would pick it up, crate it and ship it off to the next destination.... Waste Management was the company in charge of the bike for it's travels around the world..... There was a huge acrylic case it sat in while on display at the different venues..... Notice Ganzo trying to be cool sitting on the Harley..... I know the $100,000.00 value placed on it, makes it one of most expensive Harley Davidson in the world..... Vegas Box Bros handled it, Los Angeles Box Bros, New Jersey, San Antonio, Denver and San Diego all had a part in set up and repacking...... Hope everybody enjoys these photos.....

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Indian River Gallery.....


We definitely has some special accounts here in the Vegas Valley..... Here is a very fine bronze sculpture that has a value of $15,000.00.... The Indian River Gallery located at Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino sells some beautiful pieces.... They love the fact that they can call us and prepare these works of art for transportation...... We have not had a claim in the 6 years we have been shipping these high value works of art.....

Chris Long

Box Bros Las Vegas

800-355-7917
Ray Nolasco is always fabulous to work with. I ship many things off for
work as well as personal items from the Wilshire office and its always there
on time, with no problems. He is the best in customer service. Thanks,
Kelly C. McCarthy LVN WCC

Monday, August 23, 2010

Family fun......
















It's that time of year when we start school again and families stop having fun..... Before the fun times stop, I made a trip to New Mexico to visit my brother and his family..... As we grow older it's harder to find the time for our families to get together...... We spent the weekend riding quads and dirt bikes with all the kids..... Here are some photos from the trip..... Oh; and back to work I go..... The trip took 10 hours each way, but was well worth it to see my brother and his family....... That's my wife on her blue Raptor 350 quad.... My brother and his daughter on his CRF450..... My 13 year old on his CRF100..... My son Ryland and his cousin Allison on the little quad.... My trailer that tows all the toys.....

Sharie sharing her new skills......
















I'm still a bit new to the company, so I wanted to write my first blog post! Yesterday Bill and I received two large candelabras to pack for shipment...nothing too unsual about two candelabras... except these were both covered in large, unpolished, roughly cut crystals. They covered the entire surface of the candelabras as well as a very fine "crystal dust" over the top of each arm, where one would insert the candles. The maker of these items brought them in because she had trouble when shipping them on her own - the crystals were coming off and she even had problems with the arms breaking off during shipment. She wanted to make sure that they were packed safely for transit, and carefully enough to protect the fragility of the crystals attached. We carefully wrapped and packed these items using a number of safe materials, and they were then placed into a foam lined box to add extra sturdiness and padding to the walls of the box. When she came to pick her up pieces she was beyond thrilled with how we had packed them, and was excited to have a place to turn to for her packing needs. To add to that, she was doubly happy when Bill informed her that we could even pick up her items for her, from her residence, so she would not have to make the trip to our store (she came all the way to us from about 45 minutes north of San Francisco!), along with packing her items and doing the shipping for her as well. All she would have to worry about was being home for us to pick them up...we will take care of the rest! So in the end we had a very happy customer and two well packed, fragile, and unique items. I am happy to be a part of this great team here in the Bay Area! -Sharie





Box Brother Oakland





800-942-6822

Friday, August 20, 2010

New Google Review Santa Monica

Great service!‎‎
By dmahler01 - Aug 19, 2010
Never been to Box Bros. before, but I stopped in to the Santa Monica location and have to say I was thoroughly impressed by the expedient, friendly, knowledgable and extremely helpful service I received!

Hand-Carved Cedar Chest from 1947


This hand-carved cedar chest was built in 1947. We picked it up from a customer here in Woodland Hills, and shipped it UPS. Need something, anything, packed and shipped? Just call Box Brothers, Woodland Hills and ask for Chris. (818) 224-4661

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Golden hands gets golden packaging



Thank you Steve G.

Thanks so much for your help, Steve! You made things very easy for me and I appreciate it. I also left you guys a good review on Yelp for helping me out so much, and hopefully people will see it and come to you guys.

Take care,

Andie :)




Thank you,
Steve Garrigan
Branch Manager
Box Brothers Corporation
steve@boxbros.com
5353 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles Ca,90036
323-939-5899
Fax 323-939-5894

Bubble Kings......
















Las Vegas sells tons of bubble..... With the addition of the new retail rolls, we can't keep enough in stock..... I hope CDS can start stocking them so we have a next day delivery here in Las Vegas.... Through our current supplier we have to purchase a minimum for a delivery only once a week..... Eric Paul, get those retail rolls in......

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Usps change of Address link

If you are Moving you might want to change your address to get your Mail forwarded to your new home https://moversguide.usps.com/icoa/flow.do?_flowExecutionKey=_cB8DEC397-DCA2-E3AC-2165-2D31B8ACC481_k6FE97118-45D2-D31B-EBE6-81D0C0230D73 This is the change of Address Link for Moving ... On the Usps Site

5 Star Rating at Santa Monica

User Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
by THall
08/18/2010
Box Bros. provides excellent service and Ray Nolasco is the best. I have been going to this location for about 8 years. Ray has been packing, boxing and shipping to my daughters during those years while they attended college down south and back east. I have also used Box Bros. to help me with boxes as I moved from one house to another. Ray always provided helpful suggestions and options that gave me maximum flexibility. I have sent many friends here to relieve their stress and anxiety in shipping. You never have to worry. Your items will arrive in pristine condition. I ship items regularly and have never had a problem.

I just left Box Bros today and had yet another stress free visit where everything was handled with professional service in a pleasant atmosphere.
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TAO Nightclub at Venetian Hotel & Casino.....
















Last night we were asked to show up at the Venetian Hotel & Casino Business Center at 5pm.... Our orders were to get a crate that was shipped to the Venetian Hotel of a Terra Cotta Warrior ordered, crated and shipped from China.... It seemed simple enough.... We didn't know how the item was crated and internally packed from China, but we found out.... As you can see by the photos, the crate was blasted with tons of liquid foam.... The crate had to be destroyed in order to dig through the liquid foam to get to the statue.... Cowboy, Jacob and I did our best not to make a mess..... This Terra Cotta Warrior was on display for a private party at the TAO Nightclub for a company called Abercombie & Kent USA...... We set the warrior up in a corner of the room so everybody could see it.... After the private party we had to be there at 10pm to take it out of the nightclub before they opened the doors to the general public at 11pm..... So Jacob and I went to get it and bring it back to our location to prepare it for transportation.... I will show more photos as we get ready to crate and ship it to Florida.....










Chris Long
Box Brothers Nev.
702-227-6384



Box Bros Vegas.....

Santa Monica, CA

5 star rating
4/9/2010

had to drop off something for UPS

i never kno wtf i'm doing so:

ray helped me out on weds. he's super friendly and he understands that people don't wanna spend all day doing crap like this. i walked in w/ a box. that's about it. he helped an idiot such as myself and sent me an email confirmation keeping me updated as to the status.

in and out within 2 mins. that's pretty impressive i think. had i done this at the post office: 1 year......no im kidding, 2 years.

parking in front or around the side on wilshire, 21st or 22nd.

aside: they have all these 8x10 glossy pix that are signed by celebs. lol felt like one of those weird hold in the wall restaurants.

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tamar s.

Los Angeles, CA

5 star rating
8/3/2010

This is a great place. The guys are helpful, nice, and try to do what you want at the best possible price. They offer both UPs and Fedex. They email you the tracking number which makes life much easier. I highly reccommend them. Parking in back, and there's always streetside spaces anyway.

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Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Trash to Treasure: Sherle Wagner Bathroom Fixtures


I got to talking with a regular customer of ours who brings by gold plated bathroom fixtures he sells on eBay. If anyone has ever watched the History channel show "American Pickers", they'll understand what this guy has going on. Apparently he found these fixtures hidden at the bottom of a large salvage pile. The name Sherle Wagner was engraved on the back of the sink basins, and lo and behold, they were selling on eBay for thousands of dollars. Needless to say, our good buddy can pay off his student loans no problem now!

He loves our services, as all he need to do is bring his high value, very fragile items safely into our store and give us his customer's information. We handle everything from there, contacting the client, arranging shipping, safely packing and transporting them, and collecting payment. All he has to do is drop the items off and he knows they will get to the client safe and sound.

Today we recieved three basins and all the accesories. I'm planning on giving the client a freight quote to save him some money off a UPS shipment, and to better ensure the safe arrival of his purchase.

I want to send lauds out to Kiyoshi for originally landing this customer. It's all about the customer service for us, and the people we help know they don't have to worry about a thing once their property is in our hands.

Pictured: A collection of Sherle Wagner bath accessories, once doomed to a landfill and now making some lucky guy a heap load of money, and bringing much needed business to our Bay Area stores.

The Best!!!!‎‎ Stright from google Review # 10

As a small business owner, there are few things I can count on. Box Brothers on Wilshire is one of them. When I need equipment shipped, the nice young man on the phone was egger to help and advised me on what was best for my circumstances. Dave was friendly and did not treat me as a number. I appreciate that being in the customer service industry myself. I will happily refer your store to others!




10 th rating on Google for Dave at Box Brothers Brentwood
Visit Dave at : 11701 Wilshire Blvd.
WLA CA 90025
310-478-4008
http://boxbros.com

Monday, August 16, 2010

User Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
by Ed
08/16/2010
Absolutely the very finest packers in Los Angeles. We have sent much fragile artwork across the USA through Ray and his team at Box Brothers, Santa Monica. Portraits of Hope - www.portraitsofhope.org
has also shipped a great deal supplies through Box Brothers, Santa Monica for materials needed to complete large scale projects. Our important supplies have always arrived in a timely fashion with supreme care thanks to their great work. 1000's of kids have benefited by POH having materials on hand, on time, and in one piece all over the country.
We are hugely appreciative to Ray & Box Brothers.

Ed Massey
Co-Founder Portraits of Hope

More computer to ship!!! with Cesar's HELP!!!





more computers and more computers. they keep coming and coming . Its all good
Box Brothers
2113 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica Ca, 90403
310-453-1532