Thursday, December 29, 2011

Three,Two,One, Sold 2011 on Auction.

It occurs to me, as we come close to our annual year end, that my take on this past year, might sound familiar to other business people and even to some politicians.......that is a scary thought.

However, 2011 is surely going to be looked at differently by different people, depending on their
perspectives, their experiences and their history. For us, the recession still lingers, as our business is tied to real estate, in general, like much of the moving and storage industry.

At the same time, other components of our business seemed to have awoken this holiday period: retail sales were not as bleak as they had been predicted to be, many consumers spent
money and enjoyed good values, in the stores, based on what I saw and read. Further, for those of us who work with Auctions and Auctioneers, this December simply set records for sales. They
included the 2nd and third installments of the Debbie Reynolds auctions in Beverly Hills, by Auctioneer, Profiles in History, and their additional auction last week of Hollywood Memorabilia, (Icons of Hollywood and Icons of Animation).

Julien's Auctions, also out of Beverly Hills, recently concluded an auction of items from the late estate of entertainer, Michael Jackson, this past month. Ames Auctioneers also had an auction at the Sportman's Lodge in Studio City that brought in some surprising numbers; Modern Auctions out of the San Fernando Valley also had a large auction with some really good results;
California Auctioneers, out of Ventura, whose recent auction included several rare firearms, that also set some records. Bonhams Auctioneers, recently set a new record for a sales price in their Natural History Auction, held 4 weeks ago.

Presumably, the largest auction held this past December, in New York, also made some hay:
the Elizabeth Taylor Auction at Christies Auction House was remarkable in so many ways, as
patrons waiting in lines for hours just to see the items, prior to auction. It is my understanding
that many of the items got record bids that were described as "amazing, or unheard of..." They completely sold out over 500 lots.

Some might conclude that this type of activity is not the type of economic driver that will make a
difference to our economy or those who need work in this difficult time, but I beg to differ, as today, what is clear to me is that all economic activity is good and if we can string some of this
activity together, then it definitely makes a difference.

For a firm like ours, Box Brothers, to be able to render the best quality service, you need to understand the customer, the auctioneer, the packaging (from soft packs to custom museum quality crates), and to be able to truly understand logistics, from package (United Parcel System, Federal Express)to freight (less than truckload) to air and ocean shipments of all sizes, values and shapes.

So when we get a call to help a customer obtain his purchased (auction) items of memorabilia, or art, all of this activity leads to more economic activity not just for us, but for our suppliers, our freight vendors, our wood suppliers, and most importantly, for our people who make it happen,
our employees, day in, and day out.

There were times during this recession, that no matter what we did, we did not have enough hours for all of our people to get a full paycheck. No matter what is said on the news, this is where the "rubber meets the road," for most of us. Being able to provide for your family and loved ones while basic, became a huge task for many of us in the transportation business, these past few years. This is why it is important for any and all economic activity to happen, even the purchasing of an old dress cause it once belonged to a famous person. And this is why we love auctions, auctioneers and collectors, as to us, they make the world continue to spin in the right direction for all of us, as in the end, we are all part of the same economic team and it is time to post some wins for the smaller guys out there.
Happy new year and lets bring 2012 in with a bang--of good news

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Holiday Season 2011







































Down here in the vegas valley we have been busy getting out our freight. Cowboy wrangled up our holiday signs to show our customers we are happily opened through-out this holiday season to help you with getting that package to your family members this holiday season. We finally have some room to move around after being bombarded with our mountain of UPS/FedEx packages.

We had some interesting freight going out alongside of the basic move of boxes and furniture. The first was a massive government server that was worth over $400,000 and had invaluable data on it. It had to be custom packed on a pallet to support the 1000 lbs of electronics inside, I'm not kidding to say that it was the largest rack I have ever seen! The guys then had to hurry up and make a custom box for a round poker table going over seas to Japan. It was short work to the guys out back, and they moved on to the Indian River pictures which had to have to special treatment of: paper-mat, bubblewrap, and fitted neatly into a foam lined box.

I hope you all had a great christmas weekend, and bring on 2012!






Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Food Challenge at Thanksgiving...Some Thoughts

For many of us, it is hard to even believe that this wonderful family holiday is now here. Maybe it is me, but this past year, has, seemed to go by quickly, at least on a macro level.

On a micro, day to day level, I am one who is glad this 2011 is coming to an end, as it has been
trying financially, economically and it seems that many in our society feel the need to protest
(for lack of a better label..) how things are going down in our nation and in this world, now called
a global economy.

I, for one, have no idea what is going on out there, nor have I any true understanding how we got to this place, as a nation. We see demonstrations in cities in America, and around the world, but not in the world's most populous country, and our biggest foreign trading partner, China. Nor do we see this same turmoil in Iran, Russia or Cuba.......and that is my point.

NO one here, as difficult as things are compared to times in the past, would leave this great
country and go live in China, or Russia, Cuba or Iran, where you cannot protest anything without
risking your life and your family's. We take this for granted, for sure.

The amazing thing about this holiday, is that to me, it is a "melting pot enhancer." I know, what
the heck is a melting pot enhancer? Good question.

As a child of immigrants to this country (my parents and brother came to the United States after
World War II), I know that many people from far away lands, do not always find America's rich
traditions familiar. However, I can't remember when our family ever failed to celebrate this holiday and used it as a way to give thanks for what we had as a family. I know my parents
only wanted a better life for their children and family than they had in Europe, and their great hope for the future, was somehow embodied in this American Holiday.

Today, everyone seems to celebrate this day with family and that is why this is such a special day and while many of us wish for better times, I think we all have a duty to just stop and take
some time to show some appreciation for all the special gifts we have. We have so much to be
thankful for, and surely, better times for all should be around the corner, but in a little way, it
starts with each and everyone of us.

So I challenge all of you to do something for someone else in the coming days. It can be saying
hello, or simply thanking someone for being who they are. I always try to overcome my frustration, and I am not very good at it all the time, but at times like this, I am going to try
harder to show my appreciation for what I have in my life and to say thanks to those who have
been there and who have made the difference, in a good way, for so many others.

This is why, I am also proud to announce that starting on Monday, November 28th, at all Box Brothers Locations, any food donations customers bring in, until the first of the year (2012),
customers will receive a coupon for up to 20% off all air shipping and all packaging services
we provide at all of our retail outlets. In addition, Box Brothers locations will hand out free
Move for Hunger Boxes to customers so that they can package their donations and bring them
in to any Box Brothers location for drop off. We will then extend to you our discount coupon offers, and arrange for all the food to go to the the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, Sofa
Pantry and the Central Ave Corridor Food Bank, as well.

In this time of need, we want to stand tall and respect not only those in our community who might need a little assistance, but to stand up against hunger, as this is one of those things in life that we can all make better by extending ourselves to others who have a greater need.

Let all join together and make this holiday season the best one for everyone, in the true spirit of giving.

I guess I have taken the first step, and I challenge all of my people here at Box Brothers to do the same and I wish this message goes far and deep, so we can help to fight hunger in our great land. God Bless America, and Have a Great Thanksgiving.

Monday, November 21, 2011

His attention to detail is extraordinary .

Subject: Regarding David Ferguson/West Hollywood

Message:
Hello: I can't say enough about David Ferguson the manager of your West Hollywood store. His attention to detail is extraordinary . David could not be nicer. I know when I have items to be packed and shipped I have nothing to worry about. He has never let me down in all the years I have been going there.

Keep up the excellent work.

Regards,
Lael W.

Dave has been at the West Hollywood store for years.
You know if you ever need anything Packed or Shipped this is who you go see!

Friday, October 28, 2011

Press Release for Immediate Release

BOX BROTHERS
3320 South Central Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90011
Phone (323) 233.1367
Fax (323) 231.1467
Press Release
Contact: Lynda Wilson
Phone: (323) 233.1367
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
9 A.M. PST, October 25, 2011
Box Brothers Downtown Store Opens at Rittenhouse Square on Historic Central Avenue
Los Angeles’ newest Box Brothers® Store has opened at Rittenhouse Square, 3320 South Central Avenue. The
store will host a grand opening celebration on Friday, Nov. 4, with a ribbon cutting ceremony, jazz and refreshments.

To celebrate the grand opening, the Box Brothers Downtown location will offer 39 cents color copies and a
20% discount on early holiday shipping, now through November 30.

In addition to domestic and international shipping, Box Brothers offers moving and shipping boxes in varying
sizes, color and black-and-white duplications, document finishing (binding, laminating, etc.), notary, printing
services (business cards, letterhead, rubber stamps, etc.), Live Scan, full-service packaging, freight crating and
shipping, mailbox and postal services, office and packaging supplies and more.

“As a one-stop shop for shipping, postal and business services, we look forward to serving the Downtown
community,” said Store Manager, Lynda Wilson. “We are in the business of saving people time, and with
shipping prices direct from FedEx, UPS, DHL and USPS; we can save them money as well. At Box Brothers,
we’re committed to providing personalized and convenient business solutions with world-class customer
service. We are a local business with a global reach.”

The Box Brothers Downtown Store location is independently operated by Oday and Sons, LLC, a family-owned
company. As community stakeholders, the family has lived in South Los Angeles for almost 100 years. Lynda
also stated that, “Historic Central Avenue is in the midst of a renaissance and we are ecstatic to be a part of its
rich history and culture. For us, we have come full circle, the church we grew up in still stands directly behind
Rittenhouse Square. Historic Central Avenue is still surviving and thriving.”

The Box Brothers Store is open Monday through Friday 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Free parking available!
For additional information,

Rittenhouse Square is owned and managed by Thomas Safran & Associates, is located between 33rd and 34th



Streets near Newton Division Police Station on Historic Central Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles.
Rittenhouse is anchored by Subway and Primera Taza Coffee House. For more information visit

Thursday, October 20, 2011

San Leandro Customer Service

Thanks Rick -



I used Box Brothers San Leandro to make a delicate pick up and they exceeded my expectations in every way!
First of all I got three quotes and where with other companies I had trouble with thick accents and/or incomplete quotes
I spoke to Rick Barr and he just matter of fact explained how my pickup and packing would happen.
He also gave me options laid out clearly so that I could compare his services against others. HUGE Savings!
I have never shipped something so large (nearly 800 pounds glass door cabinet with wine) across the country so I was nervous about the whole thing.
Rick assured me they handle wine all the time and move ENTIRE house contents across the country...so no big deal.
His quote included the Styrofoam inserts that protects wine when shipping from California to Florida.
Of course I was bugging him to make sure it all went well and he even sent a picture of my shipment boxed up and good to go.
When it did go he sent the tracking number and the website without even asking. Highly recommended and hope to use again!



I would like to add more about how well it was packed which I should see next Thursday.

All the Best,
Peter

Friday, October 7, 2011

A Really Good Feeling

In any given week, it seems a million and one things can happen, both good and bad.
In running a business with a number of locations and employees, if you are close to them
and your firm's operations, you get a feeling of how things go and when, unexpected things
happen--especially the good unexpected things.

This week, two of our long awaited new Box Brothers locations came to life. One in the State
of Florida, in a suburb of Jacksonville, and another new location in the Commercial Warehouse
district, just east of downtown Los Angeles.

While I have to see or visit the new location in Florida, Jeff and Robert have been busy readying
their new location in Winter Park Florida, and should be open by next week.

Likewise, just today I had the opportunity to visit Lynda Wilson's new location in the Central Avenue Corridor, just east of downtown. Here location, is simply beautiful and promises to be both a full fledged Box Brothers location with mailboxes, color copies, fingerprint services,
and with her status as a contract US postal station, and community business center, Lynda's
operation is surely breaking new ground for all of us. We also found out that her new location
is having a Grand Opening Party on November 4, 2011 and it will not only be a big celebration,
but a huge community event.

I have personally been working with Lynda for over a year, helping her plan her new business and her new location and it is so refreshing to see her bright smile, her tireless drive and her positive attitude will all contribute to her success down the road. She even intends to make it
a family affair, as today I was able to meet her daughter, Naomi, who is not only prepared to
help her, but be a force of her own in building this business.

Times are indeed hard in all pockets of Los Angeles, north, east, west and south, and when you get the opportunity to see people--at far corners of this country, both being excited and thrilled
to not only be Box Brothers, but that we were able to assist them and us grow a little bit and help the public get the very best service and concern for all of their box, shipping and packaging needs in two brand new markets. Ask me, how lucky can these future customers be.

Best of luck to Lynda and her daughter Naomi, and best of luck to Jeff and Robert conquering the Orange Juice State.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Coats for Kids donating Coats in Las Vegas

Hi Eric,

I want to thank you again for donating the boxes for the Coats for Kids promotion. Attached is a list of all the Tropical Smoothie locations that we will be putting the boxes in. I will be setting these up all day tomorrow. The promotion starts October 1st and runs thru October 23rd and we will be doing a live shot on Thursday October 20th for the final push. The location is still being decided on.

My manager, Vicki Nelms, wanted to let you know that the day we do the live shot, we will make sure Box Brothers will be recognized for donating the boxes for this promotion. That was very unexpected and very appreciated. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to give me a call.

Thank you again,

Steve

Steve Schiff

KTNV-TV Las Vegas

Direct # (702) 257-8478

Cell # (702) 335-5140

ktnvHDrgb.jpg

Friday, September 9, 2011

Unique shipment Dead Mau 5 stage






This week we received a call from our friends over at the Cosmopolitan hotel in Las Vegas to aid them in the packing and shipping of a Dead Mau 5 stage prop. For those of you who don't know who or what that is don't worry neither did I. After asking Jacob I now know that it is an up and coming band.
The guys enjoyed all of the stares as they were taking this through the casino. Chris Best and I stayed busy Thursday building a crate for a furniture company's sign. Another fun little project this week was designing a few poster display boxes for a client of ours in the sports memorabilia business. Just because we don't stock it doesn't mean we can't come up with something suitable.
Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Fine Arts and Antiques Seattle Washington...































Hello Blog Readers; We have had a good summer in the Northwest..... Seattle has it's many Art Districts and we continue to keep on packaging and shipping anything that come our way.... Here's a few photos from our latest high value item.... $125,000.00 antique urn for burning incense... Jayson is a one man show up in the Northwest servicing Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Portland, Eugene, Salem and every Island around the Puget Sound... Some days he will drive 80 mile to catch a ferry to a remote island to pick up furniture by himself, then drive back to the ferry to take it home...

Friday, September 2, 2011

Green vs. Greener: Since When are Cardboard Boxes Not "Green"

The other day, one of my long time and valued vendors, came to me about a old product
that is used in international markets, for moving. Simply, using a hard plastic tote, with flaps
to move your goods, and the (dumb) argument goes like this:

If you need maybe 100 cartons to move your full 3 bedroom house and its contents (books, clothes, linen, dishes, small appliances, pots and pans, cleaning materials, toys, games, tools,
etc) then you can move these items for less than half the cost of what you would pay for the
cardboard boxes....cause we will only provide you with 20 of these plastic tubs......."

HERE IS THE CATCH: YOU HAVE TO PACK THEM, THEN MOVE THEM TO YOUR NEW
HOME (BEFORE THE MOVER COMES) AND THEN ULOAD THEM AT YOUR NEW HOME
AND UNPACK THEM AND THEN RELOAD THEM INTO YOUR CAR ONCE EMPTIED AND REPEAT THIS PROCESS 5 TIMES..........Here are some relevant questions:
1) What is you live 20 miles away from your new home? So you will drive another
few hundred miles back and forth in order to pack and move this way;
2) What is I am moving more than a few miles, like to another state? So you have to
either not use these plastic crates, as if you do not return them in a week, you will be
charged for another rental period, thereby negating the initially low rental rate.
Further, if you do not timely return the tubs timely, they charge you 10 times
the rental rate as you would have paid for a cardboard box;
3) What do you do when you have a tall item, or one that will not fit in the one size
fits all plastic tub? Cardboard boxes can easily be reshaped and there are 1200
standard sizes available in all retail markets in the US. In addition, there are a
standard set of moving cartons, established with military and technical standards,
which are SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR MOVING. There is much thought
and over 100 years of cumulative know how that goes into the sizes, shapes and
strength of moving boxes. Suffice it to say that there is not one size carton or container
that will allow for the safe packaging of all of your household items into a one size
plastic tote;
4) What is I do not have a car, or if my car will not hold that many of these plastic tubs?
More fuel, more time and less productivity. Where is the savings on your time, your
fuel and your back?
5) What if you cannot get into your new apartment or your new home until a certain
date and you cannot gain access to your new place prior to your actual move date?
Most people cannot afford to pay rent on two places while they reuse their packaging
devices in order to move. The cost saving suggestion is disingenuous to people who
are not wealthy, as most people can't pay for the luxury of moving locally over 2
or 3 weeks.

I could go on, but as you can see, the protagonists of this moronic play is that by using their
products (which are petroleum based....here that National Resources Defense Council) will save trees. No one mentions that today's American Made Cardboard boxes are made with no less
than 50% post consumer recycled product. These plastic tote are made overseas (guess where)
and without any recycled materials.

It is pretty sad to screw a customer and not be honest about it, as nowhere in the literature
does it say that if you want to save money, you need to work 5 times as hard and have the luxury of having 2 extra weeks to casually move across town. If that were true, we would not
have as many storage facilities in our major metropolitan areas, as we do.

While it is true that owning these totes can be a good business as some people keep them
as most people I know cannot completely unpack in two weeks after their move. But if you do
not return them, they keep charging you for the privilege.

I think that reusing something is not a bad thing, and that is why we always recycle, but to claim
wrongly that a product is better and then not tell the truth, is not only wicked, but wrong.
What bothers me is that no one wants, to help a customer out by explaining the process to them,
making them understand their true options. I have no idea why and I cannot explain it, either,
but when my box vendor starts to think that maybe this idea holds water, I thinking I better take some more swimming lessons, as the rip tides must really be bad for him to think this way.
When we we all learn?

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

The new sexy looking Lomita !

The before and after, of the Lomita store. See what a face lift can do. Dave Collins with the help from Paul in the Redondo Beach Box Brothers did a great job on changing the whole store. You should be able to see this store from Palos Verdes or even Long Beach. If your ever in the area please stop by and visit Dave the new manager and buy a box or a roll of tape.

Friday, August 26, 2011

We all need one of these.



Here's a pretty cool Water Massage table with a ticket to Jamaica.


I wouldn't mind having one or the other!

Box Brothers San Leandro


Well here we are, all settled in in San Leandro. We have some small improvements to make, but our retail face is almost complete with a crate-style countertop ready for a retail scale and plenty of flashy signs and displays.
A big improvement from the old West Oakland location, the new San Leandro facility has a sizeable warehouse, office spaces for all our hard working paper pushers, a nice kitchen and washrooms, and rooms for art and high value storage. We also have ample parking and a real loading dock! More to come as we build up this retail space into the pride of the North Bay.

Is the Weather really Causing People to Evacuate New York?

Normally, for those of us in the (retail and commercial) Shipping Industry, discussions of service
interruptions, due to weather, generally fall in at the holiday times. It is not abnormal for winter storms to cause havoc with shipping and travel schedules, due to unforeseen weather events that make traditional forms of transport either unavailable or to dangerous to undertake.

However, it is fairly rare and isolated, that during the latter part of the summer season, or the back to school season, that we are in the midst of our transportation system shutting down,
in large metropolitan areas, such as New York, New Jersey, Boston and Philadelphia, not to mention complete evacuations from all coastal areas of North Carolina.

I have heard reports of warnings, that airlines have already posted likely flight cancellations, which will only spur more cancellations, due to the hub and spoke nature of our transportation system.....if the short hop flight from Boston to New York can't take off, the next flight from New York to California, will get cancelled since the plane is stuck in Boston....and then it is just a game
of domino's, waiting for them to fall.

Same is true for the transportation or commercial transportation system, as I am sure that there will be some transit delays, for LTL shipments, and package shipments, for sure, but I am
of the opinion that the disruptions will be more limited, as the storm is hitting mainly during the weekend, when most commercial trucking operations will be limited, and even more limited on Sunday, when the full brunt of the storm may show up in the most populated areas of New York, Philadelphia and Boston.

Weather delays, are generally excluded from transportation service guarantees, so for anyone reading this blog today, it would be advisable to adjust ones plans if time sensitive shipments
are expected in the next few days and to plan accordingly, as the storm is coming, but with a little planning, firms, like ours, have other ways to effectuate time sensitive shipments, even for storm ravaged areas.....where there is a will, there is a way, and if you need these services, we can show you the way at Box Brothers

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Lovely Las Vegas




Well it has been another very hot week in Las Vegas, but that hasn't changed the way we do business. We got the opportunity to build a crate for a few paintings valued at $250,000 dollars. Let me be the first to tell you that we definitely go above and beyond. Who else do you know that would build a crate outside in the 111 degree heat? Well my thanks go out to Chris Best who since coming back to us has been a great help to have around especially when it's time to crate. Also another pretty neat thing to come our way was a hand crafted stealth plane model. We were able to pack and ship it for the client when a few of our competitors were unable to. It's funny how often we hear that. Speaking of that, we were also able to help a client who did not like the company she originally hired to move her hand crafted dresser to Hawaii by retrieving her items from them and taking care of the packaging and shipping to ease her mind. It goes to show you that how you talk to and treat a customer goes a long way. I hope everyone is having a great week and enjoying temperatures under the 100's.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

life can throw you some curve balls

Sometimes, life can throw you some curve balls. Once the pitcher releases his pitch,
a batter has two choices, really, to try to hit it, or to let it go.

I have been thinking, that life is a little like that. This past week, I went to two funerals, loaded
with emotion. I had to say goodbye to my 92 year old aunt Goldie, probably the closest relative
I have known in my life, my late father's sister. The other funeral was for a very close friend's
mother.

It may sound weird, but neither of these funerals were tragic in the strict sense of the word,
but more like sessions on life and how people live their lives.

My aunt, as long as I have known her, has a tatto, on her arm; it was a number the Nazi's put
on her arm to number her when she entered the concentration camp, Aushwitz. She was a Survivor, of some of the worst horrors of the 20th Century. She survived the camp, saved her
younger sister there and went on to mother two daughter and a full wonderful life.

My friend's mother, who I had known a little, had lived a remarkable life, herself. More than one person eulogized her as never having heard her ever utter a bad word about any other person her entire life. I do not think they were stretching the truth, by any means.

I was struck and mesmerized by the life stories of these women and all the people who gave tribute to both of them. So how does this relate to Box Brothers and our business? Good question.

Each and every day, we interact with other people, fellow co workers, vendors and of course,
customers. Sometimes, we get the chance to really help people both our fellow employees
and sometimes, customers who are trying to get some important things done.

It makes all the difference to be able to treat people with respect and with admiration, and to be
able to say you did a good job, at the end of a day of work. To take some satisfaction outof the little things we do to help our customers live a little better life. If it means packign a box for a customer in order to make it on the truck that day, so their package is on time for the birthday
they are trying to recognize. Or for the prospective employee, who needs his resume delivered
the next day, so he can find some work and support his family, or for our employees who get
caught with a sudden expense that they did not anticipate.

I have never turned down an employee who needs money for rent or food or for an important
need. They are my family and I hope they know that I will do whatever I can to protect them.
It is one of the reasons that I love my job, that I can actually help my customers and my employees to just have one less worry in the world. It may not sound like much, but if everyone
felt the same way, it would be hard not imagine a better world for all of us.

The loss of loved ones is signficant, but I do believe that the lessons of their lives will help me be a better person, for not only knowing them, but understanding that day by day, little by little, one's actions do mean something and they add up.

I have learned much and I hope to learn and do even more, in the future.

Box Bros. West Hollywood Impressed Me!

I am writing to express how impressed I am with Box Bros., and specifically David, your West Hollywood store manager. He recently helped me ship a piece of artwork on 8/18 - his professionalism, personality, and genuine willingness to get the job done efficiently and most cost effectively was so appreciated. It's rare to receive the type of excellent customer service that David provided and certainly makes me wish we had Box Bros. locations in North Carolina! I have already recommended your store to all my Los Angeles friends.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Brian at Box Brothers Westwood.

Hello,

My name is Sherry and I am a long time customer of Yelp - Box Brothers in Westwood, I want to write to you about Bryan, the Manager of this location, he has always been nice, professional, helpfull and knowlegable with a million dollar smile.

I want you to know that I do appreciate the way he is handling this business and its customers and to say thank you in a more official way. I keep taking my business there, and I hope he gets more appreciation from his other customers as well as his management.

Sincerely,

S.



Box Brothers Westwood

1351 Westwood Blvd.

Los Angeles CA.

310.477.1770

Todays Pick up in Thousand Oaks

Hi Steve,

I am so happy with the service I received on today's pick up at our house in Thousand Oaks. Louie and Rick were great to work with and made the process flawless. I've moved our entire house 6 times around the country in the last 12 years so I have a lot of experience with large corporate moves using large moving companies. Your company is at the top of my list!

I look forward to the delivery in San Francisco at the end of the month.

Thanks again,

L.


Steve Garrigan
Operations, Sales Manager
Box Brothers Corporation
steve@boxbros.com
800-474-7447

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Staying Busy In Las Vegas







We have been staying busy in Las Vegas this week. The beginning of the week started with a 4500 pound shipment of high end furniture to be shipped to Maine. The crew packed three lift vans to the top and still had to load a pallet to finish the job. The new Cosmopolitan hotel knows who to call for their guests' specialty packing and shipping. We received a call this morning to pick up the top of a wedding cake and overnight air service it to Ohio. As we were finishing the cake some frogs needed help getting shipped to Alaska, so we packed them and sent them on their way. We still have a few weeks until the summer ends, but the heat has been falling. I consider it a good week in August when it is only 105 degrees in the alley. We had plenty of pickups on the strip all week at the, Wynn,Cesar's,MGM,New York New York Mandalay,Hard Rock,Palms, and more....shipping to Texas,Shipping NYC,Shipping to Fla. and international shipping.

Friday, August 12, 2011

It's Still Summer But It's Not So Hot.......

If you have been following my recent blog entries, perhaps you noticed the continuing theme of seasonality and how it plays out for those of us in the Household Goods Segment of the Transportation Industry. Or Moving, to put it bluntly. Of Course, at Box Brothers, our service capabilities include activities broader than general household moving, (fine art handling, antique packaging and shipping, museum quality crating, customized packaging, custom and stock boxes, customized food shipping boxes), as nothing we do at Box Brothers is normal, as we work for our customers and everything we do for them is our immediate priority.

But back to the theme of this blog, "...still summer, but its not so hot..", it seems that our nation and our world, had one hell of financial ride, courtesy of our financial markets: stocks dropped
500 points and then went up 450 points, or it went down 600 and went up 500, and the same thing happened all over European markets and in the Asian markets, too. Gold went to new record highs, and oil even came down a bit (actually the oil guys were away on vacation and got
caught not driving the price of fuel up, artificially, but they are back now--oil went up the last two days..no rest for the wicked I guess....).

For those of us in this business, we had hoped for a traditional summer full of business activity above the norm, till September). However, as reported earlier, business has just largely stopped. Even traffic seemed less on the roads. Like they took the wind out of the sails....the boats were listless. A sense of dread came over the small business community, as the reality
of the rigors of this economy and the preceding recession, seemed to have returned.

I was talking to a friend just today, and he told me about the most unusual experience he had yesterday. He went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner yesterday, and not only was there no
wait, at peak dinner time, but the whole restaurant was empty. I asked if he was not having a dream......then I hear another story, one for the ages, ask me, that someone told me that they went to this nation's largest bank, Bank America, and for the whole banking day yesterday, all of their banking servers were down....and you could make a deposit yesterday, but you could not withdraw a dime, even if you had 10 million dollars in an active account at Bank America,
8/11/11.

Now lets think about this for a minute. The world's largest bank is saying its computers are down on the same day its stock hits an all time low......and you cannot withdraw your own money.....well, thank goodness that everything was fine today at the Bank, and today, the stock
market did not go down 500 points, but went up 125, so that is a good thing.

I am hopeful, that the economy can regain its footing and that these tremors can give way to better times. For those of us who have been trying to survive and persevere, it is not such a good feeling to see a slowdown, but I am going to be an optimist and believe that the best of times are a head, and for us, at Box Brothers, we will be ready, as that is how we roll, even if it is downhill......Have a great weekend.

Friday, August 5, 2011

If Summer is Over...why is it still hot????

I have written in this blog numerous times about the seasonality of the Moving and Shipping
business, which is a large part of what we do at Box Brothers.

As few as 60 days ago, all hell seemed to break loose, after a few years of dismal not seasonal
summer months, for everyone in the Moving/Shipping Business. Things were said, like, we did
not have a summer, and to be frank, this industry shrank. More long haul drivers left the business, more retailers closed up shop, other firms consolidated and still, true to form, about
20% of the rest continued to lie about their results. One would think that misery would love company....but there is always some in a group who need to outshine the others, and they try to make the rest of think that maybe it is just us who is slow.

My vendors do that. They come to me and let me know that their sources, indicate, a busy month, for August. After all, for those of us on the west coast, due to the heat and tradition, most of our schools and universities, do not resume the fall schedule until after Labor Day.
Well, it is only the 5th of August, but every single mover from San Francisco to Los Angeles,
to Las Vegas, is slow. Same song....the phones are not ringing. Can you name this tune........
a big hit from 2009 and 2010: where did our summer go.........no no no no no no no more......

It is amazing and all kidding aside, it is hard to believe that the moving and shipping season seems to have come to a halt, for those of us in it. Of course, there are exceptions or pockets of
areas that seem to counter the overall flow, but it is a vivid reminder of how bad this economy is and how much people feel scared to spend.

I know that is how I feel at times, I always tend to second guess purchases, due to the fact that
no one can really say what the next six months will bring. And every day there is a mixed or bad signal, like the recent losing streak on Wall Street, that is really scary, as they used to say that the stock market is a bellwether indicator of what is going to take place in the next 3 to 6 months. Who can say for sure, as every week these guys (guru's???) tell a darn different story.

I was just getting excited to learn that we are going to have both college and pro football seasons,
with all their glory, and then we get kicked in the gut, reminding us that the struggle for survival is now on again, just like it was prior to June. We all need to get in gear and remember that no matter how tough things get, the ones with the best teams, always win, and for the last 26 years,
I am proud to say that there is no better company to take care of your moving and shipping needs like the Box Brothers Family, both in good and difficult times.

And don't worry, there has to be a number of procrastinators out there who did not get done what they need to get done and we will be waiting and ready to service them, in this heat.
O'h well, summer is almost over. Bring on the fall....

Monday, August 1, 2011

What I don't understand about YELP....They removed or filter and it's all legit reviews!!!

  • 0 friends
  • 1 review

Santa Monica, CA

5.0 star rating
7/20/2011

Ray at Box Bros in Santa Monica is my absolute go-to specialist for precise and light art packing.
He is a very skilled professional, and I completely trust him to tackle any size shape or variant of art that I bring him.
He is a please to deal with, and always makes me feel like he has/ I have the best pack job at an amazing price too.
Ask for Ray!

  • 0 friends
  • 1 review

Los Angeles, CA

5.0 star rating
7/19/2011

Ray is the best in the biz...! Have something fragile, precious or valuable? Ray's the man to take extra care to skillfully pack and ship the most delicate items. I'm in the art business and everything sent is fragile and valuable. I trust Ray completely to take extra precaution to see that my products get to their destination without incident. Ray is the best!!

  • 0 friends
  • 1 review

Santa Monica, CA

5.0 star rating
6/30/2011

While I might be new to Yelp, I am certainly no stranger to the Santa Monica Box Bros. outfit. To sum them up, I think Christopher Walken said it best when yelling "WOWZI-WOW-WOW!". Hands down, you cannot find a more pro & friendly team to package and ship your things. The only business I would entrust with my items to be handled without standing next to them. Drop off and pick up later: never been a problem. Top shelf and Ray is as good as it gets: fast, friendly (well, not to me, but in general) and, funny guy that he is, always good for a laugh. Simply doesn't get any better than this. Thanks guys & no worries: I'll pester you again soon enough.....

  • 0 friends
  • 2 reviews

Los Angeles, CA

5.0 star rating
3/27/2011

Thank you Ray for helping me get my package to the correct address!

Long story short I was given wrong mailing address and it delivered. Ray was able to get the package retrieved and delivered to the correct address within that same week! He even followed up with me during the process. Great, fast, efficient service. I was wrong and they made it right.

  • 0 friends
  • 1 review

Santa Monica, CA

5.0 star rating
3/8/2011

I bought an expensive guitar in Santa Monica on my last day of holidays...
The music guy said I should box the guitar because airlines tend to smash
nice things... he gave me Ray's number and I contacted him, his advice and help was fantastic [I had my boxed guitar within 2 hrs]
Flew 20 hrs home to Perth, Australia and not a scratch or a mark on the
guitar or the case!
Thanks Ray....."good on ya"

Marty Braine
Perth, Australia

  • 0 friends
  • 4 reviews

Los Angeles, CA

5.0 star rating
3/2/2011

Ray at box brothers was incredibly helpful to me today. I a rush i needed 18 flat boxes shipped to my boss in a hotel in Boston. he was very knowledgeable about the products that he carries, knew exactly how to help me. He took out all the guess work, math and measuring. My boss had VERY specific needs (don't they always??) that did't 'fit' the standard box sizes. Ray didn't hesitate- he knew just what to do. He held his ground pick up driver so my order could be rushed out tonight and even threw in some tape!
with out ray i would have an angry boss in a Boston hotel with no giant boxes. I will CERTAINLY be using Ray for all my shipping, boxing, packing needs from now on. he made what could have been a huge headache for me- into a breeze!

  • 0 friends
  • 2 reviews

Los Angeles, CA

5.0 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.

  • 0 friends
  • 1 review

Santa Monica, CA

5.0 star rating
7/8/2009

Box Brothers has been AMAZING in helping me move the family I work for. I've been going in almost daily for boxes, bubble wrap, packing paper, tape, tape guns...everything!

They always have exactly what I'm looking for (and at reasonable prices) and have super nice and helpful. They make suggestions on what I need and how much and have always been totally accurate.

And BONUS!! they have ample parking in the back and even load my car for me!

  • 0 friends
  • 2 reviews

Los Angeles, CA

4.0 star rating
6/26/2009

These guys are the best - courteous, helpful and nice to deal with.

I've moved a lot over the years and often these places are dicey at best - the clerks act like they couldn't care less, the stock sucks, and the prices can be rediculous unless you buy a truckload of boxes and tape.

Not the case here with Box Bros. - at least in the Santa Monica store.

I would certainly come back when I need them and recommend them to others. They are good people.

1 to 9 of 9

Countri

Friday, July 29, 2011

Lomita Customer, Bob Pickard


Bob Pickards Receiver as it goes through the 4 steps of Expertise Packaging