Snowflakes And Moving, No Two Are The Same !!!!

I have been in the transportation (Moving) business for about three decades and what always impressed
me about Professional Moving Services was that they were always based on matching the needs of the customer with the capability of the mover and his equipment.

For example, in moving interstate, all professional movers or the legitimate ones, all charge by actual
weight.   So if a mover comes to your home and does a survey of what is actually moving from the old
location to the new location, he or she can offer a price based on the weight of what is actually moving.
Not for more or less, but based on the items that are moving.   The mover is to get a "light weight" or a weight of his van before he loads your shipment, then after the shipment is loaded, the mover returns to the public scale site to get a "heavy" weight afterwards.   The difference between the two is the actual weight
of your shipment.

Likewise, when the moving firm arranges for the actual mover to show up to do your move to another state, the carrier matches the space in the van with the load that is being picked up, as usually, a mover van or trailer accommodates multiple loads going to the same general area.  So, in essence, if the estimate is correct and the mover has the right amount of space, the system not only works well, but the overall service the customer receives is generally, very, very good.

Why, cause the interstate mover, is his/her own businessman, who owns the truck, employs the help and the mover receives the highest portion of the moving cost, as he is the one doing the move.   If he has a claim, it comes out of his pocket and his earnings, dollar for dollar, up to a certain amount.  What better incentive
could there be for the customer?

The problem with less than adequate service, or a poor move,  is usually, ask me, that a lot of customers tend to confuse purchasing a product vs a service.   Or put another way, a low price may have to do more
with getting a bargain, that does not always materialize into a good deal--sometimes you get what you pay for.

This entire discussion then, leads to the question of why are so many moving customers desiring to move
in a 20 foot container like those being rented to customers by both container firms and movers alike?  For the life of me, I simply do not understand why any person would want to take their own liability for moving
when they do not have to.   When you do it yourself, who else can you blame when something goes wrong?

I know, I know, movers are not that smart and if they can do it, so can I.....goes the mantra.  But this is not
even a fair or intelligent fight.   To move with a container and do it yourself, simply costs as much as having a mover do the whole thing for you.  Yes, it does. 

Just like moving today with a rented truck and you are going over 1000 miles away.   Anyone see the price
of fuel and how many miles per gallon trucks get, especially those in a rental fleet?   I still cannot figure out this "new new math" as I am old enough to have learned the "new math" but I cannot figure out why anyone
would want to move themselves, take full liability on themselves and the risk of injury to themselves, NOT TO OBTAIN ANY SAVINGS.   Besides, there is no one I know that can do a move better than some of the interstate owner operators I have seen in my life.

The older I get, the less things in life make sense to me.  For example, today, there are firms that want you
to rent plastic bins to move with, instead of using cardboard boxes.   Their proponents argue that this is a
"more green approach" to moving......cause you return the bins after you use them....so they are greener than
boxes made of 50% recycled cardboard and paper........and that you only need 20 bins, instead of 60 cardboard boxes.....(get this).....cause you can reuse the bins......lets just think this out.

Say you are moving 10 miles away to your new place and you have a economy car like a Chevy or a Ford
and you pack up 5 bins.   Then you have to carry those bins to your car, and load them into your car, drive
them over there (20 miles total) bring each bin up to the new place and then unpack them, and then load
them back into the car and do it again 5 or 6 times.   How long will this take to move this way and is this not harder on the customer to shlep these containers back and forth and do all the work, not to save any money?  

Please tell me so I can understand this logic as it makes no sense to me and I suggest that every person
who is moving should ask the right questions as none of these modern ways to move are less expensive
or are advantageous to the customer, ask me.

Cardboard as an Artform?

I got a call from a customer, who wanted to find out if I was interested in some retail space
in the San Diego Artists Colony, as he thought we would be a good addition to his space there,
as it is located in the heart of a new burgeoning art area near UC San Diego.

After he explained the purpose of his call, I asked him how it was that he came by us as a source
for packaging and handling art, for both artists and their customers.

He told me that his wife, was an artist, and that she had a recent showing of her latest collection
of artwork, in a gallery with the wife of the actor, Jack Black. The show in a gallery, in West
Hollywood was a big success and other shows are scheduled.

I still was not sure what specific business we had done with these customers, but the gentleman,
a Mr. Golden, told me his wife buys our boxes and has used them as a canvas, and painted directly onto the cardboard boxes. In some case, she has almost done a three dimensional piece
of art, by painting half the portrait or scene on the left side of the box and the other portion on
the other side of the box.

This is the first time in almost 25 years that I have heard a story like this, and it has stuck with
me, as many people dabble in art, but to use a commodity as standard and ubiquitous as an old
cardboard box--that each and every one of us has used countless times in our lives--as a means
of maybe defining their artwork in a cardboard kind of way. Something so simple and yet so
staggering.

See for yourself, at: floragoldenart.com

I got to speak with Mrs. Golden the other day, as I told her husband that if his wife wanted any special cardboard, it would be our pleasure to get it for her. I let her know that I can get her
a stronger double wall piece of cardboard, to ensure a greater strength to the canvas, as paintings
with certain paints, can be heavy.

That is about how far my involvement with creating art goes, I am afraid, as I knew early on that for me to be involved with art, it was not going to be cause I was good at creating it; more like better at packaging it, crating it, admiring or even trying to figure out its true meaning.

But most important for me was that I got to work with some of our fantastic customers that we have at Box Brothers. In fact, after being the President of Box Brothers for almost 25 years,
meeting and speaking to our customers is still the single biggest rewarding aspect to how I make
a living. I sometimes can forget what I do, when I am lost in the world of payroll taxes, personnel, medical insurance, hiring and firing and working with staff and vendors.

There is an old saying in the retail trade, in fact, more than one that comes to mind, but in retail,
you do not get to pick your customers and in a service business, you learn quick that the same
rendition of service can lead to accolades from some, and serious negative complaints from others.

That is why the customer experience is so great here at Box Brothers, as these customers know
that they are the reason we come to work; that without them, we got no oil in the engine to make our business go. I just got reminded how rewarding and special, these customers can be.
Happy New Year.

Getting Greener...More Fiber...Box Brothers Leads the Way

Box Brothers is proud to announce, in conjunction with its exclusive supplier network, that it
is the First Chain of Box and Packaging Stores in the United States, to sell cardboard boxes
that are made with 100% post-consumer waste.
http://www.boxbros.com/recycling
While there are some technicalities involved in trying to describe how this material is made into actual cardboard boxes, EnviroKraft is constructed from materials that have actually been discarded or disposed of by consumers such as you and I, and traveling through various recycling streams. From that phase, the material is made into cardboard and then, into these
cardboard boxes.

While we are limited to certain sizes, until the manufacturing process gets into full cycle production, we are making available, 17 distinct sizes that can be used for general mailing, moving, and shipping purposes.

Today, you hear a lot about new recycled products that are meant to replace older items that
are not as green or made with recycled materials. The problem for us in the box and packaging
business, is that while many of us would prefer to use materials that are more friendly to the environment today, many of these products do not perform as well as their predecessor products that are not made with items that are more friendly to the environment, long term.

For example, today you see some boxes that claim to be made with 100% post consumer recycled paper or cardboard. These boxes are not of the same bursting strength or built to
withstand the weight and handling of our older cardboard products. Yes, not all boxes are the
same, as some have purposes requiring lower weight capacities and bursting strength.

Why is this important?

If you move, and your goods are being packed efficiently, a book box, packed full will weigh
approximately 50 lbs. Do you want it to rip before you unpack it? Do you think if you shipped
this box via a parcel carrier like UPS, FedEx or the Postal Service, that it might get handled
up to 15 times before it reaches its ultimate destination? Ever seen the old Chinese boxes that
seemed yellow in color or shade? Ever handled one? How the paper of the box separates and if
their is any weight, it crushes? Welcome to the early version of recycled cardboard---it is not as
strong and durable as conventionally made cardboard, which uses, on average, about 50%
recycled paper and board, but never 100% post consumer waste paper, as it is not as strong. http://www.boxbros.com/recycling

So we now have a better mousetrap to offer our customers, and one that not only is friendlier
to the environment, but also meant to withstand the purpose for which it is made, to protect
whatever is in it, for moving, shipping, storing or whatever purpose you have in mind.

As this blog is being written, our retail stores are bringing in this new line of cardboard products and you can rest assured, that this new line of merchandise will exceed everyone's expectations as to cost and performance.

We are getting greener all the time and you know what we say, a box a day and you have all the fiber you will ever need......http://www.boxbros.com/recycling