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Why Friendly Movers man and van is different
Friendly Movers has been in business since the summer of 2005 and has grown rapidly in that time.
The success is due to hitting a bit of a nerve in the 'man and van' sector in London. We've moved things for everyone from well known government ministers to the good people of Westminster abbey to squatters to the cast of 'We Will Rock You' / bankers / writers / you name it.
The point is that everyone in London, at some point in time, needs a van (all the better if a pair of helping hands is thrown in). How else are you going to move your sofa / mirror-the-size-of-the-van / suits of armour / tarantula tanks / shipment of sex toys (yup we've moved all of these) around town?
Given that everyone at some point needs a van, why is it that the majority of people involved in the man with a van trade seem to be completely unreliable / psycho / charge the same hourly rate as your average open heart surgeon? How difficult and expensive does it have to be to move one room's worth of belongings five miles down the road??
This is where Friendly Movers comes in!
No hourly rates for small moves around London
So you've been quoted an hourly rate for your move with a two hour minimum. In fairness, your average man with a van does this (as opposed to giving a fixed quote) because it's impossible to tell over the phone how much stuff people have and (rarely in my experience) people will blatantly lie about what the move involves.
The trouble is that an hourly rate is not really an incentive for your man and van to get the job done efficiently or take the quickest route to your destination. Hit a bad traffic jam (and there are many bad traffic jams in London) and what you thought could easily be done in two hours is now taking three and maybe more... What you thought was going to cost £80 is now £120 and maybe more...
For small moves in London, Friendly Movers charges a flat rate depending on how much stuff you have and if you want us to help move things up and down stairs (the stairs are where the work is). That's it. If the job takes six hours because of a bad accident on the North Circular (this has happened) the price is the same.
Real-time online availability and booking
You've found a man and van that looks ok and you'd like to see if they're available at a time that's convenient for you and book them if they are. At Friendly Movers you can do this instantly on our website. The information is completely up to date so you can see exactly when we're available. You can book online whenever you like; your slot will be immediately reserved and you'll receive confirmation of your booking by email. What could be easier than that? All of our bookings are kept online and regularly backed up which means your booking cannot be lost.
Established, experienced, reliable and... Friendly!
We've been in business (successfully) for a while now and there are several reasons why we're good:
- Since 2005 we have never not showed up for a job. We're not perfect. We've been late; gone to the wrong address; been trapped in storage units / car parks; picked up the wrong item and received innumerable parking fines. But we've never not showed up for a job.
- We're experienced enough to know what your move involves. We wont use a small van for a large job with the result that you need three trips (bad news if your man with a van is on an hourly rate). If we think the job is too big, we're not going to take it.
- All of our drivers are experienced London drivers (two are ex-courier). We know London and we know the traffic and we all have satellite navigation. We're not going to get lost - just take the best route to your destination.
- We do three jobs a day or less. We're not going to try and sneak in that small extra job that you think is only going to take half an hour with the result that the driver is late for your move.
- Our bookings are kept online and regularly backed up. It is highly unlikely that your appointment will be double-booked or lost.
- Vans break down and get clamped. Drivers get sick. Friendly Movers has several vans and usually at least one person who's not working. So we have a back-up if things go wrong with one van.
- We're friendly, hard-working and polite! Moving is hard work and we know that. Trust us, we've done lots of moving! Friendly Movers drivers are all physically fit, friendly and ready to work.