Bookstore Movers

Bookstore Movers - Named Best D.C. Movers of 2010

We made the Washington City Paper’s “Best of 2010″ section, as their Best Movers in DC.  See text below.  This makes us very proud.

Best Movers

Bookstore Movers

Matt Wixon started taking moving jobs as a way to supplement his income from working at Capitol Hill Books. “I found I kind of enjoyed the clarity you get with physical labor,” he says. Eventually the project grew as other employees of the bookstore joined Wixon in his enterprise. Last year Wixon made things official, purchasing his own truck and forming an LLC. All of the movers share some sort of connection to the bookstore, and many have degrees from schools like Princeton and William & Mary. Wixon says business has been so brisk he has to turn away twice as many clients as he accepts, but he wants to handle any expansion as methodically as he handles your possessions. Two days before I was scheduled to move, for example, the District received more than a foot of snow. I was certain my planning would be sacrificed along with a few days of work. Bookstore Movers got my stuff to my new place within hours. It was hardly the movers’ greatest challenge: One client told the movers they would be moving his plywood and tinfoil time machine. “We were very delicate and careful with it, so hopefully it’s still functional,” Wixon says. “That’s kind of the key to moving, is being adaptable. Snow, blocked loading docks, trick couches, you’ve got to figure out a way to deal with it. Maybe that’s part of the fun.”

—Gautham Nagesh

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/bestofdc/2010/goodsandservices/staffpicks/best-movers

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We’re getting a 2nd truck!

Moving is obviously a demanding business.  The stress inducers are myriad: traffic on 14th st bridge,  a boxspring that absolutely cannot fit up a narrow and ancient Capitol Hill staircase, the elevator that
suddenly freezes between the fifth and sixth floor becoming a  creaky prison, etc.  But nothing challenges me as much as scheduling.  I am conspicuously proud of the fact that though I get hundreds of moving requests a week and we’ve completed thousands of moves together, we’ve never once had to reschedule at any time (well, save for a couple days this winter  when those blizzards paralyzed our Nation’s Capital).

For the last year we’ve had to turn away several times more clients than we took on and I regret not being able to help more people especially when they hear about us from a friend or family member.  But we’re still pretty small and I’ve tried to grow slowly so that we can maintain a level of service we can be proud of.  All of our movers are college grads (William and Mary, Princeton, Pitt, AU, Arizona,
Kalamazoo) and have all either worked at the store or been good friends of mine before joining up.  We know, like, and trust each other which makes for an adept and solid team.

Finally though, we’re getting another, larger truck, so we should be able to take on about twice the business starting the first week in April.  It’ll be the same conscientious and efficient service.  Send us an email and let us show you first hand!

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Tips for a less stressful move

Someday I plan on creating a grand opus containing all our moving wisdom and the insights we have gained through these many years of sleeper-sofas, fifth floor walk-ups, and more recently, blizzards.But for now I’ll just bullet-point a few things that can make moving a little less stressful and speed the process along:

• Reserve parking in your loading dock or on the street (generally you go to your local police precinct, though recently DC has made you go through DDOT)
• Reserve any elevators that might be involved.  You generally do this by contacting the property manager.  Weekends and dates at the ends of the month are the most popular, sometimes getting fully booked weeks, even months ahead of time.
• Start contacting movers as far in advance as you can.  Again, the ends of months, weekends, and the whole summer are the most busy moving times.  Getting in touch with movers early is particularly important if you have to move on a specific day or have limited flexibility as to your move date.
• Make sure you have plenty of boxes and tape.  You’ll probably need twice as many as you realize.  Craigslist is a great place to find free boxes.  Or if you opt to purchase them, most places will let you return any leftovers for a refund.
• Box up as many miscellaneous items as possible.  Boxes may be moved with much greater efficiency than loose and sundry items.
• Labeling a box’s contents makes a mover’s life simpler and helps us take better care of your possessions.  Noting  particularly if a box is fragile or extremely heavy.  Also, unpacking will be significantly more streamlined if your boxes designate their new destination by room so we can take it straight there and you don’t have to face a Himalayan mountain chain of boxes in your living room.
• Leave yourself enough time for packing . This usually takes far longer than you expect.  We’ve had many clients still packing when we arrive, and it can really complicate the logistics of packing items into the truck in an optimal manner.  We recommend trying to have it all done the night before to give yourself a cushion.
• Pack a box of things you will need right when you get to your new abode.  Perhaps things like your rental agreement, cleaning supplies, snack, trash bags.
• Make sure your new place is clean and that you have a sense for the arrangement of the furniture before your rooms get crowded with boxes and are harder to navigate with your larger items.

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We’re now an LLC!

We’ve finally made the upgrade from a Sole Proprietorship to an LLC.  Yay!

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