There may be no greater waste of time than for professional movers to shrinkwrap everything in your house. Big moving companies love to do this and it may even be their policy. Two reasons:
1) Traditional moving companies employ a multitude of rookie movers. These guys do not know how to properly carry dressers/desks/sofas etc. If it is the policy of the company to shrinkwrap everything then they do reduce the risk of these guys destroying furniture/homes via their lack of skills.
Aside: Typical true story about rookies... 10 years ago, before All Pro Movers started in Wilmington, NC, I was working at a "circus" moving company fully stocked with idiots. I watched 2 rookies struggle to figure out how to carry a triple dressed down 2 flights of stairs. About 5 feet from the top landing (25 feet in from the ground) they leaned the dresser forward. 6 of the 9 drawers launched out of the dresser and over the side of the building into space. Needless to say, drawers and contents were reduced to atoms. After that incident these idiots began to shrinkwrap everything in sight. They probably still don't know how to carry a dresser. That's why I left.
2) Shrinkwrapping an entire house takes time. Lots of time. On the clock. If a moving company buys a roll of shrinkwrap for $50 and uses it on a few jobs they, after you factor in labor, will sell that roll for about $90,000. Give or take. Annual shrinkwrap revenue for these companies is in the billions. maybe.
anyway,
SHRINKWRAP DOES NOT PROTECT YOUR FURNITURE. Yes, it can be good for holding drawers in place if you don't know how to carry a dresser. But your movers should know how to properly carry a dresser!! Without shrinkwrap!! Anyway, if rookie movers smash your curio into your piano then shrinkwrap is not even in the equation.
It has been witnessed that the shrinkwrapping of couches/sofas/and upholstered items may prove a nightmare when items are going into long-term storage or non-climate-controlled units where humidity is high and variable. Air, not allowed to circulate due to the shrink wrap, traps moisture and harbors mold. Mold can turn a solid colored couch into more of a floral pattern pretty quickly.
Furthermore, in regard to furniture pads - if your movers want to pad all your furniture inside the house before they load it on the truck - look out! Often times this gives them a carefree attitude when carrying your goods/sliding/slamming/grinding. Real movers carry furniture directly to the truck, pad it on the truck (pad pile stays on truck) and load padded furniture accordingly. That is the fastest way to operate. That is how we do it.
One more funny shrinkwrap story, actually this was a conversation that occurred many years ago on a move job, but I still get some laughs when I recall the brief exchange:
CUSTOMER: "Are you going to "shrimp-wrap" my couch?"
ME (chuckling): "We can shrimp-wrap it, but that can be pretty expensive."
MY PARTNER: "Naw, it's a lot cheaper if you leave the heads on."
We were howling. Customer, not so much.
If you need help moving near the Wilmington, NC area please give us a call for a free estimate. We only operate in Wilmington, NC and the surrounding area. 910-232-6052 We don't use shrinkwrap unless the customer specifically requests this service. We do not currently offer "shrimp-wrap" either. It is out of season.
http://allpromovers.biz/
