Now more than ever, companies relocating to new office space need a good mover. In an effort to save money in today's economy, long-distance residential movers discounted prices drastically and turned to local office moving markets as a means for survival. Most of these movers, however, have no local labor and instead hire subcontractors at a fixed price.

Any cost overruns usually come out of the subcontractor’s profits, putting them on a fast track to just "get it done." This negative incentive compels subcontractors to do the job as cheaply as possible, including using low-priced, untrained, inexperienced labor. And customers paid the price.

Today, customers should look to their office furniture dealer for a solution. Companies already hire furniture dealers for design, new furniture, refurbishing, and project management. Why not add office moving? Many dealers already offer this service—ask to see if yours does too. Consider asking your dealer the following questions:

Have you trained your staff on moving services?
Training helps dealers render consistent, high-quality service giving accurate estimates on price and timeline for the job. Find out if training is ongoing and when the last training session was held.

How many moves has the dealer already completed?
The biggest mistake most movers make is to over promise, over commit and under service. A company may have only done a few moves, but it was completed on budget and on time versus another company that had many moves but was less successful in those areas.

Do you have references?
As with any big job, you want to make sure the company you are dealing with is reliable. Since you already have a relationship with your furniture dealer, you should be knowledgeable about their performance, however when exploring a new service, it never hurts to be extra careful.