Features: - Countryside move
- Two people
- Four cats
- Absence on day of move
Tina Dempster is a barrister and as such works freelance. Work can arrive at a moment’s notice and the requirement to deliver it can be paramount. This meant that her move was always something to be squeezed in between commissions. On this occasion though, the move was also squeezed into the last few days before Christmas. The move was from a house in Grindleford, where Tina and her 17 year old son had lived for many years, amassing furniture and possessions as they did so. The move was to a Derbyshire house nearer to Nottingham, and to be shared with Tina’s new partner.
The decision to commission SmarterMoves to manage the move was taken when the estate agent sent a card detailing the new service. The worry free service offered was music to the ears of the barrister, who dreaded the sheer scale of the task in hand. “The idea of just being able to hand over everything was just what I wanted.” said Tina The SmarterMoves brochure had been received by Tina a couple of months before the move and had been retained for use when the completion date had been agreed. Because this turned out to be just two weeks before the move, the first obstacle to be overcome was the availability of a removal firm.
This was exacerbated when the completion date, due to conveyancing problems, became a moveable feast. Removal services had to be booked and rebooked twice more before the date was finally fixed. Each time SmarterMoves immediately confirmed their commitment to the new date, quelling Tina’s fears in the process. In a final threat to the success of the move the firm that accepted the final date had double booked, and SmarterMoves had to call in an enormous favour from another firm, who doubled the length of a working day to comply. “They were terrific” said Tina. As the date approached, SmarterMoves came to the house to organise those personal items such as bed linen and other critical items not going on the removal van. The evening before the move, Tina was contacted by her office, and told that she had to take a legal commission for first thing the following morning. Tina would not be able to be present at any stage of the move!
SmarterMoves were immediately on hand to accept the cats and transport them to the cattery booked for the process, and that was the last time Tina saw SmarterMoves, or her cats, before she arrived at her new home later that day. “I loved the idea that everything was under control.” “Nothing jarred about the way the house had been furnished when I arrived.” said Tina. “The beds had been made, vases with flowers were in sight and things like the stocking of the kitchen elements were logical and usable from day one. And getting back tired, with the discovery that the beds were done, makes any cost incurred worthwhile!”
The description most illustrating what Tina believed was the attention to detail was her memory of when she left her old house early on the morning of the move. “I left very early, and I remember that I left the hairdryer I had used still plugged in. At my new house, when I went to my bedroom, not only were all the toiletries displayed as I had left them, I found that my hair dryer had already been plugged in” “Overall, I was absolutely delighted with the service and having been through the move, I found it very good value. I would recommend it to anyone.” |