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Hi. I know that somebody once told me that their Windstone collection was damaged when it was packed and shipped for them by the military. Well now my daughter and her new Air force husband are having the military move all their worldly goods across country to their new home. This is a first for both of them. My daughter packed everything up in boxes and has now been informed that when the movers come to get it they will re-pack it all! She’s not pleased and is naturally worried about her Windstone as well as other breakables. Any suggestions?
Army wife speaking from experience here!
Unfortunately, yes, the military movers do prefer to pack the belongings up themselves. That way they know if anything had chips, dings, et cetera before it is moved. They make notes of any exsisting damage and they are not responsible for it. Any damage they cause you bet they are responsible for.
When my husband and I moved (it was a local one from off post to on post – less than 20 miles) I actually packed all my Windstones in their boxes before the movers arrived and then the movers put those boxes in other boxes marked fragile. Fortunately for me nothing broke.
I also have other breakables that I let the movers pack (like my dishes). If it had an orginal box the item went in that (usually I did that) if it didn’t the movers wrapped it up. None of those broke either.
More than anything it can really depend on who you get as movers. Some are better than others, but that’s the way it is in the civilian world as well.
If she has an especially rare or hard-to-find piece (and has the space) she may want to keep that one with her. I wish them both luck in their move!
Navy here! It’s best to pack stuff in it’s own box if possible. They usually just want to look and make sure that the item is intact. Then they will Pack them into another box. If you don’t have the original box, then pack it as you would normally pack a Windstone, just make sure they leave the box open so the movers can see it. Also, there is usually a list of valuable items that you can add items to. That way the mover has to wait until you examine those items when you get where you’re going. Anything they break they will have to pay for.
Also, if she really doesn’t want the movers moving the Windstones, if she has a truck or rents a van she may be able to do what’s called a partial DITY (Do IT Yourself) move. Then she could pack and move the items herself and get paid for it. I’m not sure what it is called in the Air Force, but she could check into it.
RiDuvessa wrote:Also, if she really doesn’t want the movers moving the Windstones, if she has a truck or rents a van she may be able to do what’s called a partial DITY (Do IT Yourself) move. Then she could pack and move the items herself and get paid for it. I’m not sure what it is called in the Air Force, but she could check into it.
It’s DITY for Army as well so I would imagine it would be the same for Air Force.
Hey, Thank you! I knew I’d get some helpful feedback here! I’ve relayed the info to Shannon & she also talked to the truck driver today – who told her the same thing, that they’ll want to re-pack her stuff, but she said he sounded nicer than the woman from the movers who called earlier and asked odd questions – like “are there any plastic containers?” the answer was yes, one, “what’s in it?”, the answer was ballet shoes, “what?” like, why would you have a plastic bin full of ballet shoes?
The truck is supposed to pick up on Thursday. The tough part is that she’s been packing stuff for a couple of weeks now and has spent tons of time and energy on it… And then there’s the fact that all the boxes and the small bits of furniture are all in her mother-in-laws small garage on a busy alleyway waiting for pickup – there’s no space there for unpacking and re-packing… And then having someone look through all your stuff seems so intrusive… I suppose it will all work out but it’s a shame she didn’t know it would be like this ahead of time.
They considered the DITY type of move but this is from California to Maryland and it’s winter right now, so that didn’t seem like a good idea. Any other bright ideas on how she should conduct things on Thursday will be appreciated – I’ll check this post again tomorrow. Thank you!
I was thinking about another thing. In the Navy, if you ship some items and keep the receipts, you can get reimbursed for it up to a certain amount.
Now this causes the problem of letting the mail take your package but if you packed it really well it might be worthwhile. She would need to check with personal property to see if she has that option in the Air Force. I don’t see why she wouldn’t, but I don’t want her to pay for the shipping and then not get reimbursed.
Some movers don’t care if you pre-pack things, so she might not have anything to worry about. Unfortunately, you don’t know until they’re at your door.
But another thing that might help: If she really doesn’t want them to re-do everything, she can sign a waiver releasing the movers of liability for any damage that occurs due to her packing. But that means that unless there’s a gaping hole, or the box looks like it was run over, she can’t make a claim if it gets broken in transit (Even though boxes are crated on-site, I had a few holes and one box resembling an accordion). If her movers still end up being morons (like not knowing anything about a waiver), tell her to argue until they relent. Unless her DH is an officer, she may very well have to get used to doing that. 😉 [Wife of AF Enlisted, daughter of retired AF Officer here]
Please tell her Good Luck with the move! I know the stress that comes with the first move, I just completed my first (as a spouse) too!
Ex Navy wife here and I have only had experience with Jamaican movers (Gantanamo Bay Cuba) and they would pack so damn fast… if you had trash in your trash cans they would pack it too. 😯 But I watched them like a HAWK when I could! lol The only windstone that I had then was my baby pegasus without the neckless AND I took that one with me! 😉
14 years in the Army here. Yep, they may unpack her stuff because 1. they have to inventory it so if it gets lost or broken and she tries to claim it, there will be proof that it existed in the first place. and
2. If they are going to be liable for it, they want to pack it themselves.Usually, if the customer packs it themselves the movers are ok with it, (Bribes of sandwiches and soda help) but they will not put it on the inventory. That way they are not responsible if it breaks.
If it makes her feel any better, I have moved many times and the military movers have only broken two things: a laundry basket, and one of my castles. Everything else has been fine.
Quote:So how’d the loading of the household goods go?
I don’t know yet! The packers/movers were supposed to pick everything up this morning. I’m going to assume that it went well because Shannon hasn’t called me to say otherwise! Won’t know til I get home (i’m just the mommy 😉 ) I do know that she will fly away next Wednesday and begin her new life as Mrs.
Yes, please! How are you doing with this new adventure? Not too anxious, I hope 😉
twindragonsmum
tdm
Good news! the packing up and shipping off of my daughters worldly goods went well. the packers looked into a few of her boxes, decided she knew what she was doing, and didn’t open any more. They simply packed her boxes in bigger boxes with padding around them and they will travel better than ever! She was very glad. I think the lack of working space helped 😉 so, now her stuff is gone, but she’s still here! She gets moved on Wednesday next week. That’s the hard part for ME.
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