How To Screw Up a Move & Still Gain From It

Sometimes you manage to really mess up and somehow make it turn out in your favor…

So, where do I start?

Well, for those following this saga, you may have noticed that I’ve been MIA in the past weeks. The reason being is simple, I’ve been in the midst of a move… and, at this point, happily unpacking.

What am I talking about?
I’ve moved to the Upper Laurentians to a little town called St. Jovite.

A hundred miles North from where I now live, you will find…mosquitoes and reindeer (more commonly called Caribous in my parts)

Yes, I’m up there. In fact, on the first night of the move, sitting on the back deck enjoying a cold one after the fiasco, guess what showed up?

A deer. Yep, one of those Bambi in all its beauty.
Bambi, hawks, blue jays, and more.

No question. I’ve moved North.

But I digress…So, where’s the screw-up?

Where did I royally and I mean royally, screw up?
When did I realize that I had put my confidence in a company, that my better sense told me I should run from like crazy?

Easy. When they called to let me know they were to arrive in the next fifteen minutes. That is…When I was expecting them four hours later.

That’s when it hit me. I had hired Movers from hell, and the next six to seven hours would prove it.

Here is the context.

Hubby and I presently rent, and our lease was terminating on July 1st, 2022. So, in the past six months, it’s been a mad dash to find a new residence and calculate our move further North.

And when I say calculate, this meant finding the best possible price for a move of about a hundred miles. Plus, juggling an uncertain moving date, i.e., a domino effect with the next renter.

In some ways, it was all straightforward. I mean, it should have been, no? Well, what a joke that was.

Let’s put it this way; one does not hire Movers that charge you half the going price.

Get it? If that does not tell you something is wrong, I don’t know what will.

Why?

The going moving prices have tripped, and I mean, it’s crazy.
I won’t get into the nitty-gritty, but you can see right off that something was not right with the price quoted.
This is where I screwed up bad trying to save a bundle.

So, how did that move up North go?

As explained earlier, they showed up at 10:30 am and not at 1 pm as arranged. Which means? Simple. I was still packing. And yes, I went from packing to panicking inside ten seconds…

That panic lasted at least seven hours…

Seven hours of madness and graceful self-control I had no idea I could muster.

Because yes, they showed up with a smaller truck than agreed to — which caused total mayhem…
Because yes, the fridge could not get through the entrance door and had to be taken apart. (Funny, I don’t remember that one when it was first delivered)
Because hubby was MIA on a quest to find packing tape…granted, this is the moving time in my area, so supplies are short.
Because yes, I have four cats and one dog that totally freaked out when told to cuddle in the bathroom. A bathroom I still had to pack…
Question: have you ever tried herding cats in the middle of a move??

Because yes, my computer Monitor and the smart TV were still attached to the walls and had to be taken down.
Because yes, they took my computer and packed it away in the moving truck when told to leave it alone…
Because yes, the movers did not move the dishwasher or the boxes in the entrance hall closet, claiming that the truck was too full.
Because yes, they left the bottom part of the fridge in the middle of the kitchen floor for all content to defrost.
Should I go on?

Because yes…

The owner decided to increase the price of the move…

Now that meant only one thing. War.
A needless war because they had the upper hand, as they were now holding our furniture hostage.

Simple.

As I was told, this is the price, or we take everything out of the truck and leave it out on the front lawn.

What does one do??

At that point, both of us had it.

We were tired, sweaty, fed up, and worried about our fur babies now stuck in cages for the past hour or so. All we could do was accept the conditions…and literally, move on.

To which we did.

That done, I cleaned our dwelling. Assemble what we could not pack up and advised the owners that we would be back in the next few days to pick up the balance.

And no, this did not include our dishwasher, which was given away free to a friend.

So, what did I gain by not listening to that little voice of reason…screaming at the top of her lungs?

$800.00 added to the move itself re: furniture held hostage.
$300.00 for the U-Haul to pick up what did not fit in their truck.
$500.00 for a new dishwasher and parts.
Now, what did we learn from this mess, boys & girls?

One…When that little voice in your head starts raising its own voice, it’s not a figment of your imagination. But rather your inner sense trying to make you understand that you are screwing up big time.

Two…If it’s too good to be true, it is too good to be true. It’s that simple.

What did I learn from this mess?

Nine out of ten individuals are out there for themselves. OK, I’ll be nice. Let’s put it at seven out of ten.
They know how to take advantage of a situation.
They are not there to help you.

On the better side…

That I have an inner strength way, way stronger than I ever thought.

I am damn strong.

And that right there (besides the fact that I am finally up North) makes all the difference…