After a lawless period of asking my friends for help moving throughout my early twenties, then straining my romantic relationships in my late twenties, I have arrived in my thirties ready to embrace movers! Like a lot of young people though, I didn’t exactly know how hiring movers even worked.

But when our dream Los Angeles apartment dropped into our lap, I found myself at a crossroads. Half the judgemental voices in my head were screaming to do the heavy lifting myself, while the other half murmured exhaustedly that I’m too old for that.

One thing both voices agreed on, though, was hiring movers for free. I couldn’t have been more delighted when HireAHelper stepped in to help me out. Yep, they offered me an all-expenses-paid move! (Though we did cover the tip ourselves, which I hope serves as a reminder whenever you get something for free.)

All that was expected of me in return was to book it myself and give an honest review. So here goes.

How Does Getting Movers Actually Work?

Whereas my previous moves inevitably began about a week (or let’s be honest, a few days) before the move as I threw everything into boxes, the conversations about this move started a whole couple of months ahead of my move.

Turns out, for a local move you can book shockingly affordable professional movers online without having to even talk to anyone, and it doesn’t even matter if it’s next day or next month. (But as you might imagine, the early bird gets the worm.)

All you need to be able to see hourly rates is a ZIP Code and a hypothetical move date to see who’s available near you — that’s literally it. 

Or if you’re brave like me, you can just call and talk to a real-life customer service person. She got me mover booked in like, literally five minutes. (Sidenote: I learned booking a long-distance move needs a little more communication, but it’s the same basic idea.)

What does a moving company ask you when you book movers?

For a local move like mine, not a whole lot, honestly. Over the phone (and its the same online), they asked me:

• The rough moving date
• Distance traveling (aka a second ZIP Code/address)
• Type of residence (e.g., home, apartment, condo, business, etc.)
• Number of bedrooms
• If you want labor-only or need them to bring a truck

Four out of five of those were easy answers — we were moving our West Hollywood one-bedroom apartment five miles east to Los Feliz, which qualified it as a local move — but the date itself was seriously up in the air.

After giving these few details, the person on the phone suggested how many movers I’d probably need and how many hours they’d likely need to finish my specific move.

I was still worried about the date though. We were initially told we could move in at the beginning of the month at the earliest, and definitely by the 15th, but I was starting to get a little suspicious that construction was going to take longer. 

Not knowing the exact moving date is a fact that would 100% have derailed me if I was doing this by myself, but luckily, my new friend Sandy didn’t seem bothered by that issue at all. She told me we should just get a date on the calendar and we could always move it later. 

Sandy was able to score me an appointment with Rigo’s Moving & Storage, one of LA’s top-rated moving companies. (They currently have a 4.9 rating out of 5, with nearly 500 reviews.) 

“Honestly, my most difficult task was figuring out what to do while everyone around me was being so industrious, but it was over so quickly that I hardly even had time to get uncomfortable”

 

Instead of belated “sorry, can’t make it” texts from my weary friends on the day-of, I got confirmation emails from HAH and Rigo’s in quick succession, and just like that, the move itself was off my plate. I suddenly felt like I could focus on work, packing, and the many other stressors that come with a move. 

What happens before moving day?

On the Monday before the beginning of the month move — yes, I was right about the construction — my phone rang. My immediate thought? “Omg, my friend with the van is about to bail.” But then I snapped awake, remembering that I’m not in my twenties anymore.

It was actually my moving company, calling to confirm my 9:00 a.m. appointment later that week. Then the evening before the actual move, I received yet another call. I thought it might be one final confirmation, or Rigo’s coming to their senses and ditching me to go to brunch, but it turned out to be HireAHelper reviewing my info for the next day. 

On the phone, my movers asked if there was a reason for booking a 12-foot truck, which he thought was kind of small. He then asked if they could send a 26-foot truck instead, free of charge, just to make sure his team didn’t have to make multiple trips.

Sure now that this was a prank call from Ashton Kutcher and that I didn’t have movers coming at all, I agreed. (And it turns out, no, HireAHelper did not put them up to this.) The main thing I contributed was packing.

What exactly happens on moving day?

The next day, right smack dab in the middle of the moving window, I got another call. Now, surely, this would be the moment when everything fell apart and I’d have to make twenty sweaty car trips while my boyfriend and I stewed in irritated, exhausted silence.

But nope! It was a heads up that our movers were ten minutes away, followed by another when they were right outside. (If you’re keeping track, that’s four separate phone calls confirming and communicating about a single move, which was incredibly reassuring to someone scarred by the stress of previous moves.)

Before I knew it, four movers descended on our apartment and asked for a few details on what was going and what was staying before launching into work. A big part of me was still assuming I’d get put to work, but in a ceaseless wave of motion, they:

• Plastic-wrapped furniture
• Disassembled our bed frame
• Took endless rounds of boxes down the apartment complex stairs

Honestly, my most difficult task was figuring out what to do while everyone around me was being so industrious, but it was over so quickly that I hardly even had time to get uncomfortable.

Okay, then what happens during the unload?

After just over an hour, our apartment was empty and the Rigo’s guys told us we could head to the next location; they were already prepped with the address, so nobody needed to wait on each other. (A far cry from having a three-car caravan follow me to the new address and inevitably losing one of my ducklings at every traffic light and having to circle back.)

We drove all of 20 minutes to Los Feliz and arrived just as the window for our moving permit was opening, so there was plenty of space available on our street for the upgraded truck. (I had to reserve a time with the city to make room for the trucks by the way!) 

“…in the process of squeezing up and down the stairs, there was some scuffing that happened to the newly-painted walls…I pointed it out to one of the movers…and he assured me that he’d already taken photos and that someone would be reaching out to make sure I got compensated.”

 

This side of the move was decidedly more difficult, as our new apartment has an upstairs (!!!) and a lot more space, so I posted up in the living room to direct traffic. I’d also labeled each box with either a “UP” for upstairs or a “D” for downstairs so that I wouldn’t need to be present for every decision. (The habit of giving up control apparently dies hard.)

One of the movers got right to work upstairs reassembling our bed frame, calling down to me to make sure he’d placed it in a position I’d like (okay, communication!!), while the other three made trip after trip to the truck, coaxing the dolly up the outside steps and carefully negotiating larger items up the cramped indoor staircase.

They would have been well within their rights to complain, as I have nonstop when helping friends move in the past. But the funny thing about people being paid instead of doing you a favor is that they’re as motivated to do it quickly and well.

Then it was over?

At least I was sweating by the time the last box had made it inside, but it all still felt like it was over in a snap. Three hours might sound like a long time for a move, but it pales in comparison to the 10- and 12-hour marathons I’ve put myself through in the past. 

But this time around, my lovely boyfriend verified that all our items made it on a spreadsheet he’d prepared, I signed the paperwork for Rigo’s, and our four-person team was out the door and back in their truck, all before noon, and with no greasy pizza boxes to clean up or anything!

Post-Move Thoughts

With a bit of hindsight to mull things over, here’s what I think: If I had this move to do over again, I would change very little, even if I was using my own money. 

There were for sure little things that weren’t ideal, like the fact that two of our movers didn’t wear masks. (To be fair, I was too nervous to ask them to, but if you find yourself in a similar position, please ask! You’re paying for a service, and you’re absolutely in the right to expect your movers to adhere to both public health guidelines and those COVID-19 policies laid out by HAH.)

Another small downside is that in the process of squeezing up and down the stairs, there was some scuffing that happened to the newly-painted walls. Feeling very thirty-something, I pointed it out to one of the movers when I signed the paperwork, and he assured me that he’d already taken photos and that someone would be reaching out to make sure I got compensated. 

But other than those two things, honestly, everything went beautifully.

The move could not have been faster or smoother, our sectional is stable, the bed frame was rebuilt beautifully, and not one single item I moved was damaged in the process. My boyfriend was so enamored with this move that he says next time we should have the movers pack for us, too. To which I say… but then what would we fight about??