Hind Sight…

…they always say is 20/20. How true it is. We are currently in the process of our very first PCS move, and oh if we could only do this all over again. Most of my blog readers are friends and family, however if there are any military families out there that are reading this, this post is for YOU =)
First, I would like to start off by saying, I am a brand new ARMY wife…which means my hubs is also new to this whole military thing as well…we are learning as we go and hope others can glean a bit of knowledge from our experiences. Here we go…

So, over the past week we have been doing our very first PCS (Permanent Change of Station) move. This is where your “sponsor” a.k.a. military service member, a.k.a. my husband has received orders to permanently change where he is required to report for duty/schooling/training. PCS orders are when the military pays to move the sponsor and his/her family members. There are other categories of moves, but I will not go into detail of that for this blog post…perhaps another time. For your family’s PCS move, you can choose to have the military set up times with packers/movers to come to your house, pack EVERYTHING (and I DO mean everything!), drive it to your new duty location, and unpack your belongings – you do not have to lift one finger or pack one box. Or there is what is called a DITY (Do It Yourself) move. This is where YOU pack everything, YOU load the U-Haul, and YOU drive to your new duty location, and yes, YOU unpack everything. Or, you can do a combination of the two types (usually shipping the larger house hold goods (HHG) and then taking the items that cannot easily be replaced).

With this being our very first move and knowing that we really do not know how everything works with the military, we decided it would be best to have the military coordinate the move for us so we were “less stressed” about everything. (Note: this was mistake #1).

So, we are EXCITED. Our first move. Our first NEW apartment. A new town. A new post to explore. Its summertime and things are GRRREAT! We are anxious to meet the packers, the movers, and just to see how all of this works. After all, YOUR tax dollars at work ;-)

Wednesday rolls around. The packers come. Two men and one woman. They were all very nice, very quiet, but nice. It only took 3.5 to 4 hours for them to pack our entire house (not that we have a big house by any means…but it was super fast!) We also provided drinks and snacks for them during this time, since we had been advised to “take care of your movers” on more than one occasion. About 30 minutes before it was time for them to leave, they talked amongst themselves about how “great” of a tip one family gave them last week. So, David and I of course overhear this, and decide we too should probably tip these people. I did a little research online to make sure it was appropriate to tip packers (and it is WHEN they do their job right). The going rate appeared to be $20 per packer (or about $5 per hour). So, $60 we paid and that was that. (Mistake #2).

Thursday morning the movers were supposed to come and load all of the heavy furniture and all the boxes the packers packed the previous day. This crew consisted of three men. We provided the same hospitality we provided to the packers the previous day. About half way into the morning, the supervisor of the crew came to David and I and showed us a piece of chewed up bubble gum that was still a little soft that had been stuck to the bottom of our bed (allegedly the previous day)…and we also found two or three additional pieces thrown all over our front lawn (see Mistakes #1 and #2.) This gentlemen also pointed out that they packed a box of my hanging clothes with shoes and bedding supplies (which they are not supposed to do because it will wrinkle the clothes – they have special boxes to ship hanging clothes in). And, they also packed cleaning liquids, which they are also not supposed to pack because it could leak out of its container and ruin your belongings or the belongings of someone else. All of our belongings are loaded up onto a semi trailer (along with other family’s belongings from all over the south east) and it will be delivered to our apartment by Wednesday or Thursday of next week. So, we tipped three more guys $20 each – so now our tip total is up to $120.

So, here is what we have learned from this SO far (b/c it isn’t over until we get our goods on the receiving end!):

1. Watch your packers. They will tell you to stay out of the way (and you probably should so they can do their jobs). But remember, they are packing YOUR items, YOUR memories, and NOBODY cares about your stuff like YOU do!

2. Do NOT tell them this is your first move. Period. If they ask, answer it like a politician…if you are not still living with your parents then you HAVE moved before, capice?!

3. Get the first AND last names of each of the packers and movers. This way, if you DO have issues, you can call the company. The company should know who was on the job, but you never know.

4. Just do it yourself, if possible. Period.

All of this has been quite the learning experience. What makes the bite sting a little more is knowing that if we would have just DONE IT OURSELVES, we would have banked about $8,000 based on the weight of the items in our home and the distance we are to be moving. Ouch!

Yes, it is true that you live and learn…we have done just that. Packers and movers are great, and I am sure not all of them are like the folks that came to help us…if they are I don’t know how they stay in business. Just be prepared and know what “could happen”. We certainly did not.

Next time, provided that we are not stationed OCONUS (Outside Continental United States) we WILL be moving ourselves =)

Updates on the receiving end to follow!