New World Van Lines of Massachusetts on Vimeo

New World Van Lines of Massachusetts on Vimeo


A resource for videos that are industry and New World Van Lines Related.

Mark

Define "Professional"

Tough word to define; tougher behavior to examine and break down.

Is it a uniform, an attitude, a set of skills, a different behavior, an intimate knowledge, assurance, even handedness, lack of emotion, separation and distance, appearance, manner of speaking, interaction with peers and customer, learned, innate, difficult or easy?

It is all these things, and add those I have missed. Being "professional" is as diverse in definition as it is hard to define. Different for all of us? Perhaps, but...........

Our customers companies pay us for a service they cannot perform because; they don't have the skill and equipment, they don't have the knowledge and infrastructure, they don't wish to.

Each day we put on a uniform, climb in trucks and enter someone's home. We bring our knowledge and skills to bear, moving them:

• On time.
• Without damage.
• With care.

Our behavior in this scenario is "other" motivated- we are in this environment to take care of someone elses needs. For pay.

All the training and motivational slogans and meetings are for nothing, if we don't place the other (our customer) first.

That is the foundation of "professional" behavior in professional relocation.

13 crashes in 13 months

Flashing yellow signs and clearly marked. Think these drivers were professional? Watch the queen mattress fall on the ground, with the rear doors! If you are not sure: STOP & GO AROUND!

13 crashes in 13 months

Not sure? Stop or go around! This bridge is clearly marked, with flashing yellow signs.

Think these drivers were professionals? No.

The moving truck ripped the rear doors off- you can see the queen mattress they tied off with fall out on the road- along with the roof and rear door frame.

It could happen to you.

When Occasion Calls for Moving #3 -- United Van Lines Commercial 1957

A simple thank you.

A cold and rainy winters night.

I just took the dogs out for a walk in the snow and freezing rain, and was happy to see the lights of home and a warm fire.

Tonight, somewhere in the US, someone from NWMA is travelling to a job.

Someone is returning home, cold, wet, sore, and tired from a long day.

Someone is home, thinking of the rough day he will have tomorrow.

Slick walks, icy roads, wet socks, cold hands, dead trucks, iced ramps.

Winter is this industry is not for the faint hearted,

To Rusty Wilson, Ryan Morris, John Pincince, Michael Coonan, John Spillane, Ben Bradstreet, Nick Small, Hector Calvo, Max Gusarov, Frank Corbin, Dennis Bradford, Juan Aguirre, Don Bentley, Jake Roche, Alan Williammee, Matt Marcinczyk, Phil Hoenig, Rick Harkins, Joe Premo.

Thank you all.

I don't go out anymore, but I remember days (and nights) like these.

Mark

A brief history

I've been in the relocation industry for 39 years and fortunately, an employee of two of the industry's best- benchmarked by their competitors: Clark & Reid, Inc and presently with New World Van Lines, Inc.

I have spent the last two years away from the print media, generating training videos and a training website, but many have asked me to reactivate the type of writing I did as the Managing Editor of Transportation, and the creator of "Relocation" at Suite101.com.

I have included here several articles I created for that platform, and though some are several years old, they are as pertinent as the day I wrote them. They were written for the general public, and may be a little simplistic for a professional- but still, they retain some basic truths, and define the framework of what we do.

Read through them, and throw any comments in.

We are deep into winter in New England. Avoid damage and injury: prep those floors, and keep your walkways and ramps clear.

Take care of your customer

Welcome back, and to 2011.
"The more things change, the more they stay the same"

Bigger homes, trucks, jobs.

Bigger expectations from those we move.

Seems like our profession is getting harder every year.

The one constant for success is to show by our words and actions that we care about those we relocate.

Listen.
Make eye contact.
Focus on their fears and concerns.
Minimize ours, in front of them. (Being professional.

More to follow.............