From Radio Waves to Moving Days: Meet Regina Move Coordinator Dan Mason

When it's time to book a move, you expect the company rep to sound calm and confident. After all, they're the ones who are supposed to be taking stress out of the equation. At the Two Small Men office in Regina, there's almost no one who sounds more calm, collected and confident as Dan Mason, and his career before joining the moving company has a lot to do with that.

Hailing from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Dan was a radio man for over ten years before coming to Two Small Men. His broadcast career took him to stations across Western Canada, where his smooth and strong voice reached thousands of listeners. He started off in Winnipeg where he attended radio school, then headed to Thompson, Manitoba before ending up in Prince Albert where he spent nine years as a host and producer.

"It was kind of all over the place," he says of his radio career.

During his career in radio, Dan worked every kind of shift imaginable at all hours and eventually started putting together commercials and various pieces of content for different stations. In Dan's mind, there's a direct connection between his experience as a broadcaster and his current role with Two Small Men.

"I think it's mostly just my calm demeanour," he explains. "The way we're talking now is the way I talk to everybody on the phone."

When working with clients and planning moves, Dan needs to stay sharp and think quickly while staying focused on the conversation.

"I'm pretty good on my feet to kind of pivot based on what other people have to say," he says. "That's probably from the decade in radio."

The job is obviously sales-driven, but Dan sees it as more than that.

"I care more about helping people out," he says. "I'm not pushing you. I'm not hoping to gouge you or anything. I just want to help these people because moving sucks."

Dan has seen first-hand what happens when a move goes wrong. Many years ago, he had hired a moving company for his own relocation and what should have been a straightforward four-hour job turned into a needlessly complicated and frustrating ordeal.

"They showed up with two people. They needed three. They didn't bring the right trucks. They didn't have the right stuff," he recalls. "It took like an extra five or six hours to load us."

On top of that, the move ended up costing Dan almost twice what was quoted.

"It was wild," Dan says.

Although Dan was left feeling skeptical about the credibility of the moving industry following this experience, he realized there was a better way of doing things once he started at Two Small Men. He personally takes the time to fully lay out a move for clients and covers all the details of the pricing so there is never unpleasant surprises.

"Every day I have people ask me, 'Are you sure? Is this what it is?'" he says. "And I'm like, 'Yeah, I'm being straight with you. This is what it's going to be.'"

For Dan, the proof is in the pudding.

"I can always just tell them to go look at our reviews," he says with confidence.

Dan understands that the moving process isn't always pleasant for a lot of people and while he doesn't hope to convert them into full blown enthusiasts, he tries to reassure them at the very least.

"If we can even make it 10 percent better, then I think that's a win."

When it comes to planning a move, Dan's main piece of advice for prospective clients is to do a bit of homework before diving in.

"Do your research," he says. "Check the reviews. Talk to people. Make sure you know what you're actually getting into. Make sure there are no hidden fees. Make sure you know the cost going into it."