The Art of Moving Precious Goods in Kamloops

When moving day goes according to plan, it's great for everyone. Everything is by the book. Boxes and furniture get moved in an orderly manner and no one is stressed. But sometimes things get weird. And sometimes, a client will tell movers that what they're relocating is worth a small fortune.

Deepak Verma expereince this strange scenario on a move in Kamloops with Two Small Men. It started off standard. There was just a bedroom's worth of stuff to move, which meant that the truck wouldn't even be packed to the brim. In fact, it was half empty.

“Most jobs are normal,” he says. “Nothing bad to experience. Everything goes smooth.”

Well, everything is normal until it isn't.

“When we got there, it was not much stuff,” Deepak explained. “Only one bedroom. The truck was filled maybe 30 or 40 percent.”

It was almost the easiest job of all time. Then came the art.

“There were five or six pictures hanging,” Deepak said. “And she said, ‘Those are really expensive.’”

Expensive items are not a problem for pro movers. But these weren't your average expensive items.

“She said, ‘These pictures are like five grand each. And one or two pictures are like eight grand.’”

That's a lot of money on the line.

In the case of most special item moves, there is a protocol for how to wrap and protect sensitive items.

“Our blankets are very clean,” he says. “We wrap it, put it in the picture box, and place that box in a safe spot so it doesn’t get squished when the truck moves. In two years or two and a half years, I have never, ever experienced a broken painting. Glass, cardboard, paper painting — never.”

The client wasn't aware of this track record, however, and was admittedly stressed about the move. Her instructions were very specific.

“She said, ‘You cannot put it on the floor,’” Deepak says.

Then there was the issue of missing supplies. For whatever reason, they found themselves without bubble wrap that day.

“Normally we don’t carry too much unless the customer tells us ahead,” Deepak explained. “We usually carry like five picture boxes, wardrobe boxes, TV boxes — normal supplies.”

And that would be enough for most moves, but this wasn't that.

“She said, ‘I need bubble wrap,’” he says. “And we were out of stock.”

Deepak made a desperate call to dispatch.

“I said, ‘Her paintings are really expensive and really delicate. They need bubble wrap.’”

Until the necessary supplies arrived, they busied themselves with the rest of the move.

“Dispatcher said, ‘Just leave the pictures there for now. Finish unloading. Then go buy bubble wrap.’”

And that's what happened. A mad dash was made to acquire bubble wrap and they were thus able to return and finish the job.

“We wrapped it properly, then put it in the box,” Deepak said. “Then we did that again for all of them.”

The client's stress immediately dissapated.

“She was happy after that,” he said.

The client greatly appreciated the extra effort demonstrated and she ultimately tipped all the movers.

Deepak took an important lesson from that day

“If the customer has like 20 or 25 paintings, they have to tell us,” he explained. “But also, we have to be flexible. We have to be careful.”

And he's become a veritable expert when it comes to moving art.

“It’s not too hard to keep paintings protected,” he said. “But you have to treat the box like you know what’s inside. We place it in a safer place so it doesn’t move or get pressure.”

For Deepak, any move that ends well is a good move.

“It was normal at first,” he said, laughing a little. “Then suddenly, it was not normal. But that’s our job. You do it properly, and everything goes good.”

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