When Time and Discretion Are Critical Moving Factors

Moving stories are often rife with fun and lighthearted anecdotes amidst stressful situations. But sometimes, moving is more fundamental than fun and the stress comes from outside factors. That's when everyone goes on high alert. At the Kamloops branch, Two Small Men mover Ron Fill says there was one North Shore move that stands out because of how tense the scenario was. It was a last-minute move and it needed to happen asap.

“We had this one move that was really different,” Ron says. “It was a rushed move. We got the call and we were asked to be there the next day.”

It was immediately apparent that this wasn't a normal residential relocation. There was lots of added pressure and no room for error. Ron took lead on this job and arrived expecting a quick and simple turnaround. And while it wasn't a long move, it was definitely heavy.

“It was me and a helper. I can’t remember if there was a third—there might well have been—but I can’t remember exactly.”

Ron and the other movers knew that something was wrong from the minute they got there, before any boxes were packed.

“We got there and immediately you could see that she was panicked,” he says. “She was so stressed.”

Moving day anxiety is normal, but this was something else. Also a trained medic, Ron could see the signs of distress.

“I don’t like seeing people stressed,” he explains. “It’s like calming people down is just second nature.”

Further, the woman didn't seem to calm down upon the arrival of the movers.

“She was bizarrely stressed,” Ron recalls. “Like she was panicking. Freaking out.”

Instead of just plowing through the job, Rob made the call to pause and focus on this person before focusing on the boxes.

“So I sat her down,” he says. “I was like, ‘You’re going to be okay. You’re in good hands. In my opinion, this is the best moving company in town. She started to calm down. She was like, ‘Okay, this is coming. That’s not coming. Don’t touch that. This is coming.’”

As they continued along with sorting and packing, the unfortunate truth of the situation revealed itself.

“She was like, ‘Look, I’m going to be really transparent with you. I’m in a really abusive relationship.’”

The woman wasn't just moving. She was escaping. Ron discovered that in the days leading up to the move, her situation had become dire.

“This guy had been horrible to her,” he says. “And her parents had urged her to leave whenever possible because apparently he didn’t know he was being dumped. They’d been married a couple years.”

There was less of a priority on making sure everything was perfect and organized than there was on getting her to safety. Her family's message was clear.

“Get the hell out of the house,” Ron says. “We’ve got to have it done.”

The timeframe in question was a hard deadline and not a light suggestion.

“She was very adamant the whole time—five hours, five hours, five hours.”

Her anxiety mounted as time passed.

“She kept saying, ‘He’s going to be back in like four hours.’”

Ron went into action mode and made things happen.

“So I adjusted the entire plan on the spot,” he explains.

“We’re not going to fill the truck. We don’t have to stack it. We’re just going to float everything,” he told her. “We’re going to have it done so quickly I’d be surprised if it took more than two hours.”

She was slightly relieved but not about to relax.

“She looked like she was about to cry,” Ron says. “That’s not something you see very often.”

She has nom parents or friends there to support. It was just the Two Small Men team, and they were just focused on helping.

“We just slammed it,” Ron says plainly. “We just got it done.”

As they worked quickly, they kept taking the time to check in on the client.

“We rushed through it as quick as we could while still being obviously delicate, because it’s her stuff,” he says. “She was like, ‘Oh, just throw it. Just get it in the truck. Just lob it.’”

The team worked carefully without taking shortcuts.

“We got this,” he remembers thinking. “You still treat people’s belongings properly. Anytime you’re doing this job, you’re handling other people’s stuff,” he says. “You’re handling sentimental things. Some stupid old broken record player isn’t just a stupid old broken record player. It’s somebody’s heirloom.”

Despite the tense nature of the day, everything got loaded out fast and efficiently.

“We got her out of the house in like two hours-ish,” Ron says. “These aren’t exact numbers—it was a while ago—but yeah, roughly.”

When the truck was packed and they were about to head out, they finally noticed a shift in the client.

“When we got everything in the truck—the last few items—you could see the weight lift. She switched personalities completely,” he says. “From being like, ‘I’m so stressed, I’m about to cry, if he comes home I’m in huge trouble,’ to just… a sweet little lady.”

When everything was wrapped up, the crew was more than happy to get the client to where she needed to go next.

“Yeah,” Ron says. “We all left together.”

Moving this client from her house to a new apartment all got completed in the same day.

“Oh yeah,” he says. “We got it done in like five hours total.Once we got going, the rest of the move went fine."

The experience stays with Ron not because of how wild the story was but because of the connection made that day.

“I don’t think sensitive moves really exist,” he explains. “Because a lot of people are stressed. Moving is stressful.”

And that’s exactly what Two Small Men with Big Hearts does. We take the stress out of moving day.

Ready to plan your move? Contact us for a free quote.