While waiting for our shipment, we were living with the most basic necessities, so we were really excited to have our home & creature comforts back!
Before CROWN RELOCATIONS delivered our shipment, we were eating on outdoor furniture we purchased for our balcony.
DELIVERY DAY 1
Prior to delivery we swept, mopped & dried the floors so that when they positioned our furniture, it would be on clean floors.
On the delivery day, they came with 2 trucks. One truck had the 20ft container, the other had their equipment.
Safety first as they unload!
The first thing they did was a walk through & they laid protective covering on the floors. They also wore protective covering on their shoes. We were surprised because we never experienced such thoughtfulness to our floors with past movers! We greatly appreciated it.
The 2nd thing they did was that the Team Leader (who thankfully spoke English) explained to us the plan for the delivery. That for DAY 1 they will take all the boxes in, then DAY 2 they will unpack, assemble & remove boxes.
All ready for the boxes to come in!
Time to open the sealed container.
Everthing was done methodically & with great care.
There were 4 CROWN RELOCATIONS staff: 1. Unloaded the truck, 2. brought the box to the stairs, 3. brought it up the stairs & 4. would bring it into our home. Of course for heavy pieces like our teak furniture, they helped each other
Our home quickly filled up with out boxes, but they placed it in groups (by room) so that it wasn’t confusing where the boxes would go once it was unpacked.
One of the most impressing things for me was their ability to delivery our MASSIVE MASSAGE CHAIR. The doorway into the room was literally 1cm wider than the massage chair itself! I thought:
“this is impossible! They aren’t going to get it into the room & manuever it around such a tight corner!”
But guess what? They removed the door & managed not just to to get it in & position it where we asked, but they did so without a single scratch! Unbelievable! Bravo!
Another cool thing was CROWN RELOCATIONS‘ system for spare parts! With our past movers, the spare parts would be taped to the item it belonged to. This time they had a PARTS BOX. And somehow they were able to connect the different parts to the pieces or furniture that they needed to reassemble. It was very organized.
Yaya B’s room which was our temporary bedroom, beside DiploBaby’s room while we waited for her to arrive.
DiploBaby’s room
Another essential thing that CROWN RELOCATIONS did for us was remove all the boxes & take them to the deccheterie or recycling centers. This is super important because if they left the boxes we could need
- A car big enough for the boxes (we had no car yet then & even our car now would not be big enough)
- To go back & forth to the deccheterie an untold number of times to clear all these boxes. Plus for sure it would get the car dirty & scratched.
So make sure your MOVER REMOVES ALL THE BOXES from your property after unboxing. This should be part of the service or you will have a huge headache & might have to pay extra for someone to bring them to the recycling centers. In Germany, you would also have to pay the recycling centers to accept the boxes.
THE TOUGHEST CHALLENGE
For me the toughest challenge was getting the almost 3m long L-shaped Scandinavian Sofa. I was really dreading it because our stairs are VERY NARROW. Unlike the massage chair, which they said was not possible to take up the attic safely, they were reassuring me that they could take the sofa up. They were so chill, even if I was practically biting my nails in suspense!
It took them 4 attempts to get it up, but finally they did it! Watch the video below to see how they did it!
This made me so thankful that we chose CROWN RELOCATIONS because they persevered, when others might have just given up. Their problem solving & admirable skills really came to play. SOBRANG TIYAGA at MAABILIDAD talaga sila! Grabe!
I have to say that CROWN RELOCATIONS‘s staff are really a level up when it comes not just to moving skills & but also exceptional people skills, because not only were they honest in their assessment of what was safe & unsafe to do, but they were also able to calm our nerves. TD & I would have had to sell our couch if they were not able to bring it up, because it just did not fit the first level or our home.
END OF THE FIRST DAY
They told us that the delivery would be done in 2 days. For DAY 1 the objective was to unload all the boxes from the shipping container so the next day they don’t have to return with the container.
Here I am tired but happy. Even if we don’t lift the boxes ourselves, move in day is always stressful & mentally, physically & emotionally draining, because we have to be on top of moving 160 boxes into our home. We need to tell them were the items go & oversee everything so that the new home does’t get damaged in the process. This is not as easy as it sounds because when people are moving heavy hardwood furniture, like teakwood, they can hit & scratch the surfaces. Like when the movers into our Berlin flat: they took out a chunk of the doorframe when they hit it would a teakwood piece.
However with excellent movers, it’s not as stressful as it was in our past experiences.
DELIVERY DAY 2
The first order of business on DAY 2 was to reassemble the L-shaped Sofa Bed, which is also a queen-sized bed.
They had to remove the bed portion so it wasn’t so heavy to maneuver up the stairs. The cool thing is they are have the complete equipment to easily dismantle & reassemble.
DAY 2 is when they unpack, assemble, position & remove the boxes
TV BOXES
DIPLO TIP: Normally I always advice expats to keep their TV boxes, if they plan to move in another 2-4 years because if there is no TV box, the movers have to crate the TV & it will add to the shipping cost.
However because our post is 6 years, it is too long to keep a TV box &, by that time, the TV technology will have evolved a lot & it would be best to sell the TV instead of moving with it.
THE CAVE
DID YOU KNOW? In Switzerland, everyone has a CAVE (basement storage) where people keep their supplies & off-season items. But what people don’t know is that Swiss law still stipulates that every resident of Switzerland must be “guaranteed a shelter in the vicinity of their place of residence.” So usually this is the cave.
On the first day we we told them which boxes should be in the cave & on the 2nd day they unpacked the boxes, except for the ones we told them we would want kept in their boxes.
This time of unpacking is also a time for DiploBaby to rediscover his things. One of the things that I kept as a souvenir of when he was a baby was this original Mercedes Benz pacifier that was given to him by his Ninang Imel & Ninong Nugo during his baptism in Berlin. A truly luxe German keepsake. DiploBaby loves it because he pretends he is Boss Baby LOL!
REMOVAL OF BOXES
Most of the boxes were removed, but there were some boxes with small items like kitchen accessories & clothes, that we preferred to unpack slowly ourselves. CROWN RELOCATIONS told us that we can just contact them when we have finished unpacking & they would send someone to pick up all the remaining boxes so that we don’t have to worry about how to bring them to the deccheterie or garbage dump.
After a few weeks, we finished unpacking the small items & called CROWN RELOCATIONS. A guy came with a truck & removed all the boxes from our premises. So convenient!
This service is very important because as someone who had just moves, you might not have a car and even if you did some of the boxes are huge & would also get your car dirty. In some places like in Berlin, we would have had to bring the boxes to a recycling center & would be charged to recycle the boxes. So it helps you save too.
THANK YOU CROWN RELOCATIONS
By the end of DAY 2 we were feeling pretty grateful for this experience of moving with CROWN RELOCATIONS, because we really felt the love & care took in handling our belongings. I’ve never felt this way before. They were also super nice to DiploBaby! So of course we asked to take some pictures with them & they were so game. Thank you so much CROWN RELOCATIONS for making this the least stressful pack out & delivery!
If you are moving soon or in the future, I can highly recommend CROWN RELOCATIONS. You will feel the difference! I hope that describing my experience with them, has shown you that there is a better way to move.
Moving has been complicated by the global pandemic I wanted to document this unique moment in history and also my experience with CROWN RELOCATIONS & how they helped lessen our moving stress. So please check out these super informative posts:
13 TIPS ON HOW TO CHOOSE A MOVER DURING A PANDEMIC
CROWN RELOCATIONS’ PRE-MOVE CUSTOMER SUPPORT
PACKING UP OUR HOME DURING A PANDEMIC
WHAT IS UAB/UNACCOMPANIED AIR BAGGAGE
MY NEXT POSTS ARE:
The Importance of Getting Transit Insurance #CrownCare
What is a Mobility Advisor?
CROWN RELOCATIONS
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MANILA
+63 28 822 1123 • manila@crownrelo.com
Mon – Fri 8:00am – 5:30pm • Sat 9:00am – 1:00pm
Lot 5 Block1, Phase 7-A,
Laguna Technopark – Special Economic Zone, Binan, 4024 Laguna,Philippines
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Warehouse 9 Forestview Realty Development, Kapaz Road, Brgy. Catarman, Liloan, Cebu
I hope you find this post helpful for your future moves! Please feel free to share it on Social Media & with friends who might need to read this too!
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