Moving Words – Charity
Written by Timothy Brady.
Charity begins at home, but should not end there. – Thomas Fuller
The moving industry and charity are synonymous with one another. Since our job is to move lives from one location to another, it couldn’t be done without the charitable and giving attitudes of those who work in the industry. So it could be said, paraphrasing Thomas Fuller, ‘Charity begins in the home of our shippers but doesn’t end there.’
Many of you are thinking, “Wow, this is a stretch.” Stick with me and see if I’m out of bounds here. Looking at the definition of the word in the Merriam Webster dictionary tells us that charity is “generosity and helpfulness especially toward the needy or suffering; also aid given to those in need.” In the course of doing what we do, aren’t we aiding those in need of moving? And while we do receive monetary compensation for moving peoples’ belongings, through the course of the move we aid them many times for which we don’t receive compensation – and we do it out of generosity; from caring about other human beings.
And we do care: providing information about local schools, introductions to the real estate people to help locate their next home, news about the city and its local services; letting shippers know where the stores are, or assisting the spouse in finding a job. Nothing in moving says we have to do these activities, and in most cases we’re not charging them for the service or information.
And then there are the packers and van operator and his/her crew. While these fine men and women are compensated for many of the services they provide, there are the many ‘little’ things they do that help to ease the stress of the move for the shipper. Van operators have helped by taking the time to explain how grandma’s heirloom china cabinet is going to be protected, or the packer who adds extra tissue paper to a carton of crystal goblets that a shipper packed to ensure it arrives, contents intact, at destination. There’s the packer who helps the 5-year-old maneuver her precious stuffed animals so they’re all standing up in their shipping container, “so they won’t have ‘the blood go’ to their stuffed brains.” Or the mover who takes that same carton and shows her exactly where it’s placed, to keep all her friends safe while riding in the van. And the van operator who is careful to notify the little girl at destination that her friends have arrived safe and sound, and opens the carton so she can see for herself.
Then there’s the Agency’s claims person, who even though he or she knows the damage wasn’t caused by the move or the actions of any of the moving company’s employees or contractors, still works to find the means by which to have the damage repaired.
And then there’s the charity of humor to keep the tension down during the move.
The shippers in this story were a couple in their mid-eighties, moving from their home of over 50 years in Chicago to a much smaller place in Scottsdale, AZ. This move was both exciting – they were moving to be close to their daughter and grandchildren – and yet terrifying in leaving what they’d known for over half a century. During the course of the move at origin, the van operator saw the older gentleman, John, was constantly getting angry with himself because things were no longer where he was used to finding them; many had been packed, some had been given to Goodwill. He would say in a loud, angry voice, “(expletive) I lost (expletive) memory; I can’t remember any (expletive) thing.” (Remember he’s from Chicago, we’ll let you fill in the blanks.) This went on the entire day.
When the van operator arrived at destination, it didn’t take five minutes before the shipper went on a similar expletive-laced tirade about having lost his memory. The van operator had the shippers stand at the kitchen counter with the inventories to be checked off. While the wife did most of the checking off, her husband, John, continued to complain about his loss of memory.
This continued for about an hour. Then the van operator came into the kitchen with a single PBO file carton, calmly called out the inventory number and then turned to John, showing him the bold, felt-tip marker writing on the top of the carton. The van operator said, “JOHN’S MEMORY,” reading the bold lettering aloud. And then added, “See, you didn’t lose it, John. You just shipped it. ” Both John and his wife sat down on the floor of the kitchen and had one of the biggest and heartiest laughs of their lives. And the rest of the day, John never said anything more about losing his memory.
So, as you can see, part of our business model requires that we be charitable. The neat part is, we receive as many awards as we give.
Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance. – St. Francis of Assisi
