senior moving tips – TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®

September 26, 2022October 17, 2022 Movers Who Blog Moving

What it means to live by THE GRANDMA RULE®

To understand the history of TWO MEN AND A TRUCK, it’s important to go back to the very early days of the company when it was just the original “two men” – Brig Sorber and Jon Sorber – moving customers in and around Lansing, Michigan.

It was the early 1980s and the two were doing a good job for themselves as high school students. Their mother, Mary Ellen Sheets, helped them place ads in local newspapers to advertise their services. Eventually, the time came for the two to go off to college, but Sheets was still getting calls about the services. So, she kept the little business going.

Being a working mom, she didn’t necessarily have a lot of experience running a business, let alone a moving business. With moving trucks taking up space, she needed a place to store them– and that’s where her mom stepped in.

“Grandma Eb”, as she was known, offered her backyard and barn to serve as the original office for the brand and a place to park the trucks. The brand’s early days began here, and her generosity and help were instrumental in helping TWO MEN AND A TRUCK grow to what it has become today.

Her influence led to the development of arguably our most important company core value, THE GRANDMA RULE, which means to treat everyone the way you would want your grandma to be treated. This motto has been adopted by the brand and serves as the overall mindset for our teams nationwide.

“THE GRANDMA RULE, to me, exemplifies everything we want and expect out of our employees and ourselves,” said Brian Stern, a TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® multi-unit franchisee with locations in New Jersey and Maine. “The idea is to treat each and every one of our customers as if they were our grandmothers. If we do that, every customer will be treated with respect, patience, and empathy during difficult moving situations.”

A large part of our customer base involves senior moving, and this makes the mindset of THE GRANDMA RULE all the more important.

Nearly 52% of all moves we complete are for people over the age of 50, and these can generally be tough moves due to the emotional factors involved of people parting ways with a home that has meant so much throughout their lives.

Our teams are specifically trained on how to handle senior moves and understand the importance of making sure they are able to communicate with the customer and provide the highest levels of care in order to make them feel at ease as they complete their moves.

“Often times, a senior move involves downsizing from a long-term home, and it can be a complicated and emotional experience,” said Alexa Lanier, a multi-unit marketing director for the TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton locations. “Our customer service representatives and in-home consultants work with the customers to account for the destination of all items, which can involve multiple stops or storage. Our movers then take the time to make sure every item gets to where it needs to go.”

To learn more about THE GRANDMA RULE and its beginnings, click here! If you know a senior looking to complete an upcoming move, visit our website to get started on a free moving quote.

TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® is the first and largest franchised moving company in the United States. Let us help move you forward! For more helpful tips and information on moving services subscribe to our blog and like us on Facebook.

September 17, 2018October 8, 2018 Movers Who Blog Downsizing, Giving Back, Hiring Professional Movers, Home Decor, Home Sweet Home, Moving, Packing, Preparing to Move, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK, Uncategorized

TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® moving teams keep “THE GRANDMA RULE®” in mind when moving senior customers

-Written by Erik Sargent

To say that a love and desire to provide the best possible care for seniors is a point of emphasis at TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® would be a major understatement. In fact, the story of TWO MEN AND A TRUCK never happens without the help of our company’s very own special grandma.

“Grandma Eb” – TWO MEN AND A TRUCK Founder Mary Ellen Sheets’ mother – was instrumental in helping Mary Ellen and her two sons, Jon Sorber and Brig Sorber, start the company in Lansing, Mich., when she allowed them to use her backyard as space for storage and to park trucks. This played a huge role in the development in the company, and more than 30 years later, we are still paying homage to Grandma Eb with one of our main company core values – THE GRANDMA RULE®.

THE GRANDMA RULE is simple – to treat each and every customer we deal with the way we would want our very own grandmothers to be treated. It’s a simple yet effective motto to live by, and it has shaped who we are as a company.

“THE GRANDMA RULE is especially personal to us here,” said Janelle Ishman, marketing manager for multiple TWO MEN AND A TRUCK locations in the greater Philadelphia area. “As a family-oriented company, it is important for us to treat our customers, our employees, and any individual that we have the privilege of encountering on the road with the same respect and care as our own family.”

Senior moving is different from a standard home move. While it still can be stressful like an ordinary moving situation, there is an added level of emotion to the process as often times, seniors are leaving behind the place they have called home for many decades.

“Moving is extremely stressful, but our teams are specifically trained on senior care services, which teaches our staff about the stages of dementia, downsizing, and security in senior housing,” Ishman said. “Our movers are trained to be attentive to the emotional aspect of senior relocations, as we realize that not all requests – especially those involving downsizing or relocating to a retirement community – are joyful circumstances. Our crews do their best to move every customer forward optimistically.”

With such an emphasis on care and compassion with our movers – especially senior moves – it makes perfect sense that we have specialized in senior moving since the very beginning.

Being able to handle these moves requires delicate planning and training for everyone involved, and it’s the attention to detail that sets TWO MEN AND A TRUCK apart when it comes to senior relocation.

“A lot of times, a senior citizen just wants someone to come and talk with them at their home about what is happening and what we are able to do,” said Brian Stern, a multi-unit franchisee with locations in Maine, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. “We make it a goal to try and accommodate this any time it is requested, because we know how important it is.”

From moving people in and out of retirement communities to helping them downsize from a large home, we have done it all when it comes to moving our beloved senior citizens, and are prepared to handle any situation.

“Quite frankly, these moves are right in our wheelhouse as a company,” Stern said. “We are built around customer service first and foremost. With our unique ability to deliver a high level of customer service and compassion for our clients, other moving services simply cannot compare.”

Not only are TWO MEN AND A TRUCK’s professional moving teams trained on the best practices for handling senior moves – certain franchises have different benefits and options they offer during senior moves.

“We have a special place in our hearts for these customers,” Ishamn said. “Because of Grandma Eb’s influence on the company, we make sure to offer senior citizens a 25 percent discount on boxes and packing supplies at our greater Philadelphia locations.”

If you or someone that you know is looking to complete an upcoming senior move, be sure to contact your local TWO MEN AND A TRUCK franchise and see why we are known as the “Movers Who Care®”!

September 11, 2017September 25, 2017 Movers Who Blog Downsizing, Giving Back, Hiring Professional Movers, Moving, Organizing, Our People, Packing, Preparing to Move, Tips and Tricks, Uncategorized

TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® celebrates “National Grandparents Day” every day with THE GRANDMA RULE®

-Written by Erik Sargent

Yesterday on Sunday, September 10^th, it was “National Grandparents Day”, a day to take the time to recognize our beloved grandparents and all of the wonderful things they bring into our lives.

For us here at TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®, every day might as well be considered “National Grandparents Day”, because our loyal senior following are a large focus of what we do, and we pride ourselves on easing their transitions as best as possible. From helping with downsizing moves to long-distance relocations, in-home moving, and providing special training to our employees who work with seniors – our goal is to make life easier for our retired friends.

One of our strongest company core values is THE GRANDMA RULE®, which was created in honor of TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® founder Mary Ellen Sheets’ mother, Helen Eberly, or Grandma Eb for short. In the early stages of the company when Mary Ellen was in need of storage space, Grandma Eb allowed her to park trucks in her backyard. She went on to play a huge part in the development of the TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® brand, and the THE GRANDMA RULE® still resonates with employees throughout our system.

“THE GRANDMA RULE®, to me, exemplifies everything we want and expect out of our employees and ourselves,” said Brian Stern, a TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® multi-unit franchisee in Boston, New Jersey, and Maine. “The idea is to treat each and every one of our customers as if they were our grandmother. If we do that, every customer will be treated with respect, patience, and empathy during difficult moving situations.”

THE GRANDMA RULE® highlights the family atmosphere that has been built here at TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®, and it is a major reason people are drawn to our brand.

“I believe THE GRANDMA RULE® is such an important core value because it truly represents the culture of this company,” said Lauren Trost, the marketing and sales manager for the TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® “Chicago 5” locations. “TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® employees not only practice this core value while at work – it is deeply ingrained in their everyday life. Before I started working at TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®, the Lansing franchise actually moved my grandma. I witnessed a wonderful display of compassion and strength. For several weeks after her move, my grandma could not stop talking about how impressed she was with the two young men who moved her.”

It’s this kind of attention to detail – especially with the senior crowd – that has helped build the TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® brand into what it is today. The care and effort we put into helping our older generation move is appealing to customers, and helps them to feel comfortable when we are handling a delicate situation like a senior move.

Each franchise has special tips and tricks they use, but all of them have a main focus of providing an easy, relaxed moving experience.

“Often times, a senior move involves downsizing from a long-term home, and it can be a complicated and emotional experience,” said Alexa Lanier, a multi-unit marketing director for the TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton locations. “Our customer service representatives and in-home consultants work with the customers to account for the destination of all items, which can involve multiple stops, dump runs, or storage. Our movers then take the time to make sure every item gets to where it needs to go.”

Working with seniors during the move process to ensure everything will be ok is a big deal, as downsizing and parting with belongings they’ve had for a lifetime can feel like a major loss. It can be difficult for them to let go of certain items due to memories created from these belongings, and it’s important to ease them into the next transition of their life.

“We offer a discount on all of our senior moves,” Stern said. “We also try to send our more patient crews that will take their time and move at the customer’s pace. Often times, senior citizens are less concerned with speed, and just want to understand everything in great detail.”

Check out what some of our loyal customers have had to say about our outstanding senior moving services!

“Our experience was outstanding. I needed help moving my Mom to assisted living. Ben was gracious and professional on the phone – explained all options to me and helped me set up the move within the time frame I needed. Nick called ahead to give me the heads up that they had finished their previous job and were on their way. Nick and Jose were both polite, professional, and friendly. They took good care with Mom’s belongings, and they offered their help in getting everything exactly as we wanted when we arrived at the new location. The move was done within the time (and cost) expected. Overall, an excellent job. Thank you to Nick, Jose and Ben.” – Debra, McHenry, IL

“This is the third time we have used TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®, they’re excellent! I would highly recommend them for anyone’s moving needs. They have moved my daughters twice, and this past move was for my mother. It was a very emotional time for her and my Pop who has dementia, the gentleman were sweet with them both. The guys came all the way to Boerne from Corpus Christi, worked two days, and it was still less than the other guys. They are good, kind, respectful, hard-working, and fast-moving men who are wonderful to work with. Do not go with the other brand, I know from experience their prices change. Thank you again for your most excellent service!” – Debbie, Corpus Christi, TX

Be sure to take some time this weekend and let your grandparents know how much they mean to you! Grandparents are a treasure to us all, and they play a major role in each of our lives! If you are a senior in need of moving services this fall, be sure to contact TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® and find out how the “Movers Who Care®” can assist with your move!