Shawn O'Hara: Hello, everyone. My guest today is Rachael Cronk, co-owner and general manager of Provincial Moving and Storage, a family-run moving company based in Victoria. Since 2009, her company has been helping residential, commercial, and government clients with careful, stress-free packing, moving, and storage across Vancouver Island, Vancouver, and seasonally throughout British Columbia and Alberta. Rachael is known for her hands-on approach to client care from the first estimate call through move day, and leads a team recognized with an A Plus Better Business Bureau rating and a Better Business Bureau Torch Award for ethical, high-quality service. She is passionate about integrity, clear communication, and treating every home and office move as if it were her own.

Shawn O'Hara: Welcome, Rachael.

Rachael Cronk: Thank you so much. Thanks for having me on the podcast.

Shawn O'Hara: Can you start by telling us what Provincial Moving and Storage does and who you help?

Rachael Cronk: We help with packing, moving, and storage services for residential, commercial, government, restoration, and construction moves. We help a whole variety of people, from students, single individuals, young families, retirees, elderly individuals, commercial clients, and government clients. It is a whole variety.

Shawn O'Hara: You are a family-owned company and independently owned. You are not a major franchise. How does that impact you, and how does it help you give better service or a different level of service?

Rachael Cronk: Because we are family-owned, when people phone, they talk to me. No one else picks up the phone. When you phone, like you say, a franchise company, you may be speaking to someone in Vancouver or Toronto, and you are not speaking to the owner or general manager of that individual location that you are looking to move from. Calls often get routed to call centers, so I would say the quality of service is higher because you are speaking to me, the owner and general manager of the company. That allows me to do a lot of handholding with people who may not have moved for 5, 10, or 30 years.

There is a tremendous number of things that they need to do to properly prepare for moving day, and we provide a whole bunch of resources to get them over the finish line. I would say that many larger companies and franchises probably do not have the hands-on approach that we certainly do.

Shawn O'Hara: What do you like about what you do?

Rachael Cronk: Every day is a new day. I do not think I have ever had two days that are the same, and for me, that is just perfect. I used to be in a career where days melted into each other; there were many similarities, and I was not being stretched, learning, or growing after some time. In this industry, as I said, there are no two days that have ever been the same.

It is a lot of growing and learning and being pushed and pulled in different directions, and I like the variety of the work.

Shawn O'Hara: As a moving company, there are some rules and regulations that you must follow. Who oversees moving companies in BC, and is it regulated?

Rachael Cronk: The Ministry of Transportation under the BC government regulates us through the National Safety Code.

Shawn O'Hara: How does that affect your day-to-day business?

Rachael Cronk: There are all kinds of rules that we must comply with. First thing in the morning, we must do a pre-trip inspection to make sure that our trucks are working properly, from the horn to the lights to the fluids under the hood. We need to make sure that our trucks are running well because it comes from a safety standpoint, and the last thing you want is a moving truck not functioning and getting into a car accident on the roads. If a five-ton moving truck gets into a car accident, it can be a bad end result.

They want us to be checking our trucks every day to make sure that we are staying on top of maintenance and being preventative. There is also important paperwork that is required, so because we are moving people’s household belongings, we have to have a bill of lading filled out for each client and a terms of carriage filled out. Those all come from the Ministry of Transportation rules, saying, for example, we are moving a three-bedroom home from Shelbourne to McKenzie, and you have authorized us to do that, so there is lots of paperwork that we must do.

Shawn O'Hara: Have you seen situations where a move went badly because a truck broke down or it was not safe? That could really upset a family if they have moved into a place and want their furniture and want the kids to be in their own beds, but there has been some issue with the truck or safety, and that did not happen.

Rachael Cronk: We bought the company three years ago, and in the three years that we have owned it, we have never had to cancel on a client because a truck broke down or there was some kind of major delay. There was one snow day, but that worked out fine, and they were able to move the next day. There was no way that we could get our truck into their location because it was a snowstorm from two years ago in the town of Sidney.

The snow plow came by and made a huge snow mound in front of the parking spot, and there was nowhere to put our moving truck, so we postponed that client to the next day, but did not cancel. Back to your initial question of a truck breaking down and having a major delay on a residential move, we have not had it, but it happens all the time, and it certainly could happen in the future. You never know when a major mechanical issue is going to happen on your truck, and it could happen tomorrow. There are warning signs, and of course, we stay on top of maintenance, and sometimes there are not, and things happen.

I would say I get a handful of clients calling on moving day, saying their mover canceled on them or their mover’s truck broke down and asking if we can help, and sometimes we can and sometimes we cannot. It absolutely can happen.

Shawn O'Hara: Proper maintenance and so on would help to minimize all of that.

Rachael Cronk: Yes, that is huge, and we do talk to our clients about that, that we stay on top of these things. They are expensive, but they yield a lot of benefits for us because we have never had to cancel on a client.

Shawn O'Hara: That snow was an exception.

Rachael Cronk: Unfortunately, generally, the city of Victoria cannot handle snow. I think Sidney must have gotten snowplows from the airport or something, and they did their streets and made huge snow piles. The icy sidewalks and the snow in front of the condo made it impossible to get our truck in there.

There was no way that we could do that move that day, but thankfully, warm weather came, and the next day we could.

Shawn O'Hara: For any listeners outside of Vancouver Island or the Lower Mainland, we do not get much snow here, so when we do, it is a big thing.

Rachael Cronk: It is, and we do not really know how to handle it.

Shawn O'Hara: It probably does not even cause a hiccup back east or on the other side of the Rockies. Provincial Moving and Storage has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. What did you do to earn that and to keep that rating, and what is the process?

Rachael Cronk: We are a registered member, and we renew every year. Essentially, to stay an A+ you must have zero complaints lodged against you.

Shawn O'Hara: How does that help you, having the A Plus rating?

Rachael Cronk: I think a lot of clients look towards the Better Business Bureau as an organization that they really align with, and the Better Business Bureau is quite active, especially with moving companies and construction companies. Unfortunately, those can be the types of companies that are problematic, so they try to really focus on the good and the not so good ones. I think a lot of people know the Better Business Bureau are advocates in the marketplace to highlight the good companies to go with.

They want people to hire good-quality movers, construction companies, and so on, so it gives people some assurance when they are deciding.

Shawn O'Hara: Do they put you through any kind of a process to get the rating, or is it just based on complaints they receive?

Rachael Cronk: I believe it is all complaint driven. People leaning on the Better Business Bureau is analogous to that social proof of going online, asking for recommendations, and going on to people’s Google pages. I think it is an institution that a lot of individuals know and stand behind.

Shawn O'Hara: It has been around quite a while, and they do differentiate between their members or the people who have been accredited. Looking at their site, they will show a business whether it is or is not. You are also a certified living wage employer. Can you tell us about that, what the process was, why you did it, and what it means?

Rachael Cronk: The Living Wage Association of BC essentially goes around to all the major towns and cities across BC, such as Prince George, Nanaimo, and Vernon, and says, what does it cost to pay rent or a mortgage, maintain a car, buy groceries, and so on. They determine what kind of wage a person needs to make to support those expenses. For every city and town across BC, they have major towns and cities where they have attributed an hourly rate to be able to live there.

A week ago, the Living Wage Association announced their new number for 2026, and I do not have it memorized off the top of my head, but I want to say it is 27 dollars and something cents per hour. We committed years ago to becoming a living wage employer, and to renew and stay a member, you need to continually increase your wages for your staff members to stay an accredited member. Each year, we have committed to raising our staff’s wages to meet that number, if not more.

Shawn O'Hara: How do you use that in your marketing or in dealing with your customers and clients?

Rachael Cronk: I tell clients that we are a living wage employer, and I think it is a differentiating factor between other moving companies and us. I think it says two things. One is that because we pay people well, we are able to attract and retain good quality, professional, trained movers. When you are looking to hire a moving company, I think that is one of the biggest factors that homeowners are looking for, whether the movers are trained professionals or not.

That is what our staff is, so we do not have staffing problems with turnover, and we have had long-term employees for some time now, which is wonderful for maintaining the business because we are able to provide consistent service. Secondly, there are a lot of homeowners who say that the people coming into their house and doing work, whether they are plumbers, electricians, or movers, should be making enough money to actually live here. They want to support the local economy and a company that pays their staff enough to afford to live here, so a lot of clients have that feel-good moment of hiring a company where the people moving their belongings can actually afford to live here and put a few dollars away each month.

Shawn O'Hara: That is great and also gives you a good amount of stability because there is a lot that goes into packing and learning how to pack. It is not just throwing everything in a box and taping it up. I saw an ad once about moving, and it was something like, "You have trusted your grandmother’s prized heirloom China to the lowest bidder.”

Rachael Cronk: Something that is happening in the marketplace right now is that ever since the real estate market has been a bit different here in Victoria, things have changed. The vast majority of moving companies move homeowners, and we certainly move renters as well, but the vast majority are homeowners. When the real estate market goes a little funny and not as many people are buying and selling, then moving companies do not have as many people to move.

What we see happening is that moving companies provide lowball estimates, and clients see a really cheap number. They might be told that a company can move a whole three-bedroom house in five hours, which is just not doable at all, and they say they want to go with that company. On the day of moving, every moving company charges hourly for the time that is used, and when it is going to be seven, eight, or nine hours, which is what we would see with a three-bedroom house, there is definitely a price difference.

Very likely, when that original homeowner got three estimates from three different companies, with one being really cheap and the other two being in the range of seven to nine hours, they ended up paying the same amount of money anyway. Now they have had a negative experience because somebody told them it was going to be five hours and it was eight hours, and they are scrambling to put money together on moving day. We see it happen all the time that people hire the cheapest mover, and some clients reach out and say they regret it, and some do not reach out, but we see it happening on a regular basis.

Shawn O'Hara: What can a mover do to minimize that, or if they find themselves in that situation? I guess tossing out the lowest quote would be one of the options.

Rachael Cronk: I have this conversation with clients during estimates, virtually every estimate. I tell them that I think they should go and get two other moving estimates and compare and research the companies, the services, and look at their reviews. They should ask their neighbours and friends who they used and then make a decision.

If they see one of the three being quite a bit lower, I say, as I said to a client this morning, that I would strongly discourage them from picking that one if the other two are close to each other. That lower quote is likely a lowball estimate to attract them as a new client, and they are just going to pay the same amount of money on moving day.

Shawn O'Hara: People are stuck because their stuff has been moved, and then they get the bill. They can say, no thanks, I do not want it, and their stuff will not be moved back.

Rachael Cronk: Every moving company, virtually for local moves, charges hourly, so if it takes nine hours, you are going to pay for nine hours.

Shawn O'Hara: That would be a way to check, just the number of hours and whether they seem reasonable and similar.

Rachael Cronk: If you get three estimates and one says five hours, one says eight and a half, and one says nine, these two are really close to each other in terms of range. Those ones are probably much more accurate than the one that is much lower, and that one is probably just trying to attract you as a new client.

Shawn O'Hara: That is something to be leery of. You also deal with Murphy beds, because you have spoken quite a bit about handling Murphy beds. For people who are wondering, those are the beds that fold up into a wall or a cabinet, and you say you specialize in moving them. What does that mean, and why do you need to do that?

Rachael Cronk: Murphy Wallbed of Canada on Douglas Street has trained our staff, and we go back for refresher training every six to eight months. We go and dismantle and move people’s Murphy beds and reassemble them again, whether it is a one-off, if people are just selling their Murphy bed, which happens all the time, or if it is part of an overall residential move. The reason why homeowners may want to consider hiring a moving company to move them is that there is a spring in the bed that is loaded to fold the bed up to the wall.

If you do not handle it properly, you can really hurt yourself, and people have lost fingers and really hurt their arms because that spring is loaded and it has a lot of force if it is not properly taken apart. I always encourage clients to hire some kind of professional for a Murphy bed because you can get really hurt.

Shawn O'Hara: Even just selling one and not doing a whole move, they would need to do that.

Rachael Cronk: If they have one attached to their walls, they have to get it dismantled, moved, and then reassembled, and they are definitely a specialty furniture item. You are going to want to find someone who knows how to handle them.

Shawn O'Hara: You do not want the buyer coming in to say they will do it themselves. Unless they are trained, that could be tragic.

Rachael Cronk: Exactly.

Shawn O'Hara: What do you see when people do their own move, the do-it-yourself beer and pizza move? What are some of the mistakes you see, and why should they hire professional movers?

Rachael Cronk: There are many rental truck companies in town, and one or two of them have been known to double-book people. You go to pick up your rental truck at eight in the morning on moving day, and it is not there. It is one of two things: either the company has accidentally double-booked you, and your truck is not there because it is out and about, or the client who had it yesterday did not bring it back in time, and it is also not there.

That can be hugely stressful, so for clients to whom I provide an estimate, and they say it is too expensive and they think they are going to get a rental truck, I always tell them to get their rental truck two or three days before they need it. Yes, they are going to spend a little bit of money, but then they know that they are going to have it for moving day because it really is a problem in Victoria. In terms of doing their own moving, I think a lot of people think moving is easy and you just throw things into a truck, and it could not be further from the truth.

There really is a method of how you load a truck. Two or three times a year, a moving truck flips on the highways, notoriously at the McKenzie interchange and the Malahat. They get into some kind of car accident, or they have not loaded the truck properly, and there is too much weight on the left or the right or whatever it may be. They go around an interchange like McKenzie, and the truck topples over, and while it is incredibly rare, it is almost always homeowners renting their own moving trucks because they have not rented a moving truck in 10 years and they do not know how to drive it or how to load it.

Typically, what we do is load boxes first and then furniture next. Boxes are really simple, with heavy ones on the bottom and light ones on the top, and I think everyone knows that, but in terms of furniture, you need to make sure that everything is blanket wrapped or has shrink wrap on it for certain types of pieces of furniture. That makes sure that when you stack everything on top of it, things do not scratch each other. The average homeowner or renter does not have 30, 40, 50, or 60 moving blankets to properly protect their furniture, so they would either need to go and buy or rent those things.

They also need to be strapping these things to the walls, and people may not have 10, 15, or 20 straps to be strapping dressers and bed frames and all kinds of things to the walls. Then lastly, there are specialty items like pianos and gun safes that need to be loaded properly to make sure the truck does not topple over, and the average homeowner does not know about that. I think those are some of the reasons why it can be unsafe, whether their household goods could be damaged or the truck could get into an accident.

The last thing I would say is the question of whether you really want to move yourself. You might have a sore back or sore legs for one, two, or three days, and you may actually injure yourself. There might be a piece of furniture in your house that is quite heavy, and if you do not lift it properly or if you are lifting too much weight, you could pull something in your back. If you pull something in your back and you are out for three days or three weeks, that may right there warrant using a moving company, especially with lost wages.

There are a lot of factors, including safety, knowledge of how to do it, and the convenience factor of hiring the muscle to come in and move your house efficiently. They know what they are doing, and it is really a seamless day, and you just have to point to where you want items placed at your new house, pour yourself a glass of wine and relax.

Shawn O'Hara: There is also the risk of damage when they hire a friend for pizza who does not know what they are doing, and they break or scratch things.

Rachael Cronk: Absolutely. It is a pretty hard conversation to have with one of your soccer buddies and tell them they really scratched the coffee table that you made, or your uncle gave you, or that is really high end. That is a challenging conversation to have.

Shawn O'Hara: That is a good point. In terms of insurance, if somebody is moving and using you and something gets damaged, is there insurance to cover that?

Rachael Cronk: There are a few different insurance policies in place. One is that licensed professional moving companies should have general liability coverage, and that means that if a catastrophic event were to happen, like a flood or a fire, and there is significant damage to a household item or the house, that moving company has the proper insurance. You need 2 million to work with the residential market and 5 million to work with the commercial market, so we have 5 million. In terms of household damage, the Ministry of Transportation also regulates this.

The Ministry of Transportation says that clients need to pick either release value coverage or declared value coverage. Release value coverage is complimentary, and it is included in our labor rates, though I cannot speak for other moving companies, and it is the least amount of coverage possible if something happens. As an example, I am sitting here in front of a desk, and let us say it weighs 100 pounds, because everything in the moving industry, in terms of a damage claim, is based on the weight of the item in question. If this desk gets damaged with a scratch or a dent, and it weighs 100 pounds, the Ministry of Transportation says that moving companies have to offer that client 60 cents per pound, so at 100 pounds, they need to pay 60 dollars.

I am not sure about you, but that number to me is really small, and it is likely not going to pay for a furniture restorer to buff out a scratch or fill in a dent, with a very minimal amount of coverage. The other type of coverage that the Ministry of Transportation says moving companies must offer is something called declared value coverage, which means that if the client chose that coverage amount and paid the premium for it, they would receive up to 8 dollars per pound. As an example, if the desk I am sitting in front of weighs 100 pounds, that client would receive up to $800 to first fix it, if it is fixable, or if it is completely not fixable, then it would be replaced.

If the desk somehow shattered into a hundred pieces and could not be put back together, or it was glass, then it would be replaced, but in the moving industry, it is always fix before replace. You would be in the budget of going to a furniture restorer and asking them to buff out a scratch or fill in a dent, and now you are working with an 800-dollar budget, so a lot of clients are interested in that. They know that sometimes things happen in a moving truck because there are speed bumps, people cutting us off in traffic, and potholes, and those kinds of disruptions on the road can impact things in the box of the moving truck.

Yes, things are blanket-wrapped and strapped to the walls, but even with that level of protection, there are some events that happen on the roads where that is still not enough, and things can happen.

Shawn O'Hara: For a do-it-yourself move, is there insurance, or what happens in that case, or with the friend who scratches the prized family antique?

Rachael Cronk: I cannot speak for any of the truck rental companies in town because they would all have their own insurance policies, but there may be coverage there. For a lot of Canadian house insurance policies, and first of all, I am not an insurance advisor, and this is not insurance advice, the vast majority of Canadian house insurance policies have a rider that your contents coverage on your home, when you move within a certain number of days, can provide coverage for when you move. You always have to check with your insurance broker to see if you have it and all the limitations, but I always encourage clients to reach out and let them know that they are moving and need new policies.

The pros and cons of that are that the pros are you have already paid for it and you do not have to pay anything more, but the con is that if a larger claim happens to your woodworking lathe or pool table, those can be more expensive fixes, and now that you are making a claim on your house insurance policy, that can impact your future premiums. Someone who is doing a do-it-yourself move and has homeowner's insurance or renter’s insurance could go to their insurance provider and ask if they have that coverage, and if not, there is moving insurance that you can buy from third-party providers as well.

Shawn O'Hara: That is all good to know. Is there anything you do not move?

Rachael Cronk: For medical professionals who have optometry equipment or dentistry equipment, things like that that are very high-end and some of them are incredibly heavy, you would be shocked to know how much a dental chair weighs. We have said we are not going to move dentists and optometrists or professions like that. It is just because of the equipment that they have, because it is highly specialized, none of it goes into a box, and it is all loose in the truck.

All the arms of the equipment and things that hang off them are exposed and could snap in the truck, and while it has never happened, we do not want to take on that risk because that equipment is exceptionally expensive to replace or repair.

Shawn O'Hara: I did not know that, so that would take a specialty mover.

Rachael Cronk: Accountants, law firms, and engineering firms, we move those all the time. Any kind of standard commercial move is absolutely fine, and it is just the real specialty ones that we would have to take a second think about.

Shawn O'Hara: Your company moves seasonally throughout BC and Alberta. What do you mean by seasonally?

Rachael Cronk: In the spring and the summer, we are happy to do moves throughout all of BC and all of Alberta, and we do that because the roads are good and the weather is good. In the fall and winter, we like to stay closer to home, and we are happy to do Vancouver moves and the full Vancouver Island, but that is about it.

We like to stay closer just because of the potential highway conditions with colder temperatures and weather, and we like to stay out of those mountain passes. We would hate to have some kind of accident, because first of all, our staff are in the truck and we would not want anything to happen to them, and secondly, our clients’ belongings are in the truck. If, for example, on the top of the Coquihalla, the truck flipped over, there would be significant damage to our truck and our clients’ belongings, and it would be a really terrible situation, and it is something that we are not interested in doing at this time.

Shawn O'Hara: They would do better planning their move either early or waiting. I guess it is hard to do a move early, but it is easier to wait.

Rachael Cronk: It would be, and honestly, it would save the client money because you are not going 90 kilometres an hour in February over the Coquihalla, as it is just not possible. You have to take it slower, which means you are paying for that time, so they would save money and diminish their risk for any accidents on the highway with their belongings. It would save them some money and reduce the risk.

Shawn O'Hara: Rachael, thanks for joining me today. If someone is listening and wants to book a move with you, what is the best way to get in touch, and what is the process in dealing with you?

Rachael Cronk: We are really quite adamant about doing in-person estimates for residential moves. We would be okay with not doing one for a basement suite or a one-bedroom unit, because those are fairly predictable, but for two bedrooms and up, we like to come to the person’s house or condo and see it. There are many things about a person’s home and their contents that are going to make the move go shorter or longer.

As an example, with condo moving, if they are on an upper floor, we have to move everything in and out of the elevator, which means we are double handling all of their contents. There can be considerable walking time within condo buildings from the moving truck to the front door, to the elevator, up the elevator, and then to their unit, and then all the way back, so condo moves take more time. For me to come to someone’s home and see that they are at the very end of the hallway or that the moving truck has to be parked in a certain place is important because it helps us know it is going to take time.

It is good to find out these things in advance so you can properly plan their move with the right number of trucks and staff and the right timing, and set expectations with the clients to say that it is going to be a longer day. For houses, there may be stairs, perhaps there is a basement or a second floor, and it is a larger floor plan, so there is walking time within the home because it is a four or five thousand square foot home. Some people’s driveways are 10, 20, or 30 percent grade, and we cannot park a moving truck on a driveway with that much slope, so we have to park on the street and dolly everything up or down the driveway, and that takes time.

The level of contents matters, and I have seen two-bedroom homes that take two trucks because they have so much content, so I need to come to people’s homes and figure out the cubic volume to make sure it is going to fit into one, two, or three trucks. For us, it is really important that we do in-person estimates, and I find phone estimates to be highly inaccurate. Virtual estimates are a middle ground, but often the client is quickly showing you around a room, and you are not really seeing what is there. You are not seeing what is in cupboards and closets, and there are lots of missed things that can happen with virtual estimates, so we are quite adamant about doing in-person estimates for two-bedroom or more homes, and of course, for commercial moves.

The process is really getting in touch, and I am a phone person, because I find email has too many details to go over, and it just makes sense to pick up the phone, chat about your move, and set up a time for me to come by. I can usually provide an estimate within one or two business days, and then they have time to go and find other estimates, make a decision, and get things booked. Between then and moving day, we send a lot of resources, including packing tips and tricks, how to pack your garage and your kitchen, and how to prepare for moving day so it goes efficiently and well.

Our moving specialist is assigned to them, and they have a resource to call with any questions or concerns, and we do a pre-move call, where we call a few days before and make sure they are packed, have the driveway cleared for us, and that everything is ready to go. On moving day, we get in touch to say we are on our way in about 30 minutes, and then we perform the move. About five days later, a moving specialist gets in touch again to ask how the move went, how they are enjoying their new home, and to touch base.

Shawn O'Hara: You do a follow-up, which is great. How far in advance should somebody book a move?

Rachael Cronk: If it is June to August, they should probably be booking six to eight weeks in advance, at least for around the 15th and around the last day of the month, and perhaps even eight to ten weeks out. July 31st and the end of August are some of the busiest weeks for moving companies of the whole year, and those dates go really quickly, so it is really important that people get in touch for those dates really early on.

I would say for the vast majority of the year, you probably could get away with two to four weeks out, but again, for the 15th and the last day of the month, for the vast majority of the year, you should still be four to six weeks out when you are booking.

Shawn O'Hara: Thank you. How can people get a hold of you?

Rachael Cronk: I am a phone person, and I really like talking on the phone about all these things. Calling me at 250-588-8898 is best, and I also do texts after our initial conversation if that is easier. Email is info@provincialmoving.ca, and you can also follow us on our social media accounts, but phone is the best.

Shawn O'Hara: Thank you. My guest today has been Rachael Cronk from Provincial Moving and Storage. Thanks for joining us, and that is a wrap.

Links

Provincial Moving & Storage

250-588-8898

info@provincialmoving.ca

Provincial Moving & Storage on Facebook

Rachael Cronk on LinkedIn

Provincial Moving and Storage on LinkedIn