Glossary
Moving-labor terms, in plain English.
The vocabulary you'll see on an estimate, in a booking window, and on a crew lead's clipboard — defined without the jargon.
- Labor-only moving
- A moving service that supplies only trained crew members — no truck, no driver, no transportation. The customer supplies the truck, POD, or container. Pricing is hourly with a minimum.
- Moving labor
- Same as labor-only moving. Physical loading, unloading, packing, or rearranging performed by a trained crew that does not provide the vehicle.
- Loading help
- A labor-only service where the crew loads a customer-supplied rental truck, POD, or container. Includes pad-wrap, tie-down, and a documented load plan.
- Unloading help
- A labor-only service where the crew unloads a customer-supplied truck or container at the destination and places boxes and furniture in the correct rooms.
- POD / portable container
- A shippable storage container (PODS, U-Pack, 1-800-PACK-RAT) delivered to your driveway. Customers load it, the container ships, then it's unloaded at destination — often on separate days.
- Long carry
- A distance from the truck or container to the door that exceeds a standard driveway (typically 75+ feet). Long carries add time but never surprise fees.
- COI (Certificate of Insurance)
- A document naming a building or venue as an additional insured on the moving company's liability policy. Many apartment buildings and offices require a COI before letting a crew work on-site.
- Crew size
- The number of movers dispatched to a job — usually 2, 3, or 4. Bigger crews finish faster but cost more per hour. Right-sizing is part of the estimate.
- Hourly minimum
- The shortest billable job length at a given crew size. River Bend uses a 2-hour minimum for 2- and 3-person crews and a 3-hour minimum for 4-person crews.
- Deposit
- A refundable $100 payment that reserves your window. The deposit is applied to the final bill, not added on top.
- Specialty item
- Any single item that requires special handling: piano, gun safe, pool table, hot tub, or anything over 250 lbs. Specialty items flag a booking for manual review before dispatch.
- Pad-wrap
- Wrapping furniture in quilted moving blankets (and shrink wrap over the blankets) to protect finishes and edges during loading and transport.
- Tie-down
- Securing a load with tension straps at every tier so nothing shifts during transport. Especially important in rental trucks and portable containers.
- Walk-through
- A quick tour the crew lead does on arrival to confirm scope, identify heavy or fragile items, and build the load plan with you.
- Load plan
- The crew lead's plan for what goes in the truck or container first, middle, and last. A good load plan protects fragile items and uses cubic feet efficiently.
- Dispatch
- The team that assigns crews to jobs, coordinates arrival windows, and communicates with customers before and during the job.
- W-2 employee
- A person employed by the company with taxes withheld and workers' comp coverage — as opposed to a 1099 independent contractor. Every River Bend crew member is W-2.
- Arrival window
- A 60-minute range during which the crew will arrive. The billable clock starts when they begin work on-site, not when the window opens.
- Short-notice booking
- A job booked less than 48 hours before the window. Subject to crew availability and may carry a small surcharge.
- Claim
- A formal report of damage submitted after a job. River Bend documents every job with before-and-after photos to make claims fast and fair. Submit within 7 days.
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