April 4, 2002 – I am getting hammered with moving.  I hate moving.  I did uncover some BS at my work, though.  We supposedly get a discount through my work from a national moving company.  Well, I already had a quote from their main competitor and though ‘what the heck’.  I called them, scheduled the inspection of the items (to determine weight) and get a price.  When I received the price, it was almost 4 times the competitor’s price – and that was with a 55% ‘discount’.  I am sure it amounts to the agent of the company jacking up the rates thinking no one will audit.  Oh, not so.  I have friends in the risk management, procurement, finance and internal audit departments.  They have been forwarded the details.  A cc of my email was cced to me with an executive VP in the To: window. 

 

Now, it may seem odd that I would get so upset over the price disparity.  That is not all there is to tell.  See, the agent who my employer uses is based in Atlanta (where my employer’s home office is).  They called an agent in Texas to do the quote.  The person I used to allow the Texas agent into the house (I was working at the time) asked the guy giving the quote how much is would cost for the move.  And what was the quote?  Non-specifically, about half the quote I received from the Atlanta agent.  So…the Texas agent quotes a rate to the Atlanta agent.  The agent in Atlanta doubles the rate.  Then, because it is through my employer…the doubled rate is apparently nearly tripled and then a 55% discount it applied.  In the end, I pay over double the rate I would have been quoted if I had walked in off the street.

 

Fortunately, the competitor was just more than half the Texas agent’s quote so I am going with them anyway.