What Is White-Glove Moving? What to Know About the Premium Service
Experts explain the differences between white-glove and standard moving companies and where the term comes from.
Getty Images / Oscar Wong
If you’re anticipating a move, you’re likely dreading the process. Moving can be time-consuming and stressful, and hiccups like missing boxes, broken items, and strained muscles are inevitable. You can’t escape even with the best of planning.
If you’ve ever dreamt of being able to snap your fingers and make your move happen like magic, a white-glove moving service could be for you.
Meet Our Expert
Michael Martirena is a luxury real estate adviser with Compass Real Estate in Miami.
Robert Elson is a licensed real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Warburg.
Ellen Sykes is a licensed real estate broker for Coldwell Banker Warburg.
Mary Beth Johnson is vice president of business development at Atlas Van Lines.
Arlene Reed is a licensed associate real estate broker with Coldwell Banker Warburg.
“White-glove movers offer a robust end-to-end service in which every aspect of the move from packing at the origin to unpacking at the destination is handled by a team of professionals,” says Michael Martirena with Compass in Miami.
So say goodbye to renting moving vans and paying back your friends with pizza. There’s a full-service answer to your moving woes.
What Does White-Glove Service Mean?
This type of moving service could be called full-service or hands-free in many ways, but the term “white glove” offers its own connotation.
“The term ‘white glove’ is a throwback to the Gilded Age when the wealthy had butlers who traditionally wore white gloves, ostensibly to avoid leaving fingerprints on furnishings, dinnerware, or glassware,” says agent Robert Elson of Coldwell Banker Warburg. “Today it has the same connotation figuratively as it did back then, but in a literal sense, hardly anyone—however wealthy they may be—employs staff or hires a moving service that wears white gloves. Today, the term is synonymous with a moving service that specializes in moving expensive furniture, artwork, or other valuable items, such as antiques.”
"With a white-glove moving service, you can expect much more than you might from the average moving company. The term evokes a high level of attention, care, and professionalism."
Michael Martirena
Clients can expect to have their belongings moved without lifting a finger.
“The primary difference between standard moving services and white-glove services is the opportunity to pack up furniture in both locations so the client doesn’t need to be hands-on. With standard moving services, most homeowners pack up the majority of their belongings themselves, which can take weeks,” Martirena adds. “White-glove movers then set up homes according to specific instructions on where every object will be placed.”
Broker Ellen Sykes of Coldwell Banker Warburg likens a white-glove service to the difference between standard and luxury cars, which accounts for the price difference. She says white-glove services can cost double, triple, or quadruple what a traditional mover costs.
“It’s like taking a Jaguar to the Toyota service department,” she says. “They will be conscientious, but do they understand what makes Jaguar a luxury car and what it takes to make it run? If you go to Jaguar service, they are already trained to recognize the unique qualities of the car and to take care of them.”
Related: 6 Tasks to Add to Your To-Do List Before Moving to a New State
What Do White-Glove Movers Do?
White-glove services pack up your belongings, move them, and then unpack them for you. But that’s not all.
Packing, Unpacking, and Installation
“Recently, white-glove service has expanded to include product assembly and installation,” says Mary Beth Johnson, Vice President of Business Development for Atlas Van Lines. “This could involve wall-mounting a TV or installing home exercise equipment. While traditional moving services prioritize efficiency, white-glove movers are dedicated to handling every aspect of a move with caution and detail.”
There’s more to these services than moving your belongings without any physical work on your part. White-glove moving services also handle much of the behind-the-scenes stress of a move.
Johnson says these services offer professional packing and unpacking, specialized handling and transportation of delicate or unique items, disassembly and assembly of furniture, clean-up, and customized logistics to include tracking tools so you can supervise the move.
Logistical Planning
One of the biggest stressors in hiring professional movers is waiting and wondering when your items might arrive. When you pay a premium for white-glove service, that problem is solved.
“White-glove moving services involve detailed planning and customized logistics solutions to ensure items are packed and delivered on a timeline that works with the customer’s schedule,” Johnson says. “Traditional moving services follow more standardized procedures with less flexibility for delivery customization.”
“Typically white-glove moving packages include out-of-town or out-of-the-country pickup and delivery. These services include extensive logistical and administrative support sometimes navigating customs and international delivery,” Martirena says. “We also set up utilities, Wi-Fi, etc. The goal is for clients to lose no time and have little disruption to their lives.”
Attention to Details
For Martirena’s clients, the service includes everything from setting up new locks on a home and ensuring the Wi-Fi works to stocking the client’s kitchen with some essentials “so they truly have nothing to worry about.”
“To us, it’s all about the small details,” Martirena says. “We learn about them through the home-buying process and try to personalize their moves and customize the experience.”
All this work is done by highly trained professionals, which is the other reason you might opt for a white-glove service.
“They tend to be better trained and more experienced,” broker Arlene Reed of Coldwell Banker Warburg says of these workers. “They are more knowledgeable about what they are handling and how they handle it. They know how to protect your most valuable assets. Antiques, art, and other collectibles are handled carefully and crated.”
Related: How to Choose a Moving Company
Should You Go With a White-Glove Moving Service?
Deciding whether to go with a high-end, white-glove service or a competing service is a personal decision that often comes down to your preferences and budget.
“Homeowners should consider not just the value of their possessions and risk of damage but the state of their lives at the time of the move,” Martirena says. “Some people have ample time and the desire to oversee the move themselves, which is OK, but somehow situations always arrive that aren’t anticipated. We jump in and help when that happens.”
If you aren’t willing to let a company come into your home, sort through your things, and pack them up, you won’t likely benefit from a white-glove service. Trust is involved in letting strangers have access to your home and life.
You might find you don’t need a service that will box your belongings for you if you don’t have much to move. Perhaps you’re moving to a new home or apartment a few miles away. In these instances, a white-glove service could be overkill.
“As with most things, you get what you pay for,” Reed says. “Knowing that you have responsible, well-organized people with a good reputation on the job takes much of the stress out of the move.”
If you find you can’t afford a white-glove moving service, you’ll likely settle for a company that transports your belongings but won’t unpack them.
If you are facing a particularly complicated move, a white-glove service could be perfect for you. Complicated moves involve long distances and might include navigating buildings without elevators or moving heavy and fragile items such as pianos, rare art, vehicles, and heavy equipment.
“White-glove moving services that we offer can range from $20k to as high as $200k for our typical clients,” Martirena points out.
“White-glove services are also advantageous should outside storage facilities be required, perhaps for someone down-sizing or furnishing their new property brand new,” Martirena says.
These services are also great for individuals who are relocating but can’t immediately move into their new digs during renovations or a prolonged house hunt.
"Homeowners may want the services provided by white-glove companies because they need short-term storage, and they want to avoid packing and unpacking more than is absolutely necessary.
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Ellen Sykes
“Having one moving company that packs everything up, moves some items into storage, others to a temporary living establishment, and keeps an inventory is very desirable to people who want to keep a complicated move as simple as possible,” says Sykes.
If you’re stressed about doing the work yourself and have the money, a white-glove service can save the day.
“Moving is one of the most stressful events in someone’s life,” Martirena says. “These services offer peace of mind so clients do not have to worry about anything, let alone not having easy access to their belongings when they arrive.”
Related: 11 Expert Tips for Moving Across the Country
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