A good article in Planning To Move April 1? You Still Can Under Illinois’ Stay At Home Order
Moving and relocation services is considered a "critical trade." Published on Mar 24, 2020 1:05PM CDT Logan Square, Humboldt Park, Avondale Primary category in which blog post is published Mina Bloom @mina_bloom_
Logan Square, Humboldt Park & Avondale reporter mina@blockclubchi.org
CHICAGO — Those planning to move April 1 with the help of movers shouldn’t have any problems doing so under Illinois’ stay at home order.
Moving and relocation services is considered a “critical trade,” along with janitorial work, painting and HVAC work and other services that “are necessary to maintaining the safety, sanitation, and essential operations of residences, essential activities, and essential businesses and operations,” according to Gov. JB Pritzker’s order.
The order calls for Illinois residents who don’t work at essential businesses to stay home through April 7 to stop the spread of the new coronavirus. Read the full order here.
RELATED: Here’s What’s Open And What’s Closed Under Stay At Home Order To Curb Coronavirus Outbreak
That date could be extended, though, officials have warned.
“I’m not going to tell you I know the end of April 7, that this is, in fact, the end date. We believe that that gives us time to see whether or not this social distancing and this stay at home is having the desired effect of bending the curve,” Prtizker said when announcing the order.
Anyone who leaves their home, including people who are moving and movers, is urged to practice social distancing.
Illinois had 1,285 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 12 deaths as of Tuesday afternoon. Symptoms
Coronavirus can be deadly, but the vast majority of cases have been mild. Those most at risk from the virus are people who are elderly or who have underlying health conditions.
Symptoms of coronavirus can appear two to 14 days after a person has been exposed to the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control. People with no symptoms may have the virus and spread it to others.
The virus spreads between people through coughing and sneezing, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
The most common symptoms:
Fever Cough Shortness of breath
People have also experienced body aches, nasal congestion, runny nose and sore throat, according to Harvard Medical School.
If you or someone else has difficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, become confused, cannot be roused or develop a bluish face or lips, get immediate medical attention, according to the CDC. How To Protect Yourself
The CDC only recommends those are already sick wear facemasks because they help you avoid spreading the virus.
Here’s what you can actually do to prevent getting ill:
The CDC and other officials have said people should wash their hands often, including before, during and after eating; after using the bathroom; and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing. The CDC has a guide here for how to properly wash your hands. Remember: Wash with soap and water, scrubbing your hands for at least 20 seconds. If you can’t wash your hands with soap and water, you can use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Avoid touching your face, especially your eyes, nose and mouth, with unwashed hands. Clean and disinfect objects and surfaces you touch frequently, like cellphones and light switches. Here are tips from the CDC. Stay home when you’re sick and avoid close contact with people who are sick. If you have to sneeze or cough with a tissue, throw it out immediately after using it, according to the CDC.
What To Do If You Think You’re Sick
Even if you’re not showing symptoms, the Chicago Department of Public Health recommends people coming from high-risk countries (here’s a CDC list) self-quarantine for 14 days after returning home.
If you do have symptoms of coronavirus, contact your primary doctor or a health care facility before going in. Explain your symptoms and tell them if you’ve come into close contact with anyone with coronavirus or traveled to an area where COVID-19 is widespread (here’s a CDC list) within the last 14 days, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
From there, the experts will work with your local health department to determine what to do and if you need to be tested for coronavirus, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
And, of course, if you think you’re sick with coronavirus, don’t risk exposing other people to the virus. Anyone who feels unwell has been ordered to stay home or risk getting a $500 fine.
Those with questions and concerns about coronavirus can call the Illinois Department of Public Health at 800-889-3931.
Block Club Chicago’s coronavirus coverage is free for all readers. Block Club is an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom.
Subscribe to Block Club Chicago. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods.
"Stay at home advice" is so important to everyone to beat the Coronavirus. A number of states have enacted this advice, and have told all business' but "essential business'" to close until April. Moving and Relocation support services have been deemed "essential business'" and therefore most companies in this industry remain open to assist our moving and relocating clients and customers. Consumers Relocation, our Van Line partners, and most of their local agents are open for the time being. All of us are following all the CDC guidelines, and staffing in our offices only essential employees who can not work remotely.
At Consumers Relocation, we are supporting our employees, and have all discussed and agreed on what essential employees should continue to work in the office, and which employees should work remotely. We have taken measures to keep as few employees in the office as possible to reinforce social distancing and have others working remotely.
These are unprecedented times and changes are coming quickly. Consumers Relocation takes this Coronavirus outbreak very seriously, and yet we understand our customers needs to continue with their plans to move and relocate. We remain open while taking serious steps to protect our customer's and our employee's health. Our commitment to our customers continues and we are taking all the steps necessary to march on in that regard.
We have as many of our staff working remotely as possible at this time and have increased the space between those who need to occupy the office on as limited a basis as possible. We are taking all recommended steps within our office building, a dedicated building only to Consumers Relocation, to distance employees and keep our work space clean and virus free. Our business operates entirely on the phone and electronically so visitors and customers do not come in physical contact with our employees.
All of our Van Line partners have made arrangements as well to either work off site or follow strict CDC guidelines. Their crews and drivers have specific instructions on how to carry out their jobs in customers' homes following strict guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus. We are including, with every new initiated order to our partners, suggested guidelines for cleanliness, reducing the number of people in a customer's home to a minimum, non use of any facilities in the customer's home, and use of sanitizer frequently. We also are encouraging video surveys rather than in home surveys of household goods eliminating the need for a surveyor to enter the home to provide an estimate.
We hope that all of our clients, customers, employees and van line partners stay safe during this uncertain time. We will keep everyone updated on any changes through our web page and access to our blog from our web page.
Thank you for your trust in us. Our relationships with our clients, customers and van line partners are vitally important to us and your safety is paramount .
Special instructions during the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak
During this difficult time, we are asking our van line partners on every referral we sent out and every booking notification to take these simple but special measures when serving our customers.
Instructions to our Van Line Partners
moving household goods necessitates some contact between drivers, customers and crews. This is unavoidable. Here are some suggestions:
Providing staff, crews and drivers with plenty of hand sanitizer to be used regularly in between hand washing
Minimizing the presence of crews in customers’ homes when individuals are not specifically working
Whenever possible, minimizing the use of restrooms inside customers’ homes
Using hand sanitizer in front of customers so they understand we are taking everyone’s health and safety seriously
Encourage video surveys for estimates when practical.
For 25% of Americans, telecommuting increases after a move.
With
unemployment at the lowest level in decades and wages stagnant, the
chance to telecommute is allowing U.S. workers to move to more
affordable areas, while maintaining their salaries. Of those who do move to a new metro area, 1 in 4 work remotely more frequently after relocating, according to a new survey conducted by Redfin. “The
job market is very tight and employers want to hold on to people, so
companies are much more willing now to allow workers to move,” said
Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. “Plus, technology has enabled employers to let staff work remotely in a cost-efficient and productive manner.” Of
all eligible survey respondents, more than half (51.1%) work remotely
sometimes or always after their move, compared with just 44% who worked
remotely before the move. One
way employers may be battling salary increases and supporting retention
is by offering employees the ability to work remotely instead of higher
wages, Fairweather said. For employees, the chance to work remotely
allows them to move to a more affordable place while maintaining their
salary. Survey respondents
listed varying reasons for packing up their lives. The most common
primary justification was more affordable housing (25.7%). In second
place came proximity to family/partners (21.2%), followed by retirement
(17.9%). While only a quarter of participants move for affordability, almost 60% said their ability to afford non-housing expenses and leisure activities improved after their relocation. About
1 in 7 respondents said they wouldn’t have been able to move without
the ability to work remotely. Of people who moved specifically for
affordability reasons, a slightly higher share said they couldn’t have
relocated without remote work, indicating that remote work has enabled
workers to move to areas with more affordable homes. The most common metros respondents migrated away from for affordability reasons were the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Seattle, while the most popular metros people moved to for affordability were Phoenix, Sacramento, CA and Portland, OR. In the fourth quarter of 2019, 26% of Redfin.com home searchers looked to move to another metro area, up from 25% during the same period of the prior year, according to a Redfin report
from February. That tied the all-time high for the national share of
home-searchers looking to relocate that was set in the third quarter of
2019. Phoenix, Sacramento and Las Vegas saw the highest net inflows. Among
the survey respondents, younger people saw a greater increase in remote
work after relocating than older people. Of participants 38 and
younger, 55.5% worked remotely sometimes or always after moving, up from
46.9% before moving. Of participants 39 and older, 49.2% worked
remotely sometimes or always after moving, compared with 42.7% before
moving.
Methodology
Redfin
conducted a survey in December 2019 of 272 U.S. residents who indicated
that they either moved to a new metro area within the past year or have
plans to do so within the next year. All respondents were asked about
why they moved, where they moved to and from and how remote work played
into their relocation. About 75% of people surveyed resided in Los
Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Seattle or Boston. For more information about the survey and its findings, contact press@redfin.com.
In
recent years many corporate transferees have been asked to take on a
more active role in managing their own relocations. This trend
developed with many new emerging companies that had not relocated people
in the past and with larger more established companies whose relocation
costs were steadily climbing; looking for ways to reduce this trend.
At Consumers Relocation we see a tremendous number of people coming to
us for assistance in their moves since their companies are asking them
to manage many of the pieces of this process themselves.
Lump Sum Allowances Emerge
One
of the largest trends has been the emergence of lump sum allowances for
many of the typical relocation costs. Lump sum programs group a number
of expense categories typical to relocation into on dollar allowance
which the company will provide to the transferee. Househunting trips,
temporary living expenses, miscellaneous expenses, final move expenses
and shipment of household goods are the most typical expenses reimbursed
under Lump sum programs. The most expensive of these categories is the
actual shipment of household goods, and is probably the category where a
transferee can save a considerable amount of money if done properly.
The
attractiveness of lump sum programs to companies is the reduced
administrative work in processing expense reports and audits. This
reduced time allows human resource administrators more time to work with
the relocating family in assisting them with school selection and
other special needs. The HR administrator has more time to counsel
transferees on current policy issues and to do other projects unrelated
to relocation as well. Particularly for small and mid sized companies
with understaffed HR departments, this program can provide that extra
person that is needed.
Lump sum programs also provide
more fiscal responsibility for relocation expenses on the part of the
transferee. Transferees will take more time to spend their money wisely
understanding that there is not an unlimited amount of dollars for
their relocation. It allows them to spend more money on the activities
that are the most important to them.
Lump sum programs
reduce the costs of relocation in many cases; placing an absolute
ceiling on relocation dollars. Lump sums will eliminate or drastically
reduce the number of exceptions since the transferee has the latitude to
spend dollars in activities that they formerly would have asked for as
an exception.
Streamlined budgeting is a product of
lump sum allowances. Programs eliminate the need for administrators to
budget for each activity involved in the relocation process and make
judgments on the overall program and apply factors to overall costs of
relocation.
Many companies report improved employee
satisfaction when lump sum programs are implemented. When companies
disclose the details of the lump sum calculation, employees are less
likely to challenge the costs of relocation. Generally the small
percentage of employees that are not satisfied are thought to have been
dissatisfied with the relocation process in general anyway.
Portions of Lump Sum Programs Need Active Management
Just
as the corporate travel department arranging for airfares and hotels
for the house hunting trip saves the transferee money and potential
headaches, the shipment of their household goods can create pitfalls
that are preventable through active management by experts. The
transportation business in general, whether it be travel or shipping of
household goods has its mysteries and obstacles that only knowledgeable
experts can effectively navigate through. Pricing, timing, seasonality,
delays, and a host of other variables are controllable and manageable
by companies that specialize in these areas and the transferee should be
offered their assistance in order to save money, time and improved
satisfaction. Volume pricing may also be taken advantage in these areas
as well; freeing up lump sum dollars to be spent in other categories.
When
dealing with the shipment of household goods for interstate (state to
state) moves, a variety of factors must be controlled because of the
makeup of the business. In general the household goods industry can be
considered regulated to a certain extent, however subject to market
conditions in pricing, and also subject to local organizations for
pricing and performance.
The household goods shipping
industry is made up of large van lines that are essentially banking and
dispatch organizations. Within each van line, are local agents that are
for the most part independently owned and operated, and adhere to the
guidelines of the overall van line for interstate shipments only. They
operate under their own name and guidelines for local and intrastate
(within the state) moves.
For interstate shipments,
the local agent and their employees are responsible for the estimating
of the cost of the move as well as the origin services such as packing,
crating and other services that might be provided at origin. If a
transferee is managing the move themselves, they must be careful in
choosing this local agent and the van lines involved since the
performance of local agents within the same van line may vary
dramatically both in pricing accuracy and local services provided.
Most
van lines have a variety of pricing plans available to their local
agents. The type of pricing plan whether it be actual weight and
services, guaranteed to not exceed, or fixed guarantee have applications
in differing circumstances related to the move. The choice of plan
must be done with much forethought in order to avoid a pricing plan that
is counterproductive to the individual transferee’s move.
Van
lines have several types of valuation coverage available to transferees
and its important for them to understand these fully if they are
managing their own move. Replacement valuation coverage may be
purchased by an individual transferee with a variety of deductibles and
can be expensive, but is necessary. Other valuation plans are available
that look more attractive due to price, such a depreciated value plans,
but will not adequately cover the damage of household goods in many
cases. The industry standard, of sixty cents a pound, is offered at no
charge to an individual transferee moving, but again is not adequate to
cover significant damage. Move management companies like Consumers
Relocation will offer the premium coverage, replacement valuation with
no deductible, at no charge to either the transferee, or the client
corporation.
Individual transferees managing their own
move may become confused in the event of problems in the move or in the
claims process if damage is experienced or if the shipment is delayed.
Often times the person they dealt with at origin, the sales person, is
not the person they will work with in the event of problems or claims.
This confusion can cost the transferee many dollars in productivity and
lost opportunity to recoup their loss. Experienced Move Managers are
dealing with high volumes of moves with the van lines and have set up
their own protocol of contacts to take care of the problems. Often
times “gray area” problems can arise that an individual moving will not
be able to sway in their direction. Move Managers, due to their volume
of business, can equitably resolve ”gray area’” issues.
Companies
that only work with a handful of transfers a year, may not be entirely
familiar with the tariffs and pricing used in moving. These tariffs
change periodically and some van lines file their own versions;
complicating audits even further. Move Managers offer audit assistance
with it be directly for your transferees or for the company. Mistakes
can be made and sometimes the translation of promises made by the origin
agent are not clearly communicated to the van line billing department.
A Move Manager, involved in both the origin pricing and the final
billing will quickly clear these kinds of issues up.
Companies
offering lump sum reimbursements should encourage their transferees to
obtain two to three estimates for their moves. Physical estimates are a
must and phone estimates should be discouraged. Physical estimates
create more accountability regarding pricing and the physical location
of the home. When a mover actually sees what is being moved they can
make a more accurate judgment as far as the weight of the shipment,
packing services needed, crating needed, as well as the ability of the
moving van to park close to the home; negating the need for the extra
charge for a shuttle truck. An “apples to apples” comparison of the
estimates can then be performed. A Move Manager can effectively order
three estimates from reliable movers, and provide the comparisons, and
resolving any unusual variances in weight, or services. The end result
is the transferee can make an educated selection of mover with all the
facts. Three estimates will also enable the transferee to have a better
choice of load and delivery dates during busy time periods. One mover
may not be able to accommodate the transferee’s dates, where one out of
three will most likely be able accommodate the transferee.
Clearly,
in certain relocation activities it is better for the transferee and
the company to offer some managed benefits for relocation. Shipping
household goods, real estate related activities and travel are the ones
where the company and transferee benefit from working with reliable
experts in these fields. Managing these activities will avoid the many
dollar and service pitfalls a transferee may fall into.
Consumers
Relocation Services manages household goods shipments for thousands of
families each year. Volume discounts, special valuation coverage and
personalized expert counseling one on one with each transferee is
standard in the program. Consumers Relocation can save the company and
transferee time and money on every move. Companies, large associations
and real estate companies have been relying on Consumers Relocation
since 1993 to deliver household goods move management services through
out the United States and internationally as well.
"Stay at home advice" is so important to everyone to beat the Coronavirus. A number of states have enacted this advice, and have told all business' but "essential business'" to close until April. Moving and Relocation support services have been deemed "essential business'" and therefore most companies in this industry remain open to assist our moving and relocating clients and customers. Consumers Relocation, our Van Line partners, and most of their local agents are open for the time being. All of us are following all the CDC guidelines, and staffing in our offices only essential employees who can not work remotely.
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