We were lucky to catch up with Nathan GIllen recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Nathan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

While I was doing research on the moving industry prior to starting, I found many criticisms, but a repeated frustration was the addition of undisclosed extra fees and charges to the final bill. Companies charging for things like long walk fees, stair fees (per stair), equipment and fuel surcharges, and plenty more. None made aware to the customer until it came time to pay. I found this completely unacceptable, unethical, and in a legally grey area at best.

To combat this, I we have a very simple pricing structure that is posted on our website, which is something you will be hard pressed to find with another company. Any and all fees will be discussed in multiple forms of communication and must be agreed upon before finalizing the reservation. Prioritizing customer satisfaction for repeat and referral business is much more important to us than short term profits that leave a wake of destruction.

In addition to having transparent pricing, we like to try to accommodate our customers’ financial needs as much as feasible. In the past we have had customers on disability or social security that have very strict budgets. Recently we moved a woman from an assisted living facility that was having difficulty finding a moving service that wouldn’t demand payment in full at completion of the move. We were able to figure out a monthly payment plan that fit her budget and got her moved successfully. Profit and liquidity are the name of the game in small business, but that doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive from helping others.

Nathan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am originally from the Midwest where I grew up with my parents and two sisters. My journey in business started around the age of 12 as I started getting interested in earning and saving money. My Dad had the idea of me mowing ours and my grandparents’ lawns with the family mower to make some extra cash.

The following summer I used that money saved to purchase my own equipment. A few family friends agreed to let me mow their lawns and I was up to 6 lawns that my Dad drove me to in his truck each weekend. The next summer I purchased a little used Mitsubishi truck with my profits. It was pretty beat up and could only get up to 45mph in 6th gear, but now I was off and running. I placed an add in the local newspaper offering my services which was very effective in our small town. Fast forward to my senior year of high school and I was up to roughly 25 lawns and was able to save and invest a good amount of money before I headed off to college.

I moved to Arizona after college to pursue a career in music engineering. After a few years, things weren’t working out and I started looking at other career options. The passion and excitement of owning my own small business in high school had never left. I started researching labor and trade opportunities in the valley to pursue. I had considered everything from pool cleaning to floor installation. I landed on the moving industry for multiple reasons, but mainly because it was clear that there was a lacking in quality providers that cared about their customers. There wasn’t a single person I spoke with that didn’t have a horror story about a move in the past.

I purchased A to B Movers In spring of 2017. We offer intrastate residential and commercial moving services in Arizona. The first 2 years were spent stripping it down to the bones and rebuilding our reputation and quality of services. The main priorities were transparent affordable pricing, accountability and resolutions when any damage occurred. This quickly built trust in the community.

Moving is one the most stressful events for anyone regardless of the situation. We take great pride in making that process as easy as possible for our customers. We truly care about our customers and I believe that separates us from the majority of other companies in the Valley. Name brand, franchised providers seem appealing due to their immense marketing budgets and impressive infrastructure. But due to those same qualities, they have the power and resources to suppress or ignore customer claims and complaints, seeing them as a means to a better bottom line. Every move we perform is the most important job for us. In the 7 years I have been owner, we have never cancelled or no showed on a single job.

We offer very affordable rates for a high quality of service. Its our mission to change the negative reputation the moving industry currently carries.

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

In 2019 we won a bid for our first large commercial project. The job was for FF&E ( furniture, fixtures & electronics ) removal of roughly 300 hotel rooms for a hotel and casino here in the valley that was doing a massive renovation. The job was quoted for completion in 2 weeks with 10 movers on the job. This meant we would need to devote all our resources to this job alone. We wouldn’t have any cash flow for those 2 weeks until we got paid, but we had the capital to make it happen.

By the fourth day on the job we had encountered a large amount of logistics issues resulting in the hours and days we could work being restricted. Then they discovered black mold in the walls as they were demolishing the drywall in the rooms. The general contractor and resort owner immediately halted work for a week to make a game plan moving forward.

Due to the restrictions placed on us for safety precautions, the job ended up taking 6 weeks for completion, 4 weeks longer than the original date where we didn’t have a single dollar of incoming cash. By the last week on the job, I had to combine the last cash from our business account with all the money in my personal accounts to make payroll. My girlfriend even had to cover my share of the rent which really saved me.

We were finally paid for the job after a significant amount of time that put us flush, but it was touch and go for about a month. That was by far one of the most stressful times I’ve experienced in my adult life.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

To me the most effective tool a good manager can have is strong communication. It takes time, but earning the trust of the employees you manage is paramount. Breaking down barriers of the power dynamics that make employees fearful of being honest with their manager. Showing them that you are a resource to help the entire team, not just hand down orders. If I can’t get honest feedback, it makes it nearly impossible to resolve any issues occurring, thus making the employees believe you can’t actually help.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.atobmove.com/
• Instagram: atobmovers
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/atobmove/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/atobmoversaz
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AtoBMoversArizona/videos
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/a-to-b-movers-phoenix-3
• Other: https://www.bbb.org/us/az/phoenix/profile/moving-companies/a-to-b-movers-1126-1000040074