RELO Roundtable…a gathering place

Atlanta dealer places portable moving and storage containers here, there and everywhere

Thirty years ago or so a large international container transportation company wrestled with how to overcome the full service moving industry's reluctance to use container-on-flat-car (COFC) rail service to move household goods (HHG) on in their new dedicated double-stack intermodal rail routes.

Their challenge was to address the problems and overcome the stigma develop after several large national van lines tried using the old trailer-on-flat car (TOFC) rail service to handle the overflow of business in major metropolitan areas in the 70's.

Known as 'piggyback' transportation, this extremely slow, very inefficient type of intermodal rail service had a disappointing and expensive history of destroying loosely loaded HHG cargo. The problem was the severe 'humping' that occurred each time an extremely long or very busy freight train started and stopped at each location on it's cross country route. Furniture and personal effects were pulverized as 100 ton rail cars constantly collided into and yanked each other all along the trip.

While the railroads contended that their new dedicated short- and long-distance COFC intermodal rail service was just as safe and secure as the expensive 'air-ride' suspension systems used on specially designed moving vans, they couldn't dispel the concerns of professional movers and their customers that rail transportation and used furniture don't mix.

Then an innovative young manager at the container company documented his sales pitch on film using his family's personal video cassette camcorder. Remember … this was three decades before YouTube!

He placed a formal dining room table and two chairs in the rear of a 45' intermodal rail container in Los Angeles. Two glasses filled with red wine were place in the center of a spotless white tablecloth. The door was closed with the camera inside and shipped 2800 miles to Philadelphia by way of Chicago.

When an associate opened the doors in Philly, the video he filmed showed there wasn't a single drop of wine on the tablecloth and both chairs were still safely tucked under the table.

Last year an innovative business owner in Atlanta used somewhat the same tactic to dispel concerns that the rollback delivery system used by the GoMini's dealership brand of mobile portable storage dealerships (and several national competitors operated by full service moving and storage companies) was just as safe, timely and efficient as the automated 'level lift' hydraulic delivery mechanisms used by some well known do-to-yourself (DIY) moving and portable-on-demand storage container competitors.

In their YouTube video, Go Minis Atlanta: No Shift Load & Unload, a lightweight flat-screen computer monitor is placed in the center of a high profile barstool inside the door of what appears to be 16' portable storage unit.

The company then effectively engages the arguments of detractors and nullifies the concerns of customers worried about the increased possibility of damage using a fully hydraulic roll-back container pickup and delivery transport systems by filming the cycle of raising an lowering the unit on just under three and a half minutes. The demo is just as convincing as the VCR example shot inside the intermodal container in the '80s.  The monitor didn't move!

Then, several weeks ago, the enterprising group at GoMinis Atlanta posted a new HD video to their site that shows recent deliveries inside their market area. (HINT:Interested visitors and potential customers will know it's current because of the snow!)

What's special about this scrolling series of still shots it that it gives anyone interested in the GoMini's portable storage service hundreds of visual examples of the type of residential environments and commercial settings where the various container sizes can be deployed throughout north central Georgia.

If you're a potential customer or company concerned about the logistic hurdles involved on using DIY moving and storage container services, it doesn't take long to convince yourself of the economy and practicality of your decision once you see two or three similar surroundings or familiar community names in the nearly ten-minute long YouTube pitch.

GoMini's of Atlanta – Recent Deliveries

What's really impressive is how inexpensively this portable container storage company produced these amazingly effective advertisements by simply equipping their delivery drivers or service crews with a camera and training them on basic photography lessons. 

Much like Moishe's 'Madd Packer' video and a newer snippet from an enterprising mover who offers a 'faster way to relocate', these 'commercials' grab and holds the attention of potential customers without saying a single word!

It's no surprise that consumers contemplating a relocation increasingly visit social media networking sites to collect user feedback and company ratings and reviews on moving and storage products or services that they're considering spending their money on.

GoMini's Atlanta is a good example of a small, innovative business where everyone in the company is involved in engaging their customer is providing both sales and service support.  It appears that they've figured out how to leverage the power and appeal of social media to dangle their advertising message before the interested eyes of the general public. 

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Mobile / Portable Storage Products – RELO Roundtable Category

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