On the blog today, we meet Shane Hardman, Managing Director of local removals company, Wunder Removals. The team at Wunder Removals have over 25 years experience and help move people in Bromley, West Wickham, Beckenham, Orpington, Biggin Hill and the surrounding areas.
We chat to Shane about working in the removals business, and how our clients can ensure that their move goes as smoothly as possible…
So Shane, how did you get into the removals business?
I was 19 years old, living in France, and I met the owner of an international removals company with depots across Europe. He was looking for English speakers to work in his depot in Lyon for the expat community. As well as the usual removals skills, I learned how to pack and crate furniture for export by air and sea. I worked there for two summer seasons and, upon my return to the UK, was hired by an international removal company with depots in the UK and France. They were very happy to have a remover on-board that could speak French with their customers!
What area do you predominantly cover?
Our HQ is in West Wickham and most of our work is based in the London Borough of Bromley. We will cover all surrounding areas as well and we’re happy to move our customers a couple of streets away or to the other side of the UK.
Where is the furthest you’ve ever had to move someone too?
With a background in international moving, you can probably imagine I’ve moved people to all 4 corners of the world. We keep things UK centric at Wunder Removals, though. Earlier this year we had a move from Hayes to Haverford West in the beautiful Welsh county of Pembrokeshire. 260 miles and 5 hours driving. We stayed in a local hotel for the evening and had a beer with our customer (after the working day was done, of course). One of our favourite moves of the year!
Top tips for a stress-free house move for our clients?
Budget permitting, ask your removal company for a pre-packing service. Professional packers will have your home packed into boxes in a day. It’s likely to take you much longer, which means living amongst boxes for longer! Having a professional packing service is also the only way that the contents of your boxes are insured against accidental damage. Insurance providers will not cover box contents that have been packed by owner. For an even more stress-free move, there’s a very helpful ‘Removal Checklist’ on our website.
How can our clients make the job easier for one of your team?
If you decide to pack your own boxes, consider that we need to be able to stack them safely for transport. We’ve seen small objects packed into cereal boxes before and, believe me, they’re not very strong! We sell a range of boxes that are double ply in thickness, meaning they can be stacked safely without being crushed. Plastic trunks (that we all use for storage) also work well.
Weirdest/most unusual item you’ve ever had to transport?!
I’ve moved an aeroplane! It was an old WWI fighter plane that had the fuel tank positioned directly above the cockpit. It must have been terrifying to fly. We shipped it from Canada to the UK. The wings had to be removed to fit it into the shipping container and we pushed it into and out of the container by hand. I’ve also moved a giant tree house that was owned by Captain Jack Sparrow. True story…
Thanks for chatting with us Shane!
