Episode 2 "This Ain't No Moving Company: The Difference Between Movers and Installers"

Ever heard a client say, “Can’t the movers do it?” In Episode 2 of On the Move: The Art of Installation, hosts Kelly and Caralee Caudelle dig into one of the most common misconceptions in the design industry, the idea that installation is just a fancy word for moving.

In this episode, we unpack:

• The key differences between movers and trained installers
• How poor handling can unravel an entire design project
• The skills that white glove crews bring beyond the muscle
• Real stories of installations saved (or ruined) by the right team

Whether you're furnishing a multi-million-dollar home or placing a priceless work of art, understanding this difference could save your reputation, and your sanity.

Thank you for tuning in to On the Move – The Art of Installation. If you’re as passionate about details as we are, hit “subscribe,” and join us for insights, stories, and strategy from the field. If you’re ready to work with a team that moves with purpose, professionalism, and polish. Reach out to us at www.caudelle.com or follow us on, Instagram @caudelle_installation. Check out our BLOG, The “WHITE GLOVE JOURNAL”, where you can find our show notes and updates.

Transcript

CARALEE: Hey y'all. Welcome back to On the Move, the Art of Installation, the podcast where design meets logistics with a white glove twist. I'm Carol Lee. 

KELLY: And I'm Kelly. We're back with episode two. This ain't no Moving company, and as they say in the south, if you've ever confused movers with white glove installers, bless your heart.

CARALEE: We're gonna break it down, what we do, what we don't do, but [00:01:00] most importantly, why white glove means more than just wearing white fancy gloves. So let's start with the basics. What exactly is the difference between movers and white glove installers? 

KELLY: Well, as we spoke about in the first episode.

Movers just bring things in. Their muscle, their transportation, you know, it's all about volume. Mm-hmm. It, it's getting a, something there as fast they can move on to the next one. Whereas installers have to bring a space together. Installers don't work in bulk.

We had jobs with country clubs with, 1300 chairs in it. Yes, there are similarities. An installer is different because they have.

More of an appreciation of what they're actually doing. Whether a mover's just bringing a box in an installer looks at that box as, okay, I need to get it in, get it open, get it in place, make sure it looks right. And whether it's bringing furniture or hanging [00:02:00] artwork, or helping place accessories with, with the, uh.

You know, with the designer it's more about a mental, and physical attribute to actually installing the furniture. 

CARALEE: Well, I think that you probably have a good example of this,

KELLY: so let's just use this as an example. You're a designer, you've just specified millions of dollars worth of furniture from adac. Specialty showrooms in New York and la do you just want anybody showing up and bringing it into your house? I mean, you can have something from Lauren Marsh, a glass bowl that's $12,000, or for that matter it's jahooli glass.

It's more about being comfortable with. Who you have. Bringing in stuff. Just like with designers, we try to keep our team working with the same designers 'cause they're comfortable. They get to know each other. They know how to work together. If [00:03:00] one designer likes it this way, another designer likes it the other way, it just helps now don't get me wrong, every installer can go, um.

On, on any of our clients' projects. If you're familiar with them, you know, their likes or dislikes if they're gonna take a lunch or they're not gonna take a lunch or you know, they're gonna give you work to do while they alright. While they go to lunch. 

CARALEE: No, but I think you're right.

You know, we really try to prepare for the job before we get there. And I think that that's, something that's a little more than just looking at, a packing or a loading list, 

KELLY: you said preparation and that is so key. And it starts, soon as we open the doors here at the warehouse, furniture's coming in, artwork's coming in, accessories coming in, everything gets inspected. And I'm sure there's gonna be an episode down the way that's gonna speak about this, so I'm not gonna get really deep into that.

We try to look for any red flags that might pop up, beforehand. If we get all the furniture in here and it's good. Okay. We're not boxing it back up, we're pad, wrapping it [00:04:00] accessories. We'll box back up and make sure those are safe for travel, whether it's, 30 minutes away or.

40 plus hours away, 

CARALEE: seen Atlanta roads that 30 minutes might be four hours. 

KELLY: Yeah. That 45 minutes is definitely worse than driving to Washington State, but, here in Atlanta. But, you know, it's the preparation. Of making sure our job will be done correctly. So in turn, the designer's job will end up the right way.

Mm-hmm. You know, everybody here has experienced unloading trucks, carrying things, you definitely can't have a He-Man mentality in this business. I mean, yes, you can carry a lounge chair through a door, but you don't need to. The risk of hitting a doorframe or whatever skyrockets when you're trying to do it by yourself.

And that's where I go back to movers and installers. An installer gets that lounge chair turns it on, its side as you go in the door to make sure [00:05:00] everything fits. And I don't mean to beat on movers 'cause there's great ones out there. I 100% there are, but unfortunately. They have a stigma of not really caring, it's just get it in there and get out.

But anyway, the preparation part goes the entire way through, the process, you get to the job site, okay. If there's construction on job site, which. Designers, please listen to me. 40 plus years. There is no such thing as a perfect job site, so please don't tell the installers It's perfect.

CARALEE: It's ready 

KELLY: There is always something going on. The first thing we do when we show up at a door is, Hey, we're here to install your furniture for you. If we're making a delivery straight to the client or if the designer's there, the designer is, um.

You know, waiting on us, you go in, look at the space you're delivering to, do we need to move end tables out of the way? Do we need [00:06:00] to, move the rug or lay a new rug that preparation is gonna save you so much time.

Let's say you just start bringing furniture in right off the bat. You bring in a sofa. Well, guess what? You've gotta move the existing sofa. And then you've gotta move the, end tables and unplug the lamps because that sofa's twice as big. Preparation, believe it or not, just goes all the way through the process.

And I think that's a huge part of, what white glove should be. 

CARALEE: Yeah. Not to, harp on our brothers in moving. But, I think you should really share the Buckhead installation story where, we needed to, help out some movers who had, delivered some furniture and a chapter three garage.

KELLY: And I feel so bad for 'em because they didn't realize what they were getting into. This was not with the designer, it was with a, end user, a client. And they had called us up, believe it or not, got our, name from, a couple different showrooms here [00:07:00] and told them to use us. So they said, Hey, we had movers come out and they, brought everything and then just put it in the garage.

I'm like, okay, well, you know, it kind of happens sometimes. It's okay and get out there and, oh, good heavens. It is a nightmare. I mean, there's furniture on top of furniture, legs poking in the easy for me to say, poking into cushions. There's boxes that say, fragile do not stack

it had 750 books in it. You're like, wow, okay. Don't stack on books. And then, we had, glassware in China, putting a crate that I don't think Houdini could have got out of. It was ridiculous. But the end, the story, it all got in there. It all got installed.

The client was so happy. At the end of the day. But it's frustrating because come to find out, after speaking with the client, they stressed about this for [00:08:00] 3, 4, 5 days. Trying to find somebody to do this or, do they call just another moving company?

And they said, well, we don't really do that. So and so might do that. I can only imagine how hard it is being. An end user without a designer or anything like that. But, thank you, clients, all of you in the different realms of this industry.

It is something that, needs to be, and I can relate it to, owning a home. When you go to sell your home, you have to have a real estate agent. Yes, you can do it on your own. 

CARALEE: Yeah. You don't want to, 

KELLY: but yeah. Right. The headache behind that. Just being an integral part of this industry is thrilling to me.

Mm-hmm. You know, there, there's stories there. I mean. Through these episodes. I hope you all enjoy all of the stories it's more to share experiences and maybe ways to avoid problems if we can. I want everybody [00:09:00] that's out there.

Young designers or people who are wanting to get into the business, listen to these podcasts. Please listen and share them because I'm gonna tell you. A good installer will make your life so much easier. Yeah. You're gonna struggle, you're going to work your tail off, you're gonna do all that.

But that's in your field. When you get to our field, 

CARALEE: especially my 

KELLY: We'll, take care of you. 

CARALEE: The vein of having a little more fun here with some fun scenarios we found ourselves in. Let's play a little game of either, movers or installers. I'll give you an example of something you've experienced and you can tell me.

KELLY: Of these are doing me from experience, river 

CARALEE: installer. So our first example is, the client arrives home and finds their art leaning against a wall still in the bubble wrap. What about a client walks into a fully styled home artist, place to scale bookshelves arranged pillows, fluffed.

KELLY: Well, I'm gonna have you plug here. That's a CAUDELLE and installer right there. [00:10:00] 

CARALEE: Install just a CAUDELLE. 

KELLY: All right. So I'm gonna use duct tape to attach a broken lampshade. 

CARALEE: Unfortunately a mover I would have to say. 

KELLY: Well, and unfortunately, I, I've had to, be the bear of bad news somehow that's raw.

Oh, but you know, I know we're being a little cute and cheeky and stuff, but seriously, there's a reason, that we exist as a company. We know what we're talking about. We have learned lessons over these years we're still learning. Look, times change, trends change.

Obviously colors change, matte finishes change and you have to adapt that's what I mean when I say I'm still learning. The installation part never changed. Thankfully our clients feel we're good at it.

We're really good at it. It goes back to what we keep talking with is preparation and the professionalism and just treating [00:11:00] things like they're yours. It's like a creed, you know? 

CARALEE: It's like what you're saying, not only is it decreed, but it takes teamwork and it takes experience to understand that.

It takes that teamwork and that experience, while installation doesn't change, other things can change and you've gotta, learn to grow with it. Keep learning and figuring things out. Presentation. Yes. Exactly. So I think, that's a huge skill that you have really honed very well.

Well, thank you. 

KELLY: This comes down to care, communication, and craft. Designers trust us because we speak their language. We understand scale with the composition and how to make the space complete. Without ever making them look small or taking away from their design 

CARALEE: Professionalism, like, it's that interaction with our clients or, whoever has hired us. Whether it's the direct client or the interiors or whoever. We also make sure that our crew arrives uniformed, that they are prepared, that they stay goal oriented and solution focused.[00:12:00] 

It's not just dropping it off. It is. Partnering in the final stage of this, design vision that someone has spent a lot of time and care on. Right, 

KELLY: right, exactly. 

CARALEE: The next time someone, questions you about hiring installers, please feel free to send them this episode.

KELLY: Because white GLOVE installation is a specialized trade. And we're glad to be the leader in this. If you're a designer, collector, builder, doesn't matter. You want your space finished the right way. We are here for you. 

CARALEE: Well, thank you for joining us Next week. We are talking storage wars and you know, not the fun TV show,

KELLY: I was worried 

CARALEE: what really happens when you are receiving, what can go wrong, but how to fix it too.

KELLY: Until then, keep things level and always use the right anchors.