Moving On; The Gentle Giant Alumni Bios – Carson Duarte

By bloGGer | June 17, 2013 | Community, Fun Times, Massachusetts Moving Company, Meet the Giants, On the Trucks, Real Estate | Comments

Shortly after graduating from Boston University in 1999, Carson Converse found herself rowing at Riverside Boat Club, living with Gentle Giant Moving Company employees, and in need of a job. Carson’s roommates encouraged her to apply to Gentle Giant, but she resisted initially because she felt her 5’5 frame was not “Giant” enough to handle the physically demanding aspects required to move furniture on GG’s level. Once her roommates successfully convinced her that her years of rowing and training made her just as strong as any taller Giant, she agreed to interview with Gentle Giant’s Director of Human Resources David Lister, who was thrilled to hire her to work on the trucks.

Carson was all smiles during her time at Gentle Giant Moving Company

Speaking to Carson now, almost 10 years out of the moving industry, she still chuckles while reminiscing about the first job she was on. After completing an extensive training beforehand, she spent a day packing a customer’s house to make sure it was ready for the big move the following day. Little did she know this particular move day would be an 18 hour ordeal that took her up to New Hampshire and back. As she rode her bike back to her home at 2 in the morning after the job, she reflected not on how physically tired she was, but how impressed she was by her Crew Chief that day, the legendary Steve Hart. One of Gentle Giant’s finest Crew Chiefs, Steve had a calm, assertive approach to running a job that showed Carson exactly what it took to take charge and complete a seemingly monumental task, all while laughing and making the crew and customer feel comfortable and engaged.

This is one of the most important lessons that Carson learned while working at GG. While anyone that knows Carson now will find this hard to believe, but she claims that when she first started, she was really shy. However, the combination of working with such charismatic people and the customer-facing nature of the job forced her out of her shell. As she felt more comfortable on the job, with coworkers, and with customers, Carson took on more responsibility at the company and became a Crew Chief.

As a Crew Chief, Carson enjoyed the experience of showing up at the job each morning to see the look on customers faces that read, “This is the ‘Giant’ I hired? How is this petite woman going to muscle my sleeper sofa up four flights of stairs?” This disbelief was soon erased after they saw the strength, hustle, and command Carson displayed as the leader of a well oiled moving machine. One valuable lesson she learned and then preached at Gentle Giant was “never judge a book by its cover” because “everyone has something to teach.”

Looking back, one of the reasons Carson chose to work for Gentle Giant at this time in her life was the flexibility the job afforded her to pursue her many interests. It has always been Gentle Giant policy to support employees, which includes allowing movers to take extended time off from work

Carson's husband, longtime Gentle Giant Manager and Trainer Noah Duarte, takes their pup Flynn out for a ride along in the truck.

whenever it is needed with the promise of a job to come back to. During her tenure, Carson took advantage of this benefit to pursue rowing and traveling, which included several road trips around the US, backpacking in Utah and Costa Rica, two trips to Baja, Mexico, Henley England, New Zealand, and Israel.

After leaving Gentle Giant, Carson attended graduate school at New England School of Art and Design to get a degree in interior design. Once she graduated, Carson went to work in hospitality design, and now focuses specifically on hotels and restaurants. She still relies on the spacial awareness she honed while working at Gentle Giant. “In my work now, it’s important for me to see in my head how furniture will fit in a spot before it is moved there. This saves a tremendous amount of time.”

Today, Carson lives with her husband and longtime Gentle Giant manager and trainer Noah Duarte in Charlemont, MA with their adorable pup Flynn.

A Moving letter from a Mover about Gentle Giant Moving Company

By bloGGer | May 28, 2013 | Community, Fun Times, Interstate Moving, Meet the Giants, On the Trucks, Real Estate | Comments

: Larry O’Toole, Gentle Giant Founder and CEO

From Larry to You:

We are all very proud of our culture here at Gentle Giant Moving Company, but sometimes as we brag about it we worry “does it really live up to what we’re saying?” We have to be humble and remember that our culture is something that is fragile and could easily be broken or lost.

Eric Jones is a good friend of mine from Andover, MA who has started a wonderful moving company, Adamantine Moving, in Iowa City, Iowa. We have worked with him on a number of interstate moves and he has always loved working with the Giants. Recently he spent two weeks working on the trucks with our movers in Somerville, MA and observing our office staff at work. After his time here he sent a wonderful letter which is heartening to read because it validates that we are succeeding in our quest to build and protect our company culture. Please enjoy Eric’s note below:

May 2013

Hi Larry,

Just wanted to write and thank you again for letting me join Gentle Giant for a week and work alongside your guys. I can’t tell you how valuable and fulfilling the experience was for me – I came out of the week tired and sore (next time I need to train for those Harvard stadium runs), but absolutely recharged and excited for the busy season.

I’ve been struggling for the last few years, in typical mid-life crisis fashion, about whether I should stick with moving or try to do something else. There’s lots I like about my job – the teamwork, the pleasure of working hard physically and getting a lot done in a single day, the excitement of adapting to challenges as they come at you, the feeling of self-sufficiency you get from laughing in the face of grimly long days and (occasionally) even longer nights.

The Giants enjoying a nice day of moving in Weston, MA

But it’s also easy for me to feel less than enthusiastic about yet another day on the trucks, moving another two bedroom house across town. ‘Is this what I was meant to do with my life?’ I sometimes think in my darker moments. ‘Moving couches through doorways and getting covered in cat hair?’ At times it feels as though I’ve traveled a long way down a railroad siding that I wasn’t even supposed to be on in the first place; the switch got flipped the wrong way back at some junction eleven years ago, and now here I am, a household mover. Not a bad thing, necessarily, just surprising and strange.

At any rate, that’s where my head’s been the last few years. I mention this just to give you a sense of what it meant for me to come and visit Gentle Giant. I told a number of people at GG, maybe you included, that our little moving business here in Iowa is like a fort in the woods, while Gentle Giant is like a mansion or a 27-story apartment building. Wouldn’t anyone who’s lived for years in a fort love to have a chance to check out a mansion?

The metaphor is apt not just because GG is so much bigger and more sophisticated than we are. We’ve built our little fort almost entirely on our own. We had no prior experience with the moving industry (I’d never even wrapped a chair when I was hired to do my first job!) and to this day we still have almost no real knowledge about how other moving companies work. So coming to spend time at Gentle Giant was a lot like coming out of the woods, out of the wilderness. It was a chance for me to learn a lot, to see what great solutions a whole bunch of smart and dedicated people can come up with to some of the same problems we’ve been trying to solve all on our own for a decade, and, most important, it was an opportunity for me to connect with a company in the industry I admire a ton. I feel a whole lot less isolated in the work I do here in Iowa because of my visit, and I wanted to tell you how grateful I am for that gift.

Gentle Giant works hard and always has a great attitude!

There was lots that impressed me about Gentle Giant. Your people are really, really smart. The systems you have are super slick – I watched Shane Thompson do five long distance estimates in the time it would have taken me to do one, and with far more accuracy and skill than I could ever hope to achieve. Your crew leaders care as much about doing a great job as any highly paid lawyer or doctor I’ve met. Your movers run, really do run, from the start of a job to the end, even when the job goes to thirteen hours. Not only that, but they actually seem to enjoy it! (Needless to say, I felt humbled in their presence).

But the thing that impressed me most about my visit was the fact that every single person I met at Gentle Giant, every crew leader, every mover, every manager, every salesperson, received me with warmth, openness, and generosity. Most of them had no idea who I was, or simply assumed I was a new hire they hadn’t yet met. Maybe more than anything else, I think that should make you proud of the community you’ve helped create. Good for you; and good for all the people who’ve worked to build a place where kindness and openness is the norm. Especially now, especially in Boston, that kind of kindness really matters.

In my opinion, Gentle Giant is a great company not just because your people are great at what they do. It’s a great company because your people are good, and I mean that in the old-fashioned moral sense. Good in the sense of being great without acting better than. Good in the sense of looking out for each other. And good in the sense of really welcoming some guy from Iowa who’s crazy enough to take a vacation from moving by doing some more moving . What a gift to be welcomed like that. Hope I can someday return the favor. Thanks again Larry.

All the best,

Eric Jones

Gentle Giant Moving Company and Their Intense Warehouse Gym

By bloGGer | May 9, 2013 | Community, DC Moving Company, Fun Times, Massachusetts Moving Company, Meet the Giants, New Hampshire Moving Company, New York Moving Company, Rhode Island Moving Company, San Francisco Moving Company, Seattle Moving Company, Virginia Moving Company | Comments

At Gentle Giant Moving Company, health and fitness is a top priority, which is why the industry leader has dedicated space in their warehouse to build a full gym for Operations and Office staff.

Employees of the Boston moving company can work out with professional trainer John Zimmer to perfect form, increase strength, and maximize endurance, which is one way Gentle Giant decreases the chance of workplace injuries and promotes healthy living on and off the job.

This fun video gives you a peak inside Gentle Giant’s training center and how this incredible gym came to be at Gentle Giant Headquarters in Boston. Enjoy!

History Lesson: Allston Piano Movers

By bloGGer | May 1, 2013 | Fun Times, Massachusetts Moving Company, On the Trucks, Piano Moving | Comments

Long before Allston Piano Movers paired up with Gentle Giant Moving Company in 2010, owner Bobby Franklin and his highly trained crews were gaining a reputation for being a fast, friendly, and reliable piano moving service provider throughout New England.

This video slideshow demonstrates the experience, teamwork, and strength it takes to execute a flawless piano move.

To Grow their DC Moving Company, Gentle Giant Recruits Athletes

By bloGGer | March 19, 2013 | Community, DC Moving Company, Fun Times, On the Trucks | Comments

gentle giant moving company recruiting rowers

Gentle Giant DC recruits rowers within the Thompson Boat Center in Washington DC

On a recent trip to the Thompson Boat Center in Washington DC, Gentle Giant Moving Company Managers and Recruiters Craig Averett, Kieffer Karim, Andrew Rozzi, and Will Allen set out to recruit athletes from two elite rowing programs, Georgetown and GW University, to work at our DC/VA area offices and other offices across the country.

Despite Gentle Giant DC growing significantly over the past few years, the biggest limit to our success in this region is our manpower. The solution is simple though. By hiring more strong, quality people, we’ll be able to book more of the leads that are coming into us, generating more revenue.

On Thursday, March 7^th, GG’s DC recruiting team met with the crew teams at the Thompson Boat Center around 8:00 AM. Most of the crews were already out on the water at this point. They met up with friend and Georgetown Varsity Women’s coach Miranda Paris, who was about to head out to practice with her team. The Men’s Novice coach, Mike Guerierri, had directed us to set up on the table located between the Georgetown and GW boat bays, a perfect location to meet with both crews.

In an effort to attract interest to our table, Gentle Giant brought a bunch of food and drinks, the first thing these athletes think about when they’ve finished practice. We also brought a bunch of GG shirts to give to anyone who left their name and email address as being interested in getting more information about working for Gentle Giant Moving Company over the summer.

One by one, each crew finished their practices and put their boats away. A little curious but tentative about approaching the table, GG decided to approach the rowers instead. We told them who we were, why we were there, and offered them some food. The offer of food after burning 1000+ calories was all it took. After making their presence known, Craig, Kieffer, Andrew and Will spoke with individuals and small groups from each team, men and women. Some came just for the food, other were curious about our Washington DC Moving Company, and a solid group of people seemed genuinely interested.

As each group came in, Will Allen introduced himself to each head coach. They all knew we were coming, but to formally build that relationship was key. The way Will sees it, if the coaches see the kind of company we are, they may be more apt to tell their athletes about the opportunity to work at Gentle Giant Moving Company. As a rower himself, Will knew how to talk the talk.

Over the course of about 3 hours, we saw over 100 athletes and collected around 70 names with emails from people who were at least curious, if not interested or very interested. We are excited to report that a handful of people submit applications online, even before we have followed up with the people who left their email addresses!

Click this link for more information about Job Opportunities at Gentle Giant!

Moving On; The Gentle Giant Alumni Bios – Jake Sweeney and Adam Benezra

By bloGGer | March 12, 2013 | Community, Fun Times, Meet the Giants, New York Moving Company, Seattle Moving Company | Comments

Of all the incredible things Giants accomplish once they move on from the moving industry, Jake Sweeney and Adam Benezra’s quest to help people successfully quit tobacco with their business, Jake’s Mint Chew, is one of the most impressive and successful of all.

Jake Sweeney (L) and Adam Benezra (R) at a Gentle Giant holiday party.

Today, Jake and Adam are hard at work constantly improving their mint chew business, but they have come a long way since their days working on the trucks at Gentle Giant.

Their story starts when Adam was working at a rival moving company in Boston during the early 90′s. After a short period on their trucks, he realized he was surrounded by ex-convicts and other untrustworthy people, which made him think, “there has got to be a better moving company in Boston with better people.”

A friend told Adam about Gentle Giant, which during that period in the early 90′s was really hitting its stride within Massachusetts because of the focus on hiring honest, hardworking college athletes looking for a challenging but rewarding work. Not long after Adam started at GG in the Spring of 1994, he met Jake, who had started working at Gentle Giant a year before under Bobby Lane, focusing on complicated international moves. Oddly enough, the two attended UMass Amherst at the same time, but didn’t know each other because Jake was busy studying at the Stockbridge School of Agriculture while Adam was busy studying finance and the mating habits of inebriated coeds.

Working together on a few moving jobs around Boston formed Jake and Adam’s friendship, but it wasn’t until they took a road trip down to New Orleans with Eddie Crean, a Giant enjoying his first summer over from Ireland, that their relationship really strengthened.

They remained close even after they left Gentle Giant to start their own businesses. Jake followed in the family greenhouse business and before long was the go to wholesaler of greenhouse products on the North Shore. By 2009, Jake oversaw several greenhouses, including a 10,000 sq ft flagship greenhouse in Beverly. However, tragedy struck in the winter of 2009/10 when an ice storm took out this main greenhouse, which put a nail in the coffin of a business already hit hard by the financial woes the country was suffering from during that time.

Jake's Mint Chew

Down, but not out, Jake decided to depart from the greenhouse business and focus on a venture he had begun thinking about, Jake’s Mint Chew, which was a mint snuff designed to help people addicted to harmful tobacco snuff.

Given his background with the greenhouse, Jake was comfortable focusing on customer service, phone orders, making new flavors, and hiring, but he understood that he needed help with other areas. Realizing this, he called on Adam, his old friend from Gentle Giant, to help him with the website, shipping, payroll, and other financial responsibilities.

The partners recall their first “business meeting” back in 2009 at a local Beverly bar called Fibber McGee’s in which Jake carefully laid out the plan for his mint chew business. Adam instantly saw the product’s potential as a healthy, safe option for people looking to kick their tobacco addiction.

Because the pair had worked together so well during their time at Gentle Giant, they already knew how to motivate and compliment each other on the job. Now embarking on their third year working together at Jake’s Mint Chew, the company has grown exponentially, and expect even further growth now that they are USDA Organic Certified and showing up in more and more Major League Baseball clubhouses.

Jake and Adam look back very fondly at their time moving at Gentle Giant, and still keep in touch with all of the great people they worked with during the early and mid 90′s, some of whom have made a career at GG.

For more information on Jake’s Mint Chew, visit their website at www.jakesmintchew.com and tell them that Gentle Giant sent you!

Moving On; The Gentle Giant Alumni Bios – Blake Evitt

By bloGGer | February 13, 2013 | Community, Fun Times, Massachusetts Moving Company, Meet the Giants, On the Trucks | Comments

Growing up in Somerville, Blake Evitt was familiar with Gentle Giant Moving Company’s famous purple trucks long before he ever picked up his first sleeper sofa on the job. It wasn’t until he was home from Davidson College in North Carolina during Christmas break his sophomore year that he applied to start working at the Giant. “I thought that it would be a good way to stay fit for the upcoming cross-country season,” Evitt explains, “As well as a way to supplement my summer training.”

Evitt was initially intrigued by the fact that Gentle Giant was very different from the typical 9-5 jobs that most of his fellow classmates were applying for. “The idea of running stairs all day, seeing beautiful houses around the city, and being part of a company with a great vibe around it was very appealing to me,” Blake recalls. “The pay was also pretty good and the possibility to earn lots of overtime and tips was a big incentive as a student.”

Before long, Blake was immersed in Gentle Giant’s company culture and enjoying the camaraderie that developed with his colleagues on the trucks. Working in a different place every day was also its own perk. “I got to know Boston in a way that I never expected,” Blake says. “It still feels really good when I walk down the street and spot a house that I helped to move. It was also really cool to see how other people lived and to help them transition to new living arrangements as smoothly as possible.”

On the job, Gentle Giant expects a lot from employees both mentally and physically, so having an athletic background can really help assimilate new hires to the demanding daily activities moving entails. Blake was no exception, for he was a lifelong runner and even ran Division I cross-country and track (800m, 1500m, 3k steeplechase) throughout his four years at Davidson. While this prepared Blake, he recalls that his first summer “was long, hard, and hot, but also a lot of fun. I got a lot of hours, made a lot of tips, and really enjoyed the work GG provided. At first, I did feel like the ‘runt’ of the company, because as a distance runner I was definitely one of the smaller guys on the trucks. By the end of the summer I was a lot more confident with the larger pieces though. I was also about 15 lbs heavier, much to the chagrin of my cross country coach!”

When asked about the toughest piece he ever moved, Blake cites a big oak cabinet in a Boston walk-up that he and his crew had to wrangle down a really tight set of staircases and hallways that “will remain seared into my memory.” Blake adds that the crew “tried so many manipulations of that thing before we finally got it down that I was really tempted to just leave it stuck upside down halfway through! Luckily, the crew chief kept going and we eventually got it down without leaving a single mark on the walls!”

Blake parkoured his way through Thailand during a recent trip.

As a former Giant, Blake often calls on the practical skills he learned on the trucks. “I learned a ton about packing things that I use all the time now; cars, trucks, closets, boxes, storage rooms.” Additionally, Blake learned a lot of valuable life lessons too, including one that propelled him into his new career. “Don’t be afraid to make the jump into the unknown. A lot of times you want to wait until the situation is perfect before you commit and that rarely happens. Things end up working out, usually in ways that you didn’t expect or know about when you ‘jumped’, so you really need to just go for it.”

This makes sense coming from someone helping to lead the launch of Parkour Generations Americas, a subsidiary company of Parkour Generations (based in London) that teaches parkour around the world. For those unfamiliar, parkour is the sport of moving along a route, typically in a city, trying to get around or through various obstacles in the quickest, most efficient manner possible, as by jumping, climbing, or running. “I’m heading up our operations on the East Coast and basing things out of my hometown- right here in Somerville. Our goal is to eventually offer top-quality parkour instruction and performances throughout North and South America and to help spread the practice and values of the sport.”

Whether it’s for parkour, pleasure, family, pure curiosity, or any combination of those things, Blake travels extensively. “I love going new places and exploring new cultures. I’ve been blogging about my parkour adventures for the past 2+ years, but when I’m not bouncing around the globe or off buildings I really enjoy reading, watching films, playing any number of sports, and eating new foods.”

Blake was born and bred in Somerville, but has “been bouncing around the world for the past few years. He returned home in September ’12 to help lead the launch of Parkour Generations Americas and is “pretty happy to be back in my home turf.”

Are you interested in learning how to parkour safely and effectively? Blake and Parkour Generations Americas are offering classes and workshops. Visit their website here: http://pkgamericas.com/timetableboston

Moving On; The Gentle Giant Alumni Bios – Louis Insalaco

By bloGGer | January 22, 2013 | Fun Times, Massachusetts Moving Company, Meet the Giants, On the Trucks, Real Estate | Comments

Gentle Giant Moving Company started as a small group of strong leaders with the goal of bringing excellent customer service back to the moving industry. By setting forth an example of honesty, enthusiasm, respect, and teamwork, new members of the Gentle Giant team quickly became strong leaders themselves. 33 years later, this tradition remains at the core of the company.

The leadership skills taught on the trucks at Gentle Giant are learned and tested by fire day in and day out on the job to prepare our leaders for demanding customers, demanding crewmembers, demanding (physically and mentally) jobs and access, finances, and accountability to the company to get it all done correctly. These are skills the Giants count on throughout their entire careers, in or out of the moving industry.

Lou Insalaco; Gentle Giant 2004-2010

Lou Insalaco is an impressive young man that has benefited from this leadership program in his pursuit towards finishing medical school and becoming a Head and Neck Surgeon. Lou was still in high school back in 2004 when he started at Gentle Giant after encouragement from his Uncle Pat, a longtime leader at Gentle Giant.

On his very first day, Lou trained with some of the best leaders in the company, Senior Crew Chief and Gentle Giant Hall of Famer Jon Powell and quick witted powerhouse Blake McCauley. Despite completing Gentle Giant’s in-class training before he beginning work on the trucks, nothing could have prepared him for the physically and mentally exhausting aspects of the actual job.

“Being young and the new guy on the job meant I had to really prove myself to Jon and Blake”, explains Lou. “On the 3rd floor walk-up, I was the middle man on the stairs. The job was moving so fast I didn’t have the time to think about how difficult it was, I just had to keep up the fast pace set by the Crew Chief. By the time the on-load was finished, it was already 3pm, and I didn’t even realize that we’d worked right through lunch!”

Being with such an experienced crew gave Lou a lot of insight into the subtleties of a successful move, including communication with the customer, taking the time to work with a less experienced crewmember, and setting a positive, accelerated tone for the move. From this day forward, Lou modeled his leadership style after Jon Powell.

Lou’s enthusiasm and hustle quickly began making an enormous impression on every customer and crewmember he worked with at Gentle Giant, which led to him becoming one of the youngest Crew Chief’s in the history of the company. While it was a lot more responsibility to take on, Lou had been mentored by the best, and was up for the task.

Lou relished the challenge of running jobs, and quickly advanced from being the Crew Chief on small, one truck moves to commanding large crews on several day jobs requiring multiple trucks.

One job Lou recalls as being exceptionally challenging was supposed to be a straightforward one, but upon arriving at the job, Lou immediately identified that he was going to need a lot more manpower. “This job could have turned into a real nightmare,” Lou recalls. “But I knew how to handle the situation.”

By referencing the leadership skills he learned from his Giant mentors, Lou was able to communicate effectively, calmly and swiftly alleviate the problems that arose, and become a true leader himself. Lou contacted Dispatch to get more Giants sent out to the job, as well as the Swift Lift to help with the horrific access in the building. By handling the situation like a pro, the job got done, and the customer was thrilled. Today, Lou is often complimented on his grace under fire by the doctors he works with. Lou explains, “Entering into medical school, a lot of my peers simply did not have as much experience performing in high pressure situations where each second counts, people are depending on you, and you have to think quickly on your feet.”

Lou has counted on his experiences at Gentle Giant to help him succeed in college, medical school, and now in the hospital. During residency interviews, Lou discussed in detail how he overcame all the challenges he faced while on the job as a leader at Gentle Giant. “What it boils down to,” Lou confides, “is that to be a good doctor, you have to make good decisions. I learned the importance of making good decisions running jobs for Gentle Giant.”

Gentle Giant wishes Lou the absolute best in his upcoming graduation from medical school, and all of his future endeavors. We are excited to witness his continued growth into a respected leader within the medical community.

Meet the Giants – Braintree Branch Manager Matt McCulley

By bloGGer | December 12, 2012 | Community, Fun Times, Massachusetts Moving Company, Meet the Giants | Comments

Gentle Giant Moving Company customers always comment on how naturally their moving crew worked as a team, hustled throughout the job, and displayed a level of enthusiasm not often associated with moving heavy pieces of furniture. They have even said that the crews at Gentle Giant approach each moving job like athletes approach their sport.

Matt McCulley blasts through a pack of defenders on his way to a local move.

This is no surprise for us to hear at Gentle Giant, seeing as though we have focused our recruiting efforts on hiring athletes for over 30 years. Current Branch Manager Matt McCulley is a great example of an athlete seamlessly transitioning from hustling on the field to hustling on the move.

Matt started his career at Gentle Giant after a couple of his college rugby teammates had started working in GG’s Framingham, MA office, and convinced him to join them. “I’ve always enjoyed physical activity,” Matt explains. “I played many organized sports both growing up and in college, so I was ready to go hard every day at Gentle Giant.”

From the beginning, Matt enjoyed many aspects of life on the trucks at GG, including the people he worked with, and the team environment. “There is also a lot of freedom in my job, and I am in a new place almost every day,” adds Matt.

When asked about his first year, Matt recalls, “It was pretty crazy, but I felt like I fit in well, and quickly moved up into more responsible roles. I was working in the Framingham office, so I didn’t see Somerville (location of Gentle Giant’s extremely busy Headquarters) too often, but I can remember having to do a 4^th floor walk-up to a 5^th floor walk-up with Moe Harris and Mike Mancini, and being the new guy I was stuck in the middle sprinting up and down the stairs. I felt like that was my initiation into being a Giant.”

After Matt was offered the Branch Manager position in 2003, he realized Gentle Giant could provide a great career long term. “I enjoy my work (most of the time), and I think that most people can’t say that. Plus there are so many benefits to working at Gentle Giant besides all the ones directly paid for by the company (Health, Dental, 401k), and you can’t put a price on some of the Scores and tips we get.”

Since becoming a branch manager, Matt has “had a great deal of management training that would help me excel in a management role in any other field I wanted to explore.” Matt is also proud of the incredible “amount of time and energy Gentle Giant puts into trying to keep all of our employees happy and all the benefits that most moving companies would never dream of providing.”

This commitment to employees has helped the company grow tremendously, because by caring about the employees, they in turn care about the customers. “I always recommend GG, especially to my rugby teammates who are looking for work. In fact, I could list a good amount of guys who I brought to GG that have succeeded and some are in important roles here now.”

When talking about Gentle Giant to friends, one question that always comes up is, “What is the most difficult thing you’ve had to move?” While the answer changes every so often, Matt responds with “There have been many, and this might only be because it was within the past year, but we moved a cast iron tub which weighed nearly 800lbs up a narrow staircase and down a narrow hall into a bathroom renovation. The tub was so heavy that the people delivering it broke 2 of them before the one we came to move. We had a carpenter on site build a brace for one end, and we strapped a piano block to one side. We then strapped a dolly to the piano block. We had the floors padded and laid Masonite down. We brought the ramp from the truck inside the house and set it up on the stairs. We had 3 guys pulling on straps to roll it up the ramp, and I pushed from below. It took us about 2.5 hrs to move it.”

Please note that not every day is sidelined by 800 lbs cast iron tubs. Being on the front line during move day often gives you first dibs on items the customer no longer wants. In moving terms, these are “Scored” items. Thinking about all the great Scores throughout the years always brings a smile to Matt’s face. His favorite? “It’s hard to decide between my 50 inch plasma TV and the $3500 massage chair.”

Outside of Gentle Giant, Matt enjoys playing basketball in two leagues throughout the year, and he still plays rugby occasionally. ”Other than that I am now a family man, so the rest of my time is spent with my wife and daughter in our new house. After many years in Framingham, my wife and I have recently moved to Canton with my daughter and another baby on the way in April 2013. We also have a big dog named Porter.”

With a New Branch Office in New York City, Gentle Giant Moving Company Continues Nationwide Expansion

By bloGGer | November 29, 2012 | Community, Fun Times, Interstate Moving, New York Moving Company, On the Trucks, Real Estate | Comments

Gentle Giant Moving Company, an award winning moving and storage company based in Massachusetts with locations in eight additional states across the country, today announced that it has established a central hub for its New York City operations with a new warehouse in Long Island City. Gentle Giant has been serving customers in New York with crews from its Westchester County location since 2006. By opening a New York City office strategically located near key residential neighborhoods, Gentle Giant will be able to bring its high quality moving services to an even larger group of people looking to hire customer service focused professionals.

Local operations and aspects of sales and marketing will be handled by recently-appointed Regional Manager Josh Charry, a highly trained and experienced Giant who has shown exceptional leadership and management skills throughout his years with the company. In the coming months Gentle Giant expects its roster of employees in the region to double so that it can handle the increase in demand that occurs in the beginning of the spring and continues throughout the summer. Since expanding operations outside of New England in 2005, Gentle Giant has continued to grow nationwide, opening an average of one regional office every year, and earning more than a quarter of its revenue from outside the New England market.

“Our two main priorities at Gentle Giant are creating customers for life across the country and providing a superb work environment for our Giants,” said Gentle Giant Founder and CEO Larry O’Toole. “Our New York City location is an exciting opportunity for the company to show a whole new community what makes us special and to enable the company to keep thriving for years to come.”

Approaching its 32nd anniversary, Gentle Giant Moving Company states that pursuing a regional growth strategy by establishing itself in major US cities like New York enables the company to develop its unique interstate moving business line. Unlike the vast majority of interstate movers, Gentle Giant utilizes its own employees exclusively, instead of contracting with other parties for packing, driving, and unloading. Each office location, of which Gentle Giant now has 19 in nine different states, provides a channel for promoting and fulfilling interstate moving services.

By broadening its geographic reach, Gentle Giant hopes to help support their Interstate Moving Operations and continue weathering challenging housing market conditions in New England, where the company has a large share of the market.

About Gentle Giant Moving Company, Inc.
Founded in 1980, Massachusetts Moving Company Gentle Giant is a premier residential and commercial mover, offering local moving, interstate moving, and international moving service. Named 2009 Independent Mover of the Year by the American Moving and Storage Association, one of the Boston Business Journal’s Best Places to Work in Massachusetts in 2004, 2005, and 2006, winner of the 2006 International Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics by the Better Business Bureau, winner of the Better Business Bureau’s Torch Award for Excellence in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2008, nine-time winner of Boston Magazine’s “Best of Boston,” six-time winner of The Improper Bostonian’s “Boston’s Best Moving Company” award, twelve-time winner of the Angie’s List “Super Service” award, and 2007 Top Small Workplaces award from the Wall Street Journal and Winning Workplaces, the company’s services include craning, piano moving, complete packing services and unpacking services, and other related services. Gentle Giant offers storage facilities and dispatches crews from its 19 offices in California, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington, DC and Washington State. For more information, please call (617) 661-3333 or visit www.gentlegiant.com.