Y'all.
I thought moving to Germany from Fort Campbell was rough...
If we have learned anything about PCS-ing from Germany back to the United States, it's that this move takes the cake out of the four of our army PCS-es.
Is PCS-es a word? Okay, it is now.
Moving 'backwards' is different than coming to Germany. Like way different.
But today, we hit another PCS milestone and learned some more!
Today our movers packed and loaded up household goods then hauled them away. I'm typing this now in a half empty, shell of an apartment (that echoes like crazy).
Prepping for Movers:
A week or so ago, a guy came from the moving company and did a brief walk-through in the apartment, taking notes about the larger and heavier items we'll be shipping/moving in household goods. He estimated our weight at 7,500lbs, and told us it could take one full day to pack and load (transportation scheduled us for moving on the 17th and 18th) but not to cancel or make plans for day two, just in case our moving team would require it. That was that, and he left.
We *kinda* overshot our final out day when scheduling our movers (the final out date determines when you can final out of on post housing here in Germany. No, you don't get to necessarily pick the date of clearing your house here. Yes, it's weird).
But because our requested moving (pack and load) dates were said and done and filed into the masses of army transportation paper piles, we left our moving date alone. I was honestly afraid of creating more confusion if we were to reschedule our pack and load moving dates.
So, we'll be living in a semi-empty apartment for about two weeks, starting today. It sucks, but it happens. It's happened to us before.
It's time to update some things around the house, so we set aside said things: Pots, pans, plastic dishware, tupperware, couch, rugs, 220v appliances (microwave, toaster, portable ac unit, small tv, coffee pot), mattresses in every room, blankets and linens (old sheets, blankets, towels, dishrags).
All of these things we plan donate when clearing the apartment AND plan to re-buy on the other side, anyway (thank goodness for DLA). BUT keeping these things in the house is super helpful when it comes to sticking around this place for a couple weeks before flying out. It'd kinda blow not to have a microwave or coffee maker for that long. Actually it does blow, we dealt with this issue coming here!
Because we have the above, plus our luggage that will fly with us, I went around the kitchen and hallway, marking rooms (laundry/bath) and cabinets with post-it notes that would not be packed, rearranging some things in the process. **It could be said that remembering what goes and what stays is easy enough, but that doesn't mean your movers will remember what you said NOT to pack. Plus, when the packers really get into the packing groove and you're running around herding kids and checking up on stuff, your brain starts to melt.
Another helpful thing for prepping before our movers came: Cleaning and dusting furniture and household randoms. I am a pretty stern housekeeper, but there are things that go amiss in a home. Behind the tv, above tall bookshelves, etc,. I took a few minutes to clean up these areas so that when they arrive to our new place, they won't transfer dust bunnies.
And do make sure to run your dishwasher the night before. I have had a few friends along the years that have forgot about dishes in the dishwasher that should've been packed. We solved the worry and trouble by making everyone use the cheapy plastic dishware (that's staying behind) and paper plates as of two days ago.
Time to Move:
Here in Vilseck/Graf, the army makes EVERYTHING more difficult than it needs to be. That's an understatement.
TODAY:
8:15am
I get a phone call from my movers at the main Vilseck gate. They state that they need to be signed into post.
*I do remember they needed to be signed in when our movers delivered here in 2014. BUT the moving liaison that came to do our walk-through and evaluate our HHG said the mover's has post passes now. NOT.
8:20am
My husband was in some computer hacking class. I text, telling him the mover's are at the gate, requiring him to sign them in. He digitally sighed through text, then states he's on his way.
8:27am
Husband calls me from the gate, cussing and moaning. Says the gate guards told him that moving companies now require more than just a sponsor to get on post IF they don't already have a special post pass, which our moving company knew nothing about and interesting that they work here often.
Apparently the army now requires someone with special post access to sign in moving companies. The gate guard states this is not a new thing. Funny: My husband has THEE highest top secret security clearance the army has, yet cannot sign off on mover's to enter post...!
8:35am
Husband calls back. Says someone is on their way to sign the movers in.
9:20am
Husband has since came home. Still waiting on movers to arrive. We live ONE minute's drive from the gate. He states that the issue has nothing to do with the moving company, nor us. He had called the transportation office, asking WTF, and they didn't even know what the gate guards were talking about, shrugging it off as a fluke. Okay then.
9:43am
The movers finally arrive. The party has started!
9:45- 11:45am:
So after a stressful sign in, they get to work. There are three dudes bringing up tons of packing materials. The guy that speaks the best English has a subtle mohawk and a lip piercing. Another guy is a stout, baby-faced young adult with a Korn (backwards K, of course) t-shirt on. The third dude only speaks Spanish and Italian, and is as old as my grandpa...don't know where they picked him up!
After unloading packing materials, they start packing. Each man to a room. The lead guy with a mohawk is the one writing descriptions and assessing damages (nicks in furniture, etc). This same man, with the mohawk and piercings has brought his portable speaker and is jamming out to Celine Dion as he works. Not even kidding.
I was surprised at how fast they moved in each room. Then again, we did pull out all of our dishes from the cabinets this morning, figuring it'd make it easier on whomever had to dish pack (which is the worst). And every single room was as organized as it could be; clean, everything in place.
11:45am:
The three men state they are going outside, taking a smoke break. I'm like, "whatever, cool" because I need to make lunch for the kiddies anyway.
Customs liaison lady shows up. Wants to see any household items that were used outside. Such as tires, shovels, garden tools, household tools, car parts (though we had none) to ensure they are not corrosive, dirty, and free of debris, dirt, etc,. Asks if we've added anything to claim to customs, like alcohol, etc,. Our answer was an honest "no", then she was on her way out.
12:15pm:
The three original mover dudes come upstairs, but are now accompanied by three other dudes I hadn't seen before. They arrived in a separate truck. Together, the six men continue to pack and work.
2:27pm:
I had told the movers (when they first arrived) to help themselves to bottled water in the fridge whenever they needed it. The Italian-Spanish grandpa dude that speaks some German asks for water at this time. I lead him to the fridge, thinking he missed the memo. He scouts a few cans of Coca-cola in the door, innocently grabs one without asking, pops the top, and sips. I laugh when he says "Ein coka, nine wasser." Guess he's not fond of water. I didn't offer the coke, but he deserved it all the same.
2:45pm:
A mover breaks our "boob" light in the living room, and incessantly apologizes for the damage. Continues to do so for the remainder of the day.
It's not a big deal, BUT if you've ever lived in government housing, you know how high markups are for damages.
3:04pm:
Three more dudes show up for a grand total of NINE moving guys in the house. They arrived in a completely different moving truck, for a total of three moving trucks now sitting in the parking lot to our apartment.
3:52pm:
Everything is officially packed. Most things are down stairs, next to the trucks, waiting to be moved into the wood crates that sit on 2 of the 3 trucks.
Husband has rifled through his transportation paper work that states if movers incur damages to the home, you MUST call Quality Control within 24hrs to report damages to prevent charges upon final out. Go fucking figure that the office closed for the day by this time.
NOTE: Everything closes early in this place.
Head mover fills out a damage sheet AND we get the head mover guy to sign a written statement paper we drafted, stating that the damage to the light was a mover's fault, not our own, He signs and dates it. Seriously, I wasn't mad about the light, but we don't want to pay for things we didn't break.
4:35pm:
Everything is now downstairs, being moved into the wood crates. It's like watching a game of Tetris.
We cringe, noticing that's there's no possible way that everything will fit into the number of crates that they provided. I ask what happens if it can't all fit. The head dude in charge tells us that we must check on the paperwork that not everything will fit, acknowledging that loose items will be put into a crate in the warehouse AFTER leaving our place. We have no choice but to sign it.
We watch them put the official signed seals on the crates after each is loaded.
4:55pm:
The nosey neighbor that lives below us tells us that our movers made a loud, thunderous boom that rang throughout her home, causing HER own light fixture to fall and break in her bathroom. Ironic that she walked up on my husband and I talking about our broken fixture before she shared this info with us. Hmmm.
I never heard this sonic boom happen that she spoke of, but the funny part is that our layouts are identical AND my movers were never in my bathroom, nor the rooms on either side of it. Those rooms were both "no pack" rooms. She's a fun one, with some great stories we've heard before... I hope the people replacing our family like super loud Metallica music with tap dancing children that wear cowboy boots. She won't know what she had til it's gone.
5:14pm:
Our HHG is ALL officially on the truck and all seals have been slapped on the crates! Every mover wants a handshake before we part ways. We wave goodbye to our junk, hoping to see it by Thanksgiving, at the least!
Whew. It was a tiring day. It's now 9:20 pm as I type, and I'm exhausted though I didn't personally move anything. Let me tell ya, these moving guys are super heroes! They did everything from our third floor apartment, without special lifts, dollies, or anything. They hauled boxes down the three flights of stairs like beasts; sometimes carrying triple their body weight upon their backs (with nothing but strong rope straps lassoed around their bodies as harnesses for the boxes) at one time. Even the old grandpa guy carried more than I could ever imagine down the stairs. I don't know how much they are paid, but they need a raise.
And after they left, I began dinner while everyone swept out their rooms, making way for loaner furniture coming tomorrow afternoon. All is peaceful in our house now. Thank goodness. And our stuff is headed across the Atlantic!
NOTES:
*Buy water for your movers. I have said this in my last moving post three years ago. They appreciate you and your precious HHG more when you do have something cool for them to drink!
*German movers are not like American movers. Germans bring their packed lunches to the job site. I offered to order pizza from the local off post pizza joint, like we always do while PCS-ing CONUS, but our German movers said they had already ate on their "smoke break" and declined my offer.
*Organize your home BEFORE they come. I'm glad we set aside yesterday (the day before) as a moving prep day. It made today easier.
*Ask the dumb transportation office about signing movers on to post. They DID NOT say anything about needing a special person with special post sign-in privileges to sign our movers in at our transportation brief, even though the gate guard claimed the policy changed 'six months ago'. We will be filing a complaint. After talking to a handful of people, no one has ever heard of this.
*Make sure to document any damages the movers incur to your home, if any. Telling the housing person during final walk-through that your movers broke something doesn't cut it. (SEE UPDATE for this concern, below)
*Really think about what you need to stay behind if you will be in your house for a bit after movers come and go. Aside from what I listed earlier in this post, I kept some essentials behind: A can opener, cheese grater, glass baking dish, towels, sheets, two laundry baskets, etc,. None of these add up to thousands in replacement funds, but without them, surviving would be harder. Oh, and make sure to set luggage aside if not already packed to fly. I know a few people who forgot to do this and had to go out and buy all new luggage to fly. Yikes.
*Movers in Germany will NOT pack potentially dangerous items: Gasoline, oil, liquids, anything that melts or is combustible, flammable, or hazardous. Nor will they pack anything with outside elements on them, like dirt, leaves, caked on mud. This is why customs lady wanted to see our garden tools. They will not pack live plants. They DID pack some of my expensive, air tight cooking spices I purchased here, though. I was warned that they wouldn't if they were purchased in Europe.
Now we're one more step closer to flying home! I'm super relived to have another thing done and out of the way. One less thing to stress about!
UPDATE:
7/18/2017
Since quality control was closed yesterday by the time we tried getting a hold of them to report the damage to the light, I finally got a hold of the quality control office this morning.
I explain the situation to the man, and he basically brushes me off, stating that's not what quality control is for.
THEN WHY THE HELL DOES IT SAY TO CALL QUALITY CONTROL ON OUR MOVE-OUT PACKET IF "DAMAGE TO YOUR QUARTERS" OCCURS AT THE HAND OF THE MOVERS"? I ask him this, in a polite tone.
I'm not crazy. I took a pic of the paper for y'all!
The man gets snappy with me, and tells me to call housing. I call housing. The man at housing tells me to call some other damn number. The lady that answers speaks terrible English (if you're working on an AMERICAN post, you should probably understand English). She doesn't understand what I'm trying to say, BUT she does say if mover's broke something, call quality control.
SIGH.
I explain it one more time, telling her quality control wants nothing to do with my situation. She hands the phone to a man in the office. He says "Hi, can I help you?" I retell the story, again, and he says your movers should've filed an insurance claim on the spot for the damage.
I tell him that THAT is not what the instructions on our move out packet tell us to do. It says we need a written statement from the moving company, and that we do have one along with a damages sheet he signed off on. The man laughs, puts me on hold, picks up the phone a minute later, and tells me to call DPW and see if we can go to self-help to get a new light fixture, if they don't have them, we pay for damages.
So, I call DPW, and the guy is the most informative person yet, explaining that the claim needs to be filed with transportation office. Once it is, the issue will be repaired, and basically taken out of OUR pay. Once the moving company gets the claim, they return the funds for the damage to transportation, and then transportation reimburses us for the cost. Now I've got to call transportation, again, making it my FIFTH phone call about an ugly ass light fixture AND cross my fingers that they actually listen to what I'm trying to say without telling me to call someone else, again. I'm so ready to throw in the towel and just pay for that stupid thing when we move out.
I swear. It's just another day in this disorganized installation. And yet, another day closer to being somewhere that doesn't jerk us around for an answer to the simplest of problems. If I were in the states, I would've already gone to Home Depot and bought a new one myself. This wasn't the first time we've gotten the run around by offices here on post. I'm over it. I LOVE Europe, don't get me wrong. BUT I HATE this duty station.
Well, now it's time to clean! I've already started putting the kids to work! Hopefully it's smooth sailing from here on out.
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