Doling out a full dose of TLC to the kids in families who are moving is standard operating procedure at Budd Van Lines. And that’s on any given move day because getting settled in a new home can mean high stress for kids.
Fun With Boxes
Ben Townsend, Budd’s Director of Modular Services, says that on any move day you’ll find some extra boxes conveniently loaded on the truck. The oversized boxes make wonderful makeshift forts. The crew puts them together for the kids to have fun distractions the day of the move.
Just ask any Budd customer about the success of tacks like this.
A Salt Lake City family’s 9 kids loved their move day fort so much that they all piled in and slept in it the first night in their new home.
The parents called in to say thank you and describe their children’s delight the first thing in the morning the day after the move, says Billy Page, a veteran Budd driver.
And this is just 1 example. Once Billy says they used big sheets of brown packing paper, rolled them out on the garage floor, and the kids spent hours drawing while the crew packed up the garage. The picture ended up hanging on the Budd corporate headquarters wall.
Last In First Out
It’s normal for the crew to pack the kids’ rooms last, load the contents at the back of the truck, and unload and set up the kids’ rooms first in their new house. “It looks like we just picked up their room and moved it to the new house,” Billy says.
It makes a world of difference to making kids feel at home in their new surroundings and minimizing their jitters about the move. It also makes a world of difference to their parents who are so grateful their children’s anxiety has been diminished—so grateful that when the family moves in again, the parents call in to request the same Budd crew, says Ben.
Rubber Trucks and Small Dogs
Billy also keeps a huge supply of the miniature, soft rubber truck models of Budd’s proprietary Load it Once trucks and gives them out regularly to the kids.
And as an added attraction, for many years his dog Teddy Bear, a combined Bijan and Maltese, drove with him. “The kids loved Teddy. So many of them walked him.”
Christmas Wishes
And then there’s Christmas. In addition to Budd’s participation in the
Toys for Tots program, there are the extra, personalized gestures that come with individual moves. Ben says that the drivers often decorate their trucks for Christmas. He recalls a move for an Alabama family when the 2 boys in the family fell in love with the truck. The driver invited the kids and their dad in for a ride around the block. “We blew the horn and all. They were ecstatic.”
There are also requests which Budd drivers always fulfill. Things like packing the Christmas gifts in a special place on the truck so they are at the ready when the kids awaken on Christmas morning.
Billy remembers moving a family in just 2 days before Christmas. There was pressure to have the house ready for Christmas Day. The crew helped the family set up, decorate the tree, and organize the house, so it was all systems go on Christmas morning.
Kids Feel a Part
“Moving is a big deal,” says Billy. “The more you involve the kids with the process—make them feel like they’re a part of it—the better the move goes.
“I haven’t had a bad experience in 40 years.”
In fact, Billy says that when he stays overnight in hotels, kids staying at the hotel are fascinated with the truck. He lets them peak or jump inside and take pictures.
“You never know,” he says. “These kids could grow up and someday be a Budd customer.”