Phil Duffy
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Sep 24/01) - Next time you decide to move, you may want to call in the professionals.

If you hire movers you can watch as they gracefully glide your table through the door. The same table that you had to remove the legs to fit through the door when you moved in. And you won't have to stand at your door, scratching your head in an attempt to remember how you got THAT couch through THAT door in the first place.

City Express branch manager Todd Anderson beside one of the company trucks. - Phil Duffy/NNSL photo

Todd Anderson, branch manager for City Express in Yellowknife, is one of those people who has all the right moves.

Yellowknifelife: How long have you been in the moving business?

TA: I've been in this trade for about 15 years now.

Yellowknifelife: When and where did you get your start?

TA: I started out sweeping the floor at a Mid Arctic Transportation Company (MATCO) warehouse in Edmonton.

Yellowknifelife: What other companies/businesses have you worked for?

TA: Other than a brief stint at a wholesale lumber yard and pumping gas for a little while when I was 18 years old, in Edmonton, I have worked for MATCO my whole life.

Yellowknifelife: What types of moves does your company handle?

TA: We handle all types of moves. From local, to long- distance all across Canada, to overseas as far away as Australia.

We do the estimates, the packing, the actual transportation and delivery. We handle all aspects.

Yellowknifelife: Is the majority of your work seasonal?

TA: Yes, in this business much of our work occurs during the summer, especially at the end of June, July, and August.

This is my first season in Yellowknife, and I am told to expect fairly steady work right up to December.

Yellowknifelife: When did you get to Yellowknife, and where were you before that?

TA: I've only been in Yellowknife since the first of April, and before that I was branch manager for a MATCO company in Norman Wells for three years.

Yellowknifelife: How do you like the city of Yellowknife so far?

TA: I love it here. The city is great, the people are friendly, and the work has been steady.

Yellowknifelife: Are there more people moving to, or from Yellowknife?

TA: Well, it's tough to say. Our records show that in June we had twice the weight moving out of Yellowknife as we did coming in to the city, but that doesn't necessarily mean that twice as many people were actually leaving.

Yellowknifelife: Are there a lot of on-the-job injuries in the furniture moving business?

TA: We get a fair number of injuries because of the physical aspect of moving furniture. We see foot injuries, ankle injuries, cut hands, but the majority of the injuries are to the back.

It's mostly a matter of working smart, but sometimes when you have a lot of weight to carry just a simple twisting movement can result in a back-pull.

Yellowknifelife: Does your crews get tipped well by the customers they are moving?

TA: Sometimes, yeah. About a month ago one of our crews got a hundred bucks each from a satisfied customer.

To my way of thinking it isn't really the amount that's significant. The fact that they get tipped is a good indication that they are doing a good job and keeping the clients satisfied and happy.