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Canadian Association of Movers
L'Association canadienne des déménageurs
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Movers' Edge


March 2000


UNITED VAN LINES JOINS CAM

CAM is pleased to announce that all major Canadian Van Lines are now on board. At their recent board meeting, United Van Lines agreed to join CAM as a Van Line member. We extend a warm welcome to United Van Lines.

MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY

The membership directory is scheduled for delivery in the second half of April. It is intended not only for member use but also to help CAM members communicate with the consumer. It will help you sell your services.

It will contain articles of interest to both the mover and the consumer. The articles will assist the consumer in recognizing a good mover and some of the elements of a good move. Once again, we will be profiling a specific CAM member. Send us any changes that you wish before mid-March and we’ll get them into the directory.

FUEL PRICES

CAM is aware of the ongoing problem of rising fuel prices but has not heard any viable solutions. The cost of fuel is the prime topic in any industry using petroleum-based fuel. Over the last year, the world price of crude oil has gone from about $13 to $30 per barrel. This has caused fuel prices to more than double. The issue remains unresolved at this writing. If you have any news related to the resolution of this issue, advise the CAM office and we will post it to the Website.

BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU

CAM has become a member of the Better Business Bureau across Canada. David Long will meet with a designated BBB official (Paul Matthews) March 2 to iron out the details. Many of the problems that the consumer reports to the BBB are related to the consumer’s misunderstanding of the contract with the mover. CAM will work with the BBB to ensure that there are no unresolved consumer complaints against CAM members.

MEMBERSHIP

Membership has taken a decided upward turn as more former members see the value in what the Association is doing.

CANADIAN PROFESSIONAL MOVER’S COURSE

In mid-February, we recommended to all registrants that they suspend use of the Canadian Professional Mover’s Course for a two-week period. The course was posted to the Internet as a work in process with amendments and corrections to follow as they became available.

Three weeks ago, we initiated a correction process. Board members and representatives of our van-line members have been working diligently to correct the content.

Corrections have taken slightly longer than expected and we are now in the final editing process for eight of the nine chapters. These will be posted as soon as possible and you will be notified. Please advise any registrants that the correction process will be completed shortly.

BOARD MEETING

The board met in conference call on February 25. Several newsworthy items include:

  • The Better Business Bureau has focussed its efforts on its list of the top-10 offenders. Movers are on that list. It’s CAM’s objective to ensure that no member gets on the list or stays there.
     
  • CAM’s HRDC project to develop uniform job descriptions and training for the moving industry is moving forward. A working group is being formed within CAM to address the development of occupational standards. The working group must be comprised of people representing segments within our industry (dispatchers, sales professionals, warehousemen, etc.). The group will also reflect regional representation. Please contact the CAM office if you or one of your staff is interested in participating.
     
  • Pete Pedersen is working on developing a set of useful and useable statistics for CAM members. A survey of CAM members will be done to determine who would like to participate, the cost of the statistics, the reporting requirements and whether or not there are enough participants to make the process worthwhile.


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This page last modified on March 2, 2000