Like many others across the moving and relocation industry, we were surprised to learn today that Shyft has ceased operations. As reported by FEDEMAC, attempts to contact Shyft have been met with the following response:
“On December 5, Shyft Moving Inc. entered into an assignment for the benefit of creditors (ABC), an insolvency process under state law (Assignment), and assigned its assets to Shyft (ABC), LLC (Assignee). The Assignee will be sending notifications to creditors which will provide information on the Assignment and a website where they can file claims. In the interim, the Assignee is monetizing the assets of the business and will use the proceeds of such sales to address the claims. At this time, there is no estimate of what amounts will be available for creditors.”
Understandably, this has left a number of moving companies scrambling to provide virtual surveys and estimates to customers. Luckily, there are several options available to movers to help limit disruptions to service and continue to provide customers with options for virtual estimates.
For those moving companies looking to take on virtual estimates in-house, LiveSwitch Contact is a great alternative to Shyft. It provides options for both guided surveys (where the customer meets with an agent from a moving company over live, two-way, recorded video) and customer self-recorded surveys (where the customer records a walkthrough video on their own time).
Different from Shyft, LiveSwitch does not require the customer to download or install any software; rather, it works entirely within the web browser on any smartphone, tablet, or computer, making it simpler and more user-friendly.
LiveSwitch subscriptions are also priced on an unlimited-use basis, instead of charging a fee per use, allowing moving and relocation companies to offer virtual surveys on jobs of all shapes and sizes, without cutting into their margins.
For moving and relocation companies looking to outsource all (or some) of their virtual surveys, SurveyPlus Virtual Move Consultancy provides virtual pre-move surveys conducted by industry experts to 50+ moving companies worldwide and offers their services across all geographies and time zones, ensuring your customers are always served.
If Shyft’s sudden exit from the market is impacting your company, please reach out to me at ryan.gaus@liveswitch.com or book some time on my calendar for a demo of LiveSwitch. We can set you up with a risk-free subscription, get you up and running in less than 1 hour, and help alleviate any impact on your customers or operations.
About LiveSwitch
LiveSwitch is a leading provider of innovative communication solutions that empower individuals and businesses to connect, communicate, and collaborate seamlessly. The company’s core products include LiveSwitch Contact, a text message-to-video call and recording software, LiveSwitch Concierge, a live video chat and support platform, and LiveSwitch Video, a simple video conferencing solution. LiveSwitch also provides a developer platform, built upon WebRTC, that allows customers to build live video into groundbreaking applications of any kind. To learn more about LiveSwitch, visit LiveSwitch.com.
