CEO Spotlight: How Verified Movers CEO Eugene Tolk is Taking the Stress Out of Long-Distance Moving

The COVID-19 pandemic has made a mark on every industry, creating ripple effects that flow into others—showing that every being is connected in the most surprising of ways. According to USPS data, over 1.9 million families have moved during the pandemic, creating what Bloomberg calls “an urban shuffle,” with people leaving the city behind.

The average American moves nearly a dozen times during a lifetime. Nearly everyone who has moved, especially those experiencing a long-distance move, share their moving horror stories involving broken furniture, lost boxes, unprofessional service, delays, and worse.

Enter Verified Movers, a company founded in 2017 that grew out of the idea that moving shouldn’t be complex or stressful. Founder and CEO Eugene Tolk leveraged his long-distance moving sales experiences to create a platform that compiles customer reviews, company profiles, and expert guides and tips into an easy-to-use resource for any family or company tackling a long-distance move.

“Too many people find themselves feeling totally alone in the moving process,” said Tolk. “I started Verified Movers because I felt that there needed to be someone looking out for ‘the little guy’ that just wants a stress-free move.”

Fulfilling Needs for Those Filling Boxes

Internet reviews exist for nearly every product and service, but when he founded Verified Movers, Tolk wanted to avoid falling into the typical trap of fake reviews from unreliable sources.

“We make sure each and every review comes from a real person,” he said. “That’s how we bring authenticity to the process and give customers peace of mind that they’ve truly found a trusted long-distance moving company. When we shed light on the moving industry through our customers’ experiences, we are doing our part to improve an industry that has lived in the shadows for far too long.”

Verified Movers’ process helps reduce the risk that most people associate with a long-distance move, focusing on creating a reliable network of professional, reputable moving companies which its customers actually enjoy working with to make their moves successful and less stressful. Its vast database contains more than 6,600 companies nationwide, vetted by Verified Movers.

Tolk and his team leverage their broad experiences in the industry to ensure its customers only connect with professional, courteous companies that can deliver top-quality services on time and without stress.

Facilitating Fresh Starts

About 3 million Americans move long-distance annually, giving Verified Movers a strong customer base to create partnerships with moving companies. Verified Movers lifts the veil on cost as well: the average long-distance move costs more than $4,000.

“There’s this stigma around moving cross-country where it’s a burden and incredibly stressful,” Tolk said. “While that can be true, you are making a fresh start, and that’s a huge undertaking that should also be exciting. That’s at the heart of what Verified Movers does.”

Tolk’s team gives its customers a wide range of companies with excellent service at various price points to ensure they make the right moves for the right price. The Verified Movers team also assists its customers in making apples-to-apples comparisons when shopping for a long-distance mover, making sure they understand all the costs and estimates they receive.

“If you don’t understand what you’re reading, as a business owner or a homeowner trying to relocate, what’s the point?” Tolk said. “We want to promote transparency from top to bottom on our platform.”

As Americans move towards post-pandemic life and the possibility of work-from-home opens to employees in terms of location, Tolk and his team stand ready to make that long-distance move a positive experience for their customers by helping families and businesses partner with a company to pack, load and deliver belongings in a professional manner without the hassle.

“It all goes back to that concept of shared knowledge,” Tolk said. “Just knowing what resources you have available to you, what companies are best to work with, and where you’re going to be spending your money as you move takes out a huge amount of the stress. Only then can you truly focus on the fresh start you’re building for yourself. And that’s all we want for our customers, because it’s what we’d want for ourselves.”