Over the past few months, I have sat down with surveyors and operations teams from removals companies of different sizes across the UK to understand how they really get the job done.
These conversations were not formal research sessions, product demonstrations or requests for new Move Agent features. We simply asked honest questions about what slows teams down, where current systems fall short and what better removals software should actually help them achieve.
The answers revealed a wide range of frustrations, along with a growing sense that the problems the industry genuinely needs solved are still not being properly addressed.
Here is what I heard in those conversations, why I believe removals software is often solving the wrong problem, and how Move Agent is responding.
Is the customer’s self-service video survey even accurate?
There is a lot of hype around customers completing their own video surveys. In theory, it sounds faster, easier and more scalable. But in those conversations, operations teams raised a more practical question:
“Do we still need to carry out another survey to check what the customer submitted?”
That question exposes the real problem. How does the removals company know the footage is complete? What happens when important details are missing, unclear or incorrect? Does the team go back to the customer with more questions, request another video or arrange a second survey anyway?
At that point, a process designed to save time can create more back and forth, delay the quote and introduce another opportunity to lose the customer.
AI can only process what it is shown, and its output is only as reliable as the footage and context provided. Customers may easily miss difficult access, tight staircases, parking restrictions, fragile items, dismantling requirements or other practical details an experienced surveyor would identify naturally.
There is also a wider cost. Removing the surveyor can remove the first truly meaningful conversation with the customer: the moment to understand their concerns, build trust and demonstrate why the company is right for the job.
How Move Agent responds: Move Agent Surveyor Hub is designed primarily to facilitate human-guided remote surveys. The surveyor leads the conversation, asks the right questions and guides the customer through the property while the platform keeps the footage, inventory, notes and operational details connected.
Customers can still complete a self-service survey when it suits the company, the customer or the type of move. But it is an option, not the centre of the process. The aim is to give removals companies flexibility without pretending that customer-recorded footage can always replace professional judgement.
I’ve got messages everywhere
There is a lot of focus on giving customers more ways to contact a removals company. WhatsApp, Messenger, email, website forms and phone calls all make the business easier to reach.
But in those conversations, office and operations teams raised a more practical concern:
“How are we supposed to keep track of all these conversations?”
Messages sit across separate inboxes, often with no clear connection to the customer, enquiry or job. The person replying may not know what has already been discussed, what information is still missing or whether someone else has already followed up.
A particular frustration is the volume of WhatsApp messages asking only for a price, with no useful information about the move and sometimes little intention to proceed. Admin teams spend time replying, chasing basic details and trying to work out which enquiries are genuine.
Meanwhile, customers who are ready to move forward may be left waiting because the team cannot immediately see the full conversation or understand where they are in the process.
More communication channels do not automatically create better customer service. Without connected context, they can create more admin, duplicated replies and more opportunities for genuine enquiries to be missed.
How Move Agent responds: Move Agent Conversations brings supported customer communication into a shared workspace connected to the correct enquiry, customer and job. Teams can see what has already been discussed, understand what needs to happen next and continue the conversation without searching through separate inboxes.
Move Agent can also use structured enquiry flows and AI-assisted qualification to collect useful move information before the office team gets involved. The aim is not simply to add another messaging channel, but to make every conversation easier to understand, prioritise and act on.
Can AI do the boring work instead?
There is a lot of discussion about how AI could replace people across the removals process. But the conversations I have had with surveyors and operations teams were far more practical.
In those conversations, nobody was asking for less human contact. The question was simpler:
“Can AI take care of the repetitive work that gets in the way?”
Teams described the time spent chasing missing information, reorganising notes, formatting reports, following up paperwork and repeatedly updating job details across different systems.
This is the work that creates pressure without necessarily improving the customer’s experience. It takes experienced people away from the conversations, decisions and practical planning where their judgement is most valuable.
That is where AI can genuinely help a removals business. It can organise information, identify gaps, prepare records and keep routine tasks moving, while leaving the important decisions with the people who understand the customer and the move.
How Move Agent responds: Move Agent applies AI where it can reduce repetitive admin and keep information connected. It supports teams by preparing and maintaining the job context around their work, rather than trying to replace the judgement, reassurance and customer relationships that make a move successful.
I’m tired of flashy software that doesn’t work
This frustration came up when experienced operators compared the removals platforms they had used over the years.
They were not against modern software or AI. They were tired of tools being sold as though the goal should be to replace a skilled surveyor with a more impressive-looking process.
One experienced estimator and surveyor said they could complete a survey log in under five minutes and produce a quote in around two.
From their perspective, software that tries to perform the survey for them is solving the wrong problem. It can introduce extra steps, reduce control and make an already fast and confident process slower.
In my view, the surveyor is not the bottleneck.
The better question is:
“Can the software remove the administration that follows the survey?”
The right tools should protect the time surveyors spend understanding the move, asking the right questions and building trust with the customer. They should then take care of the work that follows: organising notes and media, preparing the survey record, sharing the right information with the office and crew, and keeping the job moving without repeated manual updates.
How Move Agent responds: Move Agent is designed to work around the surveyor’s existing process rather than forcing them into a new one. Surveyors remain in control of the assessment, while the platform connects the inventory, notes, media, access details and operational requirements to the wider job.
The aim is not to make experienced surveyors survey differently. It is to reduce what they need to do afterwards.
The bottom line
To me, product design is not about forcing features onto users because they look impressive or because the technology makes them possible.
It starts with understanding how people actually work, listening to the frustrations behind the process and recognising what experienced users already do well.
Only then should you decide what to build.
Good software should remove friction, reduce repetitive administration and give people more control over their work. It should not force them into a process designed to make the technology look clever.
That principle shapes how we are building Move Agent. We are designing around the expertise of surveyors and operations teams, connecting the information they need and reducing the chasing, duplication and manual work surrounding each move.
The goal is not more technology for its own sake. It is a calmer operation, a better customer experience and a team that can do its best work without having to fight the software around it.