Raising rates on local moves and customers are flipping out

Man, I've been moving folks around the Tampa Bay area for 8 years now, and fuel prices are killing us, plus insurance jumped another 15% last quarter. Tried bumping my standard rate from $120 to $145 an hour for two-man crews on those piano hauls and stair jobs, and holy hell, half the calls are hang-ups or pissed-off texts. We're in Florida so everything's humidity and heat wearing out the dollies and straps faster, gotta replace 'em every season. Saw a post on r/moving where some guy got the same backlash, and someone in the Moving Professionals Facebook group suggested bundling with packing services to soften the blow. But damn, if I don't raise 'em, we're eating the costs on every U-Haul hookup. Anyone else dealing with this crap?

screw these cheapskates, i raised mine 20% last month and lost 3 clients but the ones who stayed tip better.

just explain the breakdown: fuel $45/gal basically, workers comp up, and they nod along.

i'm in the same boat, Tampa traffic alone adds 2 hours to every job.

don't apologize, just quote it and move on. the market will adjust.

lost a repeat customer over $25 more, felt like crap but bills don't pay themselves.

tampa bay here too, the humidity wrecks gear fast, had to buy new moving blankets last week.

hahaha, one lady called me a thief for charging extra on her sectional sofa wrap.

anyone got a script for when they push back on the phone?

i put up a sign on the truck: rates increased due to inflation, no exceptions. funny looks but no arguments.

proud of my crew, we hit 30 jobs last month at new rates, revenue up 18%.

watched that moving matt tiktok on pricing, he says eat the loss or raise it, no middle.

this inflation bs is screwing all of us small ops.

tampa summers mean ac in the truck or guys quit, that's why rates gotta go up.

guy in moving professionals group said offer a 'loyalty discount' to keep olds happy.

fuel costs are BS, $4.50/gal and climbing.

hahaha, had a customer try to haggle like it's a flea market.

sharkbite for moving? nah, but seriously, stick to your guns on rates.

we're all getting bent over by these costs, time to fight back.

i raised and got more calls from folks who value pros over cheap hacks.

insurance hikes are the real killer, mine doubled for liability on heavy lifts.

one client ghosted after quote, then i saw him on nextdoor begging for mover recs lol.

controversial take: fire the whiners, better clients are out there.

tampa bay real estate boom means more moves, charge what the market bears.

we hit $80k last quarter post-raise, crew's happy with bonuses.

bundle with disassembly services, upsell the rate increase.

don't cave, or you'll be broke.

these entitled homeowners think we're uber for furniture.

saw a thread on r/movers about this, consensus was raise and filter clients.

had a job where guy refused to pay the new rate mid-move, left his tv behind.

wait no, that's not right. anyway, rates up or bust.