NJWMA Mover of the Year, 2019-20
- September 2019
Main Street Movers Cops Coveted NJWMA Mover of the Year Award
We are proud to announce we have been named Mover of the Year by the New Jersey Warehousemen & Movers Association (NJWMA).
That’s no small honor, according to Bob Russo, NJWMA executive director. Moving is intensely emotional and consistently ranked as one of the top 10 most stressful life events, topping even divorce, he said.
Tom and Karen Mantzouranis, Main Street’s co-founders, accepted the NJWMA award on behalf of the company at the Association’s 50th annual convention held in Atlantic City in late September.
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Mover of the Year is a tribute to the hard work of everyone at Main Street. From our sales, customer service and intake teams, who are the first point of contact with customers, to our moving teams, who often spend eight or more hours in our customers’ old and new homes, this win is a credit to each and every Main Street employee. It’s their hard work and their commitment to the customer experience that make this honor possible.
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About the Award
The annual award honors one company that best exemplifies the standards of excellence NJWMA fosters among its membership:
“Main Street Movers more than meets those qualifications,” said Mr. Russo. “Main Street walks the talk. I’ve been to the company’s corporate offices as well as to their warehouse and storage facility, observed their employee training and read their consumer reviews.”
- Strong adherence to a company mission that reinforces a high-caliber of operations and service
- Employee access to extensive learning and development that enables service excellence
- The professional appearance of offices, vehicles and uniformed moving teams
- Superlative consumer ratings and a high volume of consumer referrals
- Support and outreach to local community services
- Participation, promotion and recruitment in and for NJWMA.
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The fact that we were named Mover of the Year by a vote of our peers — many of whom are our competitors — makes the recognition even more meaningful to us. And when I say us, I literally mean everyone at the firm.
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An Ethical Moving Company
Ethics, customer service and consumer satisfaction are the cornerstones of Main Street’s values. Treating customers the way they deserve to be treated was the Mantzouranis’ sole inspiration and motivation for founding the company, and they’ve never lost sight of that goal.
Main Street has been a long-time member of NJWMA’s Circle of Excellence, a voluntary program that recognizes a licensed moving company’s commitment to operate beyond the minimum industry standards required by law. The program promotes and encourages participating companies to achieve the highest levels of ethics, customer service and consumer satisfaction.
It only stands to reason, then, that Main Street is no stranger to the awards’ spotlight. As evidence of its quality and attention to customers, Main Street recently received a host of awards from Bekins, including the hauling excellence award and the Bekins’ SPIRE award for overall customer satisfaction.
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In an industry that relies on the customer experience we provide to the families we serve, it’s always refreshing to see a company like Main Street receive the recognition it deserves for its outstanding efforts in this arena.
We’re proud of our association with Main Street, and I’m not at all surprised that the company won this award. They’re among the highest quality agents in our network.
I would expect that this isn’t the last time the company will be candidates for the NJWMA Mover of the Year award.
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The Main Street Family
Main Street’s service excellence is due in large part to the Mantzouranis’ compassionate leadership. The couple has been married for 36 years and professionally work well as a team.
The close bond Tom and Karen share not only has a ripple effect that sets the tone for the supportive, family feel of the company but also contributes to the caring way Main Street employees serve their customers—and the fact that Main Street customers give such high marks to the firm.
Meet Tom & Karen
Tom has been in the industry almost 40 years when he and Karen co-founded Main Street. He worked as a moving company helper when he was a teenager and followed a career path that led to operations management at some of the most well-known and respected New Jersey movers.
Karen has transferred her 30 years’ experience as an advertising executive to wide-ranging day-to-day Main Street responsibilities, including account management, client relations, strategic planning and staff supervision.
More Than Just a Moving Company
That ripple effect extends beyond the walls of Main Street’s corporate office and its warehouse and vehicles and is shown in the company’s outreach to local and national organizations.
From collecting coats and purchasing gloves and hats for the kids at Burch Charter School in Irvington, to delivering wreaths for Wreaths Across America to six New Jersey cemeteries, to providing dinners and free moves to families who have fallen on hard times, the Mantzouranis’ work tirelessly to help those in need.
Main Street also funded a Girls on the Run chapter at Burch Charter School to foster competence, confidence and character among young girls and teach them to take charge of their lives.
The Mantzouranis’ have a special connection to KCCure, a grassroots kidney cancer research foundation. They paid for marketing materials and donated one percent of all of their July household moves to help with kidney cancer research. Ms. Mantzouranis currently serves as chairwoman for KCCure’s fundraising committee.
Ms. Mantzouranis said it will continue tirelessly on its mission to help others. “Others,” she added, “extends from Main Street employees, to Main Street customers to causes and organizations and also the communities in which Main Street’s customers and employees live.”
Working with the NJWMA
The NJWMA promotes best practices, public image and honest advertising to its members, provides education, support and training for members, responds to consumer complaints about its members, and serves as the voice of the moving and storage industry In New Jersey in all matters that affect the reputation of the moving industry.
NJWMA works closely with the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General and the state’s legislators in a continued effort to rid the industry of unlicensed movers, Ms. Mantzouranis said. “It’s a wonderful resource to any consumer who is moving and needs guidance on choosing a reputable company.”
Ms. Mantzouranis has many gratitude-filled words for NJWMA, calling the Association an incredible valuable resource and the go-to whenever questions arise. “Executive Directors Tracy Brito and Bob Russo are extremely knowledgeable and generous with their time.”
