GARY WATTS REMOVALS

Gary Watts Removals has been trading continually throughout the South of England and beyond, since 1986. My brother Marcus and I grew up in a family that was heavily involved in the antique trade and in turn, we began moving antiques for various dealers from a young age. This involved collecting antique furniture from shops and auction lots from sale rooms, then delivering them to trade and private clients. Marcus too owned his own removals firm with which we have worked closely over the years and although he no longer runs his own removals, he does continue to help and advise us on a regular basis.
Quite often we would be working in two or three different counties, two or three times a week. Whilst doing so, we learned the ins and outs of the trade at the sharp end and soon became the removers of choice for many of the local dealers. This was due to our extensive knowledge of the furniture we were moving and the pride of which we took in our work. Our clients knew that they could send us on any job, large or small with the knowledge that we would be punctual and polite and take special care of their goods.
Once we were well established within the antique trade, we starting contracting to the local auction house Phillips, who then later became Bonhams. Although they no longer sell in Cornwall, they do still run busy offices in both Truro and Exeter. Twenty-five years later we still work closely with them, carrying out collections and deliveries on their behalf.
Alongside working with antiques, we carried out many years of household removals throughout the whole of the UK, as well as a number of moves to and from France. This earned us a reputation for good old-fashioned “service with a smile”, whilst providing professional removals at a reasonable price. I still adhere to something my Dad told me when I first started out in business, “Always do a little bit more than people expect, rather than a little bit less and people will always have you back” – Great advice that has always stood me in good stead.
My piano moving days started in the early nineties, helping Bromley Bland and his sons at his premises near Truro. We learned how to move pianos with Brom, upstairs, downstairs, through windows, over garage roofs and across gardens, using various means from forklift trucks to digger buckets. We were probably winging it a little more than we should have done, but that was back in the day.
One of the many things I learned from Brom and his son Nigel was that nothing was too much trouble when customers were concerned. They had many years of prestigious concert work at a number of venues including the IMS at Prussia Cove, twice a year, along with many hundreds of piano deliveries to both private and business customers.
Piano Moving takes you to some lovely places, meeting lovely people who all have one thing in common, they all love pianos. I have always said that “you have to love them to move them”.