It isn't always easy to stand out in the moving industry. That's especially true in a city like New York, where demand for moving help is never-ending, and reputable movers must get creative to separate themselves from shadier operations. For Roadway Moving, Yahoo Local's pick for the best moving company in Brooklyn , standing out has always been a part of its DNA. This trait helped lead the Brooklyn mover to grow rapidly while never sacrificing quality. We spoke with Ross Sapir, the founder and CEO of Roadway Moving, to learn how he built one of the most reputable movers in New York City and beyond.
Seeking something better
When Sapir started in the moving industry, he didn't go in with a major plan to shake things up. "I started moving because I needed money," he said.
This was just after the September 11, 2001, attacks on Manhattan's World Trade Center towers, and the moving industry was busy with people moving out of the city. "There was this end-of-the-world kind of scene," Sapir said.
Sapir learned a lot during these early years, leading him to work for a moving company where he added sales experience to his repertoire. He says he quickly grew the company to double its size and was offered 50% ownership. Despite his bigger role, Sapir felt he couldn't make the changes he wanted to see in the moving industry. "I was never the boss, and I was never the one in charge, so I couldn't make any strategic decisions or culturally change things," Sapir said. These limitations led him to start his own moving company.
A cultural shift in the moving industry
When Roadway Moving started in 2008, Sapir said the moving industry didn't have a great reputation. "Back then, moving was rough, man. It was just an [expletive] industry."
Today, moving horror stories are relatively common, but it used to be worse, according to Sapir. (Though there are some key red flags to help you spot moving scams .) From the start, Sapir wanted to change and improve things, building Roadway Moving around core values that set it apart from less reputable competitors. "[W]e brought in this kind of approach from day one that we are all about service," Sapir said.
Instead of treating Roadway like a moving company, Sapir told Yahoo Local he approaches it like a part of the hospitality industry. He credits this outlook to reading Delivering Happiness , by former Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, about the importance of a strong company culture focused on employee and customer happiness.
Sapir wanted to build a company like Zappos that didn't focus too much on marketing and instead prioritized great service. "That was such a great concept," he said. "And I was like, we're going to be the same." But in the moving industry.
Happy movers, happy customers
Without much technology to start, a major part of delivering that hospitality-first approach to moving was taking care of his employees, according Sapir. "We didn't have the technology, we didn't have the tools," he said. "We just had a beautiful approach."
Sapir believed that if the company made it clear they genuinely cared about employees, those movers would be more likely to care about the customers and deliver a better overall experience. He also believes that approach worked. "[W]e did manage to bring New York a more pleasant, almost enjoyable experience in a city [where] everything [has] to be so rough."
Today, Roadway Moving combines that same level of service with technology to deliver a better experience to customers. The company employs nine full-time developers to maintain its bespoke Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, according to Sapir, and build services like real-time tracking for customers. Communication is key as well, with a designated coordinator assigned to stay in touch with customers before, during and after a move.
Roadway takes a unique approach to training, ensuring new hires aren't simply learning on the job. "We built a one-bedroom apartment inside a warehouse so we can train people," Sapir told Yahoo Local. "So instead of sending someone to train on your apartment, by the time you come to us [they're] already trained."
All that effort has paid off, leading Roadway Moving to earn an A+ rating as a Better Business Bureau (BBB) accredited company. It also has a 4.9-star rating on Google from more than 2,000 reviews, 4.6 stars on Yelp from 506 reviews, and 4.8 stars from nearly 800 reviews on Angi, all of which helped it earn our top ranking of all Brooklyn movers.
The influencer effect
As his company expands, Sapir isn't slowing down on experimenting with new ways of getting Roadway Moving's name out there. "We were the first moving company, I think, ever to collaborate with an influencer," he said. Scroll through Roadway Moving's Instagram , and you'll see collabs with high-profile influencers, including viral TikTok creator Dimitri Beauchamp and Dancing with the Stars choreographer and professional dancer Emma Slater .
All of that isn't just a gimmick, though. Sapir said you still have to provide great service or influencer collaborations will just as likely backfire as succeed. "You just have to give [those influencers] even better service," he said. "So unless you have a really good product, it's not going to work."
Today, moving influencers and gaining referrals from Instagram, TikTok and other social media celebrities are normal parts of Roadway Moving's business. The company has also moved celebs like actress and dancer Julianne Hough and former host of CBS' The Talk , Amanda Kloots . The company parlayed its celebrity experience into the sports world, too, and it became the "official moving and storage partner" of the New York Yankees in 2023 .
Ripples through the country (and moving industry)
While Roadway Moving started in New York City, it quickly expanded to new cities nationwide. Today, the company has locations in Florida, Pennsylvania, California and Connecticut. Sapir said he plans to open locations in Chicago and Dallas in the coming months, as well. "The goal is actually to cover the whole country," Sapir said.
Maintaining the same culture across locations that built Roadway Moving's reputation brings its own challenges. But Sapir is up for it. "With the right people and the right team ... there's nothing that will stop you," he said. He believes it all starts with how a company treats its employees. "That's a success factor in any business, but definitely, that's what moves me."
