In the moving world there is a category of moves called “Office and Industrial” or “O & I.” “Industrial Moves” are where it isn’t a home, or office, but something a little “nastier” like a factory, or service shop of some kind (shoe repair, electrical repair etc), or in this case, a “Barber Shop!”

I say “nastier,” because industrial moves often involve “MACHINES” or “machine-like” inventory. We moved a Shoe Repair shop once and it had a surprising number of machines. One of these machines was so heavy it BROKE a four-wheel dolly! Other machines leaked oil all over the truck.

Before moving this Barber Shop, I remembered hearing a story from a friend who had moved a barber chair and said oil leaked all over the place. I asked this Barber Shop owner whether she thought the oil would leak out of her chairs. She said they do leak some, but downplayed it. During the move, the chairs leaked everywhere–all over the shop as we were wheeling them out; all over the stairs; all over the truck ramp; all over the truck cargo box floor, and all over the concrete storage unit at the destination!

The customer did not care about the oil all over the shop and stairs she was departing–and probably expected it. The storage unit was someone else’s concern, but the truck’s ramp and cargo box floor was MY CONCERN! We put pads on the ramp just as we do when it was raining, but this was oil instead of rainwater we needed to protect ourselves against slipping on. Below is a picture of how we cover the ramp with pads when it is raining:

“Putting Pads on the Ramp Keeps Workers From Slipping on a Wet Ramp”

I don’t have a picture of it, but we put old cardboard boxes on the wood of the truck cargo box to help catch the oil.

Below are pictures of the barber chairs and the leaky mess they left over the floors.

“An Oily Mess on the Floor of the Customer’s Storage Unit”

There must be a protocol to close off the barber chairs in some way so they do not leak oil when moved. Perhaps there is a plug you put in, or maybe you can do some heavy duct taping. If anyone has experience with this, or knows the correct way to move barber chairs without leaking oil, please reply in the comments below.