White Glove Delivery in California
Two-man crews, inside placement, unpacking and debris removal. Our white glove delivery team moves medical equipment, trade show freight, retail fixtures, lab instruments and high-value electronics across California from four branch offices.
- Dispatch staffed 24/7/365
- STAT inside 90 minutes
- Debris removal included
What white glove delivery actually includes
The term gets used loosely. Plenty of carriers sell white glove and deliver a single driver who leaves the pallet on the loading dock.
With Marvin, white glove delivery means a two-person crew that takes the item inside to the room you choose, unpacks it, does basic assembly and takes the packaging away. The transit is the easy part. The difference is everything that happens after the truck doors open.
Dispatch is staffed 24/7/365, STAT jobs are picked up and delivered inside 90 minutes, and cargo is insured to $100,000. Here is the difference in plain terms.
Items our white glove delivery crews handle every week
If it is heavy, fragile, expensive or awkward, and it has to end up inside a building rather than at the door, it is white glove work.
Medical and lab equipment
Imaging units, analysers, surgical equipment and cleanroom instruments placed into the room and uncrated. Clinical and hospital sites often need a certificate of insurance and a scheduled dock slot, both of which we arrange in advance.
Medical device and surgical supplyTrade show and exhibition
Stands, displays and crates delivered to show floor on a marshalling deadline, and recovered afterwards.
- Marshalling
- Recovery
Retail fixtures and fit-out
Shelving, display units and store fittings delivered overnight so the floor is trading in the morning.
- Overnight
- Installs
Technology and electronics
Server racks, AV systems, kiosks and high-value hardware into offices and data centres.
- Server racks
- AV
Furniture and appliances
Office and commercial furniture, appliances and casegoods, assembled and packaging taken away.
- Assembly
- Debris out
High-value and fragile
Art, instruments and one-off items where the packaging matters as much as the transit.
- Art
- Instruments
- One-offs
From the truck to the room, planned at booking
Most failed white glove deliveries are access failures, not transit failures. We ask about all of it at booking rather than discovering it on the day.
The things that go wrong
The truck arrives and the item will not fit the freight elevator, the dock is booked, the loading bay has a 12 ft height limit, or the building requires a certificate of insurance nobody requested. Any one of those turns a white glove delivery into a wasted trip.
Certificates of insurance naming the building or venue as additional insured are issued on request, normally the same day. Building management at most California convention centres and commercial towers will ask for one.
What we check before the truck is loaded
- Item size and weightcrated dimensions against the freight elevator and doorways.
- Dock or street loadingdock slot, height limit, or street loading rules downtown.
- Floor and routewhich floor, stairs, elevator windows and any long carries.
- Building paperworkcertificate of insurance, site contacts and access badges.
The right vehicle for your white glove delivery
Crated equipment, palletised fixtures or a single fragile piece: we match the vehicle to the load and the building, and we tell you when quoting if a city centre needs the smaller van.
Cargo Van
Smaller placements, single items and tight streets. Ideal for downtown buildings with small loading bays, street-only loading or a freight elevator that will not take a pallet.
Liftgate Box Truck (16–26 ft)
Crated equipment and palletised fixtures, liftgate standard. Blankets, straps, dollies and floor protection travel on every white glove delivery, so the crew arrives ready for the building.
White glove delivery across California
Crews work out of Fremont, South San Francisco and Inglewood, so a two-man job in either half of the state is a local dispatch rather than a long deadhead with a fuel surcharge attached.
White glove delivery San Francisco
Downtown high-rise access, freight elevator booking, tight-street loading in SoMa and the Financial District.
White glove delivery Richmond
Richmond, El Cerrito, Albany and the north East Bay, worked from Fremont across the Richmond bridge.
White glove delivery Oakland
Oakland, Berkeley, Emeryville and Alameda. Warehouse to office and retail fixture installs.
White glove delivery San Jose
Silicon Valley campuses, lab and cleanroom equipment, data centre hardware placement.
White glove delivery Los Angeles
LA basin and South Bay from our Inglewood branch. Studio, retail and medical equipment work.
White glove delivery San Diego
San Diego county, biotech and medical device installs into labs and clinics.
Outside those six cities, white glove delivery runs from the nearest branch across the rest of California, including Sacramento, Fresno, Orange County and the Inland Empire. Allow a little more lead time for those jobs so the crew and vehicle can be positioned, and ask dispatch for a firm arrival window when you book your white glove delivery.
Booked against the marshalling window, not a delivery window
Show freight runs to a marshalling window. Miss it and the stand sits in a yard while the floor builds around the empty space. We book against the show schedule and hold the freight if the target date moves, which it usually does.
Booked to the show schedule
We take the marshalling yard times and target floor date from the show manual, not a guess.
Held if the date moves
When the target date changes, your freight waits with us rather than missing its slot.
Recovered after the show
We handle recovery after the show as well as delivery to it, back to your warehouse or the next venue.
- Moscone Center, San Francisco
- Los Angeles Convention Center
- San Diego Convention Center
- Anaheim Convention Center
- Santa Clara Convention Center
- Long Beach Convention Center
- Sacramento SAFE Credit Union Convention Center
- Pasadena Convention Center
Exhibitors usually call us when a stand has to move from a warehouse to the show floor, then back again a week later. The same two-person crew can handle both legs, so the people who packed your crates are the ones who unpack them.
Insurance that fits work inside your building
General liability matters more than usual on white glove delivery, because the crew is inside your building or your customer’s building. If a wall gets scuffed getting a crate up a stairwell, that is a general liability claim rather than a cargo claim.
What is their general liability limit, and will they name the building as additional insured? We will, normally the same day.
Five questions to ask before booking white glove delivery
These separate a real white glove delivery service from a driver with a hand truck. Here is how we answer them.
Two, as standard. Heavy or awkward items are never left to one driver and a hand truck.
Yes. Inside placement in the room you choose, using the freight elevator or stair carries as needed.
No. Debris and packaging removal is included. If you need the packaging kept for a warranty or a return, we leave it stacked where you say.
Yes, naming the building or venue as additional insured, normally the same day.
You get a signature plus photo proof of placement in the room, not just a scan at the dock.
Send us the item size and the building address. We will check the access and tell you before anything is booked.
Check my deliveryHow a white glove delivery works, in 4 steps
One call to book. We handle the building, the crew and the clean-up.
- 1
Tell dispatch about the item
What the item is, where it is going, which floor, and whether there is a dock or a freight elevator. You get a price on the call.
- 2
We check access
We flag any access problem before the truck is loaded, book the dock or elevator and send the certificate of insurance.
- 3
Two-person crew delivers
The crew carries the item inside, uses freight elevators or stairs as needed and places it where you want it.
- 4
Unpacked and proofed
Basic assembly, debris and packaging removed, and a signature plus photo proof of placement sent to you.
What sets the price of a white glove delivery
You get a price on the call, before anything is booked, and it does not change once the crew is on the way. Four things drive it.
- Size, weight and cratingA single boxed item costs less than a crated analyser or a pallet of fixtures that needs a liftgate truck.
- Distance and vehicleMiles between pickup and delivery, and whether the job needs a cargo van or a liftgate box truck.
- Access at the buildingStairs, long carries, freight elevator windows and dock times all affect crew time.
- Speed and timingSTAT, same day or scheduled, plus any after-hours or overnight install window.
What to have ready when you book
- What the item iswith the crated or boxed size and approximate weight.
- Pickup and delivery addressesand which floor or room it is going to.
- Dock or freight elevatorwhether there is one, its size, and any booking rules.
- Building requirementscertificate of insurance, site contact and allowed delivery hours.
- Unpacking and assemblywhat you want unpacked, assembled or left boxed.
White glove delivery FAQs
Straight answers before you book. Dispatch picks up 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
Call +1 (323) 673-7397What is the difference between white glove and standard delivery?
Standard delivery is one driver leaving the item at the kerb or the dock. White glove delivery is a two-man crew taking it inside to the room you specify, unpacking it, doing basic assembly, and removing the packaging. The transit is the easy part. The difference is everything that happens after the truck doors open.
Do your crews go inside the building?
Yes, that is the point of the service. Crews carry items inside, use freight elevators or stairs as needed, and place the item where you want it. We carry $1,000,000 general liability because the crew is working inside your premises, and we will name the building as additional insured on request.
Do you deliver white glove in San Francisco and the Bay Area?
Yes, worked from Fremont and South San Francisco. That covers San Francisco, the Peninsula, Oakland, Berkeley, Richmond, San Jose and the wider Bay Area. Downtown San Francisco jobs are booked around freight elevator windows and street loading restrictions, which we handle at booking rather than on the day.
Can you handle trade show and convention freight?
Yes. Show freight is booked against the marshalling window rather than a normal delivery window. We cover Moscone, the Los Angeles, San Diego, Anaheim, Santa Clara, Long Beach, Sacramento and Pasadena convention centres, and we handle recovery after the show as well as delivery to it.
What weight and size can you take?
Box trucks run 16 to 26 ft with liftgates and carry up to 10,000 lbs, which covers crated equipment and palletised fixtures. Cargo vans handle up to 2,000 lbs. In dense city centres we will tell you when quoting if the street or dock needs a smaller vehicle.
Do you deliver medical and lab equipment?
Regularly. Imaging units, analysers, surgical equipment and cleanroom instruments, placed into the room and uncrated. Clinical and hospital sites often need a certificate of insurance and a scheduled dock slot, both of which we arrange in advance.
How fast can you do it?
STAT is 90 minutes for collection and delivery together. Same-day white glove delivery is booked and moving the same working day on a dedicated vehicle, meaning your item travels alone rather than waiting for a shared load to fill. Dispatch is staffed 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
Do you remove the packaging?
Yes, debris and packaging removal is included as standard rather than charged as an extra. If the site needs the packaging retained for a warranty or a return, tell dispatch at booking and the crew will leave it stacked where you want it.
Related services
Pair white glove delivery with the services that usually come before or after it.
Carrier safety standards are set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Every Marvin white glove delivery runs on DOT registered vehicles with drivers who meet those standards.
Book a white glove delivery
Tell dispatch what the item is, where it is going, which floor, and whether there is a dock or a freight elevator. You get a price on the call and we flag any access problem before the truck is loaded.
- SFO Hub245 S Spruce Ave, South San Francisco, CA 94080
- LAX Hub1101 W Hillcrest Blvd, Inglewood, CA
- Emailsales@marvintransportation.com · Available 24/7