How many angry customers call and they want speak to the owner of the facility. Sometimes I chuckle at people who think they have the opportunity to speak to the owner of the facility. They believe that we have a direct line to the owner and they will be readily available to speak to them on demand. People think they can come into the facility and wait around for the owner to come walking through the door. When the customer is angry or not happy with the management they believe they can snap and the owner will be there with bells on. Are they crazy to think this?

Some self storage owners like to be hands on and do whatever they can to please their customers. This could include having their phone numbers where customers can see them. If you walk to into some large scale retail environments you will see that the regional manager or even the store owner’s phone number and picture will be on the wall behind customer service. It is sure that if the customer does not like what they are hearing, they whip out their cell phones and expect to speak to the person in that picture. Some people are actually shocked if the person owning the store answers the phone. Why should they be shocked? Their number is up there for a reason. Is that reasonable in the self storage industry?

As an owner, they want everything in their company to run smoothly. Some owners decide to visit their facilities often just to make sure that everything is running in tip top condition. They do not want anything out of place and they want to make sure that their managers are running good businesses. You will find that some owners walk customers around the facilities and get behind the counter as if they were the manager. The customers do not always know that they are speaking to the owner of the company and are shocked to see them behind the counter.

It shouldn’t shock customers to know that they can get to the owner of some companies. They should not think that they can get to the owner of every company. They just have to use common sense. The larger the company, the harder it is to reach the person at the top. Usually they do have someone that handles customer issues that escalate to the corporate side of things. Customers do not need to be offended if they cannot reach the top if their situation can be taken care of. Also there is not a guarantee that the owner is going to be side with the customer in any case. The owner still has to protect their business and ensure that customers are happy at the same time. No one said their job was easy.

Tweet This Post 

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Property managers need help just like anyone else. Most of the time it is just one manager per facilityi with maybe a relief manager to assist them. They have many responsibilities they need to take care of and a business to run. So many Owners think that is it is a great idea to hire an after hours call center to help their managers out. The self storage owners are not just hiring the after hours call center to assist them with their rentals, they also know that most customers just want to hear and talk to a live person. So what can that live person do after hours? It is up to the owner, but they can do anything the owner will allow them to do.

For instance the after hour call center can help the facility manager by taking payments for them. A rep was speaking with a dad of a college student who was renting a unit, he seemed a bit perturbed. Apparently the rent wasn’t paid and dad was called to the rescue. The payment on the rental had fallen a few weeks behind. Dad was worried about losing the unit and didn’t want to risk mailing off the payment since he was out of state, he wanted to take care of it ASAP.

In this situation the store had already closed an hour prior and he thought for sure that he wasn’t going to be able to take care of that payment that night. He was relieved to find out that the after hours call center rep could take the payment over the phone.  Otherwise the student might not have had a unit to rent in and there could have been more problems to follow. Having a back up to the property manager is in the interest of every self storage owner.

Tweet This Post 

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

What are the things you should look for when making sure a facility cares about its’ tenants?  Not everyone believes that customer service will win you customers in the long run. There are many self storage owners that believe that you can win the business of many people just by offering a very low price. That can not be so far from the truth. Owners need to realize that there is more to keeping customers around to store with them. Below are a few things which will help you determine if a storage facility is right for you now and for your long term storage needs.

Convenience: Does the property make it easy to store?  Unfortunately not many owners think about their location. For the owners that do, they should ensure that the customers can get to their facility well. Sometimes a customer will be able to see the facility from the street but they are not able to get in due to how the facility entrance is. Having a way into the facility off the main street can really help with making the location convenient for them.

Are there a lot of hidden charges you were not told about? There are some facilities that will actually wait until the customer comes into the storage facility in order to tell them what the extra costs there are to store. Some customers will still decide to rent where other customers will decide to go ahead and walk out. No one wants to feel that they are being lied to.

Do you have to sign contracts or give a deposit? Most companies inform customers that they can store month to month. So why sign a contract to stay for six months or more if you just are not planning to store that long? There are many facilities that just say pay for the storage as long as you need it. When you do not need it anymore go ahead and move out.

Helpfulness:  Does the property take extra steps to help you move?  Having a property manager that will help you get all of your belongings moved safely is a property manager worth being around. Now of course there are some managers that will physically help you move, where others will simply instruct you on where to go. Either way they are being helpful to you. Are there dollies, carts, elevators, and loading docks? These are all good questions to know about the facility. If you are storing on the second floor, you do not want to haul things up the stairs. Having a dolly to get your couch from your truck to your self storage unit is very helpful.

Owners need to keep these things in mind when either running or building a new self storage facility. Yes they can have very low prices but will those low prices keep them their or make the customer happy. If the customer has an issue they want to know that their self storage manager will take care of them. Otherwise they will go somewhere else to a facility where the manager made them feel at ease.

Tweet This Post 

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.