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  • Moving Service vs. Self Storage
    By admin on February 2, 2010 | No Comments  Comments

    Many people think that they are not going to need a moving service when it comes to moving their belongings from one place to another.  And really, is understandable that many people feel this way.  When it comes down to moving, people are typically trying to spend as little money as possible so that they have a smooth landing in their new home.  Of course, what few people actually take into account is that they are going to have a much easier, much cheaper move if they hire the right kinds of movers.  Not all movers are going to break the bank, and just about every moving service is going to save you valuable time.  If you have never considered using a moving service before, then you are going to want to be sure that you are not writing them off entirely.

    First and foremost, reader, know that the typical moving service is going to be able to help out with every facet of your move.  Starting out, here, most moving companies are going to be able to help you figure out how much stuff you actually have.  They may sound silly at first, but when you really think about it, it is very, very convenient to have someone helping out with this part of the process.  Typically speaking, they can show up at your place of residence and help you run through what you are going to be storing.  They will be able to recommend the kind of truck that is going to fit your needs the best, and they are going to be able to help you figure out which supplies are going to keep your belongings the safest.  When it comes to cutting down on stress, you are not going to find another service that even compares to a moving company.

    Of course, moving companies are also enormously convenient in that they can move all of your heavy belongings on your behalf.  You are not even going to break a sweat, and all of your belongings are going to make it to your self storage unit or your new home.  Of course, you are going to have to factor in that, typically speaking, movers charge by the hour.  Really, though, you are usually going to find that you would much rather part with a few extra dollars than deal with the hassle of muscling all of your belongings into a moving truck.

    Finally, here, it is good to know that moving companies are typically going to be able to provide you with a moving truck.  What that means, here, is that you are going to have one less phone call to make.  That is right.  When you feel like you have already placed a million phone calls, a moving service can really cut back on your stress levels.  They will allow for you to consolidate a few of the services that you are going to need.  And really, you are going to appreciate that a lot more than you would think when it comes down to the final hours of your moving plans.

    At the end of the day, reader, you are going to find that most moving companies and moving services are well worth the extra money.  If the very notion of moving horrifies you, and if you would much rather avoid the physical stress associated with moving, then you are going to want to be sure that you call a few of these services to get a feel for how much it is going to cost you.  Just take a deep breath, reader, and know that there is nothing to worry about.

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  • Shopping For Self Storage
    By admin on January 20, 2010 | No Comments  Comments

    There are a lot of reasons to look into personal self storage units when you know that you are going to have to move in the near future.  Of course, the last thing that you are going to want to do, here, is move without renting a nice, safe, clean place to keep all of your belongings.  You might very well find that your new home is not as ready as you thought it would be, and you might end up having to run around town at the very last minute, desperate for a place to keep your belongings.  Take it from an industry professional that you should always keep self storage in the center of your mind when you know that you are going to be moving.

    First of all, you are always going to want to be sure that you are giving yourself at least a couple of weeks to shop around and give yourself a decent idea of the facilities that are in your area.  One of the worst things that you can do is wait until the very last minute to begin calling around.  When you do this, you are practically begging to make your moving situation ten times more stressful.  By giving yourself several weeks to shop around, you don’t have to worry about stressing yourself out, and you do not have to worry about missing out on any of the great deals that are at your nearby facilities.

    Also, when you are shopping around for a self storage unit, you are going to want to be sure that you are taking very careful notes.  One of the most common mistakes that people commit when it comes to self storage is failing to compare apples to apples.  They get so flustered when they are calling around that they actually forget to record the details that they are gathering, meaning that they do not have an accurate, helpful way to compare their local facilities at the end of the day.  As you are shopping around for your self storage units, you are going to want to be sure that you are not falling victim to this problem.  Whenever you get a new price, be sure that you write it down.  Likewise, when you encounter security features and special, you are going to want to be sure that you write those down as well.

    Of course, you are not going to want to forget about the importance of taking site tours as you are calling around as well.  True, you can gather much of the information that you are going to need by calling around, but you have to be sure that you are taking a look at things with your own two eyes before you fork over any of your hard earned money.  As you are walking around the property, be sure that you are keeping your eyes open for several things.  First of all, be sure that you are keeping your eyes open for all of the security features that you are going to need in order to sleep easily at night.  These include video surveillance cameras and door alarms.  Also, you are going to want to be sure that you are keeping your eyes open for possible signs of water damage, as these are going to indicate that your belongings are not going to be safe at that property.

    Now, you can see that shopping around for self storage units does not have to be all that hard if you are willing to do a little bit of homework before you actually pick up the phone.

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  • Self Storage Can Rescue Your Garage
    By admin on January 7, 2010 | 1 Comment1 Comment  Comments

    If you have considered cleaning out your garage and parking your car within its covered, warm walls to keep your vehicle out of the weather, you may cringe.  As you think of organizing boxes of clothes, seasonal decorations, furniture and all the exiled items you have removed from your living space but held on to for one reason or another it may be enough to make you closed the garage door tightly and vow to never open it again.

    Many of us are kicking ourselves for pushing this weekend project back when the first few flecks of snow started to fall yesterday. By the time we realized that the morning would mean shoveling, scraping car windows and letting our cars run for a few minutes before we got it, it was too late to clear out the garage and find room to keep our cars in them.

    As soon as the snow melts, you may be quick to forget or overlook how luxurious it would have been to roll up the garage door and drive out, without having to wipe snow and ice from the windows.

    But don’t fall into the winter lull that cloudy days and cold weather brings. As soon as the snow melts, go to your local storage facility and rent a small space. You can rent a 5×10 or 10×10 storage unit for relatively cheap and once again enjoy the cover your garage offers your car while keeping all the items you do not have room for in your home but keep room for in your life.

    Chances are, that as you go through your garage, you will find items that you don’t even know why you kept. It’s best to discard, donate or sell items you no longer need or don’t have any sentimental attachment to.

    Once you have removed all the items you do not want to keep, then you should decide what items you need to have immediate access to. Items like tools, books or photos may be some of the things you want to keep stored in your garage so you can quickly access them if you need to repair something, or find them if you have the mood to look at them.

    Other items like furniture, clothing, Christmas decorations and other seasonal decorations, files, sports gear, etc are all a few things that people often use on occasion but may not want to keep on their property.

    When you take the items to your local storage facility, try to avoid throwing the items in the unit in a hodgepodge of clutter. Take a moment to stack like items together and label boxes of its contents. This will make it easier to find exactly what you are looking for when the time comes for you to use it.

    Also, you should put the items you use more often, such as seasonal clothing and holiday decorations, towards the front of the space. Doing so will save you a little work because you won’t have to shuffle and move items around to find what you are looking for.

    You can apply these same ideas to organizing your own garage. Don’t stack boxes without labeling them so you can clearly determine its contents. Also, keep all the like items together so you don’t misplace them and so you can easily locate them.

    It may take a day to organize all the items in your garage, but once you do, the moment you park your car safely under your roof, you will be glad you did. The payoff is especially great when you do not have to scrape ice and snow from your car.

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  • Hillside Furniture Storage – 5 Cost Saving Tips
    By admin on November 3, 2009 | No Comments  Comments

    If you live in a small apartment in the small village of Hillside that is located in the Cook County of the state of Illinois, you probably also face the problem of shortage of space. In many cases, problems arise because of large old furniture items that might be lying around even if you do not use them quite often. In the form of Hillside furniture storage facilities, you now have a great alternative to store such things. If you take the right approach, you will find such storehouses quite convenient, safe, and highly affordable. Despite the fact that some of these safekeeping houses are very expensive, other than if you keep the following five valuable tips in mind, you can easily saves a great deal of money.

    Special Discounts For Long-Term Storing Service

    You do not need all the furniture items at your home. You may like to bring it home during a festival or a celebration, as they can be helpful in the seating arrangements for your guests. Therefore, you probably are looking for a long-term storing service. In that case, you must shop around thoroughly because many Hillside furniture storage facilities these days offer heavy discounts if the customers opt for a long-term service. 

    Save Money Through Proper Space Management 

    You can also save a lot of money by taking extra care in packing and storing the different furniture items. You must know how to make the best use of the available space in the unit you have rented. For example, if there are foldable chairs and tables, make sure that you fold them properly while packing. Follow the principles of effective space management thoroughly and you will be amazed to see that you can store all your furniture items in a comparatively much smaller Hillside furniture storage unit.  

    Look Out For Hidden Charges

    You may be tempted to sign up with a storing house that is advertising their services at a very low rate. Some facilities try to attract new customers by offering low monthly rent, but their rates often include an array of hidden charges. For that reason, make sure that you read the terms and conditions of the rent policy thoroughly before you sign it. Look at the provisions of the penalty charges for late payment. Are the charges for climate-control feature included in the rent or do you have to pay additionally for it some facilities may also ask for you to pay a certain amount of money to issue the identification code. 

    Take Advantage Of The Inaugural Discounts

    However, the bright side is that for the reason that of the tough competition in the Hillside furniture storage market, some facilities these days are genuinely offering very low rates through inaugural discounts. For example, you may be offered free rental for the first month.    

    Choose A Facility Located Close To Your Home

    The location of the safekeeping house also plays a very important role. If it is located in a remote place, you will end up spending a lot of money in transportation of the furniture items. Every time you have to bring some furniture items from your unit, you will have to travel a long distance, which is obviously not free. That is the reason why it is always wise to rent a storehouse that is located close to your home.   

    Overall, following the above five tips will definitely help you find a high quality Hillside furniture storage unit at the cheapest possible price.

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  • One Storage Manager Is Unlike The Other
    By Staff on June 18, 2008 | No Comments  Comments

    The self storage industry is one of the easiest industries to be a part of. Let us look at how simple being in this business is. All you have to do is greet customers when they come in to your facility, you show them a rental and then they give you their credit card. Besides that, the associates do not have much to do. Why else do you think that many people are getting involved and trying to get involved in managing property ?

    So now, let us wake up and shift to reality. Storage is hard and it is a very difficult business to be a part of. Usually if you take a drive down the closest major highway, you can see a facility almost every other mile. Sometimes you might find two or three on the same street. If there are so many facilities, how does one facility stack up against another one?

    That is where it comes down to the person or team managing property . For the customer to want to give their hard earned money to your facility to store, you have to give them reasons to. It might come down to price, features, cleanliness or other amenities.

    Depending on where you live, you will have many different places to visit, evaluate and decide if that is place for you to store. Most of the time you will have to get the customer to agree that your property is where they need to store. When people call around looking for the best property, they might focus on price more than anything. Unfortunately in the market today, the power of the dollar is important. So if they can not see the value in what you have to offer, they will not rent from you. Just because you are giving away your storage for one dollar for the first month, does not always get you the most business.

    When managing property , you have to be able to stay competitive with your friends in storage around you. A clean and well maintained facility will go a long way with different groups of customer. If a customer finds your facility on one of the various ways of advertising you might do, decides to come down to see it and it is not up to par, they will not rent. It is up to the person managing property to keep the appearance up in order to attract all walks of life.

    What kind of security does your facility offer? Are you nice and thorough to the customer? These are all questions that they want to know and hear. As soon as you answer the phone or your associates answer the phone, the stage is set. The caller will know right away if you are friendly or you do not care about them as much as the next person. Each customer is different and the person managing property needs to understand that.

    A well trained sales staff that can also do the tasks needed to keep the property looking good is a great combination and a winning formula. Sometimes you might find that you will have either someone that can adapt well to the needs of the customers or someone who is just good at keeping the facility looking good. When you are in charge of your property, you have to have the balance in order to take care of every customer.

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  • Save The Planet, Go Green!
    By Staff on May 5, 2008 | No Comments  Comments

    What is going on with our environment? Why do humans consistently deplete all resources and use them for their benefit? The answer is simple. Humans are selfish survivalists. It is sad that the countries are overpopulated with people and they deplete forests, prairies, and other important resources to live. Deforestation happens because forests are converted to agricultural land to feed people. Cash crops, cattle ranching, commercial logging, and felling trees for firewood and building material all lead to deforestation. Deforestation leads to an increase of Carbon Dioxide in the air which then contributes to the greenhouse effect. A dryer climate also may be a result of deforestation because the roots of trees draw water up and release it into the atmosphere. Soil erosion and the extinction of species that inhabit forests and trees are direct results of deforestation. There are thousands of species in danger of extinction that will only survive in the wild, and when they die there often are no incentives to protect their habitat. Experts also warn that the world cannot rely on captive breeding to save species in the wild.

    Being environmentally friendly on a daily basis will help decrease the greenhouse effect and hopefully help save some of the animal and the human population. If a person is interested in a home that is designed to take advantage of natural sun and shade, has an efficient heating and cooling system, conserves water and uses renewable resources and avoids material that contain formaldehyde and other harmful chemicals then a green home may be for them. Property managers can enforce being environmentally friendly to decrease energy costs and help save the planet. In the home, try to use energy efficient light bulbs, this does include fluorescent bulbs which can be recycled. Exterior light should only be 25 about watts. There are recycling facilities throughout the United States and paper, plastic, cardboard and glass should all be recycled. Property managers should also make sure that there are recycling bins on site for convenience. Turning down the thermostat when it is not needed or when leaving the home would also help decrease energy use on the planet.

    When electric appliances, such as curling irons, lamps and more are not in use they should be unplugged. It is quicker and will save water if showers are taken instead of baths, and using low-flow shower heads and sink faucets conserve more water than standard choices. In the bathroom dual flush toilets or grey water recycling system can be used to conserve water. Property managers should make sure these are installed in the homes. The oceans have become a sea of plastic which harm the endangered marine life. Drinking out of plastic water bottles may be more convenient than refilling a reusable one continuously, but it increases the plastic use which is harmful to then environment. An alternative is to buy containers that can be refilled. Another suggestion would be to reuse plastic and cloth bags when grocery shopping, this would decrease the amount of plastic and paper products used. Some additional ways property managers can make the homes greener would be to have smaller square footage homes, and make sure all appliances are Energy Star rated.

    Natural daylight would not only brighten the home but save significantly on energy costs. In addition to this property managers can also purchase low-e, operable windows. Low-e glass transmits heat more slowly than regular glass helping to insulate the home better and saving some property managers money. In discussing insulation, insulation in the roof should be light colored metal. This reflects light that will keep the entire house cooler in the summer. Overall, being green is an easy task, and can help save money, human, plant and animal life.

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  • Get A Storage Rental
    By Staff on April 24, 2008 | No Comments  Comments

    Raise your hand if you know what your job is. Everyone should have their hand up in the air because you should know what your job is. If you do not know what your job is, why are you coming into work each day and clocking on? It is very important for you to know what is required of you at work for you to be able to perform at high levels. In the self storage world, you have to know what is expected of you at work in order to people to come in a get a rental unit from you.

    What is going to make your facility stand out to the people that will call your facility or drop by? What is going to make the difference to the caller to get a storage rental at your facility? These are very valid questions that you need to ask yourself or your team. The more people that can help you figure this out, the better.

    When you are taking calls as an associate, what is one of the first things that you do? You should be thanking the caller for calling your facility and then introducing yourself to them. In the beginning of your call, you should be trying to build rapport with the caller. The more rapport you build with the caller the better chance you have to get them to get a rental space from you. Take a second to think about this scenario. You are out with your friends and you realize you need a particular product to purchase. Your friends point out a product they believe would greatly benefit you. Because they are your friends, you decide to get it. It is believed that as a customer you want to be able to be talking to a friend of theirs. That is why you want to try to build rapport with the caller, so they will tell their friends.

    When talking to a potential customer, you need to be able to find out what their true storage needs are and take care of them. With trying to recommend the right rental space for the caller, you will have to know all you can about what they are storing. How else do you expect to help the caller with finding the right size, if you do not understand what they are storing?

    Another thing you can do to take care of the callers needs and desires, is to sell your facility. The caller will not come down unless they have a reason to believe they can get a great value on a rental space. You have to be the one that can sell your space to the caller to get them intrigued enough to come in. When they are at your facility, they now can see what you have to offer. Take your time with the caller and show them everything that you believe will intrigue them to want to have a space at your facility. Tell them about all the specials that you have and try to understand what it will take for them to be a tenant in your building.

    When answering the phone or seeing the customer in person, you have to put your best foot forward. You only have one time to make a first impression.

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  • Selling Self Storage
    By Staff on April 17, 2008 | No Comments  Comments

    There have been calls taken about selling self storage from different companies and all have a good way to build rapport on the phone. Most still enjoy that face-to-face contact with the customer. Your personality can sometimes shine through on the phone, but looking the customer in the eye and showing your friendliness and willingness to assist them in your body language will win them over. Getting the caller to stop by and see you and your rental property is a great way to close the sale.

    Think about it. If you call into a retail store looking for a particular item, you find it, and go down to the facility, you are most likely going to buy it from that retailer, barring some catastrophic turn of events. The same thing is true in self storage. If you can get the caller to commit to coming by your rental property and showing them a great personalized experience, they will hand you their money to rent today. How does one ensure that the caller is being taken care of fully so that they would like to rent from you?

    Once the phone rings, you are on stage. How you speak to the caller has an impact on the overall sale. Are you talking to fast? Do you let the caller talk? Do you cut the caller off when they are trying to say their thoughts? These are important things to think about when you are speaking to the caller. When you get into the meat and potatoes of the call, what is your sales focus? Are you just rattling off some phrase that you are supposed to say to the customer, rather than giving personalized service? No one wants a robotic sales person. Ask the customer what their storage needs are, take care of those needs, add some salesmanship, and find a way to get them to stop on by your rental property. It never hurts the customer to ask them to stop by and see what your facility has to offer.

    Once you get the caller to stop by your rental property, you are halfway to a sale. The customer is in your building and now you have to find out what is holding them back from renting and if they like what they see. If you keep your facility clean and well maintained, there are still some variables that you might have to overcome. Those variables are price, specials, and convenience of location. Two out of three of the previous topics you can take care of on the spot. You cannot pick up your facility and move it to another location. You will just have to talk up why you chose this location and how it can accommodate a large percentage of the public.

    In self storage, we need to take every opportunity to get the caller to rent from our facility versus our competition. Get the caller to stop on by your rental property. When they do, ensure that your facility is clean, warm and inviting to them. You as a manager need to make every effort to impress, but do not be over the top because the customer can see the over aggressiveness. Get the caller to stop by and you are more than half way there to getting a new tenant.

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  • Customer Service Practices
    By Staff on April 10, 2008 | No Comments  Comments

    There are many people that do a lot of research when looking for the ideal self storage unit. They make many phone calls and search endless websites looking for the best of what they desire. The question is though, what are the customers looking for in a storage space? What are they looking for when they are looking for their special storage rental? What do you think they are in need of? What will get them to rent at your facility?

    Those are the questions that self storage managers ask themselves every day they are in to work. No one wants to fail and not sell rental spaces. Most managers want to be able to say, We do not have any spaces available to rent. But we can take your name and number and let you know when they become available. There are some facilities that can say that to their customers. Now are they doing anything differently than the next storage facility? Are they the pillar of excellent customer service? Are they giving their rental spaces away at pennies on the dollar? What is their secret?

    Some people say that the secret to getting people to come down to a facility to get a rental space from them is customer service along with a great location, mixed with some great pricing. Some of you storage managers might think to yourself, do you have all of that to offer the customer? You can never be too sure. The combination above is hard to have and hard to attempt to possess. You cannot pick up and move your location to where the customers are after you have already set up your property. Now you can change the prices on your rental spaces and attempt to give outstanding customer service, but what is the definition of outstanding customer service and what is the best price for storage?

    You as self storage managers can stress yourself out trying to figure out what is going to give them more business. Every storage facility is different and has a different customer base. Not everyone is going to be able to win over every customer. What you can do is completely take care of the customers needs. The great thing about that is that every customers needs are different. This is why not one facility is able to take care of each customer, but not everyone is committed to take care of people uniquely.

    As people are out there doing research looking for the best facility, what are they really looking for? It is different from one person to the next. What would happen if companies out there stop being so scripted in how they talk to customers and actually ask the customer what they are needing in storage space? What would happen if one company thought outside of the box and came out and asked customers what they are needing? Most companies spend tons of money thinking up ways to get customers into their buildings to store their belongings. The funny thing is that the simplest solution are sometimes right in front of them. Just ask the customer what they want. Just think, if we actually knew what the customer wanted and then we could satisfy their needs to the fullest extent. Wow. What a concept.

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  • Property Management And Self Storage
    By Staff on March 24, 2008 | No Comments  Comments

    Storage facilities owned by property management companies are widely used all over the United States, Canada, Hawaii, and New Mexico as well as other places. Used for more reasons than one could ever imagine, storage facilities are the most accommodating facilities around. Storage facilities range in locations, as well as the sizes the units come.  Storage facilities are so widely used from the least emergency situation to the worst possible situation you can imagine. Storage facilities owned by property management companies are used to store things from Christmas gifts, RV boats, pharmaceuticals, to showcase displays, just a wide range of need for a place such as this. Amazingly storage facilities are most accommodating for  every need within reason as to what can and cannot be stored.

    Storage facilities owned by property management companies have ceilings that range from eight feet to ten or thirteen in height. So being able to stack things can be good if you are wanting to minimize space. Storage facilities owned by property management companies also come heated or climate controlled depending on your needs. This is a way to protect your things that are temperature sensitive from damage. Storage facilities owned by property management also require that you have protection for your belongings to prevent things that are beyond their control from happening to your things. So you are able to have peace of mind knowing that your things are in storage facilities that take pride in their facilities. The coverage is a way to ensure that the storage facilities honor their place and value their customers things being stored at the property management facilities.

    Storage facilities owned by property management companies have a wide range of supplies that are available to customers whether they have a storage unit at the facility or just stopping by to purchase what they need for whatever reason. Also, some storage and property management companies have truck rentals and other things like, dollies for rent as well. So one stop shopping is a wonderful thing that is offered at most of the storage and property management companies. Being able to do everything at one place rather than have to run all over the place to get things here and there is a great relief. One stop shopping saves you time and allows you to see exactly what it is your getting rather than guessing at what it is you may or may not need. Also, you get to see for yourself what you want as well as things you did not realize you needed.

    People all over the world use storage and property management facilities. Military, business, cooperate America, middle class, upper class it does not matter, in between class storage facilities are a huge demand for anyone and everyone anywhere and everywhere. Soldiers and there families utilize storage facilities a lot because getting deployed are having to relocate their families is a number one need for a storage. Leaving or returning home for them is always a given so having a place to have their things stored that is safe and convenient and available when they need it is a wonderful thing as well as a huge peace of mind. Businesses store things they need to be able to have access to most times on a twenty four hour basis, which is another huge convenience for them. For people that work at night it is great also because they can get to thier units when they get off if needed rather than having to wait until the storage or property management facilities open or have to get up before they want to the next day to get into there unit.

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