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Business or HouseholdBy admin on August 7, 2006 | No Comments
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Robin Turner PhoneSmart call center manager offers the following for our call center blog.
Welcome to the PhoneSmart property management blog and insider view of the property management industry.Lately, we have noticed a new property management trend that involves callers asking for a unit who obviously are not that familiar with storage or just don’t realize the importance of the information that we are looking for. Since we are the storage experts when it comes to dealing with storage customers and we can answer up to 100 or more calls a day, we find questions that the average storage store employee may not think of. Some callers (as far as I’m concerned) take a while in getting to the point when it comes to explaining what they’re storing, so I can quickly learn how to help them figure out what size they may need.
I’ve realized that sometimes when you simply ask up front, “what are you storing” it just doesn’t do the job to where I can quickly get the information I need to help determine what size or type of unit they may need. The caller who asks “ I need storage, what do you have?”… Or similar to that, just tells me that they’re not familiar enough with MY needs. Try this next time… “Is the for a business or is this for a household move”. Even your more reluctant and not so friendly callers, will open up with something like… “Oh, no, I’m only storing my bedroom set”, or you may get… “It’s for my business and I’m storing my files”. But you can hear a release of tension from the caller because they realize that “hey, that was an interesting question.” They weren’t expecting that one.Well, from there, you then know where you can go by asking relevant questions. Because many times if you only the basic question; “what are you storing?” You could get a generic answer like furniture. Well, both household and businesses both have furniture. If they say “boxes”, generally if it is for a business, it probably (not all the time) means file boxes, which are the same size and can be stacked very well. If for a household move, then you know that the boxes will definitely vary in shape and size.
“Is this for a business or household move?”Self Storage in Missouri Kansas City, MO, Call Debra at (816)734-3989, 1 of only 3 properties north of the river with climate controlled units
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Otherwise Known As…By admin on August 2, 2006 | No Comments
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Written by Angela Perry, trainer and call center rep and business blog writer.
Welcome to PhoneSmart’s property management blog, the ins and outs of property management trends.It would be wonderful if all of us had built in thesaurus implanted in our head. This will help us come up with synonyms for words to help communicate with our customers.Here are a few that I have run into while working in the storage industry:Limited availability…………………………….not many left, only a few
Administration fee………………………………set up charge/start up fee
Climate control………………………………….air conditioned or heated
Standard…………………………………………non-air conditioned or heated
24hr access………………………………………come in anytime
On site management team……………………….someone lives here at the facility
Pro rated…………………………………………only charged you for the days left
Cylinder lock ……………………………….the round lock that is most difficult to be broken into
Storage containers………………………………..storage units
Convenient………………………………………..easy to get/travel toThen there are those that were mention when discussing furniture:
Couch……………………………………….sofa
Dresser………………………………………chest of drawers
Bed……………………………………….…bunk
Plastic containers……………………………totes, storage bins
Bed/living room groups…………………….bed/living room sets, suites
Refrigerator…………………………………fridge, icebox
Freezer………………………………………deep freezer
Nightstand…………………………………..bedside table
Soda…………………………………………pop, coke, soda water, soft drinkWell the last example has nothing to do with the property management industry however the synonym is still helpful to know. In the sales and storage industry we must learn to adapt to our customers. I read somewhere that the reason why giraffes have long necks is because the food that they ate was higher than what they could reach with their short necks so they grew long ones. I am not sure if this is fiction or not but for the sake of this blog we are going to believe it is true. Salespeople should be able to adapt. We may not be able to have a brain-sized thesaurus inside of our head but we can learn how to use this list above as a quick reference!Self Storage in Maryland Call Tommy at (301)638-3100 and ask for a coupon.
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Manager CallsBy admin on July 28, 2006 | No Comments
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Ann Sheehan, PhoneSmart call center operator relates her “manager call experiences.”
Welcome to the PhoneSmart commercial property management blog, the ins and outs of property and commercial management.
Here’s some interesting news for the property management industry:
40% of the calls a PhoneSmart sales rep takes are from people needing storage, or at least that have a question about storage. The other 60 percent of calls however are from people that we cannot help. (The store manager is their Mom, the caller is a local detective, the customer needs to pay a bill, etc.) We hear the same thing over and over. But sometimes, a manager call can be a little different, or at least a little annoying…1) A caller was furious because there was no one in the office. I asked if there was a sign on the door. They said yes, that the sign read, “Will be back at 1:50 pm.” It was 1:52…2) At 8:45am someone from New York City called and asked directions. I explained that the StorageMart facility was still under construction, and I did not yet have directions for it. But she could call one of the other local stores after they opened at 9:30 am. She screamed at me “That’s not going to help my Grandson with his 9am job interview.”3) Another caller was furious because there was no one in the office. He said, “I know the store manager had a heart attack, but that was 45 minutes ago. Her replacement should have been here by now!”4) A storage renter called one morning very upset because she had gotten locked in the facility the night before. She told me “We had to climb a barbed-wire fence, panhandle money, and ride a city bus through a bad part of town. Now this morning we are going to have to get a ride back to facility to get our car that is locked behind the gate.” I felt kind of bad for this caller, so I got a hold of a store manager. The manager’s comment was “Everybody knows what time we close!”…Just my luck, I got the locked-behind-the-gate customer again that morning. She was LIVID because the manager was going to charge her for storing her vehicle overnight!5) But the one manager call I put a lot of work into…the man had been a long-time customer that was living out of the area. He received a letter from his storage facility stating basically “We are sorry, but we auctioned your items off by mistake…”To help alleviate these kinds negative property management trends, managers should learn how to keep in contact with their current and future customers! Thanks for reading PhoneSmart’s business blog.Self Storage in Minnesota 11001 Excelsior Blvd, Hopkins,MN 55343 Manager, Aaron Whitaker (952) 935-2194
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Theses Are A Few Of My Favorite ThingsBy admin on July 20, 2006 | No Comments
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By Liz Langesteiner bilingual phone rep and client services specialist offers her view of life in the PhoneSmart call center.
Welcome to the PhoneSmart call center blog, and insider view of the self-storage industry.
The dress code is my number one favorite thing about our call center that is located behind self storage in Columbia, MO. (Incidentally we specialize in taking missed calls in the storage industry and turning them into profit.) I no longer have concerns over tight constricting pantyhose; make up, high heels, acrylic nails, expensive haircuts and expensive overpriced Ann Taylor suits. I can even ride the bus to work, no more car payments!! I remember when the director said and I quote “ I don’t care how you dress just as long as you dress”. Since that day we have made a couple of modifications to the dress code. For example no tube tops (or the like) and your navel must be covered. I come to work in sweats, shorts, Tee shirts, sandals or running shoes. Ahh, the comfort.My other favorite thing is our location. We are located 2 minutes from the Bear Creek Trail. Just the other day while I was at work I decided to take my break and walk on the Bear Creek Trail. While on the trail I watched a buck cross my path after the buck crossed the walking path it stopped. I decided to stop and watch the buck. We watched each other for about 5 minutes I began to wonder why the buck doesn’t move on. I turned to my left and there was a doe. She was waiting for me to move on so she could join the buck. That was priceless and absolutely beautiful. On a busy day I will answer approximately 135 calls per day. I talk to people from all walks of life and people in every situation you can imagine. So it is real nice when you can lean back in your chair be comfortable and take a break on a nature trail.Storage Concierge Self Storage in Georgia
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Personal GoalsBy admin on July 11, 2006 | No Comments
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Wendy Lane seasoned PhoneSmart Call Center Representative speaks about her goals.
Welcome to the PhoneSmart property management blog, the ins and outs of property and commercial management.When I come into work each day I look at our call stats to see how the day has been so far. When I get done with that I mentally set a goal for myself to see where I may end up at the end of the day. If I set a goal and reach it I feel I have accomplished what I set out to do for the day. As business has picked up lately I have exceeded my goals on some days and fallen short on a few. Overall though I am pretty pleased with the way this busy season has gone so far. It has started off with a bang. Of course it is only going to get better through the summer months. If I set a goal though it can help make the day go by faster. Each reservation I get I am closer to the end of my shift.Sometimes, we even have a competition or two throughout the call center between coworkers. Often times, competition is the best motivator. I have seen some mean competition already this season. So set some goals and get some reservations! Who knows we may get a bonus or two from Tron!!PhoneSmart Your Source for Lead Generation
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Got Trucks?By admin on July 10, 2006 | No Comments
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Robin Turner, PhoneSmart call center Manager works with callers requesting truck information to turn them into self-storage tenants.
Welcome to the PhoneSmart call center blog and insider view of the self-storage industry.Even though I don’t strictly take inbound calls as the reps on the floor do, I do still take calls from time to time to help out. Out of the 20 or so calls that I took today, about 4 of those were for people looking to rent a truck. Although they also needed a storage unit, they were more interested in the availability of truck that they could rent for the day.Surprisingly, no matter how hard I tried to tell them about the importance of at least getting a unit reserved while I had them on the phone, they were set on getting a truck secured before the storage unit. Normally, if it is a store that rents trucks, I call on the store while I have the customer on the phone, so I can let the caller know if it is something that will work. It just so happened that the stores I was answering for did not rent trucks.It’s crazy to think that even though I told them how limited the storage units were, and the importance of at least securing a unit, those callers cared less if I had only one unit left. As one of them stated, “I’m not too worried about a storage unit, as there’s storage facilities all up and down the street. I need a truck first.” I believe that particular caller called in on a store that we answer for that is located in California.I did however get leads for the managers to follow up on to see if they could turn the caller around and get them into the store and maybe see if they could refer them to a place that did rent trucks.So, if you don’t rent trucks at the current time, it’s definitely something you may want to think about. You could be losing rentals to the stores that offer more a variety.PhoneSmart Your Offsite Sales Solution
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What??? Free Credit Card!!!By admin on July 5, 2006 | No Comments
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Robin Turner PhoneSmart call center manager speaks her mind on advertising tactics
Welcome to the PhoneSmart property management, the ins and outs of property and commercial management.When I return home after a hard day’s work I check my mailbox inside the house. I found a flyer for a new store location that just opened which was advertising a $10 credit towards your purchase. I read the front and back wondering how you get the $10 credit. I was thinking to myself, “I don’t shop there, never have and it’s all the way across town. Plus, you probably have to purchase so much in order to get the $10 credit. I’ve never been there, so I don’t even know what they sell. I wouldn’t be interested in this…” As I looked a little closer, I noticed a card stuck to the front of the flyer… thinking, well, what’s this, a business card?It turned out to be a $10 credit card! What? A $10 credit card… my eyes popped open, all of a sudden I was awake and bright eyed, feeling a bit anxious, (as I like to receive free money. Who doesn’t right?). However, I wanted to read the fine print to make sure it wasn’t a gimmick where you had to purchase $50 in order to get the $10 savings. Sure enough it wasn’t. I couldn’t believe it. But, the thought that I had no idea what the store sold still made me hesitant and didn’t have me locked in yet.The free Wednesday paper that was also delivered to my door that day, “just so happened” to include the advertising catalog for the store as well, so I knew what types of items they sold. Also, they just so happened to make sure that some of the items advertised were under the $10 pricing. Hmmm… pretty good idea, for those of us who aren’t familiar with the store. And a great way to wave free money in front of someone’s nose.The store had a great idea in bringing business in the door. As they already know that the majority of the people, who will come in with that credit card to shop, will definitely purchase over the $10 credit card limit… me, being one of them. I can’t pass up a deal like that. Of course my intentions are to only purchase $10 of items; however I’m sure that I’ll also spend more than that, too.What fresh and creative ways do you have to advertise your store’s specials?PhoneSmart Your Source for Lead Generation
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Is There Life Out There?By admin on July 4, 2006 | No Comments
Written by Kay, our prolific writer of wonderful witisisms.
Welcome to PhoneSmart’s property management blog, the ins and outs of property management and commercial management.The Low Down, Washed Out, Soul bending, Dog Days Talking Self-Storage Blues.
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Sometimes you just can’t win for losing.There are some folks who call in to inquire about self storage who are so nice and so much fun that you are really glad to not be home sitting in front of the tube. The situations they bring into your evening are often what Sunday dinner conversations are made of. Some of them are the catalyst for after mid night cleaning frenzy’s and some can make grown men cry.Then there are the pranksters. They like to call and ask question after question, one more outrageous than the last. Some reps here get annoyed with them. The only way to handle them is to either hang up mid call or humor them. I find it more effective to humor them along (just in case the caller really is Obsessive/Compulsive and DOES have 250 plastic bins filled with marbles and a stuffed Giraffe) and then right before I disconnect to say in an innocent and “You didn’t really fool me” voice “Thank you for prancing me!” It is so heartening to hear the wind rush out their sails!Finally, there are those people who are just angry at the world. They often leave me in a state of slow burn and I can only take pride in the fact that I maintained my professional demeanor and did not lower myself to their level. They give credence to the old saying “That which does not kill you makes you strong.”Life on the phones can be exhilarating, humorous, gratifying, and maddening. It is never boring!PhoneSmart Your Offsite Sales Solution
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Planning AheadBy admin on June 29, 2006 | No Comments
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Welcome to PhoneSmart’s property management blog, the ins and outs of property management and commercial management.
We often get some callers who are planning and preparing far ahead of time, usually up to 2 months. We notice it more during “slow” times when we are not getting a lot of urgent calls, where people need a unit in the next week or two.We notice it a lot less during the busy times when people need to rent right away. I think the prepared people are on a different cycle than the last minute buyers. They may be doing other last minute things while the last minute storage buyers are out getting their units.It also gives us a heads up as to when cycles turn. For instance, we start getting calls from parents about storing their college kid’s stuff for the summer in March.This is also why Hot Leads will sometimes come back to life after you might think they are dead. The prospect doesn’t bother to return your phone calls because they are not yet ready to do something. Then you pull them out of the dead pile on the day they are ready to do something and they answer the phone and say “I’m so glad you called, I am ready now.”Tron
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Don’t Stop There….By admin on June 21, 2006 | No Comments
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Robin Turner PhoneSmart call center manager encourages us to go the extra distance
Welcome to the PhoneSmart property management blog, the ins and outs of property and commercial management.Determining the correct size for a customer can sometimes be a little tricky especially if you’ve got a caller who specifically asks for a certain size unit. When you try to tell them exactly what that size unit would hold, the customer replies with something like,” I know what size I need… I just need to get the price on the size I’m asking for, please just give me the price on the unit”. This is the so-called “know it all customer” who may not know it all. It’s your job to help determine that in a tactful way without getting the customer upset.Let’s keep in mind that simply because the customer may have rented before, doesn’t always mean that they have the correct size in mind. So we have to work in a question or two at the opportune time to ensure that we are in fact quoting the right size. This will help eliminate the upset customer who gets to the store, realizing that after they have stored have of their items in the unit, that “hey, this unit is too small; I can’t get all of my stuff in there.”So, try this on for size… “Is there anything else you plan on storing…” but don’t stop there because it’s also your job to offer ideas that they may not have thought about. Continue with something like… “Patio furniture? Garage items? Anything else at all?” Now instead of the customer having the one track mind of pricing, (so they can get to the next storage facility on their list), they’ll now take a breather, pausing and thinking of any other items that they need to store.They may not have thought about the patio furniture. They may not have thought about the items in their 10×10 storage shed out in the back of their house, or all of the additional boxes that they have in their garage. Now, you can get the right size unit they need along with letting the customer know that you do know what you’re talking about.PhoneSmart Your Offsite Sales Solution
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