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The last person needing a storage unit, He had a cherry-red 1965 classic convertible, and a black 1975 sport convertible. The cars hold special meaning to him and he loves to drive them when he is not working part time as a mystery shopper , but his wife does not want to maneuver around them in the driveway to park her hybrid compact. She is afraid she might hit one of them getting in and out of their two car garage. Keep them, she says, but park them somewhere, safe so that you can take them for a spin when you have time. That way we can utilize the space better in the garage for our everyday cars. He gets a lot of joy taking them for a spin but admittedly, has less and less free time lately. As she does not share the same joy, it is easier for him to get them out of sight in a safe easily accessible place. He has rented a twenty by twenty foot climate controlled unit at a facility that accepts dropped shipments for the past five years. He has also worked as a pharmaceutical representative for the past five years and stores everything at a facility which is within one mile of his home. Utilizing the storage unit has been an excellent arrangement for him. He has customized the space with shelving units and also stores his accounting and mystery shopper records in fireproof containers along the back wall of the storage unit. But now all he wants to do is find out what is available for storing his mint condition, pride and joy sports cars.

As it worked out, the automobiles could be easily stored on site at the property he currently renting at and had previously worked as a mystery shopper . This arrangement was going to be very convenient. Whenever he goes on property to access his twenty by twenty storage unit, he can check on the cars. There was outdoor covered parking available and he decided he could buy covers for the cars so as not to draw attention to them and keep the dust off. He was aware of the video surveillance on the gate accessed property, and he knew it was fenced and lighted so storing them outside could work. All he needed to do was bring in his paperwork on the cars including title, registration, proof of insurance and make sure the gas tanks were low on gas. It was explained that he would not be allowed to use the space to work on the cars, but as they were in mint condition, it was unlikely anyone would need to work on them. The sports cars were excellent condition, and had custom paint jobs. He obviously took great care in maintaining the cars. The site manager was an auto enthusiast also. The renter is a great customer who has paid upfront annually for the past five years for his current storage unit which he uses for his business. He gets one month free every year for paying in advance as a reward for being a great customer. When he pulled up in the cherry red classic, the site manager came out and they went for a drive around the block before going into the store to sign a month to month rental agreement for the two outdoor covered spaces he would need. The manager was so happy to have the renter extend his contractual arrangement, that when the renter drove the other convertible into the facility he offered him an incentive rate for the first three months. He knew the renter was never going to sell those cars, and was unlikely planning to move. It was the managers pleasure to have this renter around.

Being a mystery shopper really paid off for this renter as he had first hand knowledge of the site. Check out mystery shopper jobs to see if a local business needs your help with their service. A mystery shopper can usually gather more information about a business than a regular customer.  

Miami RV Storage

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Where do you go to shop? Why do you shop there? Have you ever thought about helping the other companies achieve a higher level of customer service ? Most people have good service from a company and they do not share that experience with anyone else. How selfish is that, that they keep that great experience to themselves? Most people would tell five to ten friends or family, but if that is the case, why do so many companies fall short of the bar when it comes to customer service ?

Let us take a moment to think about the different people in our great nation. It is wonderful that everyone has the same point of view and the same likes and dislikes as their brother or sister American. Wait a minute, that is nowhere close to the truth! Everyone has his or her own opinion about almost everything under the sun. From what car to drive to how to style their hair, no one person is the same. With that said, why are most companies treating every customer the same? Do they really believe that one size fits all? That is so far from reality it is scary. However, reality is that most companies operate that way.

Right now in America, a big issue is about how health care should change for the whole nation. Some of the politics believe in the one-size fits all approach. Some companies can only offer their hard working employees one option in health coverage that cost the individual hundreds of dollars a month. Then, there are big companies that offer several choices with affordable costs. If the employee is being taken care of by the company, the employee, for the most part will take care of the company.

Your employees are the ones that face the customer more. The happier you make these people, the better your clients will rate the customer service they received. They will do whatever you ask of them and they will make those people they touch return to get great service. The way your company grows from year to year is to keep your current clients and to then add to that list. You have to, as a company, find a way to grow or you will die.

Let us return to the earlier questions. Where do you shop and why do you shop there? Most people like the atmosphere and how warm and inviting the place is for them. When they walk into some of these environments, they feel as if no other place they visit can compare. Some people feel when they are greeted by an associate and assisted, they are comfortable and willing to cooperate. Some people are not willing to give any information to the sales person because they do not feel they are genuinely there to help them. They believe their level of customer service is there just to put money into their own pockets.

If your company expects to stay in business, they need to have the highest level of customer service available to meet the needs of the variety of clients that they encounter. They need to determine how each customer has different needs and how to accommodate them. If you cannot do that as a company, you will not survive as your competition is doing everything necessary to grow year to year.

Dania Beach Boat Storage

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Self storage has become a very competitive industry. There are many parts of the country where it is not uncommon to see several different self storage facilities within a short distance of one another. And nowadays almost all self storage companies provide their customers with basically the same types of security and amenities. All self storage facilities have some kind of access panel so only customers can get into the area. They are equipped with door alarms and video cameras. And most locations usually have an onsite manager living on the property. 

If two storage facilities are located very close to each other, and offer virtually the same amenities and prices, then what differentiates the two of them? It is the people. And the excellent customer service that these people provide.

Everyone is accustomed to okay customer service in this day and age. We see it everyday at the bank and the grocery store and the dry cleaners. If anyone was really rude or incompetent, then that would stand out in our minds. But as long as the customer service is all right, then everything is, well, okay.

The service at a top notch self storage facility needs to be more than just okay. That is what everyone has, and what every customer is expecting. Going above and beyond good, to excellent customer service, is what is going to bring about devoted customers. These elated tenants are the people that are going to rave about the self storage facility, tell their friends and families and coworkers how fantastic this location is. And all business people know that word of mouth is the best and the least expensive form of advertising available. Plus, these loyal customers will keep coming back to this self storage location anytime they need self storage, or boxes, or a rental truck, etc.

The only way to get employees with awesome skills is with awesome training. They need to first learn the very basics of their job, and to be able to do it almost in their sleep. They need to be familiar with how to use the computer and answer the phone and how much stuff will fit in a 10×10 self storage unit. Anything they do not know from memory they need to be able to find the answer to quickly. Nothing says poor service more than incompetence!

Once the employee is proficient and feels comfortable with their new position, then the training needs to go deeper. 

The way to get the best possible customer service skills out of employees are through proper training. They need to be trained on the basics of their job, but the training needs to go deeper. They need to be taught the little intricacies that go along with it. Often these things are a learn as you go type of a thing. But even more often seasoned employees forget to mention it to the newbie. A written step by step check list needs to be gone over with new employees to be sure nothing vital has been neglected. And the list needs to be updated, as this is an ever changing industry. 

Veteran employees also need to be periodically updated on new information. It is vital that everyone stays on the same page. Nothing says incompetence and poor service more than two employees saying different things. 

Basalt RV Storage

Storage Concierge is your premier Storage , Storage Unit , Car Storage , RV Storage , Furniture Storage , Boat Storage , Yacht Storage and Self Storage finder .

June 2005 Self Storage Blog Archive

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Having a good website is essential for almost every business nowadays in the 21st century. Thanks to the Internet, people shopping for almost anything have become accustomed to sitting in front of a computer and getting all of the information they want with just a few clicks of the mouse.
 
A website for a self storage company needs to be user friendly for both potential customers and current tenants alike. New customers are often shopping around and will want to browse the site to gain valuable insight, while existing tenants just want to get on the website and quickly take care of business. 

People that are thinking about getting a self storage unit often have no idea what they are doing. They have never rented a space before and do not even know what kinds of questions to ask. Instead of feeling foolish by asking an employee silly questions, the potential customer that is shopping around is able to simply go to the website and get all of their questions answered.

A good self storage website will explain, in language that a novice can understand, all of the different aspects of self storage. These newbies have no clue as to what size of a unit they would need or how the lease works or what amenities are important. All of this information is found on the website in terms a layman can easily understand.

Another great thing about having a good website is that it will make clear how much stuff will fit into different sizes of units, and will usually have pictures to help the person shopping to get more of a visual. For example, a website might have a two dimensional picture of a square that represents a 5×5 unit, and will show a few small pieces of furniture and some boxes inside of the square. Likewise a rectangle representing 10×20 will show a car parked inside of it.  These visuals help a potential tenant to get a better idea as to what actually will fit into different sizes of units, and what size will work best for them and their belongings. 

Once this person that is shopping for a self storage facility has found what they are looking for they should be able to go ahead and reserve a space on the website right then and there. With step by step directions, the new customer should be able to choose the size, type, and price of a unit that will work best for them. And they should be able to reserve the unit for the timeframe in which they will need it. The facility employee will then be able to email or telephone the new customer with any additional information that is needed.

A good self storage website also needs to have a section just for current renters. It needs to be a secure area where the tenant is able to log into with his or her own individual password and take care of business. They should be able to pay a bill or update their personal information or view their previous billing statements. 

Self storage is a perfect example of an industry that benefits from using the Internet as a tool. Having an excellent website can assist a company with increasing its business and it will help in keeping current tenants happy. And the best part about a company having a good website is that they are able to continue doing business 24-7, without having to pay humans any additional compensation!

Self Storage

Oregon Self Storage

Helotes Storage

September 2006 Self Storage Blog Archive

Self Storage

Self Storage Article Directory – Self Storage Vendors

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It is getting close to the end of the school year, and if you are a college student, you may be thinking about what you will do with your excess or unwanted possessions. These things tend to accumulate throughout the school year, whether you own, rent, or live in a dorm room on your school campus. Somehow, at the end of the semester or year, you look around and notice that you have many more belongings than you did at the beginning of the year! If you are graduating, and have to leave your dorm room or rental, or if you will be returning to school but have to find some place to live for the summer, you might want to consider shopping for self storage. This is an option that many college students find very convenient, especially for the summer months. Are you moving back home with your parents? Maybe you are going abroad for the summer. If you have graduated, you might not know what you will be doing at all yet. In all of these circumstances, shopping for self storage is a way to eliminate much of the clutter that seems to collect so easily during the college and dorm years, and clear your mind for what is to come.

Most self storage units are extremely easy to come by. Not only that, but they are very cheap as well. You will never have to worry about the safety of your items, as most companies offer very thorough security systems. If you want to doubly protect your items, you may wish to go shopping for a heavy padlock of your own to put on your unit. Also, take the easy precaution of putting your most valuable possessions toward the back of the unit. This makes them more difficult to get to in the rare chance of theft.

You lock your belongings in the unit, you keep the key, and most of the time you can return whenever you choose to retrieve or check on your possessions. Almost every town, whatever the size, will offer some type of self storage that will most likely meet your personal needs. You can go shopping on the Internet to see different locations for various companies.

If you happen to have larger things that need to be stored, such as water sports equipment or a car you may not want to use for the summer, many places have outside room for these types of things as well. 

If you happen to have items that are either delicate or valuable, you might want to go shopping for climate controlled units. These are now offered more and more at different companies. You do not want your items to become warped or ruined by extreme hot or cold weather.

There are several tips you might try to follow when storing your belongings. First of all, try to put everything in boxes that are a uniform size. This makes it easier to stack them, and makes better use of the space within your unit. Secondly, stack your boxes with the heaviest on the bottom, and the lightest on top. This way your lighter, perhaps more fragile, belongings will not get crushed. If you leave small walkways between the boxes or furniture that you are storing, this makes it simpler for you to make your way around within self storage unit, accessing items as needed. 

Storage

Ohio Boat Storage

Kansas City Storage

December 2006 Total Quality Assurance Service Blog Archive

Car Storage

Self Storage Article Directory – Self Storage Advertising and Marketing

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Every secret shopping evaluator knows that having a good basic script is essential in any type of sales. This is especially true for anyone working in a call center selling self storage, and for two very good reasons. 
 
Reason number one, self storage is an intangible and not something that a customer can hold in their hand. It is not a red sweater that they can actually pick up and try on. Self storage is about the security and the peace of mind that comes when a customer needs to stow away their most prized possessions.
 
And reason number two, most people have never rented a self storage unit before. They know the color red, and how a sweater feels. But they have no clue about a rental unit. They might have heard of it, but more than likely they heard a horror story about a friend of a friend that had all of their stuff ruined by rodents. Now that they find themselves in a predicament where they will need to rent a unit they are pretty nervous about it.

Because of these reasons it is very important that the sales rep be able to explain all of the benefits of self storage to the caller, and fairly quickly since most customers are in a hurry when they use the telephone. A secret shopping evaluator knows that this is why having an excellent basic script is so important. It enables the telephone rep to convey all of the pertinent information, such as the convenient location, the great security and cleanliness, and the sized unit that would work best. As long as the script is followed then all of the essentials are covered with each and every call, and in a short amount of time. 

New employees need to have the script in their hand, to physically be able to look at it as they go through training. This is the best way for them to learn it, while at the same time help them to understand how it applies to their new job, as well as the importance of the script itself.

After a new employee has been around for a while, and has gained some confidence, they need to have the basic script nearby as a just in case kind of a tool. Just in case they get off track during a call, or just in case they feel a little uncomfortable with a particular customer, then they have the script as sort of a security blanket to help them get back on track. 

Seasoned veterans often think they know it all, that they have been doing this job so long they can do it in their sleep. The problem with this is that they can become complacent, and can develop some bad habits that they are not even aware of. This is why a secret shopping evaluator is so important. The evaluator can recommend to the experienced salesperson to dust off that old script and use it for a few days. Getting back to the basics is a great idea every now and again. 

A secret shopping evaluator listens to sales calls all day, and they know the importance of a good basic script. The secret shopping evaluator knows that after a rookie has learned the script, and the rest of their new job, that they should adjust the wording to fit their own personality. But no good salesperson ever wants to stray too far from the basic script. It is a very important tool that they need to use throughout their sales career.

Climate Controlled Storage Unit

New Jersey Boat Storage

Aurora Storage

July 2007 Property Management Blog Archive

Climate Controlled Storage Revisited

Self Storage Article Directory – Furniture Storage

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How does your facility or sales environment stand out from the rest? In the market place, today, this is a question that you have to ask yourself consistently. If you are not asking yourself this question on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis, then you might be falling behind the curve. Most businesses are constantly finding ways to stay in front of the curve. Anyone that deals in customer service needs to find innovative ways to satisfy their needs and have them come back to their place of business time and time again.

When you think of customer service, is there any one business that comes to mind? It is certain that there are many businesses associated with this term that are at the top of the charts and first on our minds. Have you ever gotten into that companys business to see what makes them tick? Why does their name come up first when you think about customer service? Some people, when they are focused, would go into that business or call and see how they are taken care of. They would take notes back to their own business and see what is different. They would do this often to ensure that they doing similar things as the company that was on top. The moment they stop looking at what their competition is doing, the will fall behind. Is there someone in your area that is doing well in your field that you can evaluate their business?

Who is at the top of the customer service world? Why are they there? There have been multiple studies around businesses evaluating the different customers that are coming into the building. They do exit interviews with them (interviewing them when they are about to leave their store) and they have them take online surveys. They ask questions about their experience during the sales presentation, etc. The key thing is now, what they do with all the data they collected. They take that data and form types of people they are having trouble with. They dig deep into those groups of people (could be age, sex, culture, lifestyle, income, etc.) and find out how to better serve them. That is the important part, being able to see where your trouble areas are and finding a way to make the biggest impact on their business. If you can truly see some kind of lift from your hard work in collecting client data, you will win big.

When your company profits and losses based on they level of customer service you provide, you have to be good at what you do. When potential clients walk into your building what kind of experience, will they receive? That is what you need to be at the forefront of your minds when trying to determine what you need to do to be at the top of the client development world.

Now it is up to you. What do you do from here on out. Do you become stagnate in your everyday routine in your workplace, or do you go out and make a difference? Clients are not always going to tell you what you need to do in order to take better care of them. Sometimes you will just have to roll up your sleeves and get dirty. The more work you do around client development and taking care of their needs, the better your company will be in terms of profits. 

Finding Storage

Nebraska Self Storage

San Antonio Storage

October 2007 Secret Shopping Blog Archive

Self Storage

Self Storage Article Directory – Wine Storage

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In our current state as a nation, it is becoming harder than ever to find job employment. This is a growing trend, and has been, over the past several years. The lack of people finding job employment who are looking for it is not limited to any age or income demographic. It seems that anyone who is looking for a decent job is really struggling to land one.

The questions America should be asking are Why is this happening? And what can be done about it? Both of these are hard questions to tackle. And, to make things worse, the answers may be even harder to swallow. For many, the easy answer is to lay the blame on the current presidential administration. Sure, why not? There is plenty of evidence to show the economy and job employment figures have taken a not-so-graceful nosedive over the past couple of years.

But if you dig more deeply, and do a little bit of research, you can see that job employment is not tied entirely to the economy or the presidents policies. So, one might query, what else has changed? The first thing that has is a certain group of people who are now flooding the job market on all income brackets. Since women have been gaining equality in the job market, the availability of jobs and career paths that once could be easily had by men are no longer certain. In the not-too-distant past, discrimination against women prevented them from holding any high positions within companies or corporations. But things are more equitable now, and with that shift in social views came a natural shift in the functioning of society.

Another reason people are having a harder time finding job employment is the saturation of new higher-education graduates. Again, our society is changing, and while in the past very few people could hold college degrees, they are becoming more commonplace everyday. Some researches have said that a college diploma is the new high school diploma. It seems that to have a chance with even the lowest level job, one must have a bachelor of something, regardless of what it is.

The problem with that approach by business owners and managers is they are cutting off a potentially valuable group of people. Having a degree is invaluable, for many reasons, but just because a person does not hold one should not immediately cut them out of the running for low-level positions.

While the aforementioned changes do present some challenges for the job-seeker, they also serve to benefit the U.S. in a few ways as well. The upsurge in women in the marketplace can undoubtedly be seen as a positive thing. To discriminate based on gender is an outdated and oppressive way of thinking. Disposing of harmful policies and social views is a great way to move culture forward. In addition to that, bringing women into the job market creates more healthy competition for job employment, and thereby should increase the overall quality of people holding top corporate and managerial positions.

The saturation of job seekers with degrees under their belts can also be seen as a very positive thing in its own right. The simple reason for that is, it means our society is becoming smarter and better educated as a whole. Ideally, this would mean we are on the track to becoming a more peaceful and productive nation, but only time will tell if that becomes true.

While the job market may be slim pickings at the moment, job seekers should not give up hope. Some of the causes of the scarce amount of jobs hold their own positive attributes, and could definitely help you in the long run.

Storage Quotes 

Montana Motorcycle Storage

Brooklyn Storage

November 2007 Self Storage Blog Archive

Shoe Storage

Self Storage Article Directory – RV Storage

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Lets get a show of hands of who loves great customer service. Wait a minute. We cannot see each other raising our hands, but it is safe to say that everyone will have their hands raised. Why do we expect great customer service from everywhere we go, but not always provide it in our self storage facilities? We as consumers have needs that we need fulfilled, as do the people that call us on the phone. Do we always volunteer all the information to the person helping us, or do we just answer whatever questions they ask us. With people on the phone, we have to dig deep sometimes to figure out their needs and then find a way to satisfy those customer service needs.

We all know there are a variety of reasons people are in need of storage. You should provide them great customer service based on their needs not what special you are running at the time. They might be declutering their house, moving from an apartment to a house, storing business documents, etc. It is up to us to determine that and then find a storage solution that would benefit them the best. With someone who is attempting to sell their house within two weeks, would they need information on how they can save money by renting for three to six months? Probably not, but will that same customer like the idea of being prorated for the days they use so they do not have to pay for the full month? Yes. Would the business customer who needs to store business documents like to know how they can save money towards their bottom line if they store for a year? Absolutely. What customer would love the idea of paying one dollar for a week (some companies run a one dollar move in special) so they can transition their belongings from one house to another? There probably is not one person that would not. Your level of customer service is going to mean the world to this customer. The person who can give them the best customer service by satisfying their needs will gain the customers business.

Good customer service is different to many people. What you think a high level of service is not the same as your competitor. It is about what the customer thinks. Take the time to think about the last time you got great customer service. What was so great about it? Why are you thinking about going back? Would you tell your friends about this service you received and why? Those are the questions you should ask yourself in reference to your self storage facility. What makes your facility so much better in terms of customer service than your competitors customer service? What do your customers think about your customer service? Do you know how you can find out? You ask the customer. Their feedback is crucial to your business.

The whole idea of customer service in self storage is to get people to rent and to have repeat business. Let us get out of the mundane one-size fits all strategy, dig deep, discover their true storage needs and find a solution that can work for them. Treat customers like you want to be treated and providing them and excellent experience will flow naturally. If the caller does not want to volunteer information, ask questions that get it out of them. The more information you have, the better you are able to accommodate their needs.

Storage Bins 

Louisiana Boat Storage

San Antonio Storage

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Quality assurance is the one thing that is worth its weight in gold to any company. It is the one thing that will keep your business afloat. Quality assurance helps to keep small things from becoming major problems, if caught at the beginning, rather than when it is shipped out or has reached the consumers. It is a way to assure your consumers that anyone that uses your products that they have been thoroughly tested and checked for the best quality assurance you can get.

Quality assurance has saved a great many of companies from being out of millions of dollars. Being able to trouble shoot and pin point a problem before it leaves the production is a fabulous thing and a great way to know your product is safe. It also allows the product to be put under a fine tooth comb for durability, safety, value, and many other things that are tested as far as quality is concerned. It keeps any company that takes pride in quality assurance, head above water.

The benefit of having quality assurance is that you have an opportunity to catch things before they leave for production. It also allows several testing points at each operation so there is no reason for failed quality to leave the factory without being caught at some point of operation. Quality assurance is an assurance to the consumer and the companies that they are guaranteeing there product to be one hundred percent tested to be a good product.

Quality Assurance is leading the industry in quality due to its success rate and all around performance. Employees take great pride in what they are manufacturing because they feel a sense of contribution knowing that they are making a difference. 

Todays market is so full of many types of products, everyone is trying to have the best product on the market. But not everyone is taking measures to assure quality assurance to its consumer. Taking the best approach will always result in the best. Which is why having a team of quality experts to assure you the best of quality assurance is the way to go.

Quality assurance leads the industry in quality performance. The industry has teams of quality workers who take great pride in the assurance of quality at its greatest. Businesses rely on there professional opinions to assure them a quality product are going out to its consumers. They trust that their employees are doing everything in there professional ability to assure a great product.

The many talents that are used to test for a quality product are amazing to say the least.
They go through so many different levels of testing with the product even before marketing or any other department gets it. The quality assurance team is a group of dedicated workers determined to make sure that any product gets top of the line quality performance before it ever leaves the quality control department. 

Quality at its best is the number one going assurance for a top of the line quality performance. A great team of quality players will always strive for nothing but the best in quality. Quality assurance can make or break your company, if you do not have a quality assurance team now, you should get one. You will see a difference in your production and how consumers interact with your product.

Customer Service

Kentucky Furniture Storage

Brooklyn Storage

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