Self-Storage Shopping Tip #4: Don't Just Shop for PRICE! (Be SMART--Shop for THE MANAGER! :)

I'll spare you the long-winded dissertation you're used to seeing here. (I know, you so look forward to those, but, hey, I can't be expected to write a novel EVERY time I post!)

Let's get down to brass tacks.

Whenever you shop for a mechanic for your car, truck, minivan or SUV, do you ONLY look for a shop with the lowest/cheapest labor rate?

When you shop for a hotel, do you ONLY look for a location or chain with the lowest room rates? (If so, I'm NOT having you handle the arrangements for my next vacation!)

When you shop for an apartment (or a house) to rent, do you ONLY look at units leasing for the LOWEST amount of rent each month?

I didn't think so.

So why in the world would you shop for a STORAGE SPACE that way?

You know, this is starting to sound like a radio or TV commercial so let me abandon ship and switch to something a bit more ORIGINAL!

Okay, as a full-time self-storage/mini-storage manager, I completely understand the tendency to shop for storage space based strictly on PRICE. It goes without saying (so why am I saying it?) that you've already started shopping based on LOCATION because you instinctively narrowed your search to a specific geographic area by using a certain area phone book or else--since you're reading this online--you've typed certain search terms into an online query based on where you'd like your storage space to be (preferably near your work or home or somewhere in between or else near where you're moving to or from or else just SOMEWHERE THAT YOU CAN FIND IT!).

You see, I'm already inside your mind so you better WATCH OUT!

What I'm telling you here is REVOLUTIONARY, counter-intuitive, goes against the grain, violates all known tenets of conventional wisdom, and is in direct contradiction to the existing body of RECEIVED, GENERALLY ACCEPTED STANDARDS AND SELF-STORAGE SHOPPING PRACTICES that have been handed down through the ages.

Which is why it MAKES SO MUCH SENSE!

I'm certainly not against you getting the BEST DEAL. No, of course not! As your most trusted self-storage advisor--strictly on a volunteer, pro bono basis!--I'm simply telling you to think outside the box. (You've NEVER heard that before!)

Getting the lowest price on a storage space--even in this hamstrung economy--is oftentimes a ticket to a storage space in a poorly located, somewhat "higher-risk" perhaps area of town. Or even if the location isn't too bad, the facility itself might be, what we refer to in storage parlance as a "dump".

And that's not taking into account the fabulous-sounding, multiple-strings-attached deals that some storage companies are offering (in quiet desperation) as they seek to snag as many unwitting first-time customers as they can. (But enough about them!)

I did say this was going to be a short post, didn't I!

Okay, bottom line: call your prospective facilities one by one on the phone, or else, if it's not too far out of the way, visit them in person.

Your job is to "interview" the manager. Ask him or her a few questions. Listen to what kind of answers you get. More importantly, pay attention to the kinds of questions he or she asks YOU. A good manager will be a "consultant" and "storage counselor" to you first before becoming your storage salesman and rental agent (all in due time). Worst case scenario, he or she is a disinterested, over-the-phone price-quoter! You don't need that!

If the manager seems reasonably INFORMED and INTERESTED in helping you with your self-storage situation, and the facility meets your most important criteria (location, size, competitive rates, security, etc.), congratulations, we have a WINNER!

All things being equal, you want to rent where the manager actually CARES about you and the welfare of your stored property, and will always act in YOUR BEST INTEREST while you store there. From the first conversation to the last "thanks for storing with us", your five senses should all join together in unison and tell you, along with your conscience and sense of better judgment, 'Hey, this is a great place to store!' That, my friend, is the "secret of self-storage happiness".

And speaking of TV commercials--"monthly rent on a standard 10 x 10 storage unit at ARIZONA STORAGE INNS on Warner Road east of Arizona Avenue in Chandler, $84.00 (plus tax); a storage manager who will give you HONEST, COURTEOUS, PROFESSIONAL, PERSONALIZED service, PRICELESS!!" (Naturally, we take both Visa AND Mastercard!--and for you "third-party" cardholders we take Discover, too!)

That's all for now. This concludes our "short post" for today.

Your Manager, Who Hopes You Think His Advice is At Least Worth What You Paid for It!

Paul