Creating a Customer Experience

Self storage is a necessity for many people who may be in transition for one reason or another or perhaps just need extra space for more furniture than their house can hold. Whatever the case, self storage should be easy and convenient. The self storage experience should leave customers asking themselves why they didn’t think of it sooner, rather than leave them vowing never to do that again.

For many reasons such as debt, membership fees, utilities, mortgages, gas and more, many American’s already spend more than their means allow. When a sudden need for storage pops up it puts many people in a pinch. Even though these storage seekers may have no other option, they still want to feel like they’re getting the best deal around. They may already feel cornered by a landlord, slighted by an ex-spouse, sadden by the death of a loved one, etc; the last thing they want to feel is cheated by the storage company. Therefore, most customers will compare a few places.

The customer weighs in his or her mind the convenience of the locations, prices, access hours, so on and so forth. They go into a self storage experience not really knowing all the details that can be involved. Once they learn about the admin fee, deposit, lock, insurance, access hours, blah blah blah it can all become overwhelming.

That’s where the manager steps in. A pleasant customer experience should be the primary focus because it will play louder in the caller’s mind than all the other competitors when the customer is making a decision. Take this scenario for example:

Say a customer calls three storage facilities. Storage A is friendly enough on the phone. The manager gives the prices and also tells the customer he needs a lock. (Now our caller has been educated a little and realizes those doors don’t lock themselves. He makes a note to himself to search through that old box from high school and look for his combination lock.)

Feeling a little more confident, our customer calls Storage B. This manager is busy in the store with other customers and quickly spouts off a price that is a bit cheaper than Storage A. (At this point, our customer has no feelings or opinions about either A or B and would probably choose the one closest to him.)

Now our customer calls Storage C. A cheerful manager answers the phone and greets our customer. The manager takes the time to ask what items the customer plans on storing. It turns out that our customer has been asking for the wrong size all along and a much smaller storage unit would work just fine for him. After giving the customer a few storage tips and letting him know about the security features at Storage C, the manager tells the customer the price. The manager talks to our customer about locks, insurance, etc. Our customer proudly says he still has his combination lock from high school. The manager informatively talks about the security risks that type of lock can pose and suggests a disc lock, which is conveniently sold at the front desk. (Now our customer feels a little grateful that he found that out before something unfortunate happened.) The manager offers to reserve the unit. Our customer may reserve it right there on the phone, or maybe he needs to talk to his wife. So he goes back home to tell her and all he remembers about Storage A and Storage B are their prices—but then he realizes those prices are for a size he doesn’t need. Then he tells her all the information about Storage C. (Almost certainly, our customer won’t remember the phrases onsite manager, access controlled gate, etc, but he will remember the experience.)

You can see that the experience not only provides the customer with the best service, it builds rapport with the customer. Educating the customer during your contact with him will not only ensure he is prepared, it will more importantly build trust with your company. Trust is a valuable thing in self storage; after all, people leave their treasures in your care. Putting them at ease and giving them peace of mind will guarantee that your business succeeds.

Written by: Sarah Little, TQA Exec and Blog Editor.

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PhoneSmart is your offsite sales force and call center in Columbia, Missouri.

Rent storage from 3600 Quakerbridge Rd, Trenton, NJ 08619

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

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