» Customer Service

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Are you looking for a part time job to help pay off your debt? Are you saving money for a special trip or gift? Chances are, you would rather not add a second job to your schedule, but alas, we do what we have to do – or do you have to?

What if you could earn extra income from your home? What if you did not have to rush from your full time job straight away to your second job?

Here is the answer to your quest for finding supplemental income – join a group for mystery shoppers . Many people overlook this industry and pass it off as too good to be true. Granted, there are some scams out there, however, there are some serious organizations looking for mystery shoppers to fill positions with them.

Some of the most commonly thought of industries that hire mystery shoppers are the fast food restaurants, dinning eateries, retail stores and even doctors offices. However, the goods and services industries that use shoppers are endless. Some you may not have thought of before, like salon and spa industries, travel agencies, hotels and resorts, self storage, car dealers, special interest stores – like electronic stores and game stores, and many more.

The bottom line is that if you already have a full time job, then you are already trained at something. That something probably qualifies you to be hired with other mystery shoppers in that industry.

Do you have a knack for putting together puzzles or trains? Search online for hobby stores that might be posting jobs for mystery shoppers .

Now, do not quit your day job over the hopes of striking it rich in the first week. Any legitimate request for shoppers should pay between 10 and 50 dollars, on average. In some cases, it may be less but you may get perks like a free meal or a complimentary product. And in some cases, your only pay may be the free meal ticket.

You should explore the details of each job before accepting the assignment so that you enter it with a clear understanding of what the company wants from you, and what they will pay you.

These shopping jobs are also not a reliably steadfast source of income because the shopping jobs are requested in intervals by separate companies. This may mean that you will have 3 jobs in one week and then nothing for several weeks to come. One determining factor in how steady the flow of shopping jobs may be is the population of the city you live in or near.

You must also decide how far you are willing to travel to perform your shops, and what is the minimum you will accept for payment. It is important to realistically determine that before an opportunity presents itself or you may find yourself with regrets. If you have not set a radius for yourself, you may be tempted to take on assignments that draw you very far from where you live. The cost of traveling so far may soon outweigh the compensation you receive for the shopping job. You should never end up on the losing end or in the red after you have made a shop for another company.

After considering all these things, take a look around your local community and explore what opportunities you may be able to take on for part time shopping work.

Pompano Beach Storage

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Are you the kind of person who likes to get into property investing? Everyone knows that you can become very profitable in real estate. That is why many people are getting into researching and looking at the best land to invest in. When trying to get into this type of business, it might help to find a real estate management company that can help guide you until you get good at it. If you can manage your real estate properties correctly, you can be very happy with the results.

You can manage your properties many different ways. If you are not on top of your game, you could loose a lot of money very quickly. A real estate management company can have someone help you manage the properties or you can try to do it all yourself. Depending on the extent of your properties, that could be a very daunting task trying to manage the properties.

Have you ever seen on TV the people that flip houses? That is just one aspect of what a real estate management company can do. There are many different ways people get involved in property investing. Trying to find a way to get all of your properties together to keep track of them can be hard to do. There are many examples of people that flip houses and spend a lot of time on one project and could potentially loose focus on the other properties they have. By having a real estate management company assist you, you do not have to be on point, and you do not have to work all the time. If you decide to take this responsibility on yourself, the moment you get off schedule or invest more than you originally planned, you could be in big trouble financially. As stated above, in this kind of business, you might want to consider hiring someone or people to help you manage the properties. This is especially a great idea if you plan to getting involved in the manual labor instead of contracting out the work.

You have to do your research when it comes to finding a good business to handle your land. You should look at a property completely, in its entirety in order to see if you should invest. In the current economy, where you place your money is very important. In this market, you could gain a lot or you could loose a lot. The choice is up to you and how passionate you are. Land investing is a very difficult professional to be in. You have to invest a lot of your time in order to make your business successful. Many have succeeded and many have failed. No two people have the same experiences or the same focus in this type of business.

A real estate management company can make sure that you are organized and you have everything prioritized. If you have multiple properties, if you are looking to sell them, they can help you ensure you know how long each one has been on the market. You cannot let the properties that you have go stagnant. You have to do whatever it takes to ensure that you do open houses, get opinions from real estate agents, etcetera in order to get your property to sell.

Use your passion, your gut, and your smarts to find the best investments for your company. Not every property is going to be your cash cow. You are going to make some great decisions and then some decisions that will make you look like a hero. Find a good real estate management company to help you.

Miramar Car Storage

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Do your employees have excellent real estate property management knowledge ? Do they know what will fit into a 5×10 self storage unit or a three bedroom apartment? Do they have advice they can give a customer as to the best way to store their items so it will fit comfortably into the unit or moving advice? Can they give a good visual as to the size of the unit or apartment and what will fit into it, over the telephone or via email? Excellent real estate property management knowledge is essential, first and foremost. If the employee blows this, then a customer is not going to pay attention to anything else they have to say.

Can they give excellent directions to the facility, rental property or home for sale? Can they give well known landmarks to the locals, while at the same time give detailed and easy to follow directions to out-of-towners, or someone new to the area? If there is several self storage or rental communities in the area, can they make it easy for the customer to know which location is theirs? For example, tell a caller that it is the first driveway past the stoplight, or the building with the red roof. Telling a potential customer that you are the facility or property located next to ABC self storage is not a good idea. Instead mention crossroads or other popular travel paths. If you have a large mall or industrial park nearby people might be able to associate that location as nearby your site or property. 

Are your access hours occasionally flexible for special customers? Construction workers, salespeople, doctors and landscapers can be great customers, but they may need odd access hours to accommodate their working schedules. Offering to stay a little later to accommodate these customers will show in their appreciation and their loyalty to your business. Some self storage sites will allow certain customers with pre-approval to have 24 hour access to the site. These customers have been cleared with the owners and extra information is usually on file if needed. Also, by charging an extra fee for extended gate hours will keep some folks away. The average renter does not usually need extended hours and will find the time to go to your site when the regular hours are posted.   

The first thing to do to make your real estate property management staff the best that it can be is basic training, no, not push ups and sit ups. Rather, the basic training about the ins and outs of the self storage and rental property business. Accomplishing this will allow you to make certain your staff is well trained. There are many different companies out there that offer training. Doing some homework to make sure the training you are paying for fits your business will allow your training dollar to go farther. On-going training in sales and customer service will keep your staff the best it can be.  

Real estate property management is a job that many people can do. You must have some customer service and field experience to be successful. A good balance of people skills and great selling techniques will go a long way in the real estate property management business. Make sure your business is up to date on their sales and service skills and your business will profit.  

Miami RV Storage

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As soon as a tenant moves out of an apartment, the property management company goes to work. This is when it is time to redo floors, remove wallpaper, paint, etc. Over the years they will pick up a lot of inexpensive and innovative ways to do many of these repairs. 

Hardwood floors can be a very nice feature for any home. But they can also be costly to maintain, not to mention a lot of work to take care of. 

Commercial varnish remover can be expensive to purchase and dangerous to use when a property management company is working on refinishing wood floors. There is a much cheaper and less dangerous concoction he can make himself. Combine a cup of cornstarch with a half of a cup of cold water. Add a quart of boiling, three quarters of a cup of sal soda, a half of a cup of ammonia, and one tablespoon of vinegar. Apply this mixture to the wood floor while it is still hot. Re-warm this homemade varnish remover as necessary. After the varnish on the floor loosens, wash it away with hot water and a cloth. 

Once the hardwood floors are in pristine condition they will want them to stay that way. Unfortunately, shoes can leave ugly black heel marks on hardwood floors. A frugal property management company knows that putting a little toothpaste on an old toothbrush will take care of this problem. With a little elbow grease the scuff marks will simply disappear!

And they will want to remind their tenants that putting old socks on the legs of furniture will help to prevent scratches on the wood floor while moving furniture around.

There are many different wallpaper removers available on the market. Most of them have a pungent odor, and all of them can be expensive. There are different options available with staples found around the average home. One option is to mix some vinegar and water in a pan, and heat it up. Dip a sponge into the mixture and apply it to the wallpaper. Then remove the wallpaper. A second option is to mix fabric softener with hot water, then let it soak on the wallpaper and peel away!

A thrifty caretaker also has a few practical hints when it comes to painting. Lining a roller pan with aluminum foil can make things easier. When they are finished painting, they simply throw the aluminum foil away, and the rolling pan is ready for next time. And it is usually inevitable that paint will spatter everywhere when a nonprofessional is doing the painting. They know that baby oil on a rag wipes up paint spots, and costs less and smells better than turpentine!

Indentations are often left on carpets when the furniture is moved. This can be unsightly and can turn off a potential renter. A property management company knows an efficient way to remove these marks is to use a steam iron. Turn the iron onto the lowest steam setting, and then hold it a couple of inches above the carpet. If the carpet contains non-natural fibers, then a hairdryer on a warm setting should be used instead. If an iron or a hairdryer is not available, then placing ice cubes on the indentations will also work. Use a vacuum attachment or a brush to fluff up the carpet.

The longer an apartment stays vacant, the longer that it is not producing income. So it is imperative that a property management company work as quickly and as economically as possible to get a new tenant into the home. 

Self Storage Rentals

Rhode Island Boat Storage

Bogart Storage

May 2006 Self Storage Blog Archive

Self Storage Quote Revisited

Self Storage Article Directory – Furniture Storage

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What are we here to do? What is your job function when you come into work and get yourself ready for the day that is ahead of you? When you put on your combat shoes and strap up your helmet to go to war, do you truly know what is expected of you out there on the battlefield? In self storage, mostly everyone understands what they are there to do, but do they decide to execute it. How can we ensure that what we expect as property owners is being executed out there with all of the customers that enter our building? The best thing out there currently is secret shopping.

Secret shopping helps address some of the things that bother most people in the self storage world. One of them is the lack of personalized service. Some managers out there in the self storage world just treat callers and customers as if they are just a transaction. The caller asks for a price and then their wishes are met. We give them the price. Unfortunately, that is usually the end of the call. Many of us reading this blog might not know a lot about self storage, but we do not know the ins and outs of all business we need to do. With secret shopping, we can ensure that our associates are taking care of the caller completely. This is the best way to know what is truly being said in the interactions between our managers and the clients we want to turn into renters. All associates should step in to the customers shoes when trying to serve them. How would you like to be treated when you are shopping for something that you are in need of?

With secret shopping, we get the unique opportunity to try to understand what the caller or customer truly wants and we can see what else we need to do to get more clients into our rental facility. Take a step back. How do you like to be treated when you enter a customer service environment when you know someone is going to try to sell you something? Most would say they like to be treated as if they are a person wherever they go. They want to feel that their needs are different from the next person. Now most people despise the over the top, wishy washy, hey would like you a drink of water sales environments. On that note, it still makes most feel good that someone is at least trying to be different. Most people do not visit places that do not even try to be helpful. Sometimes, as customers, we are forced to go to those non-helpful places to get our needs satisfied. You do not want to be that self storage facility that people just go to because they have to. You should want your environment to be inviting. 

With most environments, it is hard for most managers to see how their employees are treating the customers. With secret shopping, it allows us to get a true gage how the customer is served. To all the self storage managers out there, next time you are on the phone or a customer walks in, just think about how you want to be treated. Do not let the last customer who was angry deter you from better servicing the next. Do not let what is going on at home hinder you from blowing the next customers socks off with your service. You can never know if you are talking to a secret shopping agent who is evaluating your level of customer service. Put yourself in their shoes, how do you want to be treated if you walked through the doors of a self storage facility?

Training

Nebraska RV Storage

Helotis Storage

November 2007 Self Storage Owner Blog Archive

Self Storage Rates Revisited

Self Storage Article Directory – Climate Controlled Storage

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Any business can benefit from property management, not just landlords and rental property. Property management guarantees a proper environment to live, do business, or whatever the purpose of the property will be. Each property has to take into consideration the different needs of the people that will be passing through or using the space. Typically there should be three categories that should be taken into consideration when dealing with property management: atmosphere, maintenance, and appearance. This segment will explore the property management of a gym.

Gyms should provide the same professional atmosphere that any other business would provide. Given the nature and purpose of a gym, they should create different images, healthy, clean, friendly, and accessible. Given those images, the gym interior should try to recreate feelings associated with those images. When done properly, a person entering a gym should get the impression that it is warm, happy, and inviting. Employees should be dressed professionally and be neat and clean (or at least have a uniform with no visible holes or stains). Employees typically will work closely with the gym members so their appearance is an important factor.

Maintenance is the next priority. Maintenance involves making sure that all equipment is working properly, and that no repairs are needed to the structure. Depending on the gym, there can be a lot of equipment that needs to be maintained. For a gym, start out by keeping the exercise equipment in tiptop shape. These are the bread and butter for the gym so all pads need to be replaced after showing significant wear. All belts, pulleys, and chains should not show any heavy signs of wear. Imagine if one snapped while a member was using the machine. Water fountains should always be functioning, or there should be alternative methods of obtaining water in case the fountains break down. Everybody at the gym is going to be sweating so keeping up hydration is an important health factor. Some other gym attractions need to be maintained as well. Some gyms have hot boxes or saunas. These should have regular maintenance, as they can be a fire hazard. All hot tubs should have properly function jets and temperature controls. There is nothing worse than having tight muscles from working out and not being able to relax them away in a hot and bubbly hot tub. Regular property maintenance should be considered as well. This process can get extensive, especially if it has been a while since the last time repairs were made. Walls should be checked to make sure all cracks and holes have been patched and painted. Any missing or broken ceiling tiles should be replaced. All leaks should be fixed. Special care should be taken with the locker room and shower areas. Many different chemicals are used to keep these areas sanitary. Some of those chemicals can cause metal surfaces to rust (i.e. sprinkler systems and faucets).

First impressions are important so the general appearance of the property counts for a lot in the eyes of. The first thing people see will be the outside. Trash should be picked up outside and all signage on windows should be attention getting and professional. Upon entering the gym another demand is a clean interior. This means that all trash needs to be picked up. All carpet and floors should be swept and all exercise equipment should be dusted. Being fully stocked also gives the impression that anything they customer wants is available. Empty product spots tell the customer that what they want might not be in stock and they may go elsewhere. So sports drinks, water, and protein bard should be always stocked. All windows and mirrors should be free of fingerprints and dirt. With all these considerations for property management, any gym should be successful or at least look successful.

Self Storage Quotes

Mississippi RV Storage

Columbia Storage

February 2008 Self Storage Blog Archive

Craft Storage

Self Storage Article Directory – Self Storage

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Real estate management services not only mean maintenance free investment properties for real estate owners, real estate management services mean a convenient source of rental listings for prospective tenants.

Real estate management services often manage several rental communities at a time in any local area. Future renters can look through lists of availability and sometimes specify their search to locate the price range, amenities, location and features that works best for them. Real estate management services are happy to assist possible renters. However, there are some things you can do, as a future tenant, to present yourself in the most positive light to your local real estate management services.

Try a few of these things to let your local real estate management services know you are a serious renter and qualified to be an ideal tenant.

• Pre-qualify your finances by searching for rental properties that cost no more than one-third of your income so that you will not be too far stretched to afford the other necessities and luxuries of life. Even if real estate management services allow a renter to over-extend their financial circumstance, you should be cautious to do so in order to avoid a financial burden and possible credit problems should you fall behind on your rent, which would also affect the possibility of being approved for future rental properties.

• Gather copies of your proof of income. It is usually a good idea to have at least your last check stub, but your last two check stubs are ideal as proof of income.

• If you are self employed, real estate management services may require copies of at least the past two years of your tax papers in order to prove you have a stable income.

• Research the neighborhoods of the rental communities you are interested in. (Asking real estate management services specific questions about the safety of the community may not result in the most honest answer. Real estate management services sometimes cannot disclose security problems because of liability reasons.)

• Discuss any pets with the real estate management services you consider. Real estate management services will be able to tell which of the properties they represent allow pets and which of them do not.

• Do not lie about things that may appear on your credit report or past problems with landlords or other real estate management services. Being up front about these problems may result in more lenient property owners to extend a rental opportunity your way. However, lying about these situations will certainly not make you a considerable candidate for renting a property.

• Call ahead and make an appointment with a representative of the real estate management services you are looking at. This will not only prevent you from driving to the office and finding the real estate management services manager busy with another renter or out of the office showing a property. Real estate management services will appreciate the courtesy of making an appointment. In fact, some real estate management services will not meet with prospects without an appointment.

• Avoid waiting until the last minute to start looking for a new rental property. Real estate management services may take a few weeks to process your application. In addition, you would look like a more responsible candidate if you begin filling out applications at least one month before your lease is up in your current rental property.

Following these simple guidelines will allow you to put your name at the top of the list of prospective renters.

Self Storage 

Florida Self Storage

Brooklyn Storage

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Have you ever thought about being a mystery shopper? Can you be honest and give a company valuable feedback that would aid them in making better decisions for their company? Are you the kind of person that would not mind talking to complete strangers acting as if you are genuinely interested in what they are talking about? These are just some of the questions that you can ask yourself. There are people out there who have already chosen to participate in secret or mystery shopping. Some people have been out there for years, helping companies to get better and reach their goals. However, what does it take to be the best mystery shopper you can be?

To be the best mystery shopper, you definitely need to be focused. You have to know your plan of action and execute it. When you are not focused on what your goal is, how can you help the company that is paying you to provide the service for them? When going into a store or calling someone on the phone, to be the best mystery shopper you do not need to be distracted by what goes on around you. Stay alert and be ready for whatever comes your way.

To be the best mystery shopper you need to be able to adapt to the situation. With the companies that know they are being shopped often, the best mystery shopper can answer their questions without making the shopped person think they are being shopped. Most companies have associates that will try to throw even the best mystery shopper off course to see if they are a real customer or someone shopping them. The best mystery shopper has to be quick on their feet and a quick thinker. One example that has been seen is when some people make their secret shops over the phone. The company being shopped sometimes asks if they know where they are located so the caller knows how to get to their facility. Most cases, the mystery shopper says they know where that facility is coming from. Then the person being shopped asks them where they are coming from so they can give better directions. Well, most people would be stuck and stutter before giving the answer, but the best mystery shoppers replies in a way which will not give the associate a reason to believe they are being shopped.

The best mystery shopper should be prepared for what they have to do. If they shop on the phone, they should have a fake name and phone number to give if they need to. Some people try to wing their presentations and get caught sounding as if they do not know the answer. The person being shopped will most likely know at that point they are being shopped and then all of a sudden become the best sales person ever known to man. To be the best mystery shopper, you have to prepare and you have to pay attention. The slightest incorrect statement or slippage of words could result in the failure of the mystery shop.

As you see above, it is not as easy as you think to be the best mystery shopper. You have to be focused, pay attention, be prepared and be quick on your feet. Your mind has to be able to consistently fool the person being shopped. Do not let your over confidence in doing mystery shops allow you to make the mistake of being discovered as a mystery shopper.

Business 

Delaware RV Storage

Kansas City Storage

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For many of us, it does not make sense the way some of the people that work for us treat our customers. Some of them do not follow the behaviors that we laid out that could have our customers return to use our services later or to increase our profits. We all know we have people that work for us that do not quite fit the mold of what we are looking for. How can we know for sure that we can ensure those people are taking great care of our customers? Well if you do not know by now, secret shopping services are available. With secret shopping, someone can pretend as if they are interested in a service or product your facility has and then your associate attempts to assist them. This all sounds great most of the time, but not everyone is receptive to the secret shopping method.

There was an example of a facility that usually does a great job taking care of their customers and their lack of vacancies further solidifies that observation. While secret shopping one of their managers, the manager was getting agitated. Sometimes the managers of these storage facilities know that someone is secret shopping them. Sometimes they play along and try to do the best they can do, other times the manager gives them the information they want without trying to build rapport.

In this example, the manager decided to give a half-effort. This manager gave out the price too early and then tried to go back and sell the facility without much luck. After secret shopping the manager, the shopper revealed themselves as a shopper and the manager started getting angry. He went on to inform the shopper that he knew they were secret shopping him and that is why he gave the presentation that he did. He was angry that he missed a real customer on the other line and has to now talk to this person. He could not understand that secret shopping is in place to help him get better at what he does so he can take better care of the customers. He did not agree with that at all and felt that secret shopping was harassing him and trying to judge him. The shopper proceeded to try to help him better serve the customer but to no avail. The call was eventually ended stating that the secret shopping expert could not help the manager if they were not willing to be helped.

When this example was made public for everyone to know, it was shocking that someone would allow this type of behavior to come from one of their managers. It is known that companies pay good money for the secret shopping service to shop their managers. As a business owner, what are you doing to ensure that your managers are receptive to learning how they can better help the customers? With secret shopping, it is the best method to allow business owners to hear and see how their managers are taking care of their clients. So after hearing this example, how does that make you feel? Do you have someone on your staff that is not receptive to learning how they can better help your potential clients? Do you think you can benefit from secret shopping to get a true gauge on how your business is really doing when you are not at the facility?

South Dakota Storage Units

StorageMart Mandela Parkway. Oakland, CA 94607

Car Storage

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One of the most important tasks for a property manager is to qualify each and every potential renter. All adults wanting to reside in an apartment need to fill out a written application, as well as give permission for the property manager to run a credit check.  Charging an application fee is perfectly legal and acceptable in most parts of the country.  This will help to defray the costs involved in checking out any candidates, plus it will immediately weed out anyone that knows they have a poor track record. 

The rental application is pretty standard throughout the industry, and generic forms can be downloaded off of the internet by the property manager at little to no cost.  Each adult fills out these forms that will ask for their personal information, as well as residential, credit, and employment history, along with references and any additional pertinent information.  A diligent property manager can get a good idea as to the character of a particular person as a tenant with just the data available on the application form.

The name, date of birth, and social security number will allow a property manager to find out a lot of just basic information, plus run credit and background checks on the individual if necessary.  A property manager that pays per check will want to do this step last.  There are plenty of other things that can be done at no cost to help reject unfavorable applicants. 

The most important place for a property manager to start when qualifying customers is to contact references and previous landlords that have been provided on the rental application.  This is an easy task that will take very little time, but can produce a wealth of knowledge.  If the names and or telephone numbers given are false, then this is obviously not a good candidate for a new tenant.  If one of these references has some negative things to say, then that might be overlooked.  If several of them have unflattering things to say, then the potential renter needs to be overlooked.  Very little time and money invested, yet a potential problem avoided.

It is also essential for a property manager to verify the potential tenants employment and other forms of income, such as alimony, SSI, pension, etc.  Even a seemingly perfect applicant needs to earn at least three to four times the monthly rent in order to make ends meet.  If the potential tenant has only been with this current job for a short period of time then previous employers need to be contacted.  A history of job-hopping shows a lack of responsibility and may invite problems.

Most states have a website that provides public data.  This as well as local newspapers can provide a plethora of information.  It is good for a property manager to know upfront if a potential renter has any outstanding warrants, or if they are being sued for breaking a contractional agreement.

People have a strong tendency to repeat past behaviors, both good and bad.  Being aware of these behaviors ahead of time can save a property manager a lot of headache and expense in the long run. 

Running a few simple steps upfront is easier than evicting someone later on down the road.  It is up to the property manager to get the best tenants possible.

StorageMart Willits & Park . Basalt, CO 81621

Property Management

Secret Shopping

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