Gina Six Kudo is the general manager for Cochrane Self Storage in Morgan Hill, Calif. She is one of four recipients of the Inside Self-Storage 2009 Humanitarian Service Award.
I wish I could claim ownership of this idea but, alas, it belongs to the boss. Last year, he said something along the lines of, “Let’s remodel the restroom. It should reflect the rest of our property and it's part of our reception area. Please see what you can do about it.”
An exciting project, I was off and running. I relished the task of ridding us of the boring, albeit, standard 4-inch white tile with one row of accent color, industrial fixtures and no personality at all. The first call was to a longtime customer, an artist who makes his living as a meticulous general contractor. We spent long hours combing the Internet for ideas and sources, pricing items along the way. Then off to the tile store to pick out some beautiful pieces for the walls and flooring.
About eight weeks later, the transformation was complete and it was amazing! The restroom went from drab and dreary-standard to a look and feel that's warm and luxurious. We now possess the most talked about restroom in town. Current customers were anxiously awaiting the “grand opening” so much that we hung a sign on the door announcing the room was open for business.
We have always invited customers both current and departing to stop by, even if it's just for a clean restroom stop. This may sound strange, but knowing where there is a clean restroom is an asset appreciated by most everyone.
We also took the opportunity to add an additional ADA ramp. What a difference the lack of a curb can make to so many people. We custom-finished the required ADA railings and fixtures to match the color scheme, and these little inexpensive touches—$20 worth of paint and sandpaper—added up to a really great finished product.
The compliments have all been extremely positive. One gentleman popped his head into the office and said, “That bathroom is so nice, I was almost afraid to use it.” New customers walk in and say things like, "My neighbor sent me here, and I want to see this restroom I’ve heard so much about.”
It's not unusual for a former tenant to appear to use the bathroom. Then they raid the cookie or candy jar in our office and engage in a moment or two of conversation. For us it brings another opportunity to promote our referral program and ask for their assistance.
The lesson to be learned when dealing with the public is to never overlook the obvious. Interestingly enough, we learned that something as private as natural human functions brought on conversations that converted to rentals. People were talking and produced word-of-mouth advertising, the one kind you cannot put a price tag on.
Think outside of the box ... and see what novel ideas you can devise.