This humorous spot from New Zealand self-storage operator National Mini Storage depicts what one might overhear and see while traversing a self-storage hallway. The conversation centers on a tenant’s stay at another’s small vacation beach house, which is called a “bach” (pronounced “batch”) in New Zealand. The discussion devolves into what happens when a toilet that isn’t hooked up to plumbing is used. We’re still trying to figure out the meaning of the taxidermy.
Self-Storage Management LLC is being sued for negligence by a woman who claims she was injured by a falling tree branch while on one of the company’s properties on Nov. 26, 2015. The lawsuit was filed in August by Judith Lawrence in Broward County, Fla., Circuit Court. The complaint alleges the company failed to maintain the property in a safe condition.
The suit alleges Self Storage Management failed to “maintain and repair fixtures on the property, follow standard operating procedures and train staff to identify potentially hazardous conditions,” the source reported.
Lawrence claims she was hit by the branch along her upper back and neck area. As a result, she suffered severe injuries, emotional and physical pain, and incurred lost wages and medical expenses, according to the complaint.
She’s suing for damages in excess of $15,000 in addition to costs, interest, compensatory and punitive damages. Her attorneys, Paul A. Galsterer and Miguel A. Coder of The Injury Firm PA in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., have requested a trial by jury, according to the source.
Self-storage operator Theros “T” Fountaine and a friend, Thomas William Miller, were shot and killed last week near an illegal pot-growing area outside Forestville, Calif. Fountaine, who operated A-1 Mini Storage on Dutton Meadow in Santa Rosa, Calif., with his wife, Tina, was pronounced dead at the scene on Friday. Miller was declared brain dead and taken off life support on Saturday, according to the source. Both were 46.
The men were found in a rural stretch of vineyards and cornfields near Mark West River. The grow area is near the intersection of River Road and Trenton-Healdsburg Road. The Sonoma County, Calif., Sheriff’s Office hasn’t disclosed the exact location of the shooting nor the status of its investigation. Authorities also haven’t indicated why they believe Fountaine and Miller were in the vicinity, but they believe their slayings were related to their proximity to the site, the source reported. Neither man owned the property, according to Sgt. Spencer Crum, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office.
Fountaine and Miller had formed a friendship during the last year, Tina Fountaine told the source. Both men had criminal records in Sonoma County. Fountaine had three misdemeanor convictions between 2009 and 2013, including one for DUI in 2009, possession of a controlled substance in 2012 and possession of stolen property in 2013. Miller had a recent drug conviction, as well as convictions for car theft in 2001 and burglary in 2012, according to the source.
“My dad had a heart of gold and would do anything to help anyone out,” Brittany Hruby, Fountaine’s 25-year-old daughter, told the source. “He loved to be around his family. He was loved by many people.”
Fountaine is survived by his wife of 31 years, three adult children and a 3-year-old grandson.
Update 9/27/17 – Bee Safe Storage has decided to scale back its self-storage development in the Southeast due to oversupply in some markets. The pivot includes pulling the plug on a 4-acre project at the corner of Tarrant Road and Wendover Avenue in Greensboro, Roy Carroll told the source. The company will continue to move forward on five projects planned for the Triad area of Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem, N.C.
“I think there’s a lot of individuals that have jumped into the self-storage business in the last 18 months, and we’re seeing a lot of market saturation,” Carroll said. “We are long-term players and will deploy our capital when the market fundamentals dictate, but we are pumping the brakes on areas in the Southeast where the development pipeline just doesn’t make sense.”
The Carroll Cos. can afford to be patient because it has the investment capital already available when it decides to pursue a project, Carroll told the source. The company is investing more than $250 million in self-storage development, with more than 30 projects planned for the Southeast.
8/9/16 – Bee Safe Storage received approval last week for a three-story self-storage building at 9021 Chapel Hill Road in Cary, N.C. The town council narrowly approved the 63,402-square-foot facility with a 4-3 vote and placed several conditions on the project, including restricting it to no more than 500 units. Other requirements include low noise generation, and the finished development must closely resemble the renderings presented to the council, according to the source.
“This is the third or fourth storage request we’ve had in a very short period of time,” councilmember Lori Bush said during the Aug. 4 meeting. “In the past, I’ve been vehemently opposed. On the other hand, this seems like the Cadillac or Tesla of storage units, but if and only if the conditions are right for us.”
Roy Carroll’s daughter, Madison, represented the company during the proceedings and assured the council the company planned to build an attractive facility. “It is no coincidence that the exteriors of Bee Safe facilities look like upscale office buildings with upscale finishes,” she said. “The brick and stone exteriors add about $1.2 million to our cost per store, but the upscale and inviting exterior appearance is more important to the brand and our ability to obtain community acceptance in the markets where we want to open new locations.”
Project representatives also argued that environmental and topographical issues on the property make it difficult for other business uses. The current owners have tried to sell the land for 15 years without success, attorney Tom Worth Jr. told the council.
“It is, in the end, a very gigantic box in what is considered a fairly residential area, and I think people who move into that area would not have expected a storage unit to be built near them,” councilmember Jennifer Robinson said in opposition to the development.
Several residents also opposed the project, citing concerns about potential lighting and traffic issues. Tiffanie Taylor, who lives in the nearby Taylor’s Pond subdivision, told the council there are already four self-storage facilities within one mile of the project site and eight within two miles, making the Bee Storage facility unnecessary.
Councilmember Jack Smith supported the development, noting that a trend to build new homes with less square footage has created additional self-storage demand. “I think the world has changed and storage units are becoming more and more critical or essential,” he said during the meeting. “I just think our ability to keep up with that appearance is where our focus should be.”
3/4/16 – Bee Safe Storage and Wine Cellar, a Greensboro, N.C.-based self-storage operator with two locations, is planning to develop another 18 facilities throughout North Carolina and parts of the Southeast. The success of the company’s first two facilities has been “way beyond expectations,” owner Roy Carroll told the source.
The operator opened its first facility at 1016 Battleground in Greensboro in late 2013. A second Greensboro facility opened at 4435 Jessup Grove Road in 2014. Construction on the company’s third location is scheduled for this year at 702 Sunshine Way, the source reported.
"The whole enclosed self-storage industry has really taken off in the last five years," Carroll said. "I believe people are thinking more and more about self-storage."
Its flagship location is a three-story, climate-controlled facility with 550 units and an 875-square-foot wine cellar. It also features LED lighting, piped-in music and an inviting entryway, according to the source. "We developed this as a place where I would want my wife or daughters to go," Carroll said. "It's a brand we developed with the idea of creating something that's inviting and warm."
Carroll is also founder and CEO of The Carroll Cos., a real estate development firm in business for more than 30 years. The developer has built or has under construction more than 14,000 apartment homes with an asset value of more than $1.4 billion, according to its website. The company has more than $500 million invested in development projects in the Carolinas, Tennessee and Texas.
U.K. self-storage operator Safestore Holdings PLC has agreed to acquire Stork Self Storage Holdings Ltd., which operates the Alligator Self Storage brand in England, for £56 million. The cash deal includes 12 properties comprising 563,000 rentable square feet. Ten of the facilities are either freehold or long-leasehold, with two leasehold properties having an average of 15.4 years left on their lease agreements, according to a press release. The transaction is expected to close on Nov. 1.
Safestore officials believe the locations of the new assets complement the company’s existing portfolio in London and Southeast England. Alligator has properties in the Camden borough of London as well as Fareham, Farnham, Luton, Southampton and Winchester in the Southeast. It also operates three facilities in Birmingham and one each in Bolton, Bristol and Nottingham.
The deal will increase the number of facilities in Safestore’s U.K. portfolio to 120, with 67 in London and the Southeast. In its third-quarter earnings report, the operator announced occupancy for its U.K. stores was 72.5 percent. The Alligator portfolio is at 68 percent occupancy, the release stated.
"Over the past 15 months, Safestore has cemented its market-leading position in the U.K., investing £100 million in two earnings-accretive acquisitions, and opening four new sites with a further two stores in the pipeline,” said Safestore CEO Frederic Vecchioli. “These transactions have supplemented the organic growth being delivered by the existing business.”
Last year, Safestore acquired a 12-property portfolio operated by Space Maker Stores Ltd. The deal added 496,000 square feet of storage space to the brand.
Alligator’s pro forma earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, after rent, was £4.3 million per year based on revenue of £7.5 million. The portfolio has an implied first-year net operating income yield of 7.7 percent, according to the release. The transaction will be funded from Safestore’s existing debt structure, with the group’s £60 million “accordion” financing converted into a revolving credit facility.
The deal will bring Safestore’s total portfolio to 146 storage facilities. It currently operates 134 self-storage sites, including 108 facilities it owns in the U.K. and 26 in France. Its wholly owned properties comprise more than 5.7 million square feet of storage space, while its entire portfolio serves approximately 55,000 customers.
As a self-storage operator, many of the customers you interact with every day are experiencing major life changes. They may be dealing with life’s joys and adventures such as moving to a new city, having a baby or getting married. Or they could be grappling with life’s tragedies and disappointments: divorce, death and financial hardship. Whatever the case, when someone rents a storage unit, he’s often looking for more than just space. He’s looking for compassionate customer service.
In many industries, good customer service often feels rudimentary. But in self-storage, it can transcend the ordinary and become an unexpected cornerstone of business. After all, the most memorable service comes when you least expect it. Here are five ways to deliver it to your tenants.
In the digital age, it’s amazing how powerful a piece of actual mail can be. Anyone can fire off a quick e-mail or text, or make a phone call. The number of people who take the time to write something by hand, put it in a stamped envelope and place it in the mail is diminishing in personal and professional settings.
This is where you come in. A thank-you card is an unexpected way to express gratitude to storage customers. You can use one to show your appreciation to a long-time tenant, a new customer or one who just renewed his lease. You might also consider sending cards for other occasions—for example, a sympathy card for someone who’s using storage to safeguard the possessions of a recently deceased loved one, a congratulations card to a newly graduated student, or even holiday cards around November and December.
Many first-time storage users—and even a few long-term ones—don’t know everything about the best storage practices. You’re the expert. Don’t assume your tenants aren’t coming to you with inquiries because they don’t have any. Anticipate their unasked questions by offering advice through a variety of mediums.
In addition to making sure new tenants know they can come to you if they’re not sure how to store a tricky item, such as a flat screen TV, offer tips on your website or via an e-newsletter. You might even consider creating handouts with moving and packing tips or posting fliers around your facility.
If you have an active social media presence, engage with your current and prospective customers by responding to or liking their Facebook comments, tweeting back to them, or retweeting and responding to their messages. You can use this space to thank your customers as well as offer promotions and storage tips.
On your website, include your contact information including a business e-mail address so they can reach you through that platform. You might even add a user-friendly contact form so customers can reach you with questions or comments without having to open a separate window to send an e-mail.
Remember how excited you were as a kid when someone brought cookies for the whole class? That feeling applies to adults, too.
While you don’t have to commit to providing freshly baked cookies in your office every day (kudos to you, though, if you can), you can pledge to offer a little something extra once in a while. Whether it’s muffins every Wednesday, coffee every morning, pizza once a month or even just a bowl of good candy, providing some kind of treat to customers is a simple, effective way to make an impression. It not only gives you a few extra moments to chat with tenants—and perhaps even share information about a recent upgrade at your facility—it also gives them something to remember about your business.
Month-to-month leases with no long-term commitment make self-storage the perfect solution for those in the throes of changing life circumstances. With that in mind, it’s nice to reward loyal tenants. This is especially true if your facility is in a market where storage facilities are plentiful.
Acknowledge that your long-time customers have other options and you appreciate them choosing your business. When a tenant renews a lease, consider offering a token of gratitude, such as a free month of storage, an upgraded lock, one free use of a moving truck, a coupon for a discount on packing and moving supplies, or something non-storage related such as a gift card.
Rewarding customer loyalty is the best way to keep it. You don’t have to spend much. Even a $5 gift card to a coffee shop says volumes. The investment on your end might be minimal, but the impact on customer satisfaction will be huge.
Krista Diamond is a staff writer for StorageFront, which allows customers to custom search and compare thousands of self-storage facilities. She’s a graduate of the University of New Hampshire and lives in Las Vegas. When she isn't writing about storage, she’s climbing mountains in the desert. For more information, visit www.storagefront.com.
Facility managers of Bainbridge Self Storage in Bainbridge Island, Wash., were recognized on Sept. 15 with the “Outstanding Philanthropic Company” award from the Bainbridge Community Foundation (BCF). Manager Janice Danielson and assistant manager Isabelle Roxy Cobb, who regularly use their connections and company resources to support animal welfare and low-income families, received the honor during the 2017 Inspiring People Philanthropy Awards, which celebrate local giving. Their year-round efforts include the collection of coats and schools supplies, and food drives for people and shelter pets, according to the source.
“If you can, why wouldn’t you? You got to do something,” said Danielson. “Why not be helpful?”
BCF created a video about the award recipients, which included comments from community members about Danielson’s labors. “Janice helps people. She really improves things here on Bainbridge Island,” said Diana George, executive director of PAWS of Bainbridge Island and North Kitsap, a nonprofit animal-welfare organization. George has worked with Danielson on several pet-food drives.
Danielson’s role as a self-storage manager gives her the opportunity to “render help and aid, or direct resources that may be able to help those individuals,” said Matt Hamner, chief of police for the Bainbridge Island Police Department. “Her passion is having compassion for individuals.”
Additional honorees included Bob and Judy Karr as “Outstanding Bainbridge Philanthropists,” and Sophia Doane, winner of the “Outstanding Young Philanthropist” award. Recipients were chosen by the BCF Board of Trustees and staff based on their acts of generosity and volunteerism, according to the organization’s website.
“These individuals and businesses personify the spirit of selflessness and generosity that makes the Bainbridge Island community what it is,” said Jim Hopper, executive director of BCF. “They lead by example and have done so many great things for others.”
BCF aims to improve the quality of life for Bainbridge Island residents by inspiring community members to engage through volunteering and philanthropic support. The foundation connects donors and charities, and funds grants to dozens of local nonprofits each year, the website stated.
Bainbridge Self Storage is owned by Urban Self Storage Inc., which was founded in 1987. The company operates more than 65 facilities in Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington.
Maritime Self-Storage opened this month in Barrington Passage, Nova Scotia, Canada. Owned by Randy Foubert and his wife, the property at 294 Stirl’s Road is in the Barrington Passage Business Park, near the business district and several coastal ports.
The couple, who are both teachers in their mid-40s, sought a business they can operate once they retire, according to the source. “We found Barrington was the perfect spot,” Foubert said. “In our research, we found it was one of the biggest communities in all of Canada that didn’t already have a facility.”
The property contains a variety of unit sizes, ranging from 5-by-10 to 10-by-20, which can store vehicles. Security measures include video cameras.
“I think Barrington is a little secret hideaway that the rest of the province doesn’t know about,” Foubert said. “[People] don’t realize how vibrant the area is.”
A former farming complex in Milpitas, Calif., will soon be converted to a mixed-use property that will include self-storage, a retail store and a gas station with a carwash. Los Gatos, Calif.-based McCarthy Ranch LP received approval last month from the local planning commission to develop the 9.34-acre parcel it owns at 1585 N. McCarthy Blvd., just south of Dixon Landing Road and west of Interstate 880, according to the source.
The Aug. 23 vote covered the site development, conditional-use permits and an environmental assessment for the six-structure complex, called Sprig Center. The proposed three-building self-storage facility will comprise 188,011 square feet of space in 826 units. It’ll employ two or three full-time staff members, said Lillian Hua, associate planner for the city.
The complex will also include a Floor and Décor, a specialty retailer in the hard-surface flooring market, and a Chevron ExtraMile convenience store and gas station. “These buildings range from one to three stories in height. The scope of work involves the construction of these buildings, driveways, landscape areas and hardscape,” said Hua, adding the landscaping will benefit the area. “The project also converts vacant land to a higher and better use, and fosters beautification, new economic business and employment opportunities.”
During the public hearing, commission vice chair Rajeev Madnawat asked if a barrier could be added to keep wildlife from nearby Coyote Creek from entering the site. The architect noted a fence will be constructed.
The project is McCarthy’s second in the area. The firm broke ground last month on McCarthy Creekside, an industrial and warehouse complex at 625 N. McCarthy Blvd. Approved by the city in 2016, the 805,000-square-foot development includes five industrial buildings and a single structure for retail space or a restaurant, the source reported. Farmed by the McCarthy Family for years, the land formerly contained a cold-house storage building, two smaller storage buildings and several small outbuildings.
Wise Business Plans (WBP), a provider of custom business plans designed to help companies meet earnings projections and acquire financing, has expanded its research and writing services to cover self-storage.
"Often, owners of a business that is necessary and seems to be in steady demand make the mistake of thinking that they don't need to plan ahead," said Joseph Ferriolo, company director. "It is important for storage facility owners and operators to get the proper business-planning guidance and cutting-edge research that can secure their share of quality profits and also map an effective route to goals achievement and long-term stability in this growing market."
The company’s business plans are written by MBA professionals and take into account each client’s business details and goals, according to a press release. Each plan includes personal and professional financial planning and a free revision.
WBP staff includes financial experts, researchers and writers. The company creates custom plans designed to attract franchises, investors and lenders. It also creates plans to assist nonprofits and U.S. companies that want to bring in foreign workers.
