[A guest blog spot by ISS Associate Editor Elaine Foxwell.]
Currently, I'm writing an article on a new facility that looks like an elegant hotel complete with a graceful adobe archway over the drive, a bell tower and fountains. This is not the first time I have seen facilities that can only be described as stunning. But this one just reminded me how far the industry has come. Yes, I know you know this already; but I'm still naïve enough to be delighted and do the wow thing.
Last year, I did an article on Dunwoody Self Storage in Atlanta that resembles a mansion. The elegance of this multi-story property is enough to draw curiosity seekers who have no idea it provides storage service.
Another wow, was a story about the three Scarpetti brothers in Hooksett, N.H., who built a replica of 10,000-year-old geological formation, known as the Old Man of the Mountain. The landmark, visited by thousands of tourists over the years, resembled a craggy old man. The reconstruction of the mountain profile in front of their facility was made poignant by the fact the ancient formation had collapsed one night and was no more.
Not to nay-say the many veteran facilities in their third decade, the shed-row kind that are pure function and serve a very necessary purpose. No, these first-gen originators blazed the way to a new, massively thriving industry. Without these intrepid pioneers, the elegant stores going up today wouldnt exist. And I like those first facilities. With their practical shed rows and garage doors, they remind me in a small way of the barns at the race track where I worked while getting my degree. Of course there are no horses heads looking out of the storage doors, but you get the picture.
How about that ... Is there some small architectural or decorative element you can add to the exterior of your facility that would tug at a nostalgic cord in the heart of your local customer? An element such as a small fountain filled with fish in a region known for its lakes or rivers, or a design that echoes distinctive local architecture or a landmark.
Think about it. I know budgets clamp down on so-called frivolous spending like a Venus Flytrap snagging a mosquito lunch, but adding some fun to your property can lighten the mood of your customers while simultaneously lightening their wallets. Keep wowing me, folks!