http://www.selfstoragediscussionforum.com/blogs/ Self Storage Discussion forum is your venue to discuss Self Storage , Car Storage , RV Storage , Boat Storage , Yacht Storage, Furniture Storage and Wine Storage en Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:48:29 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.selfstoragediscussionforum.com/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.selfstoragediscussionforum.com/blogs/ http://www.selfstoragediscussionforum.com/blogs/sarahlittle/8-yard-sale.html Sat, 02 Aug 2008 03:47:47 GMT I just made about 15 signs to litter every stop sign I can find tomorrow morning. It's finally garage sale time and by the end of the (HOT!!) day I hope to have nothing to put back into my garage storage space.

I hope there are lots of bargain hunters out tomorrow and that they need a washer and dryer or perhaps a hand-me-down sofa. I've got TONS of stuff to get rid of! ]]> SarahLittle http://www.selfstoragediscussionforum.com/blogs/sarahlittle/8-yard-sale.html http://www.selfstoragediscussionforum.com/blogs/sarahlittle/7-window-opportunity.html Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:19:31 GMT The end of the month presents a fresh start for self storage. When you self storage owners wake up on the 1st, you have the perfect opportunity to call PhoneSmart and start a sales training and secret shopping program.

Missing out on another month of storage rentals is a risk you won't have to take once you begin training your managers to close the sale. ]]> SarahLittle http://www.selfstoragediscussionforum.com/blogs/sarahlittle/7-window-opportunity.html http://www.selfstoragediscussionforum.com/blogs/free-storage/6-store-managers-jornal.html Tue, 29 Jul 2008 01:27:06 GMT Today was a busy Monday. We had several renters who called in just after closing on Sunday and reserved a unit to rent today.

I also had to run the collections report again and send notices to all the tenants who didn't pay their July bill yet. It's not my favorite part of the job, but someone's gotta do it.

We have several units that are a few months past due on rents and plan to schedule a self storage auction for August. I'll have to check the weather reports and find a nice day to have an auction. ]]> free storage http://www.selfstoragediscussionforum.com/blogs/free-storage/6-store-managers-jornal.html http://www.selfstoragediscussionforum.com/blogs/sarahlittle/5-bad-use-furniture-storage.html Mon, 28 Jul 2008 04:23:09 GMT Being that I am in the storage industry and that PhoneSmart is owned by StorageMart, you'd think storage would be in abundant supply to me. . . I must be doing something wrong.

I don't know how, but somehow my peaceful room with fireplace, piano and relaxation (meaning no TV, kids or work) has become a furniture storage nightmare!

My Dad is trying to sell his home, so I have inherited lots of furniture from him! Some is here on hiatus, until he wants it back. Some I have swapped out with my old furniture.

I have the task of selling the rest in a garage sale (that I've been trying to host for 5 weeks now!)

At this point, I'd be happy if someone would just come haul it off! I seriously can barely maneuver to the laundry room without having to step over boxes and around a kitchen table, computer desk, sofa, chairs and more mess! (and the garage is even worse!) ]]> SarahLittle http://www.selfstoragediscussionforum.com/blogs/sarahlittle/5-bad-use-furniture-storage.html http://www.selfstoragediscussionforum.com/blogs/storage-boxes/4-weekend-wind-down.html Mon, 28 Jul 2008 01:44:51 GMT I meant to write another blog on Saturday, when the rush calmed down, but it never did! We had a stream of people in the office with almost no down time all the way till 3pm, when we closed. This morning, I saw 3 reservations that had come in from our PhoneSmart call center after we closed yesterday.:D What a great weekend to end the month with. I hope it is only the beginning of a boost in rentals. I meant to write another blog on Saturday, when the rush calmed down, but it never did! We had a stream of people in the office with almost no down time all the way till 3pm, when we closed.

This morning, I saw 3 reservations that had come in from our PhoneSmart call center after we closed yesterday.:D

What a great weekend to end the month with. I hope it is only the beginning of a boost in rentals. ]]> storage boxes http://www.selfstoragediscussionforum.com/blogs/storage-boxes/4-weekend-wind-down.html http://www.selfstoragediscussionforum.com/blogs/storage-boxes/3-saturday-storage-rentals.html Sat, 26 Jul 2008 14:45:45 GMT I opened the store only an hour ago, but already I have had 4 walk ins and all of my appointments showed up to rent storage.

Maybe July was a 'sleeper month' and all those needing storage earlier were busy with weekend holiday gatherings. Now they can't put off any longer getting their stuff into storage.

All I know is it's a great day for storage! Gotta go... more storage customers to serve. ]]> storage boxes http://www.selfstoragediscussionforum.com/blogs/storage-boxes/3-saturday-storage-rentals.html http://www.selfstoragediscussionforum.com/blogs/sarahlittle/2-myth-busters-what-secret-shopping.html Fri, 25 Jul 2008 03:30:28 GMT Being in the secret shopping industry, I sometimes have to work as a "Myth Buster" about what it is I really do.

Whenever I go to the dentist or a social event and have to do the "What do you do? Do you have kids - how old are they? Don't you love the weather..." talk, and I respond, "I run a secret shopping business", people excitedly say, "Do you get stuff for free? How can I do that?!"

While it is true, some secret shoppers are sent out on mystery shopping assignments and are compensated with a product or service, that is not the purpose or intent of the shop.

Business owners understand the value of their customer's experience.

In self storage, I've seen small business owners who try to take control of quality assurance on their own.

They call the facility and try to "shop" them. They stop by unnanounced to see the state of the premises.

Then they persuade their friends and family to call or stop in and give their opinion.

Once they run out of nieces, cousins and friends and they begin to realize how much legwork is involved, they call me back.

Offering them a third-party, unbiased opinion from a professional point of view is only the beginning.

Because of our strong sales background, built on the backbone of the PhoneSmart call center, our secret shopping program is more like a Sales Training Management Service than just a report about how friendly your manager is.

If you find yourself in need of some quality assurance, give us a call. ]]> SarahLittle http://www.selfstoragediscussionforum.com/blogs/sarahlittle/2-myth-busters-what-secret-shopping.html http://www.selfstoragediscussionforum.com/blogs/n_kishor/1-test-blog.html Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:30:50 GMT Test Blog message Test Blog message ]]> n_kishor http://www.selfstoragediscussionforum.com/blogs/n_kishor/1-test-blog.html