A Sticky Situation

Most self storage owners or sales trainers teach their staff what to do during a rental inquiry. But what about the calls that may not fit the typical mold of a self storage renter? Today I was curious to see what would happen if I called a storage facility and asked for the address. So I set out on my own little experiment.

One facility I called went like this:

The manager answered the phone (in a less than happy tone). She asked how she could help me and I asked what the store’s address was. She quickly spouted the street address. I asked her to repeat it and spell the street name.

I thanked her and without another word, she hung up the phone.

It could be that a caller with such a request simply wants to mail in a payment, but it could also be that a prospective renter wanted to know where the store was located so they could pay a visit. If it were the latter, then talking about the unit on the phone would be a great way to gain some commitment and ensure the caller does come in for a site visit.

How would you want your staff to handle such a call? In our self storage call center, we’ve trained our reps to always ask, “Can I help you with storage?” or “Were you looking for a storage unit also?” This way no prospect is left hanging out there and going down their list to another storage facility.

Written by: Sarah Little, Total Quality Assurance Executive.

Thanks for reading PhoneSmart call center blog, the inside view of the self storage industry.