Customer Service and the Storage Facility

When you consider storage facilities while you look at self-storage, you’d probably have a list of things you want to check out. The size and range of the storage units, the security at the storage facility, its opening hours, the perks, and the cost – these are all probably high on your list of considerations. What wouldn’t appear on most people’s lists is customer service at the storage facility.

In truth, the customer service at a storage facility – the experience of the staff, how willing they are to help, the services the staff can provide – should be one of the most important factors. When you’re using self-storage for the first time, nothing is going to be more helpful than a storage facility with knowledgeable staff members, who are willing to help in any way they can.

Customer service in a storage facility means staff able to provide advice – whether it be on packing your things, ensuring your storage is safe and durable, or ensuring your storage unit is packed well. Storage facility customer service means staff that help you into your storage unit, and help you pack your storage efficiently. Who give you all the information you need on the storage facility and the services it can provide.

Customer service in a storage facility means staff that care about your storage as much as you do. It should be one of the most important things about choosing a storage facility.

Using self-storage during emergencies

Australia has been dealing with all sorts of weather related emergencies this year. Major bushfires in Tasmania, New South Wales and Victoria, flooding in Queensland and New South Wales – it does make you concerned for your house and your belongings. A great use of self-storage, which people don’t often think of, is in these situations. With a bit of luck, you’ll have some time up your sleeve – more particularly in a flood situation – and you can begin to think about what you can save by using self-storage. Getting some of your most valuable possessions into self-storage can significantly diminish the loss should your house be touched by disaster.

During most emergency evacuations, valuable possessions would get loaded into your car, furniture secured on higher ground, and you’d have to just hope that maybe it won’t be so bad. By using self-storage, you can help to eliminate some of that risk. Cars and evacuation spots can only hold so much – but self-storage can take care of the rest. Utilise your evacuation time by loading more of your stuff into self-storage, and a storage unit that’s safely away from the emergency area.

Dealing with emergency situations like flooding or even severe storms can cause major stress when you think about the danger for yourself, let alone all your belongings. Organise self-storage and keep your possessions away from the danger – and there’s your stress-free solution.

Storage Space and Retirement Homes

My grandfather recently moved into a retirement home. He’s got a small room (and no storage space) for all his things; he gets a meal cooked for him and people to look after him. He’s well set up. What has proved to be a problem is the lack of storage space, and what to do with all of his possessions. It’s not as though he’s died, it feels strange to be dividing up all his furniture amongst the relatives. Renting storage space turned out to be a great solution.

Rather than having him go through his things, and decide what he wants to keep, what he wants to give away, what he wants to sell – the consideration of which was making him feel sad about moving into a home – renting storage space allowed us to keep all of his things easily accessible if ever he suddenly realises he needs them. We don’t have to deal with dividing up his estate, as it were, too early, and he doesn’t have to say goodbye to a lifetime’s worth of belongings – it’s all in storage space.

Though he doesn’t have the storage space to keep all of his things in his room at the home, this way he didn’t have to make hard decisions and throw anything out. Storage space has made him feel much better about moving out, and gave us less to deal with, beyond sorting him and his things for the move. Storage space simplified the process for us, and has proved to be a great, and affordable, decision.

The technical details of storage rental

Two things that are not often thought of when it comes to storage rental are insurance for your storage, and the storage rental agreement for the storage unit.

At Access Self Storage, our insurance will cover your storage rental up to $5000. So if you’re using a storage unit for documentation, children’s toys or old clothes, you should be well covered. However, if you’re using storage rental for more expensive items, such as valuable collectibles, designer clothing, or perhaps expensive electronics, then it might be an idea to look into external insurance, to make sure your storage rental is definitely covered.

When you sign up for storage rental, you are also entering into a rental agreement. If the storage facility you’ve booked doesn’t offer one, insist on making one. The storage rental agreement will detail things like the payment date for your rent, any bonds you’ll need to pay and under what terms this will be refunded or forfeited. A basic storage rental agreement will help to make things official for you, and give a permanent record of the conditions of your storage rental, so that you won’t have reason to be confused.

The storage rental agreement and insurance cover for your storage are very important aspects of storage rental. Make sure, when you’re looking into storage rental and different storage facilities, you ask about these technical details. Comparing insurance offers and storage rental conditions will help you make the right decision about which storage facility to trust your storage rental with.

Be Your Own Removalist for Storage Rental

Hiring a removalist - with their own van, and their own packing materials, and their own muscles - can seem a lot easier when starting storage rental. Strong people will come in, pack up all your stuff for you, load it into a truck, take it away, and then all the storage rental out again for you. But sadly the whole escapade can be quite a costly process. And when your just using storage rental, and not packing up your entire house, is it really worth it?

There are a couple of ways to make storage rental much easier if you decide to be your own removalist. You will have to get packing materials on your own, but they're usually available from the storage rental facility, and come fairly cheap. And there's one major advantage to avoiding the hire of removalists: you can take as much time as you need to pack it into storage rental. Divide it into sections, or pack up two boxes each night, until the whole task is done. Pack smaller boxes, keep them light, so that when you do start moving it into storage rental, they're all still easy to carry - remember you're probably not as well built as the removalists are. And if you're putting mostly books, CD's or wine into storage rental, your packing boxes will get pretty heavy, pretty quickly.

Being your own removalist doesn't have to make storage rental harder, and it can certainly make the process a lot cheaper. At Access Self Storage, we provide a free move-in truck, making removalists even less necessary. Doing it yourself is well worth considering.

Spot On Storage with Access Self Storage

Access Self Storage promises to give you spot on storage in Melbourne. Whatever your storage needs are, Access will provide spot on storage solutions. With a range of storage units (60 different sizes) in an incredibly convenient location near Melbourne's CBD - Access can provide spot on storage in a well-maintained storage facility.

Spot on storage means our storage facility is well secured, with security and fire alarms, and on-site storage managers keeping your storage well looked after. You keep the key to your own storage unit - security is completely in your control. Access Self Storage provides free insurance cover up to $5000 as well. Access your storage seven days a week - so if you suddenly remember that you've left your favourite cardigan in amongst your storage on Sunday afternoon, it's no problem to come and get it back. That's why you'll get spot on storage with Access.

We'll provide a free move-in truck with your storage rental, so if you're using storage rental to keep your furniture temporarily, moving it into the unit will come at no extra cost. We provide quality service, can give you helpful advice, and have a range of packing materials on site, to help your storage rental go smoothly. These are all great reasons why you'll get spot on storage with Access Self Storage.

For spot on storage, use Access Self Storage for all your storage rental needs. Whether it's document archives, spare clothes, old equipment, or large amounts of furniture, Access Self Storage will get you spot on storage.

Storage for Your Camping and Sporting Gear

About this time of year, shortly after Christmas, a lot of us will start to pack up our cars with tents and sleeping bags, kayaks and water skis, and carloads of food, and head out into the wilderness for a filthy week of camping. The tents and sporting equipment will be pulled out of storage, their cramped little hiding spots, and loaded up into the car.

When you get back, packing it all up into storage seems much harder. The garage is probably already full of the storage of other equipment; it's probably going to seem impossible to squeeze all of that camping gear back into the storage areas it came from.

So how about storage rental as a solution? Rather than getting home and stuffing your garage full to the brim, come home from Marysville or Ninety Mile Beach and take all your gear to a storage unit. It could be like having an entire spare garage. Pile the tents, the sleeping bags, the kayaks and the water skis - even the trailer, if your storage unit is big enough - all inside the storage unit, ready to access again next holidays.

Using a storage unit to house your camping gear will make it easier to pack and unpack, and leave much more storage space in your garage at home. As a storage solution, storing camping gear isn't always something people would consider, but storage rental really will help make the whole process much easier.

Inspecting the Storage Unit Before You Go Ahead

Storage rental involves a number of considerations. We’ve talked about the security, the packing materials offered by the storage facility, and how often you will be able to access your things. The cost, the size of the storage unit, bringing in moving trucks, talking to a consult – these are all going to be at the forefront of your mind. What may not be, is how important it is to take a good look at the storage unit you’re looking to hire.

It’s not just about inspecting the storage facility, but also the actual storage unit itself. This can help you plan out how to pack and stack the storage unit come moving day. It’ll give you a clear picture of the width and height of the storage unit, and might give you an idea of the space available. You’ll know whether to aim for walkways between your belongings in the storage unit, or whether it’ll be better just to pack it all tightly in.

Checking the storage unit out beforehand will also help you determine how protected your storage items will need to be. For example, if the floor is concreted and dusty, items that aren’t going to be water damaged (ie mattresses) need to be kept up from the bottom. Your furniture might also need plastic protection to keep them clean.

So when you’re checking out the storage facility, remember to poke around the storage unit as well. It will definitely help to make the moving process much easier.

Inspecting Your Storage Facility

You might think rental storage is a fairly simple thing. You hire a unit, pack up your stuff, pay the bill, and then come collect it all when you need it again. But careful thought and planning should be undertaken before you choose your storage facility – because all self-storage is not created equal.

It’s important to consider what you really want out of your storage unit. For storage of valuable items, you’ll want to see what kind of security the storage facility offers. Are there security cameras and alarms? Who can access the storage unit? How often does the company check the locks to the storage containers? You should also consider insurance – Access Self Storage provides free insurance cover up to $5000, but are you going to need more cover than this? Your insurance company might already cover items you’ve put in storage, so it’s best to check this out.

Looking at the unit itself before choosing a storage facility is also important. You will need to see how clean the storage units are, what the space looks like, and whether the company provides good quarantine services. Also consider the packing materials you will need. Access Self Storage has a variety of packing materials available onsite – will you need anything else to store your things?

Spending a bit of time considering the storage facility itself is important, and is sure to help you find the right storage facility that suits all your needs.