During the sales process, the location manager treated me very well and was super communicative and great with follow up. I felt like I was in great hands.!
However, once the sale was made and contract was signed, it seemed the experience would shift…
In particular, I noted on a call prior to move in day that I would possibly be bringing my own lock to the unit. He told me they had locks provided if i wanted (and it would be waiting for me in the unit), but that if I didn’t want to use it, I could return it.. two days after move in I received an urgent call saying my “ storage unit was not properly secured”, and that I needed to come down immediately to address. I did explain that I had brought my own lock, and the gentleman who called said it may or may not work. I told them I was busy and would come by the next day and look at the lock I had time.
I was not able to make it by, and the following day received the same call of urgency.
I finally went by today, only to learn that you must use the lock provided by this company- NO other type of lock will work! The manager came by to see me in my unit, and I expressed great disappointment that he did not explain this at the very beginning. He took no responsibility, and almost seemed confused that I would want to know this as a customer upfront. In addition, there was a $20 charge for this lock, which was not optional in the end… if the lock provided by ExtraSpace storage is mandatory to use it should be included in the rental rate, or at the very least, disclose to the customer at time of signing up- not at the time of final signature ( with a note saying if a customer chooses us not to use this lock they’re able to return it).
I am not really upset about needing to buy or use the lock provided by the company. What I am upset about is that this was not communicated at any step of the process, including during the conversation I had with the manager about bringing my own lock. I left my unit (un)secured with an improper lock for two days, not knowing that there was really only one way to lock it securely- and that was with the lock they made you buy, but did not tell you was mandatory. He seemed to find justification in saying that they called two days in a row to inform me my unit was not secure. He did not seem to understand that had they told me this in advance, I would have been able to properly secure my unit. This was all post move-in. I explained that this was poor business communication, and poor service, and the Young manager just kept saying “ well I’m explaining it to you now at least, I’m not sure why you’re so upset”. Obviously a very immature managerial approach to dealing with a customer, especially one who is making a completely valid point .
After move in is the wrong time to explain how the mandatory locks work at the property. They should all be made upfront to a customer.
It definitely left me feeling like there was a lack of decency and professionalism, and also felt like a tactic for money (because ultimately the customer has no choice but to purchase the lock they make you purchase). But mostly it was the communication from the manager that left a poor taste in my mouth.
He took no ownership for not communicating this with me. He also seemed to get frustrated when I asked for assistance later installing the mandatory lock, which, in fact did not come with instructions, but was not super intuitive.
There was extremely great communication on the forefront, until the money was handed over. And then everything seemed to change.
I suppose this is just what large corporations do, but it definitely confirmed that if I had a choice to rent again, I would not choose this facility. And I will not be recommending to other others in the local community.