June 1, 2004

2 Min Read
Store Softly and Carry a Big...

Store Softly and Carry a Big...

I recently acquired a new employee whohas been extremely proactive in learning as much as she can about theself-storage business. We spent one afternoon discussing trends in the industryand the politics of storage development. Then the conversation came around toone of my favorite subjects: public perception of the industry.

For the past year, Inside Self-Storage has included amonthly section titled Media Monitor, with the intent of tracking andsummarizing coverage of self-storage and related news in mainstream mediaoutlets. Sources range from national newspapers to online broadcast reports tosmall-town periodicals. In the beginning, headlines were few and far between, orsimply representative of financial reports in business journals. These days,news stories are so frequent and varied, we can hardly keep up.

The ongoing steel crisis, crime, and battles with planning andzoning boards top the charts of media coverage. Once in a while, an article willshed a positive light on the industry, assumed by much of American society to beindustrial, uninviting and full of corruption. And who can blame the public? Myemployee chuckled when I told her news coverage of storage often regales withtales of murder victims and drug rings. But I wasnt kidding. Take, forexample, the following sampling of headlines from this months MediaMonitor:

  • Proposed Storage Raises Concerns About Terrorism

  • Piles of Stolen Goods Found in Pacific Self-StorageUnits

  • Thieves Hit Mini-Storage Facility

  • British Raids Foil Possible Terror Attack

  • Missing N.Y. Women Found in Storage Unit

  • Storage Break-Ins

Storage owners take their security efforts to heartnot onlybecause of their vulnerabilities to white bread crimetheft, vandalism,hazardous-waste disposalbut now also due to more sophisticated offenses, suchas ID fraud, terrorist activity, and implication in plots subject to the U.S.criminal-justice system. But lets face facts: Security is as much aboutmarketing as it is about safety. All other things being equal, tenants willflock to the facility that appears to have greater defense measures, which iswhy youll read in this issue about the basics as well as revolutionarytechnological advances in the field.

Security isnt just for breakfast anymore; its nowa staple of the self-storage diet. That being said, owners should be cautious tooffer a balanced security regime. In the advent of digital video, biometric IDscanning and computerized access, there is still no reason to scoff at gates,fences and good, old-fashioned managing by walking around. I arm my homewith a security system; I also keep a baseball bat handy on each floor. It isntthat I dont trust technology to do its job. But when theres a glitch inthe system, I prefer to carry a stick, and a big one. Vigilance andresponsibility will be the key. Be armed, but not uninformed. Defend your business from criminals and poor media alike.

Best wishes,

Teri L. Lanza
Editorial Director
[email protected]

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