July 1, 2001

5 Min Read
Thoughts From the Road

Thoughts From the Road

By Jim Chiswell

Iwant to start this month's column with a correction to an article I published inthe April 2001 issue of this magazine called "The Feasibility Study."In my haste to make deadline, I made an error in explaining Buzz Victor's"66 Percent Rule." In detailing the calculation I wrote, "Youshould not pay more than $7.96 per buildable square foot." The word "buildable"should have been omitted. This means you should apply the per-square-foot valueto the entire parcel being purchased. I apologize for the error, though lookingon the bright side, it may have made developers more conservative about gettingtheir numbers to "pencil out."

Washington Self Storage Association (WASSA)

I want to take a moment to congratulate Dean Reynolds, president of WASSA,and his board of directors on their outstanding state convention in April. Thetwo-day conference brought more than 125 owners and managers together fromacross the state. I feel fortunate to have been selected as the keynote speakerat the opening session. WASSA has also created a wonderful website with asignificant "Members Only" section. This allows the association tocommunicate information to members while providing a major benefit for ownersand managers. Check out the site at www.wa-ssa.org.

I continue to urge you to become an active member and attend the annual orregional meetings of your state association, as well as any of the meetingssponsored by the national Self Storage Association. It is only through thestrength of unity that we can successfully deal with the many issues facing usat the state and national levels.

Customer Service Deficit Disorder (CSDD)

My keynote speech at the WASSA meeting was all about customer service. As Itravel across the county, I see firsthand the steady decline in customer serviceat every level of the travel and hospitality industry. You might ask yourself:When was the last time you were made to feel special by a clerk in a retailstore or service person in a restaurant or on an airplane?

This breakdown in customer service is also at epidemic proportions in ourindustry. High occupancies and our ability to steadily increase rental rateshave left many of us taking the customer for granted. It has created theillusion that there will always be someone else to rent a unit if customer Xleaves in frustration. The admonition of my WASSA remarks was that if we do notfocus our management attention and make customer service a true passion, ourmarket share will be eroded over time, and our customers will go to other storesthat cater to them.

Customer service isn't just limited to phone calls and discussions over thecounter. You need to consider every interaction potential and current customershave with your business. Jan Carlzon, past president and CEO of the ScandinavianAirlines Group, calls these interactions "Moments of Truth." Theseinclude when customers drive by your store, read your signs and look at yourYellow Pages ad. Have you started to think of symptoms of customer servicedeficit disorder (CSDD) you may be suffering from?

After speaking at the WASSA meeting, my wife and I drove over to The Coeurd'Alene Resort in Idaho for a few days of R&R. As we drove up to the hotel,we were greeted by valet staff wearing lapel pins that read"Lagniappe." Once inside the hotel, it was evident every singleemployee was involved in this "Lagniappe" campaign. I discovered laterthat day what my friends in New Orleans already know: Lagniappe is a Cajun termmeaning "a little bit extra." The hotel's general manager had adoptedit as his way of expressing a passion for providing the extra measure of servicethat would set the resort apart.

I can testify as a frequent traveler that not only is his campaignsuccessful, but during our stay we enjoyed the best customer service of anyhotel in the United States. I left with a commitment to return as soon aspossible. I also left with a few "Lagniappe" buttons in my pocket toremind myself that creating the mindset of doing just "a little bitmore" at our facilities will place our stores in very elite company. As aresult, rentals will increase, retention will increase and the bottom-lineresults will soar because you will stand head and shoulders above yourcompetition. This is a successful prescription for defeating that horrible CSSD.

A Caution About Wine Storage

There has been a great deal written about wine storage and I am hearing moreand more discussion about adding this niche offering to some self-storagefacilities. Yes, I am very aware that at facilities with dedicated wine storage,the rental rate per square foot is appealing. I just want to urge extremecaution if you are considering this idea. I am convinced that wine storage willonly work in a limited number of submarkets across the United States. No one hasyet to step forward with a magic formula for wine-storage demand potential, andI do not believe one exists.

There are businesses solely dedicated to wine storage. Some of them can befound in the classifieds section of Wine Spectator magazine. I advise you not toget carried away by the lure of $60 to $100 per-square-foot rental rates whenthe space could easily sit empty. For those lucky enough to be in one of theseunique markets, I wish you the best of luck. For the rest of us"mortals," I advocate a go-slow approach. Also, remember there arevery serious penalties associated with the receipt of alcoholic shipments ifthey are illegal in your state.

Where Did This Come From?

As I travel across the country, I pick up different little phrases that havebecome a part of our language. Most of the time, I have no idea how they cameinto such common usage. I will strive in future columns to include several ofthese phrases and ask if any of you have an idea what they mean or how they gotstarted. The first two are: "dead as a doornail" and "easy aspie." If you have any ideas about how these sayings came to be, please dropme a note. I will post the best answers in a future article.

Jim Chiswell is the president of Chiswell & Associates. Since 1990,his firm has provided feasibility studies, acquisition due diligence, experttestimony and customized manager training for the self-storage industry. Inaddition to contributing regularly to Inside Self-Storage, Mr. Chiswell is afrequent speaker at Inside Self-Storage expos and various association meetings.He can be reached via e-mail at [email protected]or by calling 716.634.2428. Visit www.selfstorageconsulting.com.

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