Public Storage, Shurguard Storage Deceptive Business Practices: Misrepresentation of company policy to sell insurance, mandatory purchase of lock and more. Wake Forest North Carolina

 Everything this person says is absolutely true. When you are hired the title is propery manager, you are really a sales person. You are taught dirty car salesman tactics and have to memorize scripts for every part of the sales process. If you dont maintain 85% sales in locks and insurance you will be gven homework and told that you must not be using your scripts, because if you were your sales will be higher. I felt terrible working this job, because i had to tell so many lies and half truth. To potential customers, please read all of the small print. The insurance is not required and if your stuff gets damaged the payout is usually only $250,no matter what it is really worth. Dont be pulled in by that $1special bull. If it sounds too good to be true it is. They dont keep up their facilities. Some of the locations dont have bathrooms, the solution for this is now port-a-potties. It used to be going to the closest restraurant or convenience store. I will ne er spend money with this company after seeing theier tactics and uncarin'g attitude for custom,"ers and employees.

If you knew anything about Public Storage you would know that when a customer leaves a key at the property they have to sign a release, stating public storage is not responsible for releasing key to delivery drivers or anyone else if not instructed by the tenant. Most stores do not keep keys on file because of the risk of liability. There are thieves in all walks of life but not all Public Storage employees steal.

I worked as a reservation agent at the call center where you were given your information about the dollar special and the admin. fee. That reservation center is in Arizona and there is one in California. The agents are not allowed to discuss insurance rates because they are not insurance agents. They don't have information about lock prices or insurance rates.There are over 2200 facilities in the U.S. I am now a property manager. To the employee that said managers can not keep keys on file, YES you can. There is a form in Webknowledge that the customer may sign and choose to keep a key on file.

As I always state, I'm not an attorney but an industry insider well versed in self storage law. Each state has its own laws and legal principles. I'll quote California law since California law seems to influence laws in other parts of the country.

Lets first take a look at the issue of the mandatory purchasing of a lock from the storage facility. Do you or dont you? That all depends on the contract. If the contract states that you must purchase a lock from them, then you must purchase a lock from them. Why a storage company would want to force you to purchase a lock from them is beyond me. First off, if they don't give you a choice to purchase a lock elsewhere, then it could put legal liability on the storage company should their lock fail.

They can, and should, tell you what type of lock you should have on your storage unit. A lock with a shroud covering the shackel is mandatory at many self storage companies, and is in the contract of those companies. Burglars go where it is attractive to go, and facilities with shrouded locks are less attractive. But once again, you should be able to purchase these locks anywhere you choose. You are then responsible for the lock you purchase. But the storage company could be held liable for a failed lock if they forced you to purchase it from them.

My guess is that the employees feel pressured to sell you the lock because they feel their jobs depend on it.

NOW IS INSURANCE MANDATORY OR NOT? The answer may surpise you. There is a LOT of misinformation from storage employees on here.

Once again each state is different. But in California, the Department of Insurance periodically sends reminders to self storage facilities licensed by them that it is illegal in California to force someone to purchase an insurance product from the storage facility. So that means insurance is not mandatory right?

WRONG! The Department of Insurance ruled that insurance can be contracturally MANDATORY, and it should be mandatory, to protect both sides. Many companies contracts do say that insurance is mandatory, and that you are in breach of contract if you do not have insurance. However, you can get insurance coverage from anyone you want and cannot be forced to get coverage from the storage facility.

Many homeowners and renters insurance policies do cover 10% outside of the home (like inside an automobile or storage unit). Some (few) will cover up to 100% outside the home after running a C.L.U.E. report on the storage facility address. So a homeowners or renters policy is sufficient to cover the mandatory insurance clause on most self storage contracts.

So it all depends on the particular contract you signed.

Here is another interesting self storage insurance fact:

(Cregg V. Ministor Ventures (1983)) Cregg sued Ministor Ventures in 1983 stating that the storage owed him for losses suffered. Ministor Ventures won the lawsuit after the California Courts ruled that self-service storage facilities are not liable for property losses inside of a storage unit IF AN INSURANCE PRODUCT IS AVAILABLE AND OFFERED to the self storage tenant, whether or not the storage collects the insurance premium with the normal monthly payment or whether the payment is paid to the insurance company directly by the tenant.

What this means is that if a storage company doesnt mention anything about insurance and your unit gets broken into, the storage company may be liable for your loss. HOWEVER, if the storage company offers you an insurance product or simply hands you an insurance pamphlet, you are on your own if you choose not to purchase the insurance from them. If you have your own insurance, you have to deal directly with your own insurance company.

The California courts are sending a strong message to consumers that there are two types of storage in California and it is the consumer's responsibility to make the choice that best suits their needs.

1. Self-Service Storage (Self Storage for short)
2. Warehouse (like the movers use).

1. Self-Service Storage is just that. It is self service. The storage takes no care, custody, or control over your stuff (bailment). The storage provides the building and that is about it. You are responsible to look at the facility and determine whether or not it suits your needs. Keep in mind that if you shop by price, you are going to be disappointed. Normally the lower priced storage facilities are lower for a reason. You should, instead, shop by where you feel the most comfortable. Storage Facilities are going to attract the kind of customer they are marketing for. Cheap facilities are going to attract less desirable tenants than facilities that require better locks, that have better lighting, and that have more rules to protect their tenants. In my opinion, you should quiz the managers and see if they are professionals hired from another industry or are they lifelong $8 hour managers that arent allowed to do anything but take payments. In my experience, you are better off with a professional manager that is in charge of his/her facility, lives on site, and works for an independent non-nationwide facility and not for a management company. This way you get someone that actually takes ownership of their facility and has the power to make decisions on the spot.

2. Warehouse. If you want the storage company to take complete responsibility for all losses, then you need to put your stuff in a warehouse. The warehousman act is completely the opposite of the self-service storage act. A bailment is created because they take care, custody, and control of your property. Your property is insured against loss by the warehouse itself.

So which is better? It all depends on your needs. In most cases, I would say that self storage is better. You can visit your stuff as much as you want, placing things in storage and taken things out. It is much more convenient and a lot cheaper. A warehouse is much more expensive. The rent is much more and then there are counter fees, forklift fees, labor fees, etc. It is more expensive because of the liability they have.

So as a consumer the choice is yours. But dont expect a warehouse to be cheap like a self storage, and dont expect a self storage to have any duty to protect you from losses like a warehouse. If you rent a self storage, get some type of insurance to cover you (I do agree that you should stay away from one of the largest self storage insurance companies that I cannot name) but a lot of the other ones are just fine. If you rent from a warehouse, you are covered but you will pay through the nose.

Now that you are educated in the law and the two types of storage, you know what to do next time. All-in-all, self storage is the way to go. Visit your stuff often and store it in a way to protect it from loss (raise it off the floor, cover it in plastic, etc) because ultimately you, the tenant, are responsible unless you rent a warehouse (example Bekins).

As I always state, I'm not an attorney but an industry insider well versed in self storage law. Each state has its own laws and legal principles. I'll quote California law since California law seems to influence laws in other parts of the country.

Lets first take a look at the issue of the mandatory purchasing of a lock from the storage facility. Do you or dont you? That all depends on the contract. If the contract states that you must purchase a lock from them, then you must purchase a lock from them. Why a storage company would want to force you to purchase a lock from them is beyond me. First off, if they don't give you a choice to purchase a lock elsewhere, then it could put legal liability on the storage company should their lock fail.

They can, and should, tell you what type of lock you should have on your storage unit. A lock with a shroud covering the shackel is mandatory at many self storage companies, and is in the contract of those companies. Burglars go where it is attractive to go, and facilities with shrouded locks are less attractive. But once again, you should be able to purchase these locks anywhere you choose. You are then responsible for the lock you purchase. But the storage company could be held liable for a failed lock if they forced you to purchase it from them.

My guess is that the employees feel pressured to sell you the lock because they feel their jobs depend on it.

NOW IS INSURANCE MANDATORY OR NOT? The answer may surpise you. There is a LOT of misinformation from storage employees on here.

Once again each state is different. But in California, the Department of Insurance periodically sends reminders to self storage facilities licensed by them that it is illegal in California to force someone to purchase an insurance product from the storage facility. So that means insurance is not mandatory right?

WRONG! The Department of Insurance ruled that insurance can be contracturally MANDATORY, and it should be mandatory, to protect both sides. Many companies contracts do say that insurance is mandatory, and that you are in breach of contract if you do not have insurance. However, you can get insurance coverage from anyone you want and cannot be forced to get coverage from the storage facility.

Many homeowners and renters insurance policies do cover 10% outside of the home (like inside an automobile or storage unit). Some (few) will cover up to 100% outside the home after running a C.L.U.E. report on the storage facility address. So a homeowners or renters policy is sufficient to cover the mandatory insurance clause on most self storage contracts.

So it all depends on the particular contract you signed.

Here is another interesting self storage insurance fact:

(Cregg V. Ministor Ventures (1983)) Cregg sued Ministor Ventures in 1983 stating that the storage owed him for losses suffered. Ministor Ventures won the lawsuit after the California Courts ruled that self-service storage facilities are not liable for property losses inside of a storage unit IF AN INSURANCE PRODUCT IS AVAILABLE AND OFFERED to the self storage tenant, whether or not the storage collects the insurance premium with the normal monthly payment or whether the payment is paid to the insurance company directly by the tenant.

What this means is that if a storage company doesnt mention anything about insurance and your unit gets broken into, the storage company may be liable for your loss. HOWEVER, if the storage company offers you an insurance product or simply hands you an insurance pamphlet, you are on your own if you choose not to purchase the insurance from them. If you have your own insurance, you have to deal directly with your own insurance company.

The California courts are sending a strong message to consumers that there are two types of storage in California and it is the consumer's responsibility to make the choice that best suits their needs.

1. Self-Service Storage (Self Storage for short)
2. Warehouse (like the movers use).

1. Self-Service Storage is just that. It is self service. The storage takes no care, custody, or control over your stuff (bailment). The storage provides the building and that is about it. You are responsible to look at the facility and determine whether or not it suits your needs. Keep in mind that if you shop by price, you are going to be disappointed. Normally the lower priced storage facilities are lower for a reason. You should, instead, shop by where you feel the most comfortable. Storage Facilities are going to attract the kind of customer they are marketing for. Cheap facilities are going to attract less desirable tenants than facilities that require better locks, that have better lighting, and that have more rules to protect their tenants. In my opinion, you should quiz the managers and see if they are professionals hired from another industry or are they lifelong $8 hour managers that arent allowed to do anything but take payments. In my experience, you are better off with a professional manager that is in charge of his/her facility, lives on site, and works for an independent non-nationwide facility and not for a management company. This way you get someone that actually takes ownership of their facility and has the power to make decisions on the spot.

2. Warehouse. If you want the storage company to take complete responsibility for all losses, then you need to put your stuff in a warehouse. The warehousman act is completely the opposite of the self-service storage act. A bailment is created because they take care, custody, and control of your property. Your property is insured against loss by the warehouse itself.

So which is better? It all depends on your needs. In most cases, I would say that self storage is better. You can visit your stuff as much as you want, placing things in storage and taken things out. It is much more convenient and a lot cheaper. A warehouse is much more expensive. The rent is much more and then there are counter fees, forklift fees, labor fees, etc. It is more expensive because of the liability they have.

So as a consumer the choice is yours. But dont expect a warehouse to be cheap like a self storage, and dont expect a self storage to have any duty to protect you from losses like a warehouse. If you rent a self storage, get some type of insurance to cover you (I do agree that you should stay away from one of the largest self storage insurance companies that I cannot name) but a lot of the other ones are just fine. If you rent from a warehouse, you are covered but you will pay through the nose.

Now that you are educated in the law and the two types of storage, you know what to do next time. All-in-all, self storage is the way to go. Visit your stuff often and store it in a way to protect it from loss (raise it off the floor, cover it in plastic, etc) because ultimately you, the tenant, are responsible unless you rent a warehouse (example Bekins).

As I always state, I'm not an attorney but an industry insider well versed in self storage law. Each state has its own laws and legal principles. I'll quote California law since California law seems to influence laws in other parts of the country.

Lets first take a look at the issue of the mandatory purchasing of a lock from the storage facility. Do you or dont you? That all depends on the contract. If the contract states that you must purchase a lock from them, then you must purchase a lock from them. Why a storage company would want to force you to purchase a lock from them is beyond me. First off, if they don't give you a choice to purchase a lock elsewhere, then it could put legal liability on the storage company should their lock fail.

They can, and should, tell you what type of lock you should have on your storage unit. A lock with a shroud covering the shackel is mandatory at many self storage companies, and is in the contract of those companies. Burglars go where it is attractive to go, and facilities with shrouded locks are less attractive. But once again, you should be able to purchase these locks anywhere you choose. You are then responsible for the lock you purchase. But the storage company could be held liable for a failed lock if they forced you to purchase it from them.

My guess is that the employees feel pressured to sell you the lock because they feel their jobs depend on it.

NOW IS INSURANCE MANDATORY OR NOT? The answer may surpise you. There is a LOT of misinformation from storage employees on here.

Once again each state is different. But in California, the Department of Insurance periodically sends reminders to self storage facilities licensed by them that it is illegal in California to force someone to purchase an insurance product from the storage facility. So that means insurance is not mandatory right?

WRONG! The Department of Insurance ruled that insurance can be contracturally MANDATORY, and it should be mandatory, to protect both sides. Many companies contracts do say that insurance is mandatory, and that you are in breach of contract if you do not have insurance. However, you can get insurance coverage from anyone you want and cannot be forced to get coverage from the storage facility.

Many homeowners and renters insurance policies do cover 10% outside of the home (like inside an automobile or storage unit). Some (few) will cover up to 100% outside the home after running a C.L.U.E. report on the storage facility address. So a homeowners or renters policy is sufficient to cover the mandatory insurance clause on most self storage contracts.

So it all depends on the particular contract you signed.

Here is another interesting self storage insurance fact:

(Cregg V. Ministor Ventures (1983)) Cregg sued Ministor Ventures in 1983 stating that the storage owed him for losses suffered. Ministor Ventures won the lawsuit after the California Courts ruled that self-service storage facilities are not liable for property losses inside of a storage unit IF AN INSURANCE PRODUCT IS AVAILABLE AND OFFERED to the self storage tenant, whether or not the storage collects the insurance premium with the normal monthly payment or whether the payment is paid to the insurance company directly by the tenant.

What this means is that if a storage company doesnt mention anything about insurance and your unit gets broken into, the storage company may be liable for your loss. HOWEVER, if the storage company offers you an insurance product or simply hands you an insurance pamphlet, you are on your own if you choose not to purchase the insurance from them. If you have your own insurance, you have to deal directly with your own insurance company.

The California courts are sending a strong message to consumers that there are two types of storage in California and it is the consumer's responsibility to make the choice that best suits their needs.

1. Self-Service Storage (Self Storage for short)
2. Warehouse (like the movers use).

1. Self-Service Storage is just that. It is self service. The storage takes no care, custody, or control over your stuff (bailment). The storage provides the building and that is about it. You are responsible to look at the facility and determine whether or not it suits your needs. Keep in mind that if you shop by price, you are going to be disappointed. Normally the lower priced storage facilities are lower for a reason. You should, instead, shop by where you feel the most comfortable. Storage Facilities are going to attract the kind of customer they are marketing for. Cheap facilities are going to attract less desirable tenants than facilities that require better locks, that have better lighting, and that have more rules to protect their tenants. In my opinion, you should quiz the managers and see if they are professionals hired from another industry or are they lifelong $8 hour managers that arent allowed to do anything but take payments. In my experience, you are better off with a professional manager that is in charge of his/her facility, lives on site, and works for an independent non-nationwide facility and not for a management company. This way you get someone that actually takes ownership of their facility and has the power to make decisions on the spot.

2. Warehouse. If you want the storage company to take complete responsibility for all losses, then you need to put your stuff in a warehouse. The warehousman act is completely the opposite of the self-service storage act. A bailment is created because they take care, custody, and control of your property. Your property is insured against loss by the warehouse itself.

So which is better? It all depends on your needs. In most cases, I would say that self storage is better. You can visit your stuff as much as you want, placing things in storage and taken things out. It is much more convenient and a lot cheaper. A warehouse is much more expensive. The rent is much more and then there are counter fees, forklift fees, labor fees, etc. It is more expensive because of the liability they have.

So as a consumer the choice is yours. But dont expect a warehouse to be cheap like a self storage, and dont expect a self storage to have any duty to protect you from losses like a warehouse. If you rent a self storage, get some type of insurance to cover you (I do agree that you should stay away from one of the largest self storage insurance companies that I cannot name) but a lot of the other ones are just fine. If you rent from a warehouse, you are covered but you will pay through the nose.

Now that you are educated in the law and the two types of storage, you know what to do next time. All-in-all, self storage is the way to go. Visit your stuff often and store it in a way to protect it from loss (raise it off the floor, cover it in plastic, etc) because ultimately you, the tenant, are responsible unless you rent a warehouse (example Bekins).

As I always state, I'm not an attorney but an industry insider well versed in self storage law. Each state has its own laws and legal principles. I'll quote California law since California law seems to influence laws in other parts of the country.

Lets first take a look at the issue of the mandatory purchasing of a lock from the storage facility. Do you or dont you? That all depends on the contract. If the contract states that you must purchase a lock from them, then you must purchase a lock from them. Why a storage company would want to force you to purchase a lock from them is beyond me. First off, if they don't give you a choice to purchase a lock elsewhere, then it could put legal liability on the storage company should their lock fail.

They can, and should, tell you what type of lock you should have on your storage unit. A lock with a shroud covering the shackel is mandatory at many self storage companies, and is in the contract of those companies. Burglars go where it is attractive to go, and facilities with shrouded locks are less attractive. But once again, you should be able to purchase these locks anywhere you choose. You are then responsible for the lock you purchase. But the storage company could be held liable for a failed lock if they forced you to purchase it from them.

My guess is that the employees feel pressured to sell you the lock because they feel their jobs depend on it.

NOW IS INSURANCE MANDATORY OR NOT? The answer may surpise you. There is a LOT of misinformation from storage employees on here.

Once again each state is different. But in California, the Department of Insurance periodically sends reminders to self storage facilities licensed by them that it is illegal in California to force someone to purchase an insurance product from the storage facility. So that means insurance is not mandatory right?

WRONG! The Department of Insurance ruled that insurance can be contracturally MANDATORY, and it should be mandatory, to protect both sides. Many companies contracts do say that insurance is mandatory, and that you are in breach of contract if you do not have insurance. However, you can get insurance coverage from anyone you want and cannot be forced to get coverage from the storage facility.

Many homeowners and renters insurance policies do cover 10% outside of the home (like inside an automobile or storage unit). Some (few) will cover up to 100% outside the home after running a C.L.U.E. report on the storage facility address. So a homeowners or renters policy is sufficient to cover the mandatory insurance clause on most self storage contracts.

So it all depends on the particular contract you signed.

Here is another interesting self storage insurance fact:

(Cregg V. Ministor Ventures (1983)) Cregg sued Ministor Ventures in 1983 stating that the storage owed him for losses suffered. Ministor Ventures won the lawsuit after the California Courts ruled that self-service storage facilities are not liable for property losses inside of a storage unit IF AN INSURANCE PRODUCT IS AVAILABLE AND OFFERED to the self storage tenant, whether or not the storage collects the insurance premium with the normal monthly payment or whether the payment is paid to the insurance company directly by the tenant.

What this means is that if a storage company doesnt mention anything about insurance and your unit gets broken into, the storage company may be liable for your loss. HOWEVER, if the storage company offers you an insurance product or simply hands you an insurance pamphlet, you are on your own if you choose not to purchase the insurance from them. If you have your own insurance, you have to deal directly with your own insurance company.

The California courts are sending a strong message to consumers that there are two types of storage in California and it is the consumer's responsibility to make the choice that best suits their needs.

1. Self-Service Storage (Self Storage for short)
2. Warehouse (like the movers use).

1. Self-Service Storage is just that. It is self service. The storage takes no care, custody, or control over your stuff (bailment). The storage provides the building and that is about it. You are responsible to look at the facility and determine whether or not it suits your needs. Keep in mind that if you shop by price, you are going to be disappointed. Normally the lower priced storage facilities are lower for a reason. You should, instead, shop by where you feel the most comfortable. Storage Facilities are going to attract the kind of customer they are marketing for. Cheap facilities are going to attract less desirable tenants than facilities that require better locks, that have better lighting, and that have more rules to protect their tenants. In my opinion, you should quiz the managers and see if they are professionals hired from another industry or are they lifelong $8 hour managers that arent allowed to do anything but take payments. In my experience, you are better off with a professional manager that is in charge of his/her facility, lives on site, and works for an independent non-nationwide facility and not for a management company. This way you get someone that actually takes ownership of their facility and has the power to make decisions on the spot.

2. Warehouse. If you want the storage company to take complete responsibility for all losses, then you need to put your stuff in a warehouse. The warehousman act is completely the opposite of the self-service storage act. A bailment is created because they take care, custody, and control of your property. Your property is insured against loss by the warehouse itself.

So which is better? It all depends on your needs. In most cases, I would say that self storage is better. You can visit your stuff as much as you want, placing things in storage and taken things out. It is much more convenient and a lot cheaper. A warehouse is much more expensive. The rent is much more and then there are counter fees, forklift fees, labor fees, etc. It is more expensive because of the liability they have.

So as a consumer the choice is yours. But dont expect a warehouse to be cheap like a self storage, and dont expect a self storage to have any duty to protect you from losses like a warehouse. If you rent a self storage, get some type of insurance to cover you (I do agree that you should stay away from one of the largest self storage insurance companies that I cannot name) but a lot of the other ones are just fine. If you rent from a warehouse, you are covered but you will pay through the nose.

Now that you are educated in the law and the two types of storage, you know what to do next time. All-in-all, self storage is the way to go. Visit your stuff often and store it in a way to protect it from loss (raise it off the floor, cover it in plastic, etc) because ultimately you, the tenant, are responsible unless you rent a warehouse (example Bekins).

What was stated in the attestation by Stephen was absolutely true. I've worked for Public storage for 5 years and I've seen many unethical practices in my time.

The bait and switch of the "$1 dollar" special is on-going. What isn't clarified in the complaint is that overwhelmingly, the field employees of Public Storage absolutely detest the trade practices. This is inclusive of the Property Managers and Relief Managers. Those that speak up against the practices or elect to inform the customers over the phone of all the associated cost of renting storage are soon terminated for trumped up reasons. Public Storage has an abundance of wrongful termination incidents. I've seen it happen many times.

The ironic thing is that all the properties are secret shopped by phone and in person weekly to make sure that employees are complying with company guidelines.
We are emphatically prohibited from informing the customers over the phone during that second call about the fluctuating administration fee, lock requirements, and insistence of insurance. Employees are told by the district managers to sell locks, merchandise and insurance. A quota is set for each month that is district wide and our very jobs depend on hitting those minimal #s. The minimal #s are set at about 95% on locks and insurance. Other standards are 3% or less for monthly delinquency accounts, however the actual company standard is about 5%. The bonus pay for the Regional and District managers depends on these #s and the field level employees are constantly being harassed and threatened to maintain and surpass these #s. Of course these threats are usually verbal and one on one, occasionally the District Managers and Regional Managers get over aggressive and send out threatening intra-company emails. I encourage all field employees to print these out and take them home for future use, they may come in handy.

The issue of the forced insurance is an ongoing battle. Most employees really hate the dishonest, high pressure sales tactics that are officially, "Unofficially" enforced. The official policy is that insurance is optional. Customers must sign a waiver stating that they will take full responsibility for their belongings. If signed, the insurance requirement is met. Unofficially, the company want's us to do what ever it takes to make the customer purchase the insurance. On the record its:

"Offer it to them, see if they want it. If not that's okay, we just want to make sure that our customers are taken care of."

Off the record it's:
" Tell them they must absolutely take it. Hit your quota or you're fired! I don't care what it takes...get it done! I'm watching you!"

This happens even in the cases where the customer has home owners, renters or business insurance in place already. On those occasions when an insurance professional, lawyer, law student or savvy business owner or house wife calls the employee out on the fraud and reports it to higher authorities, the employee gets blamed, then fired for following orders. I guess that $8.00 X millions of unquestioned monthly payments is worth the high rate of employee attrition and turn over.

To the point of the three keys packaged with the locks; the benefit of leaving the third key with property personnel seemsto singular tactic offered as a perk to sell the locks. The locks are marked up three times what it cost the company. For example, the circular disc lock that you are referring to averages about $2.50 to $5.00 per lock, though sold by P.S. Inc. at $16.99. All of the merchandise has received radical price increases over the course of the last five years. Employees are required to meet monthly merchandise sales quota not unlike many retailers.

Public Storage treats their employees terribly. Over the course of the last five years I have watched as the medical insurance has gotten to be all but useless. One would be extremely lucky if one could find a provider that actually accepts the medical insurance. Its cheap and better than nothing, but not much better. The yearly deductible is $5000.00 and has a ton of copay's.

Every year the company devises a way to take away the field level bonuses and diminish the hourly pay to the extent that over the course of the last three years, the annual gross income has dropped by $3000.00 to $8000.00 . The longer you work for Public Storage, the poorer you become. This was not always the case so I'm told by those that have been around for 10 plus years. Once you hire in as a filed level employee, you simply have no room for advancement. Public Storage on policy only hires District level management from outside the company. This is like the military- once in the enlisted ranks, always in the enlisted ranks. However, the work load and demands keep increasing all of the time, to a point of sacrificing personal time for the company. Raises range from .08cents to .35 cents in my region, averaging .16 cents. Yet three years ago Public storage could manage to pay for a hostile take over of ShurGuard Storage inc and has posted a sizable profit each year since. That is because they paid for it from all of the money they took from the employees. A senior level employee was given an eight million dollar bonus in 2007!

I've got a lot more to say but I'm getting upset. so I'm going to stop now. I encourage all to help put an end to this Public Whorage! I would readily support a public campaign or boycott against this company. Many hundreds of thousands of people are being taken advantage of both customers and employees alike. Its time to unite and bring about change.

What was stated in the attestation by Stephen was absolutely true. I've worked for Public storage for 5 years and I've seen many unethical practices in my time.

The bait and switch of the "$1 dollar" special is on-going. What isn't clarified in the complaint is that overwhelmingly, the field employees of Public Storage absolutely detest the trade practices. This is inclusive of the Property Managers and Relief Managers. Those that speak up against the practices or elect to inform the customers over the phone of all the associated cost of renting storage are soon terminated for trumped up reasons. Public Storage has an abundance of wrongful termination incidents. I've seen it happen many times.

The ironic thing is that all the properties are secret shopped by phone and in person weekly to make sure that employees are complying with company guidelines.
We are emphatically prohibited from informing the customers over the phone during that second call about the fluctuating administration fee, lock requirements, and insistence of insurance. Employees are told by the district managers to sell locks, merchandise and insurance. A quota is set for each month that is district wide and our very jobs depend on hitting those minimal #s. The minimal #s are set at about 95% on locks and insurance. Other standards are 3% or less for monthly delinquency accounts, however the actual company standard is about 5%. The bonus pay for the Regional and District managers depends on these #s and the field level employees are constantly being harassed and threatened to maintain and surpass these #s. Of course these threats are usually verbal and one on one, occasionally the District Managers and Regional Managers get over aggressive and send out threatening intra-company emails. I encourage all field employees to print these out and take them home for future use, they may come in handy.

The issue of the forced insurance is an ongoing battle. Most employees really hate the dishonest, high pressure sales tactics that are officially, "Unofficially" enforced. The official policy is that insurance is optional. Customers must sign a waiver stating that they will take full responsibility for their belongings. If signed, the insurance requirement is met. Unofficially, the company want's us to do what ever it takes to make the customer purchase the insurance. On the record its:

"Offer it to them, see if they want it. If not that's okay, we just want to make sure that our customers are taken care of."

Off the record it's:
" Tell them they must absolutely take it. Hit your quota or you're fired! I don't care what it takes...get it done! I'm watching you!"

This happens even in the cases where the customer has home owners, renters or business insurance in place already. On those occasions when an insurance professional, lawyer, law student or savvy business owner or house wife calls the employee out on the fraud and reports it to higher authorities, the employee gets blamed, then fired for following orders. I guess that $8.00 X millions of unquestioned monthly payments is worth the high rate of employee attrition and turn over.

To the point of the three keys packaged with the locks; the benefit of leaving the third key with property personnel seemsto singular tactic offered as a perk to sell the locks. The locks are marked up three times what it cost the company. For example, the circular disc lock that you are referring to averages about $2.50 to $5.00 per lock, though sold by P.S. Inc. at $16.99. All of the merchandise has received radical price increases over the course of the last five years. Employees are required to meet monthly merchandise sales quota not unlike many retailers.

Public Storage treats their employees terribly. Over the course of the last five years I have watched as the medical insurance has gotten to be all but useless. One would be extremely lucky if one could find a provider that actually accepts the medical insurance. Its cheap and better than nothing, but not much better. The yearly deductible is $5000.00 and has a ton of copay's.

Every year the company devises a way to take away the field level bonuses and diminish the hourly pay to the extent that over the course of the last three years, the annual gross income has dropped by $3000.00 to $8000.00 . The longer you work for Public Storage, the poorer you become. This was not always the case so I'm told by those that have been around for 10 plus years. Once you hire in as a filed level employee, you simply have no room for advancement. Public Storage on policy only hires District level management from outside the company. This is like the military- once in the enlisted ranks, always in the enlisted ranks. However, the work load and demands keep increasing all of the time, to a point of sacrificing personal time for the company. Raises range from .08cents to .35 cents in my region, averaging .16 cents. Yet three years ago Public storage could manage to pay for a hostile take over of ShurGuard Storage inc and has posted a sizable profit each year since. That is because they paid for it from all of the money they took from the employees. A senior level employee was given an eight million dollar bonus in 2007!

I've got a lot more to say but I'm getting upset. so I'm going to stop now. I encourage all to help put an end to this Public Whorage! I would readily support a public campaign or boycott against this company. Many hundreds of thousands of people are being taken advantage of both customers and employees alike. Its time to unite and bring about change.

What was stated in the attestation by Stephen was absolutely true. I've worked for Public storage for 5 years and I've seen many unethical practices in my time.

The bait and switch of the "$1 dollar" special is on-going. What isn't clarified in the complaint is that overwhelmingly, the field employees of Public Storage absolutely detest the trade practices. This is inclusive of the Property Managers and Relief Managers. Those that speak up against the practices or elect to inform the customers over the phone of all the associated cost of renting storage are soon terminated for trumped up reasons. Public Storage has an abundance of wrongful termination incidents. I've seen it happen many times.

The ironic thing is that all the properties are secret shopped by phone and in person weekly to make sure that employees are complying with company guidelines.
We are emphatically prohibited from informing the customers over the phone during that second call about the fluctuating administration fee, lock requirements, and insistence of insurance. Employees are told by the district managers to sell locks, merchandise and insurance. A quota is set for each month that is district wide and our very jobs depend on hitting those minimal #s. The minimal #s are set at about 95% on locks and insurance. Other standards are 3% or less for monthly delinquency accounts, however the actual company standard is about 5%. The bonus pay for the Regional and District managers depends on these #s and the field level employees are constantly being harassed and threatened to maintain and surpass these #s. Of course these threats are usually verbal and one on one, occasionally the District Managers and Regional Managers get over aggressive and send out threatening intra-company emails. I encourage all field employees to print these out and take them home for future use, they may come in handy.

The issue of the forced insurance is an ongoing battle. Most employees really hate the dishonest, high pressure sales tactics that are officially, "Unofficially" enforced. The official policy is that insurance is optional. Customers must sign a waiver stating that they will take full responsibility for their belongings. If signed, the insurance requirement is met. Unofficially, the company want's us to do what ever it takes to make the customer purchase the insurance. On the record its:

"Offer it to them, see if they want it. If not that's okay, we just want to make sure that our customers are taken care of."

Off the record it's:
" Tell them they must absolutely take it. Hit your quota or you're fired! I don't care what it takes...get it done! I'm watching you!"

This happens even in the cases where the customer has home owners, renters or business insurance in place already. On those occasions when an insurance professional, lawyer, law student or savvy business owner or house wife calls the employee out on the fraud and reports it to higher authorities, the employee gets blamed, then fired for following orders. I guess that $8.00 X millions of unquestioned monthly payments is worth the high rate of employee attrition and turn over.

To the point of the three keys packaged with the locks; the benefit of leaving the third key with property personnel seemsto singular tactic offered as a perk to sell the locks. The locks are marked up three times what it cost the company. For example, the circular disc lock that you are referring to averages about $2.50 to $5.00 per lock, though sold by P.S. Inc. at $16.99. All of the merchandise has received radical price increases over the course of the last five years. Employees are required to meet monthly merchandise sales quota not unlike many retailers.

Public Storage treats their employees terribly. Over the course of the last five years I have watched as the medical insurance has gotten to be all but useless. One would be extremely lucky if one could find a provider that actually accepts the medical insurance. Its cheap and better than nothing, but not much better. The yearly deductible is $5000.00 and has a ton of copay's.

Every year the company devises a way to take away the field level bonuses and diminish the hourly pay to the extent that over the course of the last three years, the annual gross income has dropped by $3000.00 to $8000.00 . The longer you work for Public Storage, the poorer you become. This was not always the case so I'm told by those that have been around for 10 plus years. Once you hire in as a filed level employee, you simply have no room for advancement. Public Storage on policy only hires District level management from outside the company. This is like the military- once in the enlisted ranks, always in the enlisted ranks. However, the work load and demands keep increasing all of the time, to a point of sacrificing personal time for the company. Raises range from .08cents to .35 cents in my region, averaging .16 cents. Yet three years ago Public storage could manage to pay for a hostile take over of ShurGuard Storage inc and has posted a sizable profit each year since. That is because they paid for it from all of the money they took from the employees. A senior level employee was given an eight million dollar bonus in 2007!

I've got a lot more to say but I'm getting upset. so I'm going to stop now. I encourage all to help put an end to this Public Whorage! I would readily support a public campaign or boycott against this company. Many hundreds of thousands of people are being taken advantage of both customers and employees alike. Its time to unite and bring about change.

I also am a "Ex" employee of Public - But - ONLY by default. I was originally with Shurgard and was forced to be a PS employee during the turn of events.

In any event, to the ex employee. The price of the locks have to do with the individual area that you are in. One state might be 14 while another might be 16.

Also, with Public Storage it DOES matter who is your District Manager. When I was with PS, our District Manager was like this complete tyrant where you would be HAMMERED in the ground for not making the customer buy the lock and the insurance....but then again....he was fired...lol.

The problem is....is that when Public Storage became this humungoe company they lost control of the company. Value, standards and Quality , OH! and Integrity mean very little to PS. That is probably one reason the company doesnt even have a mission statement.

To the Reporter: There are some practices and policies that a lot of storage companies do. For instance, if the customer is concerned about loosing their keys, it is entirely their option (with some companies) to give a key to the office to hold in the office's lock box just in case they ever loose their key, they wont have to call a locksmith to cut out a cylinder or disc lock. BUT - BUT - the customer must sign an agreement releasing liability of the company from any items that the customer "thinks" are missing. MOST of the time customers dont do this, I dont blame them, I would not want to. BUT, in the event that they do - for instance a pharmaceautical rep gets shipments every week, if the office has a key the boxes can go right inside their unit, not in the office for the poor lady to have to tug 50 boxes to her unit. - as I was saying - in the event that the customer does give a key - it is Crucial that the customer signs this agreement releasing liability. If they dont, then - yes, company is setting themselves up for liability issues.

(Oh, and by the way, CYLINDER locks are not ONLY sold by Public Storage... You can get them pretty much near anywhere now. They are just very popular at storage facilities.)

I agree with the other poster that storage insurance is a rip off. MOST homeowner policies DO cover your items while they are being stored and for a whole LOT more money (replacement value) than a piddly 2 or 5 thousand dollar policy AND it is included in your homeowners...

In conclusion - I dont blame you for feeling that way. It appears that you were just faced with either an inexperienced manager or a terrible district in which to rent. BUT - Public Storage is a rip off period. They would be a scarey company to have to store with - God knows, they were a scarey company for me to have to work for. Personally, I quit because my District Manager was cutting off people's locks before they LEGALLY could! I just could not go a long with it anymore. Good for you! Feel glad that you didnt make the mistake of storing with them!

(--From a person who has managed self storage facilities for almost 6 years for both large and small companies)

As a former employee of Public storage I would like to let everyone know about renting a unit...

1.PS is not allowed to keep KEYS in the office from any customers

2. Insurance is NOT mandatorty...(we tell customers PS is not responsible for your
items while in storage and for that reason PS offers these Insuranse options...) if the
customer states they dont want it...then we ask if they have home owners..if they do or not thats fine )...no problem
3 Back to locks...We are told that they need a lock at the time we do the lease and that the unit needs to be keep locked at all times...if they say I dont have a lock we
have to say we have locks here for your convenience..which one would you like...if they say they would rather buy their own lock somewhere else or want to go home and get a lock...We tell them alright ..and when you come back we will do the lease.......

Some Public Storage properties have special locks that can only be bought there..i think the name of that lock is a cylinder...I might be wrong on the name..........also I thought the price was around $14.00 .......................................

This is the way we rented units when I worked there.... 2008...if things have changed...I have no idea....

Thanks Larry for mentioning the cut locks by burglars. In my initial report, I forgot to add that the burglars left several of the cut locks in my storage locker. I tried to report this to the office, the district manager, the regional manager, the worthless corporate office and I was told to throw them away. I was told that the burglars used gloves.

Now how would the office know that the burglar used gloves unless they were in on the robbery? I was told to throw them away, which I haven't. I am contacting the news media on this issue.

I have managed storage facilities in Arizona and California for the last five years. I have never worked for Public Storage.

Self storage insurance is a rip-off in its own right. Very few claims are ever paid. Burglary claims are almost always rejected unless you can present them with proof of forced entry. Since most thieves do not leave your cut-off lock laying around, you normally have no proof. I would not deal with anyone who demands that I purchase their insurance as a condition of the rental.

The mandatory lock is kind of weird. I have never heard of that one. But the three-key deal is a big red flag. Yeah, it could save you some bucks if you lose the other two keys but it also gives Public Storage employees full access to your stuff. Talk about a license to steal. I have repeatedly told my tenants that I do not want keys to their locks just to keep me from being accused of theft. In fact, I have worked for companies that absolutely refused to hold keys for tenants because of the liability that arises.

The self-storage industry as a whole claims that no bailment is created because storage operators have no access to the tenants goods. By obtaining the tenants' keys, Public Storage is creating liability for themselves. One could argue that because PS can access the tenants' property that it is no longer governed by self-storage statutes but by warehousing laws.

I, too, would have driven off without renting had the manager demanded that I buy their lock, their insurance, and give them a copy of my key.