Whether you’re moving to Chandler, Arizona or you’ve been here your whole life, US Storage Centers is here to meet your self storage needs. We recently opened a facility at 2805 West Frye Road and were lucky to have a team member with family ties to the area who wanted to move and manage the facility. Get to know Todd Duncan, a five-year veteran of the self storage industry in the interview below. [caption id="attachment_8735" align="alignleft" width="600"] Todd Duncan is the manager of US Storage Centers in Chandler, Arizona.[/caption] Peter: Thank you so much for taking the time. The last time we talked, you said you’ve been in self storage for five years now. Is that correct? Tell me a little about how you got into it. Todd: Yep. Well, I came down here from Colorado and was looking for a change in my life, I guess. I got divorced and had a few things go crazy, so my mom and my brother were down here, so I figured I’d come down here and start looking and came across US Storage Centers and I was interviewing and putting resumes in all over and they called me back and I went down and met them and they liked my attitude and after that it was time to go. Peter: Nice. Recently they moved you down from a self storage facility in Peoria down to where you are in Chandler? Todd: Yes, they actually took a facility over in Peoria, Arizona and they offered that to me a year after I started as an assistant and maintenance. I did both. So I took that one and lived on site and significantly raised occupancy while I was there. With this new Chandler location, they said, “we want you to lease up this brand new facility in Chandler.” so I said, “Let’s go.”And here we are. We’re making it crazy right now. Peter: That’s awesome. It sounds like you’re one of their trusted people. It sounds like you’ve done it for so long that when they need someone to come in to a new situation that needs to be leased up, you’re the guy to get it done. Todd: Well, yeah. This is actually the first time they’ve put me in that position to show them, but you know, I have a real huge mechanical background in mechanics and aviation and, so I can pretty much take on anything they throw at me and I know I’ve got all the help that I need in the world too. I can turn around and make a call and talk to someone about something I don’t know how to do or how to deal with a certain situation if I don’t know right off hand, so that’s a good thing. And they like promoting within the company, so if you want to advance your career, you’re the first person they’ll consider. It’s a great, great opportunity. This new location puts me even closer to family and it’s just a great, great opportunity. They’ve been really good to me. Peter: I like how supportive US Storage Centers is and how they helped move you to accommodate your family needs. Todd: Yeah, that’s got to be a real big move. I mean, through HR, through renting if you’re on site, the business cards, the publishing. I mean, everything about it has got to just be huge, you know what I mean? To do it. That was a big step for them to take, maybe a risk, to invest to much, but I love my job. It’s great. I deal with a lot of people and put a lot of smiles on faces.Try to help a lot of people out. Peter: Right and you’re also in a customer facing position, so you’re developing relationships with all the people who rent there. You know, the people who come in at the start of the month to pay their bills and want to talk. Todd: Yeah, at the start of the month it can get busy with a couple of people in the office and the phone ringing. Other than that, it’s a great job as long as you just come and do your job right. It’s nothing but making people happy and trying to figure out their needs. Peter: You’re in Chandler, Arizona now. I heard that place is blowing up development wise. Lots of people moving. Todd: Yeah, Chandler was voted one of the best places to live in Arizona recently. It’s one of the original towns near Phoenix. It’s beautiful. It’s got lakes and islands. It’s a neat place right now. It’s really hot. Extremely hot: 109 degrees today and it was 122, I believe, yesterday. Peter: Goodness gracious! Todd: Haha! The good thing is, I was in an air cooled facility before, which only two buildings were air cooled and the rest were all drive ups and side units and this one is a completely air conditioned indoor facility, the only thing I have are RV parking spots outside. It’s two buildings, two levels, two elevators per building and 950 units. Peter: And if you do have to walk out to the RV spaces your shoes melt on the black top. Todd: Haha, sometimes you sure do feel slippery on them. Record temperature here is 122. Peter: Geez. Todd: It’s like 105-115 from now for about another three months guaranteed. Peter: Man, climate controlled storage units must be important in a place like that. Todd: I’m talking big time. Even just for the job, when you have to go out and clean a unit somebody moved out of. If it’s 115 and you have to go sweep a unit, you’ll end up soaked. Peter: That’s a weight loss program right there. Todd: Haha. Yeah, yeah, so the biggest thing is to keep the facility clean and keep cold water in the fridge for customers. Peter: I’m sure they appreciate that on those triple digit plus days. Todd: Oh, I can’t tell you, that is just the best feeling you can get from something that simple. I’ll show up when people are moving in, stop in front of them and hold out a water. Just the look on their face and the amazement that I took a minute to bring them a bottle of water is worth its weight in gold. It’s better than renting a storage unit. Peter: People appreciate little things. Todd: You can see it in their eyes. It’s not just a thank you, it’s that they can’t believe you did that. They can’t believe you just went out of your way for them. It’s a good feeling. I do it all day long. I make it a habit too. If I see somebody moving in, I’ll just instantly grab a cooler and a few bottles of water and I’ll go over there and give them to them. I tell them I have more if they need it. [caption id="attachment_8729" align="alignleft" width="600"] Drive up access is available at US Storage Centers in Chandler, AZ.[/caption] Peter: So, Todd, after five years in the self storage business, do you have any memorable moments or lessons you’ve learned. Five years is a long time for any profession. Todd: Yeah, it was at the same facility, which was great. I got to know people on a friendly basis - the ones who are constant customers. It’s just great to have those guys come up and bring you a gift card for $40 bucks for taking care of them. Out of the blue, you don’t even know it’s coming. Then you don’t do anything and the next year the same guy does it again, haha. And you’re just amazed that this guy just spent that money on you all because of the way you treated him while you were there. That’s incredible, you know what I mean? I can’t tell you how good that makes you feel. It really makes you want to do more for them. That’s the way I am with everyone. That’s why I don’t have to hide or be fake. Just be myself and try to tell them everything, nothing hidden. Everything comes upfront and I try to work with them on discounts after that. It’s that relationship of meeting someone’s needs and making them feel so good they they do something nice for you out of the blue. Peter: Definitely. Self storage is such a personal business. Nobody goes out and says, “Well, I’m going to rent a self storage unit today, because I feel like it.” No, there’s normally a reason you need self storage. Todd: No, you see, in my eyes, we’re customer service reps and we rent units to people who we talk to. Haha. Peter: Haha, actually renting the units is like a secondary part of the job. Todd: Right. Of course there’s the money and everything has to be one for one and all that, but if I fill this place up that’s a lot of people that I will be trying to keep happy. Now, statistically you can’t keep everyone happy, so it goes hand in hand. Those are the tough ones, so when I have someone who feels like they were wronged or something didn’t happen like they were told that’s the toughest thing for me, where I feel bad about it. I don’t just say, “That’s the way it is.” I go into, “Hang on, let me see what I can do for you” mode. Peter: I’m sure people appreciate that. Todd: Yeah, I have to go higher when it comes to certain situations, but I try to offer myself as a middleman first. Peter: Help me help you. Todd: That’s right. That’s exactly it. Just let me know what is going on and I will pull all the strings for you, because they don’t know what’s going on. It’s important to deal with everyone’s problems individually and not just say, “Everybody gets this and everybody gets that, because that’s the way it is.” Peter: I’d say that is excellent customer service. Todd: Absolutely. It’s important for someone to have the faith to trust you, tell everybody about you and use you. That’s what’s great: putting a smile on people’s faces and having them say, ”I’m going to tell everybody about you.” Peter: A referral is the highest compliment, right? Todd: That is correct. Everybody wins on that one. US Storage Centers 2805 West Frye Road Chandler, AZ 85224 (480) 526-5066
