Thread: Oh My GAWD-What a $&^!#%# MESS!

I'm TIRED my peeps.....

I can't even take the time to check out my beloved SST, cuz when I finally get off work, I crash....HARD!

I have found moved-out tenant packets in every single crevice in this office, and even in a garbage bag in the garage!

There were at least a million people that had moved out, but hadn't been moved out of their software system...two stacks, a FOOT HIGH of returned mail, diarhetics in the cash drawer, a million dirty/filthy dirty units, and to top it off-BUDGET TRUCKS! (I've never done it before).

I know lots of you have been thru this, too, so tell me your horror story...does it sound like mine?

Oh, and by the way, perfect timing for the owner to have 9/1/10 effective rate increases for EVERYONE! Boy these tenants are gonna love me!

Kill 'em with kindness Shannon. You can do that with your eyes closed, dead asleep on your feet! And if that doesn't work, gently play the sympathy card. When a tenant complains just reply back; "You think a rent increase is bad for you, I'm new here and everyone is blaming me." and say it with a hang dog look on your face. It's true, so why not use it to make friends and influence people into paying without griping?

Hang in there kiddo and we all know you'll whip that place into shape in no time. I hope you are taking before/after photos for your "Smile folder" for some personal satisfaction and a good pat on the back down the road.

Yes we've been there, done that...several times....on our second storage job, we went back to our hotel room after the first day (the previous managers hadn't moved out of the apartment yet, and everything we owned was sitting in a U-Haul truck waiting)....and debated whether to get back in the U-Haul truck and keep on going...or go back to work the next day.

It was a close decision...but we got it cleaned up and stayed there 3 years. It seems awful now, and it is, but 6 months from now, this will all be a dim memory...one you won't want to repeat again any time soon.

I covered a property in Decatur, Ga. for 3 or 4 months back in the day (2001), and this is what I found.

I think it was around 1600 units, but I might be high by a few. The previous managers had decided to clean out 1 of each size space per day (there were 4 sizes on the property). They were renting 4 to 6 spaces per day. Do the math. When they were let go, I took over the property along with the assistant manager that they thought wasn't very good. She was great. She took care of most of the everyday stuff, and I could concentrate on everything else. I should say that about 3/4 of the spaces were full of abandoned junk. I hired a maintenance man to come in and clean spaces. We went thru dumpster after dumpster after dumpster of junk. I also made an arrangement with a lady preacher and her husband. She cleaned out as many spaces as she could get to in exchange for anything with some salvage value. She then had sales at ther church of this stuff to help raise money for her ministry.

And the auctions, OMG. We had three people working on the auction preparation. I cut locks, the DM did the inventory and relocked the spaces, and the maintenance man took the Polaroids. I have never seen such a mess as this property was. I forgot to add that it took atleast two full days to do the lock cuts.

So, Shaekirk, been there and done that. What a challenge you face, but I believe that you are up to the challenge, and the huge reward you will get when you look at what you have accomplished. All of us at SST know you can handle the job. No doubt. Rememeber, if all else fails, blame it on the previous managers.

What are you going to do for fun next week ???

Doing a rent increase at this time will be brutal, but keep your head up. And when the tenants blame you for the changes just try to keep smiling and try not to bad mouth the previous guys.

Shannon here's a P.S. Don't let the customers see you stress! Once they see a chink in the armor you'll be toast. Just smile, be pleasant, commiserate and be you.

Shannon, keep smiling for sure, it's good for your health anyway. And take a deep breath every now and then, also good for your health. Did I say keep smiling? You'll do great!

oh, and I forgot...double digit delinquency!!!!!

(high doubles....)

LOL, Bob! (blame it on the other managers....)

The really sad thing about all this..you can put all the blood, sweat, and tears into getting a facility like the cleaned up and straightened out....and if you ever leave, in less then 6 months, it will be back like you found it again.

It is really sad....