Public Storage

Customer service is the worst. I reserved and paid for a climate control drive up access unit online. When I arrived to inspect the unit. It was not what I expected. I canceled the unit and requested a refund. The female clerk advised she would cancel the reservation, and i should be REFUNDED.

I checked the app for the specs of a drive up access unit 9 days later and decided to rent the unit i declined earlier. Now, I have a second transaction less than 10 days apart for the same amount and the same unit.

I have made several calls and spoke with said female, who can't do anything to resolve this issue, She has to email her DM. Finally, she advised me to stop payment.

I have asked for a call back from the DM. That has not occurred.

Now I have collection calls. I'm forced to pay rent i dont owe to avoid mounting late fees.

This should not be a fight.

Beware. Rent at your own risk.

********UPDATE *****

I've been contacted by the manager. He was very amenable. He asked me to share my concerns. He identified coaching opportunities for his staff. I really appreciate his customer service.

He offered an acceptable resolution for my issue.

I'm very, very reluctant to criticize establishments in public, but this situation warrants it, to warn potential customers what they may be up against. The current team members as of September 2024 provided me with the single worst customer experience I have ever, ever had the displeasure of living through. I'll regale you with the story.

What should have been a very simple drop-off for a previously-reserved parking space turned into a three-hour ordeal with all kinds of unneccessary antagonism. The gentleman at the desk was unable to find the reservation (his manager apparently failed to make it; Public Storage issued an apology since she does not have the authority to do what she did). Then he was unable to find the box on the screen to look things up by unit number without calling his supervisor.

Then when re-making the reservation, he said he could not 'click through' because the system wouldn't work without scanning 'the paper.' It took us 10 minutes at least for me to figure out that by 'the paper' that he insisted he needed to scan was proof of ownership (which they presumably already had, from our last visit).

So, I came up with proof of ownership in the form of insurance, online in an image. Would that be accepted? No, it needs to be on paper. Could I print it out there or email it? No, 'we don't have access to that.' I had to drive out of my way to the UPS store to print a hard copy to scan, and returned, all while my towing company was charging me hundreds of dollars an hour to wait while I was informed of 'that's our policy,' and 'that's not how it works.'

So then we finally get to the point where I have the piece of paper by running to UPS -- so he can scan it and click the button on the web application. He's on lunch break and has locked up. I wait another 30 minutes, costing a few hundred.

He does return, and at this point I'm informed that it's no longer a problem with providing proof of ownership in paper form (that cannot be printed from their machines, and by the way, don't you dare step an inch behind the desk) -- now the problem is that the rentor is not there in person (she's currently ill and incapacitated, which is why I was doing her the favor).

Then it turns out that my friend for whom I was doing a favor in transporting the RV vehicle to the spot she had reserved -- because they had lost the reservation -- had to be there in person. That was insisted to me many times, but it turns out -- after more prompting I learned that she could re-make the reservation online. Which didn't show the available spot that we reserved, of course. The only form of identity verification and reservation re-making that was not allowed is speaking with her over the phone, apparently.

After getting her on the phone to speak, that's not good enough. Only in person or online, I'm told, because they need visual confirmation that it's her. Okay, let's pull her up on video. 'No, we don't allow that here. It's against policy.'

So, let's call your supervising manager to give you permission. She did the same thing. I'm still expecting a callback from the district manager.

The way this should have gone is: 'Hi, I'm here with XXX's vehicle in bay 3015; this is her gate code, so I'm just gonna pull it in for now.' It turned into what I can only describe as authoritarian 'just-following-orders' and hostility toward the customer.

I don't blame the employee there -- he's incredibly poorly trained, but it does seem to also affect his supervisor. I'll be speaking with the district manager soon, I hope, and try to recover some of the 3 hours' worth of towing fees wasted on this, around $1,500.

Now that you've heard the tale, generally speaking I've been very happy with Public Storage as a company, but this particular location -- at least for now (September 2024) -- is a farce of mismanagement. I would recommend taking your business elsewhere until the district manager is able to resolve the situation.

Great customer service great AC

Description of complaint:
I have 4 problems with Public Storage, 30 kettle river drive, Glen carbon, IL. These problems started when Public Storage took over ownership of the self storage facility in 2023. 1) they started charging sales tax on the rent for a self storage unit. There is no such tax in Illinois. This is costing me $11 extra a month. Im sure it is illegal to collect sales tax on an item that is not taxable. 2) I reported to Public Storage on 6/13/2024 that my rental spot, which is supposed to have electric, has lost power as well as all the other spots around me. As of 6/26/2024, there is still no power. I had to throw away about $200 in groceries that were in the refrigerator of my RV that I store there. 3) there is rarely an employee on-site to provide customer service. I have to call a number posted on their door. This number takes you through a series of about 5 questions, and then it finally tells you to leave a message. I did on 6/13/2024, but no call back for a week and then it was only to say the district manager has been contacted regarding the electric problem. 4) they advertise that you can enter the gate using a code on their app but it doesn't work. I talked with employee on-site about it and they blew it off as a problem because we are in Illinois and parent facility is in St. Louis. This business needs to be held accountable for their lack of customer service and illegal acts

you have any questions or concerns, plea