by guest blogger Bob Copper of Storage 101 (Catch Bob at the TSSA Convention on Monday, October 18 speaking on the topic: “How to Conduct an Effective Self-Storage Audit“)

My 16-year old son came into the living room the other night while my wife and I were watching TV and announced, “Dad, we have to talk.” Now, if you have a teenager, you know how those words can instill a high degree of fear and discomfort into even the most macho of men. And yes, I felt that fear and discomfort. What was it? Drugs? Sex? Expulsion? An accident? My heart raced in trepidation, knowing that my life as I knew it was about to take a dramatic turn.

I looked at my son and whimpered, “What is it?” He replied, “You’re watching Project Runway and that’s just wrong.” How quickly one’s self esteem can deflate. My son, a 16-year old high school junior with a bit of acne and raging hormones, had just found out that his dad only pretends to be cool. I was caught watching Project Runway, a reality show in which budding designers compete each week to create fashion through various challenges. One by one, the designers are eliminated (think The Apprentice) until one lucky designer is left standing with the promise of getting to show his or her clothing line in various media, including magazines and fashion shows.

In an effort to be more “sensitive” and attentive to my wife’s “needs,” I’ve been hooked into the drama of seeing Michael Kors wannabes (he’s a BIG deal in the fashion world) create women’s clothing with inspiration from various items ranging from plastic to flowers to food. I hate myself for it but I can’t help but watch for all the drama. It’s kind of like watching NASCAR just for the wrecks.

Watching the episode on that fateful night, one of the judges made the comment, regarding a clear fashion disaster, that the outfit was a “hot mess.” Although I understood that that was not necessarily a compliment, I wasn’t altogether sure what that term meant, so I looked it up on the web. On UrbanDictionary.com there are many definitions for “hot mess” but my favorite is When ones thoughts or appearance are in a state of disarray but they maintain an undeniable attractiveness or beauty. What the judge meant was that although the garment looked great on the outside, underneath the façade it was poorly thought out and poorly constructed. And immediately I thought, “That perfectly describes the self-storage facility I recently audited!”

Actually, it describes a large number of self-storage facilities I have audited. While many operators “maintain” an appearance of attractiveness or orderliness of their facilities, there in fact exists a “state of disarray.” Everything on the outside looks great, but a closer look reveals an operation tittering on the brink of disaster. Consider the facility I audited just a week or so ago.

The owners of a large facility out west had NEVER had their facility audited and just assumed everything was running smoothly. Only after persistent urging by one of the partners did the others finally agree to have someone conduct a third-party operational audit, and they contacted me.

Upon arrival at the site I saw a great-looking property with perfectly manicured landscaping, recently painted parking lot stripes, debris-free drive aisles, and an orderly boat and RV parking area. The employees I met were friendly and well-groomed and the office was clean and appeared to be well-organized.

And then I started looking at the details.

Turns out the manager, who has been in the self-storage business just over a year, took it upon herself to rewrite the lease agreement because she “didn’t like the old one.” She had no idea if the lease was legal or not. A disaster waiting to happen.

I found a lease on which the manager had lined through the “Limit of Liability” clause and written in “No Liability on this Unit” and added her initials. Another disaster waiting to happen.

We mystery phone shopped the employees and they all failed miserably. There was no attempt to rent space, and the calls were a clear interruption of the employees’ other tasks like texting on their cell phones and checking Facebook. If one didn’t know better, it would have been easy to assume the owners no longer wanted spaces rented and didn’t care that the employees were wasting time on their payroll. But I knew better.

The manager told us that her two closest competitors were “just too high’ when comparing rates and she thought it was much more important to “be competitive’” and not be too high. Those two competitors are over 90% occupied and charging 40% higher rates. And did I mention that the subject site was 95% occupied, including 100% in climate? And she thought the competitors were fools.

The facility DID have a waiting list, but the manager was holding vacates until the end of the month “just in case a tenant want[ed] to use the space another day or so.” Some of the waiting list units were on the holding vacate list. And the 15 “unavailable” units? These were units that the part-time maintenance person had not yet “certified” as being rent-ready, so they could not yet be rented. Again, several of the waiting list units were on the “unavailable” list and anyone with a broom and five minutes could have made those units rent-ready. But the manager and her assistants don’t sweep out units.

I could go on, but you get the picture. This facility, great looking on the outside, was a budding disaster on the inside. This facility was one “hot mess.”

How about your facility? Take a closer look.

Guest blogger: Colleen Trimble brought her powerful presentation, “Heart of Money,” to the TSSA Annual Convention in The Woodlands. Colleen’s goal is to help you chart a course for understanding the emotions you’re feeling about money, and how to use it as a tool for achieving your heart’s desires and life purpose.

Hi All - wanted to say thank you for the opportunity to speak at the TSSA Annual Convention in The Woodlands. For those of you who heard me speak, you might recall my presentation entitled “Lessons from Wall Street.” For those of you who didn’t attend the morning session, it was an attempt to bridge the financial crisis with personal lessons. This past week, I had the opportunity to experience lesson #5, “Our personal best inspires the whole,” up close and personal.

I was asked to give a “Heart of Money” presentation to a local bank who offers “lunch and learn” sessions for employees. Upon entering, I was quite impressed with the “look and feel” of the bank. Instead of walls, there were large glass panes giving clear view to 3 floors. Near the ceiling of the first floor, were wide, white moldings with words inscribed - such as, entrepreneurial, individual, be the difference, unique, community, better off, and authentic.

After my presentation, I had a discussion with the Chief Administrative Officer in which I told him how lovely the building was, and that I was particularly touched by the words. He shared with me that it is the bank’s mission to positively impact everyone who has contact with their organization - in other words, to leave them better off.

I was inspired and “made better off” simply by experiencing the spirit of this organization. Our personal best does inspire the whole!

May we both inspire and be inspired during 2010!

Coleen Trimble