Telling a customer No

JamesStorage

What's the best way you have to tell a person we will not rent to them? I have always found it difficult to explain to a customer that we don't want their business (Or more specifically the trouble they bring)

Orkocean

We are actually fixing to encounter this exact issue at one of our properties. We're doing cheapest prices in town to fill the box but the area is very lower end with lots of homeless. We were all spitballing ideas to weed them out. One initial idea was if they didn't have a vehicle and license plate info to provide we don't rent to them to try and weed out the homeless but my argument to that was depending on your area you CAN have good customers who ride the bus, bikes or even walk. As far as having no actual denial reason other than you just don't want them cause you know it'll be issues... I don't know the best way to get that across without literally telling them that. 

CVSSSTORAGE

I just tell them we are full lol

i43storage

When a customer comes in and appears too problematic for a variety of reasons, we have said, "I don't think this is the place for you, perhaps you should look elsewhere.  It doesn't look like our product matches your needs, etc."

camp

We require a credit card to start the lease. That weeds out quite a few people.

Keri

WOW just reading some of the comments makes me fell like none of you want business !! And how do you purpose to weed out problematic clients and what makes a client problematic the way they look dress have tattoos a different color skin??? Do you ask if they our homeless ?? If you are clear that the access hours are a certain time and that you are monitoring those hours it would be quite easy to see who is staying overnight at the facility. 

Orkocean

Not all business is good business. There is no stereotypical good or bad customer honestly. The well off customers can be your biggest headache sometimes. I don't know about everyone else but if you've done this for awhile you can usually get a "vibe" about someone that doesn't feel right, those just get watched extra close. Even the best can miss things, some customers are pretty clever in how to hide their tracks. There was a video years ago on youtube where a guy showed off living in a unit at a public storage I believe. He had that place rigged up, even had a magnet set to the inside of his door to slide his latch over and make it look legit. 

i43storage

@Keri  Problematic customers come in all shapes and sizes.  Like @Orkocean said, sometimes the wealthiest customers cause the most headache.

Keri

All business is good business until you don't want to serve in your Business !! I have been running the same facility for over 14 years you should never pre judge any person walking in the door or assume that they will be problematic is all I am saying.  

Matt_W

We require that all tenants provide a picture ID and be able to give us a physical mailing address. This does a little bit to stop the homeless. If we suspect that someone is going to try and live in a storage unit, I'll do extra walk throughs at random times. If they go in for long periods of time it requires addressing.
Just having a copy of a photo ID and a physical mailing address (or making providing those two things a requirement) might help

AnitaJohnson1269

I had a tenant that was homeless, staying at a local shelter.  Never a problem, paid on time.  Would stop by every so often and bring an item they had gotten from a donation or had found a good deal on.  This was everything they owned! After about 5 months, they got back on their feet, rented a home, and had furnishings to put in it.  People become homeless for various reasons, in this situation it was a domestic situation. I'm with @Keri on this one.  We don't always know the whole story. Now, if they are known to be a problem (this is where communication with other facilities is good) that's another story.  I try to remember, "There but by the Grace of God, go I" 

sonyawiprud

We do not discriminate, however we do make the property rules very clear to them, if after a few weeks they prove to be problematic we just terminate our agreement,  pointing to the infraction committed. Yes it is tough but they know what they've done wrong and usually go quietly. 

teamcapitola

I think it's naïve to say "all business is good business"  ....especially if your facility is running close to capacity.

"bad business" is the customer who compromises the safety/security of your facility, argues or yells at other tenants, tries to sleep in the unit, uses drugs or alcohol on the property, goes into Lien over and over.... I can go on but I'm sure you all get the point.

I've only turned away business a few times over the years, but when I did it was for multiple obvious flags, not just what they looked like.

My favorite "well, you have so many rules...I'm just NOT going to follow them.. what are you going to do about it?!"

Or the guy who goes and shoots up in the restroom for 30 minutes... before the tour...yes it HAS happened.

Less obvious include the client is asking too many questions about camera locations and security measures... when are staff onsite... etc.

A local facility rented a unit to someone without ID and in a rush...pushy..(its at home, ill bring it tomorrow) and they ended up with an unpaid 10x10 full of bald tires...that had to go to auction!

I'm just saying there are  going to be times when you have to make a call between "the money" or a secure/safe facility.

Orkocean

Exactly @teamcapitola... If they are defensive over wanting to provide basic information or question rules then that's a pretty big red flag. In 8 years i've had maybe 3 occurances I can think of where i've literally stopped the process, pulled the info sheet back and put it into the shredder and told them they should look elsewhere for storage as it seems our policies will not suit them. 

SanSabaSongbird

If a customer starts arguing about the terms of the lease or has no ID that is a red flag to me.  It is not discrimination.  It is called Risk Management.  It is our job to protect our property and ourselves.

Matt_W

You're not just thinking of your business, you are also thinking of the existing customers possessions- that is what they pay us for, after all. Keeping their goods safe. 
You are essentially the door man.

torrance_securespace

You all have some good points.  But you can not judge a book by the cover.  Not all homeless people are bad people.  My husband and I were homeless.  We are both college educated, not alcoholics and do not do drugs.  It was due to the recession.

StorMomma

I just had to refuse someone yesterday.  She made reservation through the call center, but she has already rented here twice before.  Both times, she left via auction and owes us about $1700 total.  Sorry, not going through that again, especially now that I am running the show.

GSI03

StorMomma said:

I just had to refuse someone yesterday.  She made reservation through the call center, but she has already rented here twice before.  Both times, she left via auction and owes us about $1700 total.  Sorry, not going through that again, especially now that I am running the show.

Well, that's different than 99% of what everyone else is talking about!

rmason

We are open to renting to anyone has the required documentation and finances.  Normally the first 30 days is a good indicator for us, i.e., credit card declined, past due status, NSF check, not returning emails, texts, or calls.  After 30 days we make our decision to keep or let go.

GlenMark

Matt_W said:

We require that all tenants provide a picture ID and be able to give us a physical mailing address. This does a little bit to stop the homeless. If we suspect that someone is going to try and live in a storage unit, I'll do extra walk throughs at random times. If they go in for long periods of time it requires addressing.
Just having a copy of a photo ID and a physical mailing address (or making providing those two things a requirement) might help

We are similar in that respect. For physical unit rentals, we require a photo ID, good mailing address and a valid phone number. We also prefer a good email address as well. If folks do not have the funds to pay the rent and deposit in full at the time of rental, we do not rent to them.

It's a fine line to walk, because you really cannot discriminate and try to "weed out" the bad elements. I've had a kid who looked like he came straight out of Haight Street San Francisco in 1969 be one of our best, most respectful tenants while a former Air Force sergeant was one of our worst. You just never known until you seen their patterns over time.

prowlett

We operate 11 facilities in a wide range of income level areas. If they are willing to pay your price, why not rent? If you have a solid collection process (the processes prior to auction, yes that means training the tenants at time of lease) then you can really cut down issues. I wouldn’t go off of what they look like, but rather how they act. If they cause you problems before ever becoming a tenant, I’m charging a major premium. 

We have a number of homeless folks storing at our facilities- yes even in the wealthy locations- and, while we do have some on-time issues, they always get us paid. We have caught a few trying to stay in the unit (Climate Control 5x5) when it was -40 out. We just give them a warning. No reason not to be human.

As long as everyone understands that you will sell their items without hesitation, your issues will be limited. We might have 6 auctions all year at one facility - some are much less. Don’t worry so much about weeding out bad tenants. Your price determines your clientele - weeding out creates more work and ultimately hinders the entire reason you dropped rates in the beginning.

Grizz

prowlett said:

We operate 11 facilities in a wide range of income level areas. If they are willing to pay your price, why not rent? If you have a solid collection process (the processes prior to auction, yes that means training the tenants at time of lease) then you can really cut down issues. I wouldn’t go off of what they look like, but rather how they act. If they cause you problems before ever becoming a tenant, I’m charging a major premium. 

We have a number of homeless folks storing at our facilities- yes even in the wealthy locations- and, while we do have some on-time issues, they always get us paid. We have caught a few trying to stay in the unit (Climate Control 5x5) when it was -40 out. We just give them a warning. No reason not to be human.

As long as everyone understands that you will sell their items without hesitation, your issues will be limited. We might have 6 auctions all year at one facility - some are much less. Don’t worry so much about weeding out bad tenants. Your price determines your clientele - weeding out creates more work and ultimately hinders the entire reason you dropped rates in the beginning.

I agree, pricing will weed out some of the people you dont want but being able to say "no" will weed out more. 

storage_queen3210

"we have the right to refuse service"
"Let me recommend a facility that may work better for your needs"
"Unfortunately, we do not have anything available at this moment but ______ does!"
"Unfortunately, you do not meet the criteria that we require to rent a unit" 

Or we just flat out tell them that unfortunately we are not going to rent to you today. 

ESS

"I don't think we are compatible with your storage needs"
"We are full/don't have the size you need"
Those are my go-to. I'm pretty good about weeding out the troublemakers, etc., just from my interactions with them; Especially if they're challenging my paperwork or property rules. I refuse to rent to anyone that I know I will have issues with just in our first meeting. Not all business is good business. We don't do online rentals and that's been helpful, too.
 

helenatim

We don't do any in-person rentals, but I have found that online renting, requiring a credit card, and keeping our rates toward the higher end of the market have been the keys to getting and retaining good tenants.
But if you do get phone calls to rent, don't ignore any red flags.  Conversations that start with "I need a storage unit right now" often indicate someone has just been evicted.  But always take the time to talk to the potential tenant before making any decisions.   On the other hand, any potential tenant who drops an f-bomb during our first conversation is out.  Especially when my 9-yr old is in the car and we are on speaker phone!  
Most of the time I use a polite decline and steer them towards a different facility.  However, I could fill a page in Tales from the Trenches when my 'polite declines' have gone wrong.