In today’s self storage market, convenience and automation are expected, but excellent customer service keeps people coming back.
Interestingly, 86% of customers say good customer service turns them from one-time clients into long-term, loyal brand champions.
For self storage operators, especially those running unstaffed or semi-automated facilities, it’s easy to assume that customer service plays a less significant role.
However, the opposite is true: when there’s no one on-site to greet customers or answer their questions, every digital interaction matters even more.
How easy is it to book a unit? How quickly do you respond? How well does your communication build trust?
In this article, we’ll provide you with some best practices to follow for delivering top-notch customer service. We’ll also show you how you can measure customer satisfaction at your facility.
Why Excellent Customer Service is So Important for Self Storage Facilities
Customer service might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of self storage, but it should be.
Whether you’re running a traditional facility or a fully automated, unstaffed site, your customers still expect clear communication, a smooth experience, and support when they need it.
Self storage often enters people’s lives during major transitions, such as moving house, dealing with a bereavement, or even starting a business.
These are stressful moments, and a facility that’s easy to work with and quick to respond can make a huge difference.
Exceptional customer service builds trust, increases word-of-mouth referrals, and helps you stand out in the competitive self storage industry.
Not to mention, 68% of customers say they’re willing to pay more for good customer service. If you want to keep your revenue ticking over and potentially charge a premium, you need to ensure customer satisfaction.
Why Automation Doesn’t Replace the Need for Customer Service
With self storage platforms like Stora, you can automate nearly every aspect of your facility, including online bookings, ID checks, payments, access control, and even move-ins and move-outs.
This level of automation eliminates the need for on-site staff, significantly reducing your overhead and allowing you to scale more efficiently.
However, while automation takes care of operations, it doesn’t replace the need for great customer service. When no one is physically present to offer help, the quality of your digital experience becomes your customer service.
Although customers may never meet a staff member face to face, they still expect fast, helpful responses if something goes wrong. Over 45% of customers expect a response faster than four hours when dealing with a business.
That's why it’s so important to build customer service into your automation strategy. With the right tools, you can offer a self-service experience that feels personal and responsive.
For example, Stora’s communication features and integration with support channels mean your customers stay informed and feel cared for without you needing to be on-site.
Best Customer Service Practices for Your Self Storage Business
Whether you’re running a traditional or unstaffed facility, here are some best practices for providing great customer service to both potential customers and existing tenants:
1. Always be accessible
Even without a customer service team on-site, your tenants need to feel your business is available and reachable.
Accessibility in an automated self storage setting means giving tenants easy, immediate access to support or information across multiple touchpoints. This includes booking online, at a gate, or accessing their storage unit using mobile apps or codes.
More than 85% of customers want to experience proactive communication and contact from a business, highlighting that you need to be accessible to them.
Your contact details, including a support email or phone number, should be visible on your self storage website, customer portal, and at the facility itself.
Even if your phone service automatically goes to voicemail, letting potential or existing customers know when they can expect a response supports a positive customer experience.
Stora can support both current and potential customers by serving as a digital front desk, giving them a single place to manage bookings, payment, and support whenever they need it.
2. Be responsive on all platforms
Providing excellent customer service in today’s digital world means being present and responsive wherever customers can contact you, whether that be by email, chat, social media, or text.
Over 76% of customers expect companies to offer customer service via social media, but what matters most to them is how quickly they get a response.
For self storage businesses, responsiveness is a key driver of trust. Customers locked out of their storage units or who are confused about billing want reassurance fast, and delays can quickly turn a minor issue into a negative review.
Even simple acknowledgements of their message, setting expectations for when a more complete reply will be received, go a long way.
With our comprehensive integrations, you can streamline inbound communication, routing messages to the right place and ensuring fast replies, even if you manage your location remotely.
3. Communicate proactively and promptly
Good customer service isn’t just about reacting to issues. It’s about preventing them. Proactive communication builds trust and even reduces confusion.
From the moment someone books a unit, they should receive a steady stream of helpful, clear updates such as confirmation emails, access instructions, reminders before billing, and notifications about changes or outages.
If you offer value-added services like these, you set the tone for the customer relationship and make them feel like your business is organised and attentive.
This is important because 78% of customers will do business with a company again if they experience excellent customer service.
With Stora, all of this happens automatically. From branded emails and text messages to real-time updates, our software ensures your customers are always in the loop without you having to manage every message manually.
4. Make help easy to find
When something goes wrong or a customer has a question, they don’t want to dig through your website for an answer. They want immediate and easy-to-find support.
Nearly 80% of customers highlight speed, convenience, knowledgeable help, and friendly service as the most essential elements of a positive customer experience.
That’s why a well-organised, easy-to-navigate help or FAQ section on your website is important, especially for unstaffed facilities.
As you can see below, this self storage company has clear questions and answers on its website to assist customers with general questions:
Additionally, clear signage at your facility and intuitive navigation on your website should guide users toward the answers they need.
If they still need to get in touch, providing exceptional service means making it obvious how they can contact you.
5. Keep access smooth and secure
Tenants can be frustrated by access issues when trying to get into their rental space. Whether it’s a keypad code that doesn’t work, a malfunctioning gate, or confusing instructions, these issues can negatively impact the customer experience.
That’s why secure, seamless access is vital to great customer service in self storage, especially when staff aren’t around to help.
Smart access systems, combined with automated code generation and real-time activation, ensure that you meet customer expectations and they can enter your facility and their units without delay or confusion.
Stora integrates with leading access control providers to make this process effortless. After the online rentals process, customers receive everything they need to get to their unit, and you can monitor activity remotely to resolve issues quickly if they arise, making customers feel like your business cares.
6. Collect feedback and act on it
One of the most powerful ways to improve your service is simply to listen to your customers. Gathering feedback, especially after key touchpoints like move-ins or move-outs, gives you valuable insights into what’s working and what needs attention.
Encouraging online reviews not only boosts your local search engine optimisation (SEO) but also builds social proof that helps you attract new customers.
More importantly, when negative feedback comes in, how you respond to it is critical. A quick, thoughtful reply shows that your business is accountable and customer-focused. Over 79% of customers who use online feedback to complain about poor customer experience are ignored.
As you can see in the example below, this self storage operator responds to negative feedback on its Google Business Profile (GBP) promptly and politely, potentially resulting in loyal tenants:
7. Show you’re there (even when you’re not)
Customers feel more comfortable when it's clear that someone is behind your business, even if they never meet you.
This means maintaining a professional digital presence, communicating clearly, and being visible in the right places.
Your website should always be up to date, your brand consistent, and your online listings actively managed.
Responding to reviews and questions, posting updates, and keeping a friendly and professional tone reinforces the idea that your business is run with care.
With Stora, your customer touchpoints are professionally designed, helping you project a polished presence even when you’re running everything remotely.
8. Offer self-service wherever possible
Approximately 67% of customers prefer self-service options over traditional support. They want the ability to solve smaller problems, make changes, or check their status without having to talk to someone.
This is especially important in the self storage industry, where many tenants choose the convenience of booking and managing their storage without interacting with staff.
A fully featured website where customers can update payment methods, view their invoices, download receipts, or cancel their rentals makes the experience smoother and builds long-term trust.
Enabling self-check-ins, digital ID verification, and the ability to vacate a unit entirely online is even more important.
These features not only reduce your operational workload but also reinforce your brand as modern, flexible, and easy to deal with.
This self storage business uses an automated chatbot on its website to allow customers to self-serve when they need assistance:
9. Create a consistent, professional experience
Consistency is a powerful part of customer service. Over 79% of customers expect consistent interactions across all your platforms, yet 55% say it generally feels like they’re communicating with separate departments rather than one company.
When every interaction, from your website to your email confirmations, feels cohesive, tenants feel valued and trust you more.
This consistency extends to your tone of voice, visual branding, and even how quickly and clearly you respond.
For unstaffed facilities in particular, professionalism becomes a stand-in for a physical presence. The more polished and consistent your online and offline experience is, the more credible your business feels.
A potential tenant who sees high-quality signage, receives clear and friendly messages, and encounters a user-friendly website is far less likely to worry about the lack of an on-site office.
10. Monitor key customer touchpoints
Even in a well-automated system, there are key moments where things can go wrong or where a little extra care goes a long way.
These touchpoints include the initial booking, the first access to your facility, the first invoice, and the move-in process.
Monitoring these touchpoints allows you to identify problems before they escalate and to refine your customer journey over time. This ultimately results in happy customers.
For instance, if you notice a trend of customers getting stuck at your gate during their first visit to your site, that may signal unclear access instructions or a delay in code activation.
If a high percentage of renters contact you with billing questions, it may be time to revisit the language or timing of your payment notifications.
11. Have a plan for emergencies
While automation can handle many customer interactions, no system is immune to the occasional problem.
Power outages, gate access failures, payment glitches, or severe weather can still impact the customer experience. The key to maintaining excellent service is having a clear, well-communicated plan for addressing these issues if they occur.
That may mean working with a local electrician or contractor who can be dispatched in emergencies or maintaining a backup access protocol for outages.
It also means being transparent when things go wrong. If a gate is temporarily down or an access system is being serviced, proactively informing tenants and offering a workaround can preserve their trust in your business.
How to Measure Customer Satisfaction for Your Facility
Measuring customer satisfaction is essential to maintaining a high-quality experience, reducing churn, and building a reputation that drives more bookings.
Here are some practical ways to track how your customers feel and turn that data into actionable improvements:
📏 Start with reviews and ratings
Your GBP reviews are often the first place potential customers look to judge your facility. They’re also a reliable indicator of how satisfied your current tenants are.
If your star rating starts slipping or negative feedback becomes more common, it’s a clear signal that something in the customer journey isn’t working as it should.
As mentioned earlier, ensure you make it easy for happy customers to leave reviews. The best time to ask is shortly after move-in or when a tenant vacates and has had a smooth experience.
📏 Use post-move-in and exit surveys
Surveys are a more structured way to gather feedback and dig deeper into the customer experience.
A quick post-move-in survey can help you understand whether your access instructions were clear, your digital reservation process worked smoothly, and whether your facility meets their expectations.
Similarly, a short exit survey when customers vacate their units can uncover pain points and reveal what renters appreciated most or why they decided to leave.
📏 Monitor customer support interactions
Support requests are another great way to unpack the customer experience. By tracking the volume, type, and frequency of these requests, you can identify recurring issues impacting satisfaction.
For example, if many customers are contacting you about billing issues, it may be time to update your invoices or add clearer explanations in your email communication.
📏 Track churn and length of stay
While less direct, customer retention is one of the most telling metrics for satisfaction. If customers consistently stay for shorter periods than expected or terminate their agreements with you early, this could indicate dissatisfaction with pricing, access, or communication.
Stora provides you with in-depth data on move-ins, move-outs, and length of stay, allowing you to track these metrics over time.
If you notice trends, such as a drop in average stay length, you can examine other data sources, such as feedback surveys or support requests, to pinpoint what’s driving this change.
📏 Monitor your Net Promoter Score (NPS)
Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a simple tool that asks customers one key question: “How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?”
The responses, which are rated from zero to 10, are then used to calculate an overall score that reflects customer loyalty and satisfaction.
At least two-thirds of the Fortune 1,000 use NPS, highlighting how crucial this tool is for gauging customer satisfaction.
With automated NPS surveys, you can collect this data over time and track whether changes you make to your facility or service are having a positive impact.
It’s also a great way to identify your most loyal customers: the ones most likely to leave a positive review or refer your facility to others.
Stora is the Key to Mastering Customer Service at Your Self Storage Facility
Delivering excellent customer service doesn’t require a front desk for full-time staff. However, it does require the right systems, clear communication, and a deep understanding of your customers’ needs.
Great service builds trust, drives loyalty, and sets your facility apart, making it a crucial focus for your business.
With Stora, you can automate nearly every aspect of your self storage facility while still providing the high-quality, responsive experience today’s tenants expect.
From seamless online bookings and self-service access to automated communications, Stora makes it easy to deliver five-star service, even when you’re not on site.
If you’re ready to elevate your customer service, book a Stora demo today. You’ll learn how our platform can help you provide excellent service, reduce churn, and build a loyal customer base.
