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Red Deer County News August 1, 2008 Republished with permission of: Red Deer County STORESMART, THE SMART WAY TO STORE YOUR THINGS Are your possessions taking over your house and garage? Do you need a place to store your household items, your boat or vehicle for the winter? StoreSmart Self Storage at Gasoline Alley has the smart solution for you. Opened in June of 2007, StoreSmart Self Storage is the state-of-the-art self storage facility in Red Deer County. Conveniently located just south of Leon’s Furniture on Gasoline Alley, StoreSmart has more than 600 storage units in a variety of sizes to meet your needs. “People store things for a variety to reasons,” explained StoreSmart Manager May Johnson. They may have a gap in the time of a house sale, a divorce or estate situation, or just too much accumulated “stuff” making offsite storage necessary. Businesses may require a place to store their excess stock or past years’ paperwork. “Some people even hide and wrap their Christmas present in the heated units,” said May. StoreSmart has both heated and unheated storage units in an assortment of sizes. The 5x5 units are often used for business paperwork or other small storage needs like bicycles or Christmas decoration. The 10x20 unit is the size of a one-car garage and perfect for storing boats, quads, and furniture or household items, said May. The 10x30 unit can fit the contents of a threebedroom home and more. Customers renting the heated units have access to carts and dollies so they do not have to carry their items down the hallways. All units are wheelchair accessible, she added. StoreSmart also has moving supplies for sale including boxes, bubble wrap, packing tape and locks. “Our commitment to our customer is second to none,” said May. StoreSmart keeps bottled water in the office for customers to drink while they are moving in or out of their units. StoreSmart is committed to customer confidentiality, said May. “Each customer picks their own gate code.” The four-digit code that is known only to that customer will open the gate and then turn off the door alarm to their specific unit. On exiting the code will re-arm the unit. Customers also supply their own padlock so it is like having a double lock on your unit. If the customer forgets the code, they will have to answer a series of questions and have ID to gain access to it again. All areas of the facility are under 24-hour video surveillance. The office computer monitors when codes are used and staff can see if there are any discrepancies in timing between entering/leaving the facility and the door alarms. If there are inconsistencies in timing, the staff will check the video to determine why, and then act accordingly. “So when you put your belongings in here, it couldn’t be more secure if you tried,” said May. StoreSmart keeps office hours convenient to its customers. The office is open seven days a week from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with extended hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays opening at 7:00 a.m. and closing at 6:00 p.m. When the staff is out of the office attending to one of the units, or after hours, the phone is forwarded to one of their cell phone so there is always a live person answering. Units are rented for four-week periods rather than by the month, said May. This gives the company more flexibility to refund when customers vacate. StoreSmart owners and staff are dedicated to the community, said May. Discounts are available to non-profit organizations. StoreSmart also maintains a “goodwill unit” where gently used items are collected from customers who do not wish to move or store them anymore. These items are donated to local organizations or individuals in need. The office is also a drop off point for the Christmas Bureau. “Where ever we can be involved in the community, we are,” said May. StoreSmart is a member of the Canadian Self Storage Association, the Red Deer Chamber of Commerce and the Independent Achievers (a women’s business networking group). May sits on a committee for the Red Deer and District Community Foundation “Women of Excellence Awards”, as well as the Red Deer Chamber of Commerce Ambassador Steering Committee. "It’s good business to be part of the community,” she added, after all, the people in the community are our customers. “Remember at StoreSmart Self-Storage you can store a little or store a lot.” Please call May or Linda at 403.343.7443 or e-mail us at info@storesmart.ca. You can also visit our website at www. storesmart.ca – we also like to have visitors during our office hours. |
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